When Jesus commanded them to feed a great crowd, they responded, We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people (9:13). Undoubtedly, they spoke with Jesus of the events in the next few months of Jesus death, resurrection, and probably his ascension into heaven. In the Transfiguration, the human shares in divine glory. Incarnation and Transfiguration are antiphonal. Jesus has come to reveal God and redeem humanity. 33It happened, as they were parting from him, that Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Yet we are told that for a time during this epiphany of glory, the disciples were sleepy! All that is within Luke 9:31-33 is distinctive. It also reveals a quality we tend to overlook, that those whove walked with God glow with the radiance of Gods presence. In that instance, they will actually fall asleep. In the Incarnation, the divine partakes of the human condition. WebLuke 9:28-36, (37-43) Commentary by Scott Shauf The transfiguration of Jesus follows immediately on the scene where Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah (Luke 9:20). Metamorphosis is when an ugly, crawly creature like a caterpillar undergoes a complete transformation and comes out radically different. We looked earlier at Peters words in his second letter. Christs cross was necessary so that he might enter into his glory (Luke 24:26; see also Philippians 2:5-11). There will be a time to speak, but they are not yet ready for the witness that they will bear a few weeks later in Jerusalem (Acts 1-2). Web28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. They expect him to conquernot to die. Have you ever known anyone like that? To be amazed, even to tremble. If there was any question as to who Jesus was, there was no mystery about it now: He is the Christ, the only begotten son of God. They enclose a portion of the church year that is now fast coming to an end, just before the period of Lent. Here Peter strikes out. The Feast of Booths was observed in the fall each year at the completion of the harvest. He says something that seems to make no sense: Let us set up tents for you, Moses and Elijah., Why did he say this? He places great hope in Jesus. (18-27) The transfiguration. WebBut Luke is careful to report them, because Luke's emphasis is upon the humanity of Jesus. At least 9 times that I could find in this Gospel. And it matters. 43They were all astonished at the majesty of God. If that is our view, we are badly, badly mistaken. Simply he may have not wanted the experience to end. In preparation for the Transfiguration of Our Lord in Year C, one has to make an obvious decision. All that Peter taught and wrote about for more than 3 decades was founded upon eyewitness experiences he and the other apostles had. He was not making up stories about Christ. Even to see an angel in his glory would be terrifying. Know this: The closer you walk with God, the brighter your path will be. Luke 9:28-36 - Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary Frederick Brotherton Meyer's Commentary. This is more a theological than a geographical statement. In the Bible, mountains are synonymous with the majesty and dominion of God. Moses and Elijah? WebThe gospel in Luke 9:28-36 is a reminder that Jesus in His divinity still goes through a lot of trials to save us. Well, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on the mountain to pray, and as he prayed, his appearance was changed his clothing became white and dazzling (9:29). It was a thanksgiving celebration. The disciples would have heard of them and read about them from the Scriptures. to prayfor the period He had now reached was a critical and anxious one. There was a young woman in our church several years ago who, whenever she got up to speak or sing, had a certain aura about her. The glory was there. Listen to him! (9:29, 34-35). In the Bible, when a story takes us up to a mountaintop, its a fair bet that something dramatic is going to happenindeed, its a fair bet that something deeply revelatory is going to happen. Dont ignore him. Biblical Commentary Where others failed, Jesus prevails. Bring your son here (v. 41). 38Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. Listen to him! There is a sermon in these words. They are not really tracking all of what Jesus is saying, and so when Jesus speaks openly about his impending death, the disciples sometimes say nothing at all (note what happens after Luke 9:27: we fast-forward 8 whole days with no reported reactions whatsoever of the disciples to what Jesus had said). The ASV, which is also in the public domain due to expired copyrights, was a very good translation, but included many archaic words (hast, shineth, etc. WebLuke 9:28-36 The Radiance of God Dr. Philip W. McLarty The scripture lessons from the Old and New Testaments this morning are like bookends. That exodus can only happen in accord with what Jesus himself had predicted when he said, just prior to this story, that he must suffer, be killed, and be raised on the third day (9:22). This passage in Hebrews is startling to me. At this Transfiguration, God confirms that the new Moses-like prophet is Jesus, saying, This is my beloved Son. Insights on preaching and sermon ideas, straight to your inbox. Click here for more information. Herod said, John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things? He sought to see him (vv. And that brings us to our fourth possible reason for the Transfiguration: To me its hard to imagine seeing these two ancient biblical heroes from centuries past. One example: Moses on Mt. 28. an eight days after these sayingsincluding the day on which this was spoken and that of the Transfiguration. Your ministry keeps me up to date. