Old Testament Lesson; Exodus 24:12-18
Epistle Lesson; 2 Peter 1:16-21
Gospel Lesson; Matthew 17:1-9
Sermon Text; Matthew 17:1-9

We often like to take note of the change of seasons. Just three weeks ago, I believe, it was 50 degrees and raining, here in Madison. Our snow piles were quickly diminishing and we were very happy (at least I was). But then, reality set in, as we plummeted back into the cold and we have experienced quite a bit of snow. We should not be surprised by that, because the month still said, "January." But now we have turned the calendar over, and it is February. The days are getting longer and we are getting excited for the warmer weather. Again, we like to take note of the change of seasons.

Well, today is a change in the season. Today is Transfiguration Sunday. It is a change between the Epiphany Season and the season that is going to be starting on Wednesday - the Lenten Season, with Ash Wednesday. It is on this Sunday that we really see Jesus revealing Himself, as God, to three particular people, Peter, James, and John.

During the Lenten Season, we begin to plummet into Jesus' humiliation, as we see Him walk, on His way to the cross, as we see Him endure pain and shame, and as we see Him endure death and burial.

And so, today on this Transfiguration Sunday, join me, and let's go to the Mountain of Transfiguration. And may we say with Peter,

"Lord, it is good for us to be here."

I will be, more or less, a reporter today, reporting to you what is taking place on the Mountain of Transfiguration. And then, I will have some application for us at the end.

Our text begins today saying, "After six days." Six days before this, Jesus had asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?"

The disciples said, "Well, some people say you are Moses. Some people say you are Elijah. Some people say you are a great prophet that has come back from the dead."

Then Jesus asked them, "Who do you say that I am?"

Peter, answering on behalf of the group said, "You are the Christ of God."

Jesus then explained to them how the Son of Man would endure death and then in three days be raised again. How that must have crushed the disciples to hear that news - that the Son of Man would die, that He would be put to death.

Jesus then takes those disciples up on a mountain. (It is not unusual for Jesus to do this. Oftentimes, He would take them away from the hustle and the bustle of the crowd to a solitary place for them to pray and meditate.) Jesus takes with Him a little bit farther, Peter, James, and John. (Peter, James, and John are known as ‘the inner circle of disciples’. They are the closest people to Jesus.) Now, I want you to note in scripture the times in which Jesus asks those three disciples to be with Him, and the event that takes place. The events all deal with death.

Peter, James and John were there when Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead. Jesus was showing them that He had power over death.

Peter, James and John were there when Jesus was on the Mountain of Transfiguration. The gospel writer Luke tells us that Moses and Elijah are speaking with Jesus about His upcoming death.

Peter, James and John were there in the Garden of Gethsemane, and saw Jesus surrendered into death, as Jesus was taken away by the Roman soldiers to His crucifixion on the cross.

From scripture we hear Peter and John specifically talking about being eyewitnesses on the Mountain of Transfiguration. Peter in our Epistle Lesson for today says, "We were eye witnesses of His majesty." And John, in his gospel says, "We have seen His glory. The glory of the One and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Today we see the manner of Jesus' transfiguration. Jesus appeared in weakness. But, He was shown in power and glory.

It is my happy job to tell you today that you know Greek. You are all looking at me funny! You know Greek! I want to share with you the word that is used here, that we translate in English, "He was transfigured". The Greek word is 'metamorphitha'. You have heard that word before, haven't you? Metamorphosis. But, usually, when we think of metamorphosis, we think about a caterpillar being changed into a butterfly, or we think of a tadpole being changed into a frog. Those who translated the Bible also had a struggle with this word, 'metamorphitha.' You see, Jesus didn't change like that from a caterpillar into a butterfly. His body stayed the same. It was His appearance that changed. That is why, when the Greek was translated into Latin, they came up with the word, 'transfiguious.' And as the Greek was translated into the English, they took that same word, 'transfigured'.

"He was transfigured before them."

His body did not change, but His appearance did. As our text tells us,

"His face shown like the sun,

and His clothes became as white as the light."

Back in Jesus' day, it was very common for false prophets to also talk about their gods (small letter g) going through a form of transformation, as they turned into gods. That is why Peter tells us in our Epistle Lesson, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories, when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."

