The Transfiguration of Our Lord (2025)
Epiphany • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Matthew 17:1-9
Matthew 17:1-9
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we have arrived at the end of Epiphany, and we celebrate a grand theophany in which Jesus reveals to Peter, James, and John His Divine Majesty and Glory as He bursts alight with that radiance that belongs to the one who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the one through whom all things were made in heaven and on earth. This moment is a highlight in the history of the Christian Church, and glorifies God above as it demonstrates the continuity of the Old and New Testament, and that Jesus is the Son of God who has come to save us.
6 Days Before
Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus had asked who do people say that I am, and Peter on that day gave Joyful confession that you are the christ the son of the living God. Jesus honored him by giving him the name peter for His confession. For that Confession that Jesus is the Christ is the foundation for the Church which the Gates of Hell shall not overcome. Now some in history have tried to argue that it was the person Peter that the gates of hell would never overcome, but they would read on they would see
Jesus also rebuked Peter that day.
For Jesus then began to speak about the coming trial and the cross, and Peter, took Jesus aside and began to rebuke and correct him, to not talk like that, and Jesus said to Peter, Get Behind me Satan. That is why it cannot be Peter the man for he fell moments later, and he would deny Christ 3x on the night of the Crucifixion. Jesus
Jesus encourages them to take up their cross.
They are to join Him as they are His disciples and it shouldn’t surprise them that they will have to suffer for the faith. As Jesus prepares to go to Jerusalem he ascends this mountain with the 3 closest disciples as He goes to speak with Moses and Elijah, about his coming departure and journey to Jerusalem. Now this was meant
Enlightening the Disciples
The Disciples watched Jesus perform miracles.
They knew that He was a man sent from God, they had even heard peter’s confession regarding Christ, but that doesn’t mean they understood it. They had read the Scriptures and they knew of those prophets long ago who had performed mighty works and deeds, but they were still blind to the truth.
Jesus surprises the disciples.
They had seen him perform miracles, but now they saw him in his radiance as He transfigured before their eyes and shines like the sun with even his clothing becoming transformed. But while all of this happened, the Gospel of Luke tells us, they weren’t paying attention,
In fact, they were asleep.
Now oftentimes I have wondered why? The obvious answer is that they were tired, Jesus frequently went up on mountains to pray, but this time something astonishing happened. There Jesus appears in glory and with two figures that were legendary in the Jewish faith. Moses, and Elijah
Why Moses and Elijah?
Moses wrote the Torah.
The first five books of the Old Testament, and Moses was the one who went up on the mountain to visit with God when the Israelites remained down in the valley. He came back down and much to the surprise of the people his face was glowing from being in the presence of God, and he had to wear a veil. Moses also
Led them out of slavery.
Now Christ speaks about our slavery, and how we are slaves to sin, sold by the of Adam into the Kingdom of Darkness, Moses freed the Israelites from physical slavery and guided them to a promised land here on earth, but Jesus has set you free from Spiritual Slavery to Satan, and claimed you as His own people.
Elijah was considered the greatest prophet.
If you followed along in the readings you know some of the deeds of Elijah, but he was another like Moses that is well known for standing up what is right against a King and Queen that threatened God’s people when it appeared as though the whole situation was lost. He stood firm against 450 prophets of Baal and challenged them to prove whose God was greater, and Elijah is one of two men, who never died, but was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot.
Why Not Stay There?
That’s what Peter wanted.
We can understand that, here are 3 of the greatest folks you might be seeking to know and they suddenly all appear before your eyes, and this appears to be wonderful, this was what Peter had wanted not the suffering, not the pain, not the cross, but to remain here on the mountain top and enjoy this wonderful time, for he is the Kingdom that they were longing to see.
Jesus had told them about His death.
And how it was necessary, but they weren’t taking this to heart. They misunderstood, and were relying ignoring the Words that God spoken through the prophets, pointing them to the Christ. So when the Father speaks to the these disciples he tells them, Listen to Him.
We must not value feelings over the word.
This is where the disciples landed in trouble, and this is where many in our day land in trouble as well. We prioritize our feelings about religion, about the Bible, about Christians, and the like over what is important, what God has actually said.
God’s Word is Our Foundation
Faith isn’t the same as feelings.
This is where many people go astray, our feelings wax and wane, but the question that we must ask is what is true. There are those over the years that have tried to identify the work of the Holy Spirit as a feeling. You see this in churches, about feeling the presence of the Spirit, but they typically only identify it with good feelings. Look at the Scriptures, the
The prophets spoke by the Spirit.
Those words not only brought comfort and joy, but they also convicted us our sins, and that didn’t always feel good, but it was true. The truthfulness of God’s Word is more important than chasing a good feeling. The God of Heaven and Earth who made the cosmos, desires that you know who He is, and so He gave the Spirits to prophets like Moses, and Elijah to point people to the Word and to know of His plan for salvation. That’s why
God’s Word is for You.
We live in an age where we all have access to the Scriptures. These words that were spoken through the prophets and the apostles are meant for you. Moses and Elijah are there because they are a reminder that God has given His Word that they might know who is the Messiah. That very same Spirit who inspired the prophets, was also given to the Apostles, that the words of Jesus might be shared with you, that you might know of your salvation.
That’s why it is wonderful that you are here today on a snowy day for God has given His word, that we might listen to Him, and not have doubts about our salvation, but rather find your hope in God’s beloved Son in whom he is well pleased.
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we will have to wait to see Jesus in his radiant glory until that day we enter His Kingdom, but the Disciples that JEsus took with Him weren’t to build their faith on this moment, but rather upon the Word of God that had been given. That same Word has been given to you, and it says that JEsus has saved you, He has died for you, He has forgiven you, and He has called you His own. So let us continue to abide by what God has given us, not feelings that wax or wane according to our earthly circumstances, but God’s Holy Word which will endure forever. In Jesus name. Amen.