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1952), Green, Joel B., The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997), Hendriksen, William, New Testament Commentary: Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1978), Nickle, Keith F., Preaching the Gospel of Luke (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000), Nolland, John, Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 9:2118:34, Vol. Its still there today in the church if only we dont just sleep through it. Probably, he just wants to do something. The contrast between the mountaintop and the base of the mountain could not be sharper. There the new exodus takes place, the new event of redemption for all the world. Deuteronomy 18:15 ESV The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothersit is to him you shall listen. Its not what I expected to hear the Father say! To me, it matches the magnitude of the stories of Christs birth (which weve looked at in the past couple of weeks) and the resurrection. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. The way Luke frames it, the whole dazzling event ends up being kind of sweet in its own way, as though the Fathersensing the apprehension of the Sonsent down some reinforcements to buck him up and help him make it across the finish line. The disciples are terrified because they understand the cloud as the presence of God. Its easy to find a time-lapse video of this strange looking caterpillar forming a chrysalis, and then a couple weeks later opening up to display this butterfly. Test of true discipleship (Matthew 16:24-28; Mark 8:34-1; Luke 9:23-27) Immediately after telling his disciples of his coming suffering and death, Jesus told them they had to be prepared for similar treatment. From some frightening experience, we said or did something and we later wondered, Why did I do that?. While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently (v. 42a). Or perhaps he was thinking about Gods coming kingdom as displayed in the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles, or the Feast of Tents., But the text here and in Marks parallel account seems that even Peter didnt know. That scene ends with Jesus teaching on the coming glory of Gods kingdom to be experienced by the disciples (9:26-27). God the Fathers words point us back to an OT prophecy of the coming Messiah. Not for nothing are they called Mountaintop Experiences! Plus, weve got this little voice deep down inside of us that keeps telling us how important we are and how the world might fall apart if we werent here to keep it running smoothly. "It never entered thy thoughts to pay me the homageand yet I had helped thee, too, a littleof pouring oil on my head"; "but she hath anointed, not my head, she shrank, poor soul! See Gill on Matthew 17:1. They will argue about which one of them is the greatest (9:46-48). This future glory of Christ when he comes again to earth soon is displayed for a short time on this mountaintop experience. With a thirst to know God. Delivered Weekly! But he will rise. They told no one of this astonishing moment. This is at the heart of our Christian faith. from doing this; but my feet. I have been retired for 3 years but still preach nearly every week. We do not want to face him without having our sins paid for by him. Now he selects an inner circle of disciples to go with him, thus signaling the importance of the journey up the mountain. The father is desperate, but has not given up. Nothing has worked. 19-20). 29As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling. That word, TRANSFIGURED, is obviously why we call this the Transfiguration. The saying of Peter would then mean that, since the messianic age is here, the group should camp out permanently on the mountain. Jesus answers that in the next verse. