Category: Transfiguration

God Reveals the Invisible Truth

2/12/2025

Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-9
Pastor James Preus
February 9, 2025

Jesus did not want the news of His transfiguration to be known until after His resurrection. But after His resurrection, He wanted a trustworthy account to be given of it. So, He did not take all twelve of His disciples up the very high mountain where He was transfigured, but He took three: Peter, James, and John. Why did Jesus take three disciples? Because in Deuteronomy 19, God commanded, “Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” (vs. 15) Peter, James, and John provide sufficient witness to establish the truth of what they saw.
When Jesus and His three witnesses reached the top of the mountain, Jesus was transfigured before them, shining white as light with divine glory. And Moses and Elijah were speaking with Jesus. Moses and Elijah are two witnesses from the Old Testament. Peter, James, and John are three witnesses from the New Testament. So, at Jesus’ transfiguration we learn something about the Bible. The Bible, humanly speaking, is a trustworthy book. Unlike other so-called holy books, the Bible stands up to the scrutiny of the test of truth. Mohammad was the only author of the Koran. No one else heard Allah or the angel speak to him. Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon and other Mormon scriptures by himself. No one else saw the alleged golden tablets. But the Bible was written by forty authors over 1,500 years, with countless human witnesses to the events recorded.
The Bible is a human book. And as human books go, it is trustworthy. However, the Bible is not only a human book. The Bible is a divine book. St. Peter reminds us that no prophecy of Scripture was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The words of the Bible are not simply man’s words, but they are the very words of God. The Bible is God’s book.
So, when God the Father interrupted Peter and said, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.” He was declaring that all of Scripture is about Jesus (John 5:39) and that Scripture is Jesus’ Word. Listen to Jesus! How do we do that now? Jesus is in heaven? We listen to His Word from Holy Scripture. The Bible is about Jesus. And the Bible is Jesus’ Word. It is how He speaks to us today.
As the Bible is a human book with dozens of human authors, yet also a divine book with one Author, so Christ Jesus is a human and divine person. And as the Bible does not carry the faults of other human books, which are untrustworthy, filled with mistakes and even lies, but is fully trustworthy and true, profitable for salvation and training in righteousness, so also Christ while being fully human, does not carry with His humanity the faults of mankind. He is completely sinless and blameless. Yet, as the Bible hides under the disguise of humility in ordinary paper and ink, so Christ hides His divinity under the disguise of lowliness. Yet, as the Bible remains God’s holy Word even under such lowly disguise, so Christ remains God even when divine light is not emitting from His face.
Jesus did not become God on the mountain of transfiguration. And He didn’t stop being God when the light was hidden again and He walked down the mountain in His former appearance. Jesus was God as He lay as a baby in the manger. And Jesus was God as He hung on the cross. The miracle on the mountain was not that Jesus shone with brilliant light. The miracle was that Peter, James, and John did not die when they saw it. Rather, it is a miracle when Jesus hides that light under humility.
Peter wanted to keep Jesus there in his heavenly splendor, but God said, no. Had Peter been listening to Jesus, He would have known that. Immediately before climbing that mountain, Christ told Peter and the other disciples that He was about to go to Jerusalem to suffer from the elders and chief priests and scribes, to die, and to rise on the third day. And immediately after His transfiguration, Jesus instructed His disciples to tell no one the vision until after He was raised from the dead. It is not enough for our salvation that God has become man, which Jesus shows indisputably to Peter, James, and John in His transfiguration. Christ must also pay our debt of sin and suffer and die for us on the cross. While Jesus is a perfect human, with no faults of His own, He must bear the faults of sinful man to save us from hell. The children of Israel were afraid to even look at Moses’ face at it reflected the glory of God. Yet, God would not even show Moses His face, lest Moses died, but only His back. How much less could we bare to see our Lord’s uncovered face full of majesty and glory while still in our sin!
So, Christ must go to the cross. He must hide His glory, so that we may see His glory. He must show His glory by showing us God’s greatest love by suffering and dying for our sins, so that we may know the meaning of His divine light. The same Jesus, whose face shone brighter than the sun, is He who was nailed to the cross, whose face was covered in blood. He did this so that we would not only be able to see His shining face without fear when He returns to judge the living and the dead, but so that our faces too may reflect His glorious light for all eternity (Matthew 13:43). Yet, if Christ does not take our sins away, the light of His face brings only judgment and death to us.
And so, since Christ did not refuse to humble Himself for our sake, so that we might be saved from eternal hell on account of our sins, so we should not refuse to receive Christ in humility. As we could not bear to receive Christ in His divine glory unless He first took our sins from us, so we cannot bear to hear God’s voice in its majestic glory unless first our sins are cleansed through faith. Faith is the instrument through which we receive forgiveness of sins. And faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Yet, sinners cannot bear to hear God’s voice without fainting in fear. And so, God reveals His voice to us through the medium of Scripture and the Sacraments.
The Old Testament records both Moses and Elijah going up on Mount Sinai to talk to God. God hid them both in the cleft of a rock, so that they would not be killed by His majestic glory (Exodus 33:20-22; 1 Kings 19:9ff). They met with God, who exists outside of space and time, so that the future and the past are the same to Him. Moses came down the mountain with His face shining like the sun, reflecting God’s glory. Could He have seen Christ’s transfigured face from 1500 years later? Elijah went up the same mountain and heard God’s voice in a low whisper. Does Isaiah not prophesy of Christ that He will not cry aloud or lift up His voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burned wick He will not quench (Isaiah 42:2-3)?
The point is, the Word of God is eternal. Yet, in a Book written in history, we have the timeless Word of God. Moses and Elijah could not hear it without hiding behind a rock. Yet, we have it written clearly in the pages of the Bible. In the Bible, we encounter the Holy God, who makes His eternal will plainly known to us. The Psalmist confesses, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:34) God didn’t cause His Word to be written to hide its meaning, but to speak to us in a way that we could receive Him, so that we might receive Him in faith.
The Bible looks like any other book. Yet, that does not mean it is like any other book. Just as Jesus looked like any other man coming down that mountain, and later carrying His cross, yet, He remained the same God-man who emitted pure divine glory on the mountain and who will do so again when He returns on the clouds. So also, the Bible looks ordinary, yet it is God’s eternal Word. We don’t see the divine light shine forth from it, but it is still there. Likewise, we see ordinary water, yet it is a divine washing of the Holy Spirit with Jesus’ blood, which clothes the baptized in Christ’s righteousness. And it’s an ordinary voice of an ordinary man, who proclaims the Gospel to you, but as St. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, “when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” So, you have the promise from Holy Scripture, that the Word of God preached to you works in you with divine power. The Lord’s Supper looks like ordinary bread and wine, yet it is the crucified and risen body and blood of Christ Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God’s power, the same body, which shines like the sun.
We do not see this light shining from the Sacraments or the pages of the Bible, nor do we hear the earth shake at the voice of the preacher, yet God promises that these are His words and His works. The Scriptures and the Sacraments are divine, because they are God’s Word and sacraments. And so, they have power to create faith in your hearts, to forgive your sins, to strengthen your spirit against the attacks of Satan, yes, to give Christ Jesus your God and Lord to you.
God’s divine light in God’s Word and Sacraments is hidden from our human eyes. Only through faith do we recognize it. Yet, faith is not pretending. Faith is believing what is truly there, yet unseen. Jesus’ transfiguration reveals the truth we cannot see with human eyes yet. But it is the truth. Christ Jesus is God’s own Son. Remember that as you see Him in humility strive with Satan and win and suffer for your sins on the cross. That is God winning salvation for you, putting His divinity against your sin. Remember that when you hear His Word and receive His Sacrament. Were He to remove the humble disguise, you would die in fear. Yet, He gives them to you in humble disguise, so that in faith you might receive God’s power of salvation (Romans 1:16-17). What human eyes see as ordinary before us; God sees as the light of His Son. May our eyes of faith recognize it as well, that we may be prepared to receive Him when He again reveals His glory to us. Amen.

