Sermon
for Transfiguration, February 2, 2020
Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
2 Peter 1:16-21 16To be sure, we were not following cunningly
devised fables when we made known to you the powerful appearance of our Lord
Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17For he received honor and
glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from within the Majestic
Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 18We heard
this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy
mountain. 19We also have the
completely reliable prophetic word. You
do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the
day dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts, 20since we
know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes
about from someone’s own interpretation. 21In fact, no prophecy ever came by
the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were being carried along by the
Holy Spirit. (EHV)
Shine in the Morning
Star’s light.
Dear
Christian friends,
Why? How
come? I’m sure most of you are familiar
with the way children go through a phase in which they want to question
everything. In our house, the
unrelenting why question has come so often the last couple years that it often is
tempting simply to reply, “Because I said so!”
But the
truth is, it isn’t just children who question why things are the way they are. It used to be that many adults were searching
for truth, even though often rejecting what is truly reliable. Today, however, people are more likely to
wonder why we think there is real truth?
Why, believe the Bible is truth?
Why believe in Jesus? Why don’t
we operate like the rest of the world’s teachers and just agree that everyone has
his own truth? Why is your way better
than someone else’s? What makes you
think you are so smart?” All of which
really just parrot the devil’s age-old question: “Did God really say?” (Genesis 3:1)
To answer
the questions, the Holy Spirit gives ample evidence that God’s Word is reliable.
In this letter, Peter wrote what is, essentially,
his last will and testament. He expected
that he would soon be executed. Yet,
before Peter’s death, the Holy Spirit moved him to write this final testimony to
inform and encourage all Christians who would be facing the skeptical questions
of the world. As one of Jesus’
hand-picked eyewitnesses, Peter wrote these words to confirm for people like
you and me that Jesus is the fulfillment of all the ancient prophecies God
gave. God wants us to see that we need
the light only Jesus brings, so that in the end, we too will Shine in the Morning Star’s light.
Jesus’
apostles faced the same problem we have; they all had opposition from people
who didn’t believe their testimony. Like
Jesus, the apostles wanted everyone to believe and be saved, but Peter and the
others were also rejected by many. Paul
was even accused of teaching something new, something different than the other
apostles. Yet, all the apostles were
comforted by the knowledge that Jesus had warned them that many would reject
their witness, but the unbelievers’ rejection was actually rejection of Jesus
and His Father in heaven. (Luke 10:16) Regardless,
by their proclamation of the truth about Jesus, the apostles were shining in the Morning Star’s light.
In our
text, Peter defended the truth of God’s written word as he wrote, “To be sure, we were
not following cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the powerful
appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” So that no one
would miss out on Jesus’ entrance into the world as our Savior, God had foretold
numerous details of the promised Savior’s life. In His loving wisdom, God caused both His prophecies,
and the eyewitness accounts of their fulfillment, to be written down so that we
oft-persecuted believers would have concrete evidence to the truth.
Yet, what
do we see so many people do? They doubt
God’s Word. They doubt that the
prophecies could possibly have been made before the events took place. They deny the miracles. They even doubt God’s hand-picked
eyewitnesses. And maybe, these doubts
even trouble us at times.
Jesus
chose His disciples from the crowds of His day to be His eyewitnesses of
everything He did for us and everything He endured on our behalf. The Holy Spirit caused every word of the
Bible to be recorded just so that we could be saved. Because he was an eyewitness, Peter was moved
by the Holy Spirit to record, once more, the assurance that all of this is from
God and is reliable for our salvation.
Today, we
are celebrating the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ. In our Gospel lesson, we heard Matthew’s
account of that mountain top event in which Peter, James, and John experienced
a brief look at the nature of Christ as true God. Up until that day, they had seen only Jesus’
human nature, albeit with His divine power occasionally displayed. But for these few brief moments, Jesus’ full
majesty as God’s Son shone for them to see. The ultimate fulfillment of all God’s Old
Testament prophecies was on display on that mountain. Thus, the three eyewitnesses to the
Transfiguration confirm that God’s promises to send a Savior are fully
sufficient for the salvation of all people.
In his
record of the event, Luke wrote, “As
Jesus prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. And
behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in
glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:29-31) Jesus’
transfiguration is important because in it we get a glimpse of both the
background plan and His victory.
Christ’s mission to save the world was a forgone
conclusion. Jesus was God’s Chosen One,
His own dear Son, sent to destroy the devil’s rebellion and rescue you and me
from sin. Peter remembered the event
this way: “He
received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from
within the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am
well pleased." There was never any doubt in God’s mind that
the victory over sin, death, and the devil was won. Though Satan was fighting against Jesus with
everything he had, Jesus’ victory for you and me was sure. God had promised it, prophesied how it would
take place, carried it out through His Son, and picked eyewitnesses to testify,
for all who would live in later times and other places, Jesus’ victory over sin
and death.
