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Well, by now I trust that you've 
turned to Luke chapter 9, and I want to read verses 28 through 
36, which is Luke's account of the transfiguration of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 9 and verse 28 through 
36, remembering that this is the word of the Lord. And it 
came to pass about eight days after these things that he took 
with him Peter and John and James and went up into the mountain 
to pray. And as he was praying, the fashion of his countenance 
was altered and his raiment became white and dazzling. And behold, 
there talked with him two men who were Moses and Elijah, who 
appeared in glory and spake of his decease, which he was about 
to accomplish. Jerusalem. Now Peter and they 
that were with him were very heavy with sleep, but when they 
were fully awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood 
with him. And it came to pass as they were 
parting with him Peter said unto Jesus, Master it is good for 
us to be here and let us make three tabernacles one for thee 
and one for Moses and one for Elijah and not knowing what he 
said. While he said these things, there 
came a cloud and overshadowed them. And they feared as they 
entered into the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud 
saying, this is my son, my chosen, hear ye him. And when the voice 
came, Jesus was found alone and they held their peace. and told 
no man in those days any of the things which they had seen." 
Thus far the reading of God's word. There is a legend which 
comes out of Greek mythology and it's just that, nothing more 
than a legend, but it illustrates something I want to say from 
the text. And the legend has to do with 
a man, or it's about a man who grew tired and weary of life 
in this fallen world. All of the struggles and the 
trials and even some of what we might call the nonsense of 
interacting with people who are not always easy to get along 
with. So he devised a plan by which 
he could escape the world. And the plan was this, that he 
asked his friends, to place him in a basket and then to hoist 
the basket up into the clouds. Now it's pure myth, I'm not sure 
how they would do that anyway. But anyway, it happened, or at 
least according to the legend. And there he is, he's living 
in the clouds. And he was a philosopher, so 
from time to time he'd lean over the edge of the basket and he 
would pronounce words of perceived wisdom. And then he would climb 
back into the basket and hunker down and live, as it were, separated 
and separate from the world. Somehow his friends would get 
to him food and other articles that he would need. But he lived 
in the clouds, away from everything, away from the problems of the 
world, even from the people of this world. Now, it's a myth. It's not true, never happened. 
But I can't help but think that perhaps Peter, James and John 
were thinking along the same lines as they find themselves 
on the mountain with Jesus. And all of the people and all 
of the problems, in fact, Mark tells us that when they descended 
the mountain after this transfiguration that they immediately encountered 
a problem and a healing that the disciples could not perform 
and Jesus himself must perform it. So I can't help but think 
in the midst of trial and difficulty and tension and all of the rest, 
that the three are happy to be on the mountain and their suggestion 
to build three tabernacles three temporary shelters fits with 
my argument. Jesus, this is a good place to 
be. Let's stay here a while. If we 
leave the mountain and go down to the bottom of the mountain, 
all we're going to face once again is all of the trial and 
the difficulty and the problems of life. Just as this man thought 
it was best to live in a basket in the clouds, So Peter, James, 
and John are just as happy to stay on the mountain with Jesus. And yet Jesus has something altogether 
different in mind for them and for us as well. It's interesting that as we begin 
to look at the text, the very first words read something like 
this, and it came to pass about eight days after these sayings. And that suggests to us that 
we really can't understand the Transfiguration account unless 
we have some appreciation, if not also understanding, of what 
Jesus had said previous to this experience. And there are at 
least three things that we need to notice by way of introduction 
and by way of some understanding of the context in which the transfiguration 
takes place, or at least as Luke gathers together his information 
and the information having to do with the life of Christ, He 
arranges it in such a way that just prior to this event, certain 
significant and important things are said. What are they? Well, 
first of all, in verses 18 through 20, Jesus elicits a confession 
from Peter. Who do men say that I am? Well, 
some say that you're this one and some say someone else. Some 
say something else again, but who do you say that I am? And Peter answered and probably 
really answers for all of the disciples. He says, the Christ 
of God. Now the answer in other gospels 
is a little fuller than that, but you get the point. Who do 
men say that I am? Well, John the Baptist, Elijah. 