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Transfiguration Sunday

1/29/2023

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"The Transfiguration of Christ," Carl Bloch, 1800s, Public Domain.

Matthew 17:1-9
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
January 29, 2023

When we consider the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, that magnificent moment when His divine nature was not hidden and His three closest disciples witnessed Him in all His splendor as He spoke with Moses and Elijah, and God the Father declared Him to be His beloved Son, we can learn three main lessons.

The first lesson is taught by St. Peter, one of the eye witnesses of the transfiguration. St. Peter teaches us that the Bible is the very Word of God. He says, “And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention to as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19) This should remind you of Psalm 119:105, where David says to God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Holy Scriptures are the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God. It doesn’t simply contain the Word of God. It is not some men’s opinion about God’s Word. St. Peter tells us that the Holy Scriptures are God’s Word. What the Bible says is what God says.

Yet, how does St. Peter conclude that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God from the Transfiguration of Christ? When Jesus was transfigured, Moses and Elijah spoke to Him. Moses is the author of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch. Elijah represents the other prophets, who wrote the rest of the Old Testament. Peter, James, and John are the three Apostles, who witnessed the transfiguration. They represent the authors of the New Testament. These two and three witnesses from the Old and New Testaments represent the entire Bible, which bears witness of Christ. This is why St. Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that the household of God is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, because the prophetic and apostolic books of the Bible are God’s Word.

The Holy Scriptures are not God’s Word simply because they were written by Prophets and Apostles. No human being can make his own writing God’s Word. The Holy Scriptures are God’s Word, because God caused them to be written. St. Peter continues, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Moses spoke God’s Word. So did Elijah. And so did the Apostles. Their writings are not their own; they are the words of our God!