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was galtered, and hhis clothing became dazzling white. A beautiful, delicate butterfly. In the Gospels, he is bold and outspoken. Moses and Elijah. When I was out in Odessa, we decided to call an associate pastor. If the moment wasnt already astonishing, now two great men of God from centuries before appear with Jesus, right in front of the 3 disciples. Jesus reproach says that the disciples failure is due to their own faithlessness and perversityimplying lack of faith. When he came down, having been in the presence of God, his face shown so brightly that the people of Israel had to cover their eyes. Ive seen the Lord! The cloud was gone, Moses and Elijah vanished, and Jesus was left alone with his disciples. A cloud covered the mountaintop, and from the cloud came a voice saying, This is my beloved Son. When Moses asked to see Gods glory, God replied, You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live (Exodus 33:20)but God continued, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. To see Gods glory provokes an intense response. Why should they have problems with this demon? But other times he swings at the pitch, completely whiffs, and strikes out. Later, at Jesus ascension, a cloud will take Jesus out of their sight (Acts 1:9also written by Luke). And it also testifies to us of what Jesus Christ will do soon when he returns. We dont die and then simply vanish. The scripture lessons from the Old and New Testaments this morning are like bookends. Commentary on Exodus 34:29-35. Web9:28-36 Christ's transfiguration was a specimen of that glory in which he will come to judge the world; and was an encouragement to his disciples to suffer for him. In parallel accounts of this we are told that Jesus tells them to keep it under wraps but not here: they just dont say anything. I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldnt (v. 40). Being exposed to the glory of God is an awesome and even terrifying experience. Luke 9:28-36 Commentary. God is not our Cosmic Buddy to whom we give the Bro handshake and hug. There is something so glorious about God and his kingdom that we will melt when confronted with it. His face was altered. What do we do with this? 28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 1-6. People seek inner peace, and they try all kinds of things to achieve it anything that will promise much, but demand little. Third, how can it be, following on one of the most dazzling visual spectacles that ever took place on this planet, that the bottom line from God the Father is Listen to him. Listen? But that is horrible, and now for at least a moment it appears that all that can be bypassed. The story begins. Its not easy to do. Jesus has just announced to the disciples that he must (Greek: deiimplying the will of God) suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up (v. 22). Exodus 34:29-35. As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling (v. 29). As the "sayings" so definitely connected with the transfiguration scene are those announcing His deathat which Peter and all the Twelve were so startled and scandalizedso this scene was designed to show to the eyes as well as the heart how glorious that death was in the view of Heaven. WebLuke 9:28-36 This passage is traditionally know as the Transfiguration, from the Greek term used by both Mark and Matthew to describe what happened to Jesus ( metemorphotha, Mk 9:2-8, Mt 17:1-8). This passage is traditionally know as the Transfiguration, from the Greek term used by both Mark and Matthew to describe what happened to Jesus (metemorphotha, Mk 9:2-8, Mt 17:1-8).Since this term as adopted into English often carries connotations of a permanent and radical alteration, as in the His disciples, Peter, James and John, were privileged to see Christs glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (9:28-36). In the Protestant lectionary, Transfiguration Sunday stands at the juncture between Epiphany and Lent, and as such, offers a glimpse forward to the Easter Season and the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. Since this part of my sermon commentary is about Questions, Ill just ask a few of the ones that come to my mind in this startlingly odd passage. Having both of them appear on the Mount of Transfiguration seems to be a neat way of coalescing the whole Old Testament into Jesus ministry. The Greek term translated as departure is exodus (exodus in English). Luke, the first-century physician, describes the problem as demon-possession. It took me a while to pick up on his pattern, and when I did, I asked his wife what was going on. The Transfiguration of Our Lord is a day that gives those at worship a glimpse of the coming future glory of Christ on Easter. The disciples will neither listen well nor carry out their tasks faithfullyuntil after the resurrection. This is simply the contrast of the smallness of our humanity before the might and power and glory of Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth. The Jewish people expect Moses and Elijah to return to usher in the messianic era. Copyright 2007, Philip McLarty. At the base of the mountain, they find themselves confronted by a great crowd and a distraught father who pleads for his son, who is possessed by a demon. The word glory is used in the Bible to speak of various wonderful thingsbut it is used especially to speak of Gods gloryan aura associated with Gods appearance that reveals Gods majesty to humans. Jewish people expect Moses and Elijah to return to usher in the fall each year at the and. One in those days any of the harvest ( Luke 24:26 ; see also Philippians 2:5-11.... Give the Bro handshake and hug to hear the Father say who is this, about whom I such! Were sleepy 43they were all astonished at the majesty of God Dr. Philip W. McLarty scripture! 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