But who do you say you are? The Christ, the Messiah, the 
one who is to come to deliver us, the one promised long time 
ago. And now you've arrived to do 
God's will for us. And so Peter makes this great 
confession of faith in the Lord Jesus. There's a second thing 
that takes place. Jesus responds to all of that. In verse 21, he charged them 
and commanded them to tell this to no man. Verse 22, saying, 
the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected of the 
elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and the 
third day be raised again. Jesus elicits a confession from 
Peter. Secondly, Jesus predicts his 
passion, his death, his work of mediation in Jerusalem. There's detail here. And then 
the resurrection. And then thirdly, in verses 23 
through 27, Jesus explains the conditions of discipleship. And he said, verse 23, if any 
man would come after me, Let him deny himself and take up 
his cross daily and follow me." And then we read in verse 28, 
and it came to pass about eight days after these sayings. Now that gives to us a hint. 
It points us in the right direction of understanding the account 
or the transfiguration account. It cannot be understood apart 
from Peter's confession, Jesus' prediction, and thirdly, Jesus 
explaining the conditions of discipleship. The point of all 
of this is to say that the transfiguration was intentional. It serves a purpose. It's orchestrated by the Lord 
Jesus as he takes three disciples, these three disciples, these 
chosen ones, those closest to Jesus. He takes them with him 
to the Mount of Transfiguration in order that certain things 
might be said and certain things occur, which fit with what Jesus 
has already said and already taught. Furthermore, He takes 
them with him in order to encourage them and to strengthen them. Not only is this event intentional, 
it's also pastoral. It's Jesus at his best, if you 
will, Jesus loving his disciples and helping them to understand 
further something of what it is that he came to do. And then thirdly, The text or 
the event is also eschatological. It has far less to do with Moses 
and Elijah than it does about the Lord Jesus Christ. The transfiguration 
of Jesus Christ then is a significant event, a signal event, pointing 
us in the direction of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. Here is the glory of the Son 
of God, but the glory of the Son of God in its connection 
with the cross of Jesus Christ. Here is Jesus' testimony about 
himself, followed by divine communication, that the communication from heaven, 
Moses and Elijah, but also the Father speaking from heaven, 
underscoring and reinforcing the importance of and the nature 
and character of our Lord's ministry. One writer has put it this way, 
in the transfiguration, we see heaven's answer to Herod's question. Remember Herod's question? Who 
is this man? So here is divine communication 
answering for us the very question that an unbeliever asked, perhaps 
that you're asking, who is this man? Well, I want us to look 
at the transfiguration then from Luke's account, and I want us 
to notice it under four headings. First of all, notice the sons, 
transformation. Something happens to Jesus Christ. Again, it's eight days after 
these significant statements. Jesus takes the inner circle 
with him up onto the mountain and to a mountain. And in the 
Bible, significant things happen on a mountain. The law is delivered 
from a mountain. Elijah does his best work on 
a mountain. Jesus preaches his famous sermon, 
and we call it what? The Sermon on the Mount. It's 
a sermon that he preaches on a mountain. So everything about 
the opening verses, everything here is significant, laying out 
for us the importance and the significance of what is to take 
place. Notice as well that Jesus is 
engaged in prayer. Every significant event in the 
life of Jesus takes place in the context of prayer. According to Luke, when Jesus 
is baptized, he was engaged in prayer. Jesus in the Garden of 
Gethsemane, just before his death, is engaged in prayer. And at the transfiguration in 
this vision of our Lord's passion and exaltation, Jesus is engaged 
in prayer. Brothers and sisters, prayer 
was important to Jesus. Should it not be important to 
us? And even though the disciples, 
and this isn't the only time that this occurs, disappoint 
the Lord Jesus, and fall asleep when he is engaged in prayer. 
Jesus not only believed in what we might call private prayer, 
but also public prayer. Jesus takes his disciples with 
him and wants them to pray with him, they fall asleep. In the 
Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus takes his disciples with him and seeks 
for them to pray with him, and they fall asleep. Private prayer 
is important, but so is public prayer. Can we afford, as the 
people of God, to have a cavalier attitude toward public prayer? I'm not sure what the schedule, 
the weekly schedule of this church is, but if you have a prayer 
meeting, do you find yourself frequently absenting yourself 
from that meeting. I'm too tired, too far to drive. And perhaps it is too far for 
you to drive. Some of you perhaps live some distance from the church. 