God the Father commanded Peter, James, and John to listen to Jesus. That command is directed at us as well. Yet, we can’t listen to Jesus’ voice as these Apostles did as they walked down the mountain. So, we listen to Jesus by paying attention to Holy Scripture like a light shining in our path, until Christ appears in His glory. Jesus Himself says, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39)

This means that pastors are not at liberty to preach whatever they want, but are bound to proclaim what Scripture teaches. And Christians are not at liberty to ignore God’s Word and pick and choose what they want to believe from it. Your opinions about God do not make the truth. God’s Word is truth. Holy Scripture tells us who our God is and what He says. Therefore, we should pay attention to it.

The second lesson we learn from the transfiguration is that Jesus is true God and true man. The description of Jesus’ transfiguration certainly sounds divine! His face shone like the sun! His clothes became white as light! Yet, if anyone is still left in doubt, we have the authoritative voice of God the Father declare, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” There can be no doubt in anyone’s mind. Jesus is God, the eternal Son of God the Father.

Yet, both before and after the transfiguration, Jesus speaks to His disciples about His humiliating suffering, death, and resurrection. Now, this is strange. On the mountain we see Jesus’ shining gloriously with divine light. His divinity is proclaimed by God the Father Himself. Yet, when Jesus speaks to His disciples, He tells them of His suffering and death.

And here is an important lesson for us all. Jesus did not change when He went up on that mountain. He didn’t become God’s Son on that mountain, nor did He begin to please God there or cease to be God or to please His Father when He left. Rather, on that mountain Jesus revealed to His disciples what had been hidden in His humiliation.

This means that when Jesus is spit upon by scoffers, blindfolded, punched, and blasphemed; when He is scourged until the skin rips off His back; when the crown of thorns is pressed into His scalp, so that the blood runs into His eyes; when the nails pierce through His hands and feet, and He hangs dying on the cross; when He fulfills what His disciples recoiled at, Jesus remained the same Son of God as He was on that holy mountain. Everything Jesus does from the womb to the tomb and up to the Father’s right hand, He does as both God and man!

What’s more, the words the Father declared about Jesus remained true. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased!” How is it that God is well pleased with Jesus, yet Jesus suffers such an ignoble death? If God is well please with His Son, why does His Son suffer and die? He doesn’t suffer and die for His own sake! He doesn’t suffer and die for His own sins! He suffers and dies for the sins of another. “Although He had done no violence and there was no deceit in His mouth, it was the will of the LORD to crush Him” (Isaiah 53:9-10) “The LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)

This gives us great confidence in our salvation for several reasons. First, someone else has been punished in our place for our sins, and God has accepted this payment to our credit. Jesus did not die for His own sins. The Father is pleased with Him. Yet, He carries the sins of the whole world and dies for them. Second, this Someone who is punished in our place is God! This means that His death is a sufficient price to pay for the sins of the whole world.

For this reason, our Lutheran Confessions write in the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, article IV, “In the first place, it is certain that we receive remission of sins, neither through our love nor for the sake of our love, but for Christ’s sake, by faith alone. Faith alone, which looks upon the promise, and knows that for this reason it must be regarded as certain that God forgives, because Christ has not died in vain, etc., overcome the terrors of sin and death. If anyone doubts whether sins are remitted him, he dishonors Christ, since he judges that his sin is greater or more efficacious than the death and promise of Christ; although Paul says in Rom. 5:20: Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

That is to say that Christ’s mercy is more powerful, richer, and stronger than our sin! To claim that Christ’s death has not taken away your sins or that you must earn God’s grace, is to say that your sin is greater than God Himself, which is blasphemy. Jesus is God. Everything He does, He does as God and man. He is God on the cross as He pays for your sins. To doubt the forgiveness Jesus declares to you is to blaspheme Christ and deny that He is God.

Finally, we learn from Jesus’ transfiguration that we cannot see God’s glory without the cross. Peter blabbered to Jesus about building tents. Peter didn’t even know what he was saying. All we can tell is that he wanted to hold onto the moment. But that wasn’t the point of this vision. Jesus must leave the mountain of transfiguration and go Mount Calvary to die His humiliating death for our sins. Jesus knows the effect this will have on His disciples. Jesus also said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) Peter and the other apostles would follow in Jesus’ bloody train. They needed encouragement. They needed a boost. And so do we.

Jesus is transfigured to show us who He really is as He suffers on the cross and His form becomes so marred beyond human semblance (Isaiah 52:14). Yet, we cannot reach that glory unless Jesus goes to the cross. If Jesus does not go to the cross to die for our sins, then we are forever like the children of Israel, hiding from Moses’ shining face. But since Jesus has gone to the cross, we have certainty of our salvation.

Yet, we don’t look at Jesus’ suffering in ignorance. We don’t even look at our own suffering in ignorance. It is as St. Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” In Christ’s transfiguration, we see the truth that is hidden by the outer shell of this world. As Jesus bore the form of our sinful flesh, while remaining sinless Himself, yet shed that form forever and now lives in His transfigured form forever, so we have the hope that we will share in His glory. As Jesus took on our sin and died for it, so He gives us His glory, that we may live in it forever!

