And He was Transfigured Before Them
Mark 9: 2-9
The Transfiguration of our Lord
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the Transfiguration of our Lord is the Gospel reading Mark 9. In our reading for today Mark describes the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Our Lord led Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and on that mountain, He revealed to them a glimpse of His Divine glory. As the Lord showed a glimpse of His Divine glory Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. Jesus was standing with Moses and Elijah and He was talking with them. Moses and Elijah are two important servants of God from the Old Testament. Both lived amazing lives.
We all remember the amazing things God did through Moses as he led the people of Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. We remember the burning bush, the ten plagues, the exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, and the Ten Commandments. It was Moses whose face was shinning when he came down from Mount Sinai because he talked with God. Moses did indeed live an amazing life. God did incredible things through the prophet Elijah as well. He was called by God to preach the Word to the people of Israel. During his ministry many fantastic things happened. We remember the prophet being fed by ravens, the widow whose jug of flour and oil never ran out during a famine, the raising of the widow’s son from death to life, and the contest at Mount Carmel where God sent fire to burn the offering on the altar. Our Old Testament reading from 2 Kings records how Elijah handed off his prophetic duties to Elisha. They were standing together when a fiery chariot and horse came out of the sky and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. Elijah lived an incredible life.
Several centuries later both Moses and Elijah stood next to Jesus on Mount Transfiguration. They were with the Lord, and they were talking with Him. Moses and Elijah are incredible men of God who saw and did amazing things. In a way it is hard to relate to Moses and Elijah. Their lives seem so different then our own. Their lives were filled with eye popping miraculous moments of God’s power and glory. Compared to them we live rather uneventful lives. Most of our days are just routine. Oh, we do have those moments when something out of the ordinary happens. But those moments seem to fly by and become a memory only to us. While the big moments in the lives of Moses and Elijah are remembered thousands of years later. Moses and Elijah – incredible. You and me – uneventful.
And yet for all the incredible things that Moses and Elijah did, they are more like you and me than we might realize. When you look behind the miracles that God did through them what we see is that they are actually like us. When Moses was leading the people of Israel during the time that they were wondering the wilderness for forty years, he was often distraught. He often cried out of God because he was so overwhelmed by his responsibilities. When we look closer at Elijah you will see someone who was lonely and afraid. At one time in his life he thought that he was the only person who believed in God. Now that is lonely. Throughout his ministry Queen Jezebel wanted him dead. So Elijah ran away to hide. He experienced fear. Both Moses and Elijah became so despondent that they wanted to die.
Even these two great men of God had their times of weakness. They had their times when they were filled with doubts. Moses had problems controlling his anger and Elijah would at times fall into depression. They were far from perfect. They were sinful people who needed a Savior. Now that I can identify with, and so can you.
Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus at Mount Transfiguration. Moses was the Law giver and Elijah was a prophet. They were there standing next to Jesus to show us that it is the Lord who has fulfilled the Law and the Old Testament prophesies. There is no way that we could ever perfectly obey the Law of God. We do try but we also fail. We fall short of the glory of God. Moses and Elijah could not keep the Law and we can’t either. But Jesus can and did. It is the Lord who lived a perfect life in our place in order to fulfill the Law for us. Elijah and all the prophets spoke of the coming Christ who would bring redemption and salvation to the world. That Savior is Jesus. The Lord went to the cross to atone for all of our sins thus fulfilling the prophecy that He is the Savior of the world.
In our Gospel reading for today Mark tells us that Jesus let Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, what happened next was incredible. Jesus suddenly changed. Dazzling white and radiant, He is transfigured right before the disciple’s eyes. There with Jesus is Moses and Elijah. They are standing next to Jesus, and they are talking with Him. Mark does not tell us what they were talking about, but Luke does in his gospel. They were talking about our Lord’s journey to Jerusalem. They were talking about His death and resurrection. As they were talking a cloud overshadowed them and the voice of God the Father came from the cloud. “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him.”
What we see and hear is that Jesus is the One who is truly amazing. It is the Lord Jesus who is the Son of the living God. It is Jesus who is our Savior. Moses and Elijah spent their life looking to the Lord because they knew that they needed God’s grace. They knew that they needed the Lord’s strength. They spent their life pointing others to the Lord because they knew that the whole world needed Him. On Mount Transfiguration they did not talk about the miraculous things that happened in their life. On Mount Transfiguration they talked about the Lord’s death and resurrection. They knew that they were forgiven and saved by Jesus. It is the same for us. On that cross, Jesus took upon Himself our loneliness, our fears, our anger, our doubts, and all of the things that trouble us. He took upon Himself all of our sins and then He gave to us His righteousness, His goodness, and His grace. He has given us eternal life. It is truly incredible what the Lord has done.
Moses and Elijah are not the only ones who were given an amazing life. It is the Lord Jesus who gives to you an amazing life. It is the Lord who created you, redeemed you, and blesses you. He has given you your vocations. They may appear mundane, but they are not. You are called to confess Christ to your family, honor God in your work, and serve your neighbor in your occupation. You are called to be part of the church community and to support the ministry.
Jesus stood next to Moses and Elijah, and he stands next to you. He is with you every moment of your life. He is with you when you are following your everyday routine. He is there when you work and when you are with your family. He is there when you are excited about something that has happened and when you collapse exhausted in bed at night. Most important He stands with you when you think you are alone and when you are discouraged. He is your rock and fortress and shelter in the time of trouble. He also speaks to you in His Word and invites you to speak to Him in prayer.
Jesus gave His disciples a glimpse of His divine glory and ultimately gave them a glimpse of His resurrection. We now live in the light of the Lord’s resurrection and we look forward to the final resurrection on the last day. At that time we will stand next to Jesus and see Him with our own eyes. At that time we will talk with our Lord face to face for all eternity. Amen.