Peter
wrote, “We
heard this voice, which came out of heaven when we were with him on the holy
mountain. We also have the completely
reliable prophetic word. You do well to
pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns
and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” The transfiguration didn’t happen just so
that the Father could praise Jesus. It
happened so that all the sinners of the world would have God’s personal
confirmation that Jesus is His Son from all eternity, and that He was in this
world in human form to deliver us from condemnation. Peter’s confession about the events on that
mountain verify that all of God’s Word, all His prophetic promises, and all the
eyewitness accounts are true and reliable for our salvation. It is good for us when we heed God’s Word, when
we read, study, and meditate on it, for it works life and salvation in all who
believe. (Romans 1:16)
Now, some
may question what is the prophetic word to which Peter was referring? Certainly, he was referring to all the Old
Testament writings, including the books of Moses, the Psalms, the histories,
and all the other prophets. But for you
and me, these words should earn our trust in everything the Holy Spirit has
recorded for us in all of the sixty-six books of the Bible. Every word of these Scriptures is given for
one purpose, to turn us to God and His Son for our forgiveness and
salvation.
To doubly assure us, Peter tells us that “No prophecy of Scripture comes about from
someone’s own interpretation. In fact,
no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were
being carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The writers of the books of the Bible didn’t
ask for the job. They didn’t imagine any
part of it. The Holy Spirit is the cause
and author of it all. If any person rejects
any of this record, he is fighting against God.
Therefore, we dare not add to, subtract from, or re-interpret any of
God’s Word. We let Scripture interpret
Scripture, and we accept it as the whole Word of God. And, what value does that bring to you and
me?
If you
accept God’s Word as it is, “The day
dawns and the Morning Star rises in your hearts.” The Bible isn’t given to us as a rulebook on
how to earn our salvation. Indeed, it
tells us we cannot. Most important,
however, it tells us that Jesus has done everything needed to reconcile us with
God. Not only did Jesus win our
salvation with His perfect life and innocent death on the cross, His salvation
was declared with power at His resurrection, and it is Jesus’ victory over sin
and death that is given to people like you and me through faith in Him, gifted
to us only through His Word of truth.
Jesus
declared, "I am the light of the
world. Whoever follows Me will never
walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) Isaiah and other prophets foretold His
coming. Angels sang Jesus’ glory at His
birth. The Holy Spirit revealed this
truth to Simeon so that he held the baby Jesus in his arms and prophesied that
Jesus is “A light for revelation
to the Gentiles.” (Luke 2:32) Three times: at Jesus’ baptism, at His
transfiguration, and on the night He was betrayed, the heavenly Father declared
that all this is true. All of these events
were put into place so that you and I could know without any doubt that Jesus
is our Savior.
Today, though many in our world mock the Bible, and question
its reliability, Peter assures us that its every promise is valid. It is sure and certain that our sins have
been paid for in full because everything prophesied about Christ, and declared
by His Father in heaven, has eyewitness confirmation.
The message
of the transfiguration includes one more important truth for you and me. Jesus commanded us, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) That is what is required for us to stand in
God’s presence—perfect holiness—but we could not achieve it. For that reason, Jesus entered this world to
be our holiness. Through Jesus’
perfect life, God’s Law was accomplished.
Through Jesus’ death, the punishment demanded by the Law for the sins of
all people was complete. Now, through
faith in Christ, given to us by the hearing of God’s holy Word, we are counted
perfect as He is, so by faith, we now Shine in the Morning Star’s light.
As you
live your life in this world, however, you may not always feel so holy. In fact, we drag around these sinful bodies
every day, and we know that we must say with St. Paul, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful
nature. For I have the desire to do what
is good, but I cannot carry it out. For
what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I
keep on doing.…What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:18-24) To give us hope in spite of our guilty feelings,
God gave us the record of Jesus’ transfiguration picturing for us what we will
be in heaven because of Jesus. The
disciples didn’t just see Jesus in His glory, they saw Moses and Elijah as they
now shine in Jesus’ glory. Thus, as Paul
cried out his anguish for his sin, he also declared the truth of the Gospel,
saying, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our
Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25)
Dear friends, in Peter’s testimony about the
Transfiguration of our Lord, we have hope.
Not hope that we might have salvation or we might someday have peace,
but true, certain confidence that we already do. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we have each
been forgiven of all sin. We each have
the promise of life everlasting that no one can take away. As we suffer the afflictions of our sin in
this life, we can be comforted with Peter, knowing that we have a glorious home
waiting for us in heaven. With Peter,
we can face the end of our lives with the sure confidence that there is nothing
we need to do to gain salvation, because Jesus has accomplished it for us,
including bringing us to believe in Him.
Whenever the devil, or anyone in this world, demands that
you or I must do something to be saved, we simply declare, along with Peter,
the eyewitness testimonies of all God’s prophets and apostles that Jesus is
God’s Son in Whom the Father is well pleased.
He is our Savior. He is our
Brother and Friend who gave His life on a cross so that we do not have to pay
for the sins that once condemned us. “Be reconciled to God. God made
him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the
righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
As
foretold by Isaiah, spoken of by Simeon, claimed by Christ Himself, and
confirmed by the Father on the mountaintop in the transfiguration, our “Morning
Star” is Jesus. That was confirmed for
us one final time in the Revelation when Jesus declared to St. John, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David,
the Bright and Morning Star."
(Revelation 22:16)
Dear Christian friends, believe in Jesus for
forgiveness, life, and eternal salvation, and you, too, will Shine in the Morning Star’s light. Amen.
The peace
of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
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