We’re approaching the Lenten season, as we focus on the suffering and death of Christ and the mortification of our own flesh, that is, as we focus on repentance. Transfiguration gives us a view of reality. Christ’s suffering is over. He has done away with our sins. And our journey’s end is not in the grave, but with Christ in splendor. This is the true message of Holy Scripture, which is God’s very Word. And God does not lie. Amen.

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Transfiguration of our Lord

2/7/2022

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The Transfiguration, James Tissot, 1886-94. Public Domain.

Matthew 17:1-9
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
February 6, 2022

In the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy chapter 19, God commanded through Moses that no charge should be established except by the evidence of two or three witnesses. No charge was permitted on the evidence of one witness. And this standard not only ruled the nation of Israel, but has been the standard for jurisprudence in the western world for millennia. God has given this standard for two significant reasons. First, because none of us is God. That means that none of us is omniscient or omnipresent. There are things that happen that we do not know about, because we were not there to witness them. So, a single witness cannot suffice to establish something as true. Just because one person said something should not convince anyone. This is why it is so evil to repeat or believe gossip. To repeat and believe gossip is to usurp God’s authority as Judge and Knower-of-all-things. And it is almost always for the purpose of harming your neighbor’s reputation, which you should instead seek to defend.

Second, the standard of two and three witnesses confesses the Holy Trinity. Our Lord Jesus says in John chapter 8, “In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” (vss. 17-18) It is not enough to have multiple witnesses. The witnesses must agree. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three witnesses in perfect agreement. They are one God and have one will. Having multiple witnesses agree not only gives assurance that what they say is true, but they mimic the very source of all truth, the Triune God.

So, Jesus brings three men up to a high mountain, Peter, James, and John. And these three witnesses see Jesus transfigured before them. And with Jesus appears two more men, Moses and Elijah. Moses and Elijah represent the Old Testament. Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. Elijah, a great prophet, represents the writings of the other prophets. Peter, James, and John represent the New Testament. These two witnesses from the Old Testament and these three witnesses from the New Testament bear witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

The Bible has around forty human authors, who wrote over a span of about 1,500 years. These human authors are eye witnesses to the mighty works of God. St. John writes in the last chapter of his Gospel, “This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 21:24) And again, St. John opens his first epistle with the words, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it…” St. Peter declared, “We didn’t follow cleverly devised myths … but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). And Holy Scripture records the eye witness accounts of many other witnesses besides the authors of Scripture (Luke 1:2), so that in the Old and New Testament, we have a body of witnesses above scrutiny. The Bible surpasses the standard given by the Law to establish a truth. There are not two or three Evangelists, but four Evangelists, who record a unified account of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. The Old Testament is the most reliable historical book in all of antiquity. When people, trying to sound studious, ask, “What other sources do we have for such and such event besides the Bible?”, what they are asking is, “What other sources do we have for such and such event besides the most reliable record on earth.

And yet, the Bible is not simply a human book, not even the best of all human books. Greater than the forty authors with their many witnesses therein, is the one great Author who has caused all scripture to be written. St. Peter writes, “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21) All Scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). It is not only that we have dozens of authors writing the testimony of hundreds and even thousands of eye witnesses, which all agree, but these authors did not write their own interpretation of events, but they wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The Bible is God’s book. It declares God’s Word. It is not only the testimony of many men, but it is the testimony of the Holy Trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

And this too we see in Jesus’ transfiguration. Not only do we have the two and three witnesses of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament Apostles, we have the unanimous testimony of God. Jesus’ face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as light, proving him to be the Son of God. The bright cloud overshadows them, showing that the same Holy Spirit who descended on Jesus at his Baptism by water descends here as well. And God the Father speaks out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

On this holy mountain we have the three witnesses of the Holy Scriptures: the prophets, the apostles, and the three Persons of the Holy Trinity Himself testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. On this mountain we see the authority of the Holy Scriptures and their purpose. This is why St. Paul said that the household of God, which is the Church, is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). The Holy Scriptures authored by the holy prophets and apostles as they were carried along by God himself, is the one reliable testimony of the truth. When you hear the words of the Bible, you hear God’s Word. When you hear the words of the Bible, you hear Jesus’ Word. This is why Jesus himself says, “Scripture cannot be broken,” (John 10:35).

Yet, it is not enough to believe and know that the Holy Scriptures are God’s own word, trustworthy and sure. What must we do with this knowledge that the Bible is the Word of God? We should listen to it! When St. Peter teaches us that the Holy Scriptures are God’s own word, he teaches us to pay attention to them “as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” That Morning Star is Christ. When St. Paul teaches us that Scripture is God’s own word, he tells us that it is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Scripture is not meant to be a closed book. It doesn’t do you any good sitting unopened on a shelf, just as the preaching of God’s Word does you no good if you do not come and listen to it.