Those who appeared with Jesus on the Mountain of Transfiguration were Moses and Elijah, two great figures from the Old Testament. Why was it that God chose them? We don't know exactly why, but Moses was the Lawgiver and Elijah was the greatest of all the Old Testament prophets. So here we have comprised Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, the whole completion of the Old Testament.

Also, (this is just speculation on my part), but think of the end of Moses' life and the end of Elijah's life. Elijah was taken to Heaven in a chariot of fire. When Moses died, God buried him, and nobody knew where he was buried. Could it be the case that God was saving Moses and Elijah for this appearance on the Mountain of Transfiguration before the witnesses of Peter, James, and John?

The disciples also take great pleasure in this meeting on the Mountain of Transfiguration, as Peter says, "Lord it is good for us to be here." Peter wanted to capture the moment by building three shelters for Moses, for Elijah, and for Jesus. He wanted to ‘freeze that moment’ on top of the mountain. But, before Jesus could answer, another testimony comes, not from the Old Testament, but from God Himself, as His voice says,

"This is my Son,

whom I love;

with Him I am well pleased.

Listen to Him!"

If you were on the Mountain of Transfiguration and you heard that voice, and if I heard that voice, we also would be terrified like the disciples. But, Jesus brings great comfort to them by telling them, "Don’t be afraid."

As Peter, James, and John come off of the mountain, Jesus tells them not to tell anyone, because they would not understand it. It wasn't until after the resurrection that the disciples thought back to the Mountain of Transfiguration, and they said, "Yes indeed, we were witnesses of Jesus' glory before He died, and before He rose again." They were able to be proponents of Jesus' resurrection by putting all of the pieces together.

That is just a simple recollection of what our sermon text for today says. But, it is important every time that we study a section of scripture for us to apply it to ourselves. What is it that this section of scripture is telling us today?

Before Jesus' resurrection, He appeared in weakness as a man. But, He was transfigured into power and glory. The same is going to be for you, on the day of the resurrection of our bodies. In I Corinthians 15, the great resurrection chapter in scripture, the Apostle Paul writes,

"So it will be with the resurrection of the dead.

The body is sown in dishonor.

It is raised in glory.

The body is sown in weakness.

It is raised in power."

Just as Jesus was transfigured and transformed, my dear Christian friends, we can take comfort knowing that Jesus has conquered death, knowing that Jesus has conquered our sin, and knowing He promises us that because He lives in glory, we also will rise from the dead in glory, through faith in Jesus, as our Savior.

We can also take from our sermon text today that there will be moments in our lives when we experience mountaintop experiences, just like Peter, James, and John. Maybe your Confirmation Day is a mountaintop experience. Maybe the funeral of a loved one is a mountaintop experience. I will tell you this. It was a mountaintop experience here at Holy Cross, on Friday, for Sue Fregien's funeral. It was a mountaintop experience. Pastor Bartels had an awesome sermon. He talked about how Sue confessed that she was a sinner. She confessed that she had a Savior. She confessed that Jesus was her Savior. She confessed that eternal life in Heaven was hers, because Jesus died on the cross for her. It was a mountaintop experience for the family and I think I can say it was mountaintop experience for everybody who was here.

But you know what? Our feelings and our faith doesn’t always line up with each other. Our feelings change. Our feelings are like an emotional roller coaster, while our faith stays the same. It is important for us not to let our feelings carry us away, but rather, continue to dive into scripture and there see what it is that scripture says about our faith, and not go by what our feelings say.

Finally today, note when Peter, James, and John walked off the Mountain of Transfiguration, who went with them? Jesus went with them. Every time we gather together for worship it is a mountaintop experience, because it is here that we lay bare all of our sin before God, our Heavenly Father. It is here that we are reminded from the pages of Holy Scripture everything that Jesus, our Savior has done for us. Through His suffering and through His death, He has granted unto all of us the forgiveness of our sin. You personally can take hold of that. Eternal life in Heaven is yours.

As we come down off of these mountaintop experiences, we must, we must, take Jesus with us. We take Him with us into our homes. We take Him with us into our jobs. We take Him with us into our neighborhood.

Then, we too, like Peter, are able to say, "Lord, it is good for us to be here with you in church.

Amen.