But if public prayer, that is the gatherings of Jesus with 
his disciples, if that kind of prayer was important to him, 
shouldn't it be important to us? And should we have, and do 
we have any right to have a cavalier attitude toward public prayer? Someone once said, prayer is 
always the best preparation without which we are never truly prepared. Jesus is engaged in prayer. And in the midst of this context, 
and as he's engaged in prayer, something takes place. And Jesus 
is transfigured. Something takes place. His features change, and his 
clothing change, and that's significant. Suddenly he's bathed in heavenly 
light, and he appears as someone altogether different than what 
he was before. Now, we need to be careful. We 
must not conclude that Jesus actually changes. or that he 
becomes something other than what he once was. The incarnation 
of Jesus Christ never means the loss of anything. It means the 
addition of something. It means the addition of humanity. And what I think we see here 
is sort of the veil torn aside or the veil moved aside just 
for a moment. And what the disciples see is 
something of that glory which Jesus had before the incarnation. He doesn't change in the sense 
that he becomes something other than what he was before. They 
merely see now something of that pre-incarnate glory. And his clothes change as well, 
and they're white. And again, a symbol of angelic 
Raymond. And it's even a symbol and a 
sign of the saints in glory, according to what we read in 
Revelation chapter three. He shows us what he was, or he 
showed the disciples what he was. And in a sense, he shows 
the disciples what he will be or what they will see. And he 
actually shows us something of what we will be as well. One writer in a book of sermons 
says, the disciples had only seen Jesus in the limitations 
of his flesh, which was part of the humiliation of his incarnation. As they walked up the mountain, 
they saw him as they always had. In other words, they're walking 
up the mountain and they see Jesus as they had always seen 
him, under the veil of his ordinary humanity. But then, the writer 
goes on to say, in a single instant, a flash of time, Jesus was revealed 
to them in all his divine splendor. Jesus elicits a confession from 
Peter, you are the Christ. Jesus speaks of his passion. Jesus also speaks of what it 
means to follow him. And then now on the Mount of 
Transfiguration, between the conclusion of his Galilean ministry 
and the beginning of his Judean ministry, they see something 
of what Jesus was before he became flesh. altogether different in 
what they see. Now that's significant. As we 
move to the second point in the outline and what we see next 
in the unfolding of this account, from the sun's transformation 
or transfiguration, we now see something of the sun's expectation. And we see something of what 
it is that Jesus anticipates, perhaps that's the better word, 
the anticipation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before glory, again, 
there's passion. Before glory, there's expiation. Before glory, there's the shame 
of the cross and his death. Now, it's worth noting in verse 
30, after the actual transfiguration, or in that context, we read these 
words, and behold. That's an important Greek word. 
Pay attention to this. Look at this. This is something 
now extremely significant is before us. Here is the force 
of the text and the force and the explanation, if you will, 
of the transfiguration. And what the disciples see is 
Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. They too appear in glory. And in verse 31, they speak of 
his decease. More on that in just a moment. 
But why Moses and Elijah? What's significant about Moses 
and Elijah appearing with the Lord Jesus? Well, we could say 
the significance at a certain level is the number two. Remember 
that events are proven to be true in the presence of two or 
more witnesses. So you have two witnesses, Moses 
and Elijah testifying to uniqueness and the glory of Jesus Christ 
as they appear in glory as well. And I think there's a certain 
importance to that. But there's more here. Again, 
why Moses and Elijah? Why not Adam? Why not Abraham? After all, Abraham is the father 
of the faithful and Peter has made this great confession of 
faith. What's significant about Moses and Elijah? Well, actually, there are a number 
of things, and I have four or five things in my notes, and 
I'll not mention all of them, but the most significant thing, 
I think, is what they represent. Moses represents the law. Moses is the great lawgiver. 
The law of God came through Moses. And you have the accounts in 
Exodus and Deuteronomy of the giving of the law. And when we 
think of the law, we think of Moses. In fact, the scriptures 
even refer to it as the law of Moses. It's actually God's law, 
but it's the law of Moses. He was the mediator, if you will, 
of the law. And then when you think of the 
prophets, Who is the greatest of all of the prophets? Well, 
at some level, it's Elijah, and he's even referred to in similar 
language. There are other things about 
the two of them make them significant, but it would seem to me at least, 
especially in the context in which we're told they were engaged 
in conversation with Jesus. You notice that? And the tense 
is, imperfect, which means they were continuing to talk. That 
is, this took place over a few moments, I'm not sure how long, 
but it wasn't just a word or two, they were engaged in conversation 
with Jesus. Moses, again, the mediator of 
the law, the one through whom the law came in which God spoke, 
and prophets preach. They predict, but they also proclaim, 
they're preachers as well. Both law givers and prophets 
preach and proclaim and communicate. Here are Moses and Elijah communicating 
with Jesus about what? Now think about that for a moment. 