God the Father interrupted Peter to tell him to listen to Jesus. Peter was talking too much. He didn’t know what he was saying. He was trying to hold on to Jesus’ glory. He wanted to capture it here on earth, but he couldn’t. He did the same thing six days earlier, when he rebuked Jesus for telling them that he would suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and be killed, and on the third day rise. This happened right after Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, for which Jesus commended his faith. But Jesus rebuked Peter for forbidding him to suffer and die. Likewise, the Father rebukes Peter for talking instead of listening. St. Luke tells us that Jesus was talking with Moses and Elijah about his exodus, that is, his departure from this world by way of the cross (Luke 9:31). Peter loved confessing Jesus as the Christ. He was glad to see Jesus’ transfiguration. But he didn’t want to hear about the cross. He wanted to talk about his own ideas. He didn’t want to listen to Jesus the Christ talk about his.

We are like St. Peter. We don’t like to listen. We like to talk. Even those who don’t talk too much, would rather listen to their own thoughts than the Word of God. But the Father speaks to all of us when he says, “Listen to Him!” Our ideas will fade with the grass. The wisdom of this world, which is cringeworthy when compared to the wisdom of God, will certainly pass away. The wisdom of this world does you no good. But Jesus’ Word gives eternal life to all who believe it. And holy Scripture is the word of Jesus.

The mistake Peter made by talking instead of listening, was that he ignored Jesus’ cross in order to focus on worldly things. But we cannot have Jesus without his cross. When Jesus was transfigured, he gave a foretaste of what is promised to all Christians. We shall see Christ as he is. His glory will shine on us, and we will share in it. We will join the hosts of heaven, with all the saints, and we will be with Jesus and share in his joy and holiness forever. Yet, Jesus’ transfiguration was just a foretaste. Peter couldn’t hold on to it by building tents. Jesus needed to go to the cross. And Peter needed to follow the cross.

Unless Jesus suffers and dies for our sins, we cannot see his glory. Unless Jesus pays our debt, we cannot enjoy his splendid presence. We hope to see Jesus in his transfigured glory. But we can only do that if we first listen to Jesus tell us about his cross. We need to learn to repent of our sins and to trust in Jesus, who alone suffered for the sins of the whole world, died, and rose again.

Jesus’ passion for our sins teaches us that we can only be saved through faith in Christ’s death for us. Yet, Jesus’ passion also teaches us that we will bear our own cross in this life. The world hates the words of Jesus. Those who cling to Jesus’ Word will be hated by the world. This is why so many, when they are suffering, will stop listening to Jesus, stop meditating on the Scriptures, and stop going to church. Jesus’ Word gives us a cross to bear for a while. Yet, neglecting God’s Word to avoid the cross is foolish, because it is only through the cross that you can share in Jesus’ glory.

Only the Holy Scriptures are God’s Word. Only preaching according to the Scriptures is trustworthy. The opinions of billions of people do not shine a light on Scripture. Rather, they confuse and lead astray. Following Jesus’ Word is painful for a time. It means that we must repent of our sins and crucify our sinful desires. It means that we might be hated and mocked for believing Christ’s teaching. Yet, this is a light cross to bear when you get Jesus. Jesus takes all our guilt away. He promises us eternal life and a glorious resurrection where we will shine with reflected light from his glorious face. He promises peace and fellowship with the Father. When the disciples lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. That is what we see when we follow Christ’s holy Word. The cross becomes a light burden, an easy yoke. The hatred of the world slinks into the shadows as Christ’s face shines on you; you don’t even notice their hateful words. When you listen to Jesus, walking according to Scripture, then you see no one but Jesus only. And he gives you peace. Amen.

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Truth Established by the Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses

1/25/2021

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James Tissot, The Transfiguration, 1886-94, No Known Copyright Restrictions.

