Moses and Elijah came back in bodily form - the disciples recognised who they were
Moses representing the law of God
Elijah representing the prophets
An awesome event where the glory of Jesus was revealed for a time
Nobody knows where it happened
Only three close disciples permitted to see this event
Who where these individuals?
Peter:
Peter, James and John
Peter was the leader, he was the figure head
Peter often speaks out
Peter had recently rebuked Jesus (8:32)
Peter was chosen by Jesus, he was redeemed in grace
All of the men were failures - they were not perfect
We all have weaknesses
We are all sinners
God still chooses to use us - through His grace
Example of John Newton
John:
To write one of the four gospels
The most theological of the gospels
Full of teaching
Doesn't write about the transfiguration (cf John §1:1) - his gospel was written from a different purpose
He was a sinner, a son of thunder who had asked Jesus to bring down fire on the Samaritan village
Has more sophisticated Greek compared to Mark - this reminds us that there are different gifts and personalities within the Church
James:
He was to become a martyr - Acts 12:2
Did he remember the saying of Jesus (9:1)
Vernon Higham of Cardiff wrote in his hymn "I saw a new vision of Jesus" - what experience did The Lord reveal to him?
Are we afraid of dying?
Three living witness to the event but also two other witnesses
Moses:
What did it mean for Moses to be here?
Moses had seen Jesus in His glory
He had been up a mountain and seen God face to face - he must have seen God in the person of The Lord Jesus Christ (Timothy - nobody can see the face of God and live)
Now he is on another mountain and he is seeing a different glory
The glory of God on the mountain was seen in his face - like a reflection of the moon, the glory of The Lord Jesus Christ was like the sun
Must have felt the grace of God
Elijah:
Was a forerunner to Christ
There were lots of questions and discussion about Elijah (9:11-13)
Elijah was the greatest of the prophets
He prophesied in a time of great apostasy
He had a powerful ministry calling the nation back to repentance from worshipping false gods
He had failed - he didn't want to continue as a prophet, he wanted God to take his life
Peter later says that he was an eyewitness to Jesus' majesty
Why was Jesus transfigured?
The idea that Jesus would be rejected and killed was very alien to them
The Jews were expecting Jesus to come in great power and to reign
Jesus was teaching that the path of the Messiah was cross and the path of the disciples was the cross also (8:34)
The law and the prophets were pointing to Jesus Christ
Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets
Heb 1:1-3 - in times past the God spoke in various ways but now He is speaking to us through His Son
Moses was temporary, Elijah was temporary but Jesus was permanent
These Jews are seeing the glory of God in the face/person of Jesus Christ
Transfiguration in the Greek is 'metamorphosis'
Jesus' glory was veiled to many - His appearance was similar to that of any other man
His second coming will be in great power, great glory, with all the saints and every eye shall see Him
Will this day be a day of glory or a day of fear because have not believed in Him?
What it the Message for us this Morning?
Peter didn't know what to say at the transfiguration
After this he was to deny The Lord Jesus three times
Never depend upon spiritual experience - instead walk closely with Jesus
Hear Him!
An added message to that of His baptism
We must listen to Jesus
Moses and Elijah were speaking to Jesus about his Exodus (9:4)
One of the greatest topics of conversation should be the across of Christ
The experience suddenly ended (9:8)
This reminds us that the Christian life is often mundane
