Sermon Audio: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ministrybymail

Dear fellow sinners who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and through faith are now glorious in the sight of God the Father, grace and peace be with you in the name of the Triune God!

My family enjoys watching the Olympics—whether it be the summer events such as swimming and track, or the winter events like skating or snowboard cross. However, after the closing ceremony of each Olympics, we inevitably have the same conversation. The children want to know when we can watch the Olympics again and we explain that it will be another four years before we can watch those events.

Whether or not you enjoy watching the Olympics, you know the excitement of the games. Every four years, athletes compete at a very high level for a chance to win a gold medal. For those who achieve that gold medal, they have their glorious moment in the spotlight. They are called the best in the entire world in their sport. But soon the glory fades. The Olympic flame is extinguished and the games come to an end for another four years. Current gold medal winners will age and be unable to continue to compete at such a high level in the future. Another athlete will eventually replace them as a gold medalist in their sport.

Today you are invited to look in on an event more glorious and more momentous than any Olympic game. We are invited to see the glory that was Jesus’ from eternity on the Mount of Transfiguration. As we see this glorious sight, we are invited to listen in on a heavenly conversation. Listen to Luke’s record of those events in Luke, chapter 9, verses 28 through 36:

²⁸Now about eight days after these sayings [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³²Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. ³⁴As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” ³⁶And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

So far the Word of God.

The day started pretty normally. A walk up a mountain; Jesus praying; Peter, John and James tired and sleeping. That day, Jesus looked as He always had - as an average Jewish man in His early thirties. But all that changed in a moment. Luke writes that as Jesus prayed, He began to shine with glory. His face shone like the sun and even His clothing began to radiate with glory. This is the glory that Jesus as the Son of God ALWAYS had. Yet, as He came to be our Savior, He laid this amazing glory aside and took on the form of a lowly servant.

And then two men from heaven appeared with Jesus- Moses and Elijah. Moses was the man God chose to lead His people from slavery in Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. Moses gave the Law of God to God’s people. Elijah was the mouthpiece of God during the very wicked reign of King Ahab and Jezebel. Elijah was taken directly to heaven without dying.

And what is it, do you suppose, these heavenly visitors talked about with Jesus? Not about politics or sports. Not about finances or social issues. Instead, they used this glorious moment on the mountain to speak of something of eternal importance. Take a look at verse 31: they “spoke of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” These two visitors of heaven were talking about Jesus’ suffering and death that He would endure at Jerusalem! They were talking about Lent and Good Friday.

This shouldn’t surprise us. What else would these heavenly visitors talk about than the one event that mattered above all others. Think of how important this was to Moses. His disobedience kept him out of the Promised Land of Canaan, but since Christ was faithful unto death, Moses could enter the Promised Land of heaven. Or how about doubting and pouting Elijah? Jesus’ sacrificial death allowed Elijah to go right to heaven from earth, without dying. They wanted to talk about Jesus’ suffering and death, because that is where His glory is truly seen.

Another reason this shouldn’t surprise us is that the death of Jesus in Jerusalem is the focus of all Scripture and of all eternity. It is the thing that “angels desire to look into.” (1 Peter 1:21) It was the one event that all of eternity hinged on for every single sinner. The suffering and death of Jesus meant that all sins of all time would be forgiven and heaven would be opened. If Jesus failed in His mission, no one would be forgiven and no one would go to heaven. What else would saints from heaven talk about with their Savior but what He was about to do for them!

While these holy saints are talking about heavenly matters, Peter wants to talk about something else. Verse 33, “And as the men were parting from Him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah’ - not knowing what he said.” Like seeing your favorite athlete receiving a gold medal, Peter doesn’t want this moment to end. He wants to build three tents for each of these glorious men so that this glorious moment can continue.

This isn’t the first time Peter showed his ignorance about the glorious work of Jesus on the cross. Eight days earlier, Jesus was talking about this very thing - that He would suffer many things and be rejected and killed, and rise on the third day. In other words, Jesus was telling His disciples the very things Moses and Elijah were talking about.

On that day, Peter gave his satanic reply, rebuking Jesus for saying such things would happen to Him. While a glorified Moses and Elijah wanted nothing more than to talk about Jesus’ suffering in Jerusalem, Peter did not want to hear about it.

But let’s not be too hard on Peter, though. Are we all that different? Don’t we want the glory on the mountain top and not the cross that lies below? When great moments of glory come, we too want to build tents and make them last, rather than coming down and serving the Lord in the hard reality of our daily lives.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, we get a glimpse of the glory to come. The glory which Jesus earned for each one of you by shedding His blood on the cross and dying as a sacrifice for your sin. That glory is laid up for every single believer in Christ.

But remember something else Jesus said eight days before the glorious events of our text. “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23) Now is not the glory. Now is the cross. A cross of denying our own sinful impulses and following Jesus. A cross which, like Moses and Elijah had to bear in their day, may also involve rejection, suffering, and persecution as you seek to be faithful to your Lord. Rather than joining in Peter’s confusion, let our conversation be heavenly, focused on Jesus’ departure even as we take up our cross and follow Him!

The Epiphany season began with the baptism of Jesus. At that His baptism, God the Father said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” At His baptism Jesus was revealed, or “epiphanized,” if you will, as the Son of God. The Father spoke His loving approval to His Son as He began His three-year ministry.

Now, at the close of the Epiphany season, as a sort of bookend, we hear the voice of God the Father speaking once again. But this time the Father is speaking to Peter, John, and James. The Father is speaking to us! He says, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”

Jesus really is the Son of God. Jesus really is the Father’s Chosen One. The Son was chosen from eternity to be your substitute. He was chosen to be your holiness, your righteousness. He was chosen to bear your sins and suffer your punishment on the cross - the very thing Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about.

And what does this voice from heaven say to us? “Listen to Him.” There are so many voices out there clamoring for our attention, calling for us to listen to them. There is the confused babble of Peter wanting to hold on to the fading glory of this world. There is the confused babble we hear in the media, on the internet, on Facebook, and on YouTube. There is the confused babble of voices of reality stars and movie stars, and voices of politicians who want your vote and think they know what is best for you.

When you are confused like Peter, hear again what the Voice from heaven says to you: “Listen to HIM!” Listen to Jesus. Listen to Him as He calls to you from His Word. Rather than being worried and troubled about many things like Martha was, choose the good part that will never be taken from you and sit at Jesus’ feet to listen to Him. Mute the many voices of the world screaming for you to listen to them, and abide in the Word of Jesus as His disciple. Listening to Him, you will know the truth and the truth will make you free! Listening to Jesus in His Word, He will correct you when you are on the wrong path, strengthen you as you take up your cross to follow Him, and comfort you as you suffer in this world of sin. Listen to Him!

As our text closes, we hear these striking words, “when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.” Jesus was found alone. And so it must be. Jesus alone would come down from this glorious mount to suffer for the sins of the world. As we come down from this mount of glory and enter the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, may our conversations be just as heavenly as we talk about the lengths Jesus went to save us. And may we heed the voice of our heavenly Father and listen to His Son, His Chosen One - our glorious Savior Jesus Christ. AMEN.

—Pastor Nathan Pfeiffer

Berea Ev. Lutheran Church
Inver Grove Heights, MN

---

Ministry by Mail is a weekly publication of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. Subscription and staff information may be found online at www.clclutheran.org/ministrybymail.

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.