Transfiguration 2021
Matthew 17:1-9
2 Peter 1:16-21
January 24, 2021

St. Peter testifies saying, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). St. John, who also was with Peter on that holy mountain, likewise testifies, “And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14b) And these testimonies are important, because the Law of God makes clear that everything must be established on the basis of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1). And on that holy mountain of transfiguration, we have ample witnesses to establish that the Holy Scriptures are trustworthy and true and that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and Savior of the world.
On the mountain of transfiguration, we see the meeting of the Old and New Testaments. The prophets Moses and Elijah represent the Old Testament. They were two of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. Moses received the Law from God on Mount Sinai, and himself wrote the first five books of the Bible. Elijah, while not writing any of the books of the Bible himself, represents the prophets of the Old Testament who did, as he preached the Word of the LORD against the false prophets of Baal and Asherah, and famously challenged the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, which resulted in the people praising the LORD and killing the false prophets of Baal after God answered Elijah’s prayer and sent fire down from heaven to consume his offering.
Moses and Elijah are two witnesses who testify of Christ. And Christ, by revealing his glory to them, testifies that what they preached is true. All the writings of the Old Testament are trustworthy and sure. Moses, Elijah, and the rest of the prophets of the Old Testament prophesied of Christ, yet, they did not get to see him. Rather, they were guided by the Holy Spirit to write of things they longed to see. But at Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah see what they preached and wrote, God’s only begotten Son in human flesh.
For the Apostles Peter, James, and John, it is the opposite. They have not yet written down anything, but they have seen the Lord Jesus. In fact, even before this transfiguration, St. Peter confessed Jesus to be the Christ the Son of God. And after they witnessed Jesus proved to be the Christ, they then went to write of what they had witnessed. So, here on this mountain, we have two witnesses from the Old Testament and three witnesses from the New Testament, seeing with their eyes and hearing with their ears that Jesus Christ is the Son of God! You can see then why St. Paul declares in Ephesians chapter 2 that the house of God is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the corner stone (vs. 19-20).
Yet, there is more testimony to the trustworthiness of Scripture and to the divinity of Christ than two human witnesses from the Old Testament and three human witnesses from the New Testament. There is yet another witness, that makes these truths even more sure. The witness of the Holy Trinity. In John chapter 8, Jesus says to the Jews, “In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” (vs. 17-18) At Jesus’ transfiguration we see the testimony of God the Father himself, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” We have the testimony of Jesus, the Son. And as we did in Jesus’ Baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, we have the testimony of the Holy Spirit in the bright cloud. Even apart from the two human witnesses of the Old Testament and the three human witnesses of the New Testament, Jesus’ transfiguration fulfills the Law’s requirement of two or three witnesses by giving us the witness of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!
And this again supports the trustworthiness of Scripture. The Bible has over forty human authors spanning around fifteen centuries, yet the Bible has only one Author, the eternal God, the Holy Spirit. St. Peter declares, “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke rom God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21) And so, the Bible is a book like no other book. It has many authors, yet it has one author. It has the testimony of many witnesses, and all these witnesses testify of the truth. It is a human book written in human history, yet it is a heavenly book whose origin is in God himself, so that the Son of God himself is declared to be the Word (John 1:1-3). This means that we must consider the words of Holy Scripture to be nothing else than God’s holy Word.
When God the Father declared Jesus to be his beloved Son from heaven, he then made a command: “Hear him.” “Listen to him.” This is an important command. St. Peter tells Jesus that he has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). St. Paul tells us that saving faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Yet, how can we hear Jesus’ words? From holy Scripture. The Prophets of the Old Testament speak Jesus’ word. The Apostles of the New Testament speak Jesus’ Word. The entire Bible is the Word of Christ. This is why our faith is grounded on Bible as the only rule and norm of our teaching.
So, what is the Holy Bible about; this most unique and profitable book, which claims prophets, apostles, and God himself as its author? It is about Jesus. This is the meaning of the prophets from the Old Testament and the apostles from the New Testament standing before Jesus in his shining glory as the Holy Spirit covers them and God the Father from the cloud declares Jesus to be his Son. The Bible tells us about Jesus and through Jesus we have access to our heavenly Father. This is why Jesus says in John chapter 5, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (vs. 39).
The entire Bible is about Jesus. The purpose for reading the Bible is to learn who Jesus is and what he has done to save you. This is why the Apostle John writes toward the end of his Gospel, “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)
Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. He is the only way to eternal life. St. Peter declares in Acts chapter 4, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (vs. 12) And for this reason, the Holy Bible is the most precious book on earth. In fact, the Word of God is our dearest treasure. The Bible would be the greatest treasure on earth simply for being God’s Word! Yet, not only is it God’s Word, but it declares to the Gospel, which gives eternal life to all who believe.
Shortly after God the Father commanded Peter, James, and John to listen to Jesus, Jesus spoke. What did he say? He told his Apostles not to tell anyone about the vision until after he was raised from the dead. It seems strange that Jesus would tell his Apostles, whom he brought up to that mountain for the purpose of them witnessing his glory, to then tell them not to tell anyone about it! Yet, Jesus does not tell them to remain silent forever, and it is very important why he wants them to wait. Jesus wants the disciples to witness his betrayal, condemnation, crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection first. Why? Because you cannot receive Jesus’ glory without Jesus’ cross.
On the mountain Jesus revealed who he is. He is the Son of Man and he is the Son of God. He shines with the un-reflected light of the Divine. He is true God and true man. Yet, this glory does us sinner no good, unless our sins are taken away. What Jesus wants his disciples to preach is not only his transfiguration, when his divine glory was revealed, but also his crucifixion, when his divine glory was hidden. On the cross, laden with the sins of the world and covered in blood, Jesus was still just as much God’s Son as he was on the Mountain of Transfiguration. And this is exactly what they did. St. Peter told the Jews, “you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.” (Acts 3:15)
Jesus’ glory does us no good while we are sinners. So, Jesus bears our sin and takes them away. Now, Jesus’ glory does us infinite good, because we know who died for us, God’s own Son! This means that our sins are gone. If Jesus, in whom God the Father is well please, bore all your sins on the cross, and God was still so pleased with him to raise him from the dead, then that means that your sins our obliterated. They do not stand a chance against Jesus’ crucifixion. This means that God is immensely and infinitely pleased with you on account of Christ. That is the meaning of Jesus’ transfiguration, crucifixion, and resurrection, which Holy Scripture reveals to you.
A lot of voices have gone out over the world. It seems that we are constantly bombarded with new and conflicting information. What you were taught in school as true when you were a child may very well be considered false or even dangerous today. There are multiple sources of information from television to the internet to books, yet, they do not agree. They are not multiple witnesses, confirming the truth, but rather multiple voices arguing over your mind. And although none of these voices are God’s voice, it has become increasingly obvious that these voices are not simply trying to tell you what is going on in the world, but what you should believe is going on. A war of words is waging over our minds and hearts as well as over the minds and hearts of our children. And it is important to recognize that most of these voices, lie, they do not teach the truth of God’s Word, and they do not reveal your Savior.
Christians are called to be judges, to judge the spirits to see whether they are from God or not (John 7:24; 1 John 4:1). Yet, how are we to judge? How are we to test the voices whether they are true or not? By whether they conflict with God’s Word or agree. In order to do this, you must listen to God’s Word and hear sound preaching grounded on the Scriptures.
The chaotic voices of this world cause us stress and confusion. They divide us and cause people to hate one another. They lead us into sin and doubt. But God’s Word reveals our Savior Jesus. Holy Scripture is in full agreement that Jesus is the Son of God, who has won salvation for us, who is and ever will be pleasing to our Father in heaven. There has been much talk in recent weeks about censorship and freedom of speech and misinformation. And Christians are concerned that they will be silenced and lied to. But we already the true source of the most important information. We have God’s holy Word, the words of eternal life. As long as we have God’s Word, we will be able to protect our minds and hearts and battle misinformation, and much more, we will have Jesus and his Salvation. Amen.

