“Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud. ‘This is my Son whom I love, ‘Listen to him!'” (Mark 9:7)
Who do you listen to? The modern super-connected world hurls a tidal wave of different voices at us day after day, bombarding us with a multitude of news, opinions and stories. How do we choose what to listen to when we are faced with such an enormous selection?
The Transfiguration made the invisible visible
When you first meet someone there is a lot you don’t know about them.
You can quickly see what they look like, but it takes time to really find out what kind of person they are, what they like, whether they are shy or outward going, kind or nasty, what kinds of music they enjoy and so…
We gradually get to know them,
but often there is still a lot about a person that we never really know.
There is a lot about people that remains invisible.
Peter, James and John had been following Jesus for a couple of years.
They were getting to know him and beginning to realise,
that he was quite unlike anyone else.
A really special person.
He spoke and taught with an amazing authority,
he did amazing miracles.
They had even seen him calm storms and raise the dead to life.
They were coming to realise that Jesus was God’s special person,
God’s anointed one, the promised coming king.
They were beginning to see Jesus for who he really was,
but then something happened that revealed even more amazing about Jesus.
There is no record of any other event like it in all the Old Testament or ancient writings. We call it the Transfiguration, and in this moment, they saw something about who Jesus was that they had never seen before.
The transfiguration made the invisible visible.
Jesus took Peter, James and John, his three closest disciples up a mountain.
When this strange event happened.
On this board is an invisible diagram. To help us understand the Transfiguration, we are going to make the invisible visible.
Unveil three aspects of the story by painting over wax covering:
Paint over the Jesus transfigured section.
The word ‘transfigured’ means changed or transformed.
Peter, James and John who had only ever seen Jesus as a man like them, suddenly saw his clothes become dazzling white – whiter than any white they had ever seen before. This was the kind of dazzling white that in the Bible is always associated with God. In the New Testament it is used to describe angels and in one of Daniel’s visions it is used to describe the ancient of days or God.
- Imagine you were there: How would you feel if you suddenly saw someone’s clothes start glowing bright white?
Paint over Moses and Elijah
Then we are told that Moses and Elijah appeared talking with him.
Moses and Elijah were two great men of God from the Old Testament, who had spoken God’s words in powerful ways. In particular they had both gone up to a mountain top to meet with God and listen to his words. Now, here they were on a mountain top, talking not with God, but with Jesus!
- Imagine you were there: How would you feel if you suddenly saw some heroes from the past talking with your friend?
Peter was not sure what to do with this great vision. He offered to build shelters for Jesus, Elijah and Moses, perhaps hoping to keep the vision going or at least to have some control of what was going on. But this experience was only temporary and completely beyond his understanding or comprehension.
Paint over the cloud…
The only response Peter receives is the appearance of a cloud and a voice from the cloud. This is the voice of God and his message is simple:
“This is my Son! Listen to him!!”
God calls Jesus his Son. Jesus is no ordinary man, he is the most important person who has ever lived – the Son of God.
- Imagine you were there: How would you feel if you heard a voice from the cloud. Would you believe what it said.
For Peter, James and John this was an amazingly awesome moment. They had seen the invisible truth of Jesus’ divinity or God-nature revealed, they had glimpsed in that moment his true glory.
It was a life changing experience, one they would never forget, but Jesus told them not to tell anyone. They still had more to discover about Jesus, to truly understand who he was, they needed to wait until after his death and resurrection.
But why did Jesus give these three a glimpse of his glory at this moment.
We’ll think about that after the next children’s song.
I’m gonna jump up and down…
————————————————————————————————–
So, why did Jesus give this glimpse of glory at this time?
The two people that appear with Jesus give us a clue.
Listen to Him!
Note links with Moses – Card with Moses on and ear on the other side.
The transfiguration event is like when Moses went up Mount Sinai to meet with God. He took Joshua up the mountain with him, as Jesus took Peter, James and John up a mountain. God appeared in a cloud and spoke.
With Moses, God gave the Law for Moses to teach the people for them to follow and obey.
Turn Moses card around.
Now God does not give the Law, he says, ‘Listen to Jesus.’ Why? because He is God’s Son. The Transfiguration, shows that Jesus is God’s most special person, his anointed spokesperson. Even Moses spoke of a prophet who would come after him and be greater than him.
So will we listen to Jesus? Will we treat his words as more important, more valuable, more trustworthy, more authoritative than anyone else’s?
Will we listen to Jesus, when his teaching goes against what most people around us think? If we have glimpsed his glory in the transfiguration, then surely we should.
Will we listen to Jesus, even when it means living or acting in a way that we do not want to, or when it challenges what we already think? If we have glimpsed his glory in the transfiguration, then surely we should.
Will we allow his words to transform our thinking and our lifestyles, because we have seen the invisible truth of who he really is?
Follow Him, come what may!
Note links with Elijah – Card with Elijah on and shield on the other side.
The transfiguration also features Elijah, who also went up a mountain to meet with God. Elijah went to God on the mountain, because he was feeling fed up, like he was the only one that really cared about following God, and because the queen at the time wanted him killed, because she did not like what he was saying.
On the mountain, Elijah experienced and earthquake, strong winds and a fire, but he knew that awesome, though those things were God was not in any of them. Then he heard God’s small voice, which told him he was wrong. There were lots of other people still following God and he told him to go and call one of them to be trained up to replace him. So, Elijah went and called Elisha.
Elijah’s mountain top experience acted as a kind of shield against his fears, his struggles and his despair. It encouraged him to keep going despite the problems. Turn Elijah around to make shield.
Not long before Jesus took Peter, James and John up the mountain he had told them that he was going to be killed. This must have been very worrying for them and they were going to have to stick with Jesus even though Jesus was going to die on the cross.
For them having a glimpse of the glory of Jesus was to encourage them to follow Jesus, come what may!
It can be hard being a follower of Jesus. Sometimes we may be teased or bullied because of it. But when we have glimpsed the glory of Jesus, when we know who he truly is, then that acts as a kind of shield that helps us to keep going.
So, how do you connect with the glory of God?
Perhaps it is through focussing on him and prayer and praise, with others or by yourself. Maybe it is by spending time alone with God. I hope that joining us in church on Sunday can in some small way draw us to connect with the glory of God.
Whatever it is, it is something we need to want and desire. We have chosen a verse for the year. As we seek to discern God’s way forward, we first of all need a desire to connect with God, to come into his presence, to glimpse his glory. Why? Because it makes us ready to listen to him and to persevere despite the discouragements we face.
Let me finish by reading the verse of the year and leave you to pray quietly in response.
“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
St. George's Church Ramsgate 