The Transfiguration of our Lord [c]                         March 3, 2019



 



Luke 9:28-36



28 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now 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. 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. 34 As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!" 36 And 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.



 



In the Name of Jesus.



 



Jesus is on his way to the cross.



 



In short order, he will be handed over to the chief priest for trial. The teachers of the Law will finally have their way.



 



They’ve been listening to him forgiving the sins of the worst sinners possible. They’ve had to sit by and watch as he’s made himself a friend to the undesirables and the unclean. They’ve had to listen to him say such things as, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”



[Luke 6:37 ]



 



And these Pharisees, these teachers of the Law, they knew what Jesus was doing when he said “Judge not and you shall not be judged.” They knew he was emptying them out of their ability to accuse others. They knew he was robbing them of the intimidation and control they had over their neighbors. They knew that at the end of the day, if Jesus had his way, the judging, the secret conversations to accuse, the coercion, it would all be cancelled by the Gospel.



 



So these Pharisees and teachers of the Law, they will make sure that Jesus ends up in the hands of the chief priest, and at the judgment seat of Pontius Pilate. They will make sure that the Law will have its way, and it will be death for Jesus.



 



 



But as he’s on his way to the cross, Jesus takes Peter and John and James with him to the top of a mountain.



 



And on top of the mountain, it is a picture of life. Not of judgement and accusation and death, but of life. Jesus is transfigured, so that Peter and John and James see his face altered and his clothing as dazzling white.



 



Next to Jesus, it’s Moses. But Moses had died some 1,500 years before, his body buried by the hand of God. Yet he now stands alongside Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Moses has a body—a living, breathing, flesh and blood body. For he is speaking with Jesus, and you can’t speak unless you have a mouth and a tongue, and you have lungs to exhale air and vocal cords to form the air into sound waves.



 



It is a testimony to life. Moses, who died some 1,500 years ago, is not dead, but is living at the face of God.



 



And standing there is also Elijah. Elijah whom the Lord had bodily taken up from this Earth in a whirlwind some 900 years before, but now he’s in a conversation with Jesus and Moses.