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Listen to Jesus

2/3/2020

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Titian, Transfiguration, 1560, Public Domain. commons.wikimedia.org

Transfiguration 2020
Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36

“28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus 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,[b] 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;[c] 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.” Luke 9:28-36

“Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” They went up on the mountain to pray. What does it mean to pray? To pray is simply to speak to God in faith. You can speak to God anywhere and at any time. Going up on a mountain to pray can certainly be a good idea, because it gets you away from the hubbub and distractions of a busy life. Jesus often went to a desolate place to pray to his heavenly Father in peace and quiet.
And mountains have a particular significance in Scripture when it comes to talking with God, because God often met his people up on mountains. In fact, the two men Jesus spoke with on this mountain, Moses and Elijah, are well known to have met God on a mountain. Moses spoke to God for forty days on Mount Sinai. And when he returned to speak the words of the LORD to the people of Israel, his face shone with the brightness of God’s glory. Elijah met the great power of God on Mount Carmel, when the prophets of Baal prayed all day for their false god to send fire from heaven to burn their sacrifice and when the true LORD God sent fire down to lap up the water and devour Elijah's sacrifice. Elijah also met the LORD up on a mountain when he was hiding from Queen Jezebel. The LORD came to him in a low whisper, and Elijah wrapped his face in his cloak to go talk with God.
And now these two men talk to Jesus on a mountain and it becomes clear that Jesus is not just a man, who has come to talk to God, but Jesus is God himself. Moses shone with a reflective glory, which he hid behind a veil. Elijah in fear and trembling covered his face to shield himself from God’s glare. Yet, Jesus himself shines as the source of divine light. And the testimony of God the Father a second time confirms this with the words, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” These two men, who had already ascended to heaven have descended down to an earthly mountain to speak with their God, who has become man.
Moses and Elijah stand with Jesus as witnesses that Jesus is the true God and Messiah. Moses is the author of the Law, the first five books of the Bible. Elijah represents the prophets. Moses and the Prophets make up the Old Testament. These two prophets stand with Jesus as a testimony that all Scripture points to Jesus. It was Moses who declared that the LORD God would raise up a Prophet like him from the people of Israel, to whom God would give his words, to whom the people of Israel were to listen. (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). That Prophet is Jesus, who was born of the Jews while being the Son of God himself.
And what did these two prophets speak to Jesus about? Did Moses talk about how God used him to divide the Red Sea in two so that the people of Israel could walk across on dry ground? Did Elijah talk about how he called fire down from heaven? No. They spoke of Jesus’ departure, literally, his Exodus. They spoke of how Jesus would be betrayed, crucify, and die for the sins of the world and on the third day rise. This is the central teaching of the Old Testament. This is what Moses taught when he lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so that all who looked at that snake on a pole would not die from the deadly snake bites. This pointed to Jesus, who became a curse for us on the cross. When Elijah preached that the people should turn back to the Lord God and sacrifice only to him, he was teaching that only the LORD God would provide a Savior, who would sacrifice himself for the sins of the world. Moses and all the prophets speak of Jesus’ departure in the Old Testament.
Yet, when Peter joins the conversation, he doesn’t contribute very well. He is stunned by the divine glory shining forth from Jesus. He’s shocked to see these two great prophets visit them from heaven. He wants to capture the moment. So, he proposes to build three booths for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But this is a mistake. So, God the Father interrupts Peter. He says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
You see, Peter wasn’t listening. He wasn’t paying attention to what Jesus was saying with Moses and Elijah. He was too quick to speak himself. And in his speaking, he proposed ignoring what Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were talking about: Christ’s crucifixion for the sins of the world. Peter was ignoring this most important work of Jesus! And in ignoring the cross of Christ, he tries to prevent it! He tries to prevent Jesus’ suffering and death by keeping Jesus’ glory with them on that mountain.
This isn’t the first or the last time Peter tries to prevent Jesus’ passion for our sins. The first time was in Caesarea shortly after Peter confesses Jesus to be the Christ. Jesus tells his disciples that he must suffer and die and on the third day rise from the dead. But Peter rebukes Jesus and tells him this will never happen to him. Jesus then rebukes Peter, calls him Satan, and says that he is not setting his mind on the things of God, but on the things of man. (Matthew 16:21-23) The second time Peter tried to prevent Jesus’ crucifixion was here on this mountain of transfiguration, where he tries to keep Jesus’ glory without the cross. And finally, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter cuts off the ear of the High Priest’s servant Malchus, trying to prevent Jesus from being arrested. All three times, Peter is rebuked by God. All three times, Peter was setting his mind on the things of man and ignoring God’s word.
I don’t tell you this so that you look down on St. Peter or try to make him look like a fool. Rather, I tell you this to teach you how to pray. We’re all Peter. Peter kept setting his mind on the things of men, even while he was talking to God. God taught Peter and us, that if we’re going to talk to God, we need to listen to God.
When we treat prayer as simply an opportunity to talk to God without listening to what he tells us in his word, we end up acting like Peter and telling God what he should do. Our human way of thinking always ignores the cross of Jesus and tries to take away the cross that Christians must bear.
Yet, when we listen to Jesus’ words before, during, and after we pray, we learn how and for what to ask. We learn that our greatest need is the forgiveness of sins, which Christ purchased for us with his dear blood on the cross. We learn that his crucifixion is the greatest work God has ever done for us. We learn that through Jesus’ cross God gives us all that we need, including eternal salvation.
Jesus told Peter that he was setting his mind on the things of man. That is what we all by nature do. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is spirit. We are by nature born of flesh. We don’t think the way God thinks, unless we are born of the Spirit. This means we try to prevent the good that God does in order to do it our own way. We don’t want to hear that our sins need to be atoned for by the blood of Jesus. We don’t want to hear that we need to be saved from our sins. We want to tell God what we need. And we want to make God dwell with us on our terms.
This is what Peter did when he tried to get Jesus in all his divine glory to dwell with him in a tent on the mountain. Yet, Scripture says that Christ dwells in our hearts through faith when God grants his Holy Spirit to strengthen our inner being (Ephesians 3:16-17). And the Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts through the words of Christ (Romans 10:17). In order to have Christ dwell with us now and forever, we need to listen to Jesus’ words. And most especially, we need to focus on his passion for our sins, how he died and rose in order to save us.
Before Jesus took his disciples up on the mountain to pray, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26) It is important also for us to hear these words of Jesus when we pray. We often pray that the crosses we bear in this life would go away. Yet, sometimes God wills for us to keep these crosses here on earth for the sake of our eternal salvation. When we pray to God, we must understand that his goal is for us to inherit eternal life, even if it means that we lose our life here on earth. When we listen to God’s word and recognize what his goal for us is, then we are strengthened to bear our crosses in this life, knowing that we do not bear them alone and that we will obtain a prize in heaven by the merits of Christ.
Many were shocked last Sunday at the death of Kobe Bryant, one of the most famous athletes in all of sports, along with eight other individuals including his 13-year-old daughter in helicopter crash. It is a solemn reminder that death comes to us all, both young and old, rich and poor; no one knows when his soul will be demanded of him. And as tragic this event is for so many people affected, I read one report that gave me some hope. At 7:00 AM last Sunday morning, just a couple hours before they died, Bryant and his daughter attended church and received Communion. They were Catholics. So, there is hope for them, that they were prepared for death having just heard the words of Christ and having prayed to him just hours earlier. And there is a reminder for us. We do not know when we will die. But we do know how to be prepared: by listening to the words of our Lord Jesus, by receiving his body and blood for our forgiveness, by clinging to Christ and his crucifixion in faith.
Jesus’ transfiguration ended. But Peter and all the disciples did see Jesus in his divine glory again. After his resurrection. Yet, that time there was something different. Jesus still bore the marks of the nails in his hands and feet and of the spear in his side. These marks remained to teach us how we can see and share in Jesus’ glory forever; through Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, which took away all our sins and made us right with God. When we pray, we pray in faith for the sake of Jesus’ suffering and death which we hear, and our faith tells us we too will see this Jesus, who was crucified for us. Amen.

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"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

God Reveals the Invisible Truth

Transfiguration Sunday

Transfiguration of our Lord

Truth Established by the Testimony of Two or Three Witnesses

Listen to Jesus

Rev. James Preus

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