If Moses and Elijah appeared, I suspect most of us would have 
a whole host of questions. You know, what's heaven like? 
Or we might say, you know, in this particular text in the Old 
Testament, what really took place? Why did that happen the way that 
it is? Give us some insight into something that took place on 
such and such occasion. Or we might say, who else is 
in heaven? What does God look like? I mean, think of all of 
the things that we might like to ask Moses and Elijah. But Moses and Elijah are not 
revealing any of those things. Notice what it says, that they 
are speaking with him, that is Jesus, about his decease. That's the word that's in my 
translation. Literally, the word is exodus. 
The Greek word is exodus. About the exodus of the Lord 
Jesus. About the exodus that he was 
about to accomplish in Jerusalem. What is being discussed is very 
specific. It has a very narrow focus. It had a theme, and the theme 
had to do with the death of Jesus. And how do we know that? Well, 
Peter uses this same word. We might think of the exodus 
out of Egypt into the promised land. But Peter, in 2 Peter 1, 
also uses this word to refer to his own death, that he is 
about that is about to take place. That is, he's leaving that epistle 
so that after he is gone, after his decease, after his exodus, 
they will have the truth of God in their hands to read and to 
hear preached. So they're talking about the 
death of Christ. That's the theme that he is about to accomplish. 
There's the time. And in Jerusalem, there's the 
place. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are 
all talking about the same thing. One writer has said, when Moses 
and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the mountain, it was as if 
the whole Old Testament was standing up to say that everything was 
coming together in Christ. Think of that. Here is biblical 
theology at its best. Here is Moses. And in the words 
of Moses, there is typology pointing to Jesus. Here is prophetic ministry, 
Elijah, again, words pointing to the coming of Jesus. And now 
Jesus is present. And in the midst of this glorious 
and splendid display, Here are two men from the past and Jesus 
talking about the same thing. And they're talking about the 
cross. Think of that. Again, all of the things and 
all that glory means for Jesus and all the glory means for Moses 
and Elijah and all the glory will mean for us in the future. 
They're talking about none of that. They're talking about the cross. Now, the third thing I want you 
to see. We've seen his transfiguration. We've seen something of his expectation, 
his anticipation. They're talking about the cross. 
Thirdly, notice the son's marginalization. Now, if there was ever a time 
to say absolutely nothing, This was now the time. But Peter's 
not good at that any more than perhaps some of us preachers 
are good at that. I know I'm not. There's a time 
to be quiet. Here's a time to be quiet. It's 
absolutely nothing. But that's not Peter. No, he 
speaks up immediately and he says, Lord, it's good to be here. Master, it's good for us to be 
here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, one 
for Elijah, not knowing what he said. Notice how in this great 
context, the Lord Jesus is actually marginalized by those who witness 
this transfiguration. And there are several problems 
here. First of all, there's the problem of indifference or indolence. Peter, James, and John, first 
of all, have fallen asleep. Now you could say, well, they're 
tired. They're on a mountain, they've walked, perhaps it's 
night, they've walked all day to get up to the top of the mountain. 
This splendid event would be more glorious if it took place 
at night, so perhaps it's night. They're tired, they fall asleep. 
We get tired and we fall asleep. But it seems to me that at some 
level this points us in the direction, their physical drowsiness points 
us in the direction of spiritual dullness. They're dull. Jesus takes them up to the mountain. He expects them to be attentive. 
He wants to pray with them, and immediately they fall asleep. 
Brothers and sisters, the sun is marginalized when we grow 
spiritually dull. I mean, here are disciples who 
witnessed this incredible event. And yet they're marked by drowsiness, 
by sleepiness, in effect by indifference. Secondly, the problem, and the 
son is marginalized here by the problem of equivalence. Notice 
they don't see the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus in all of this. They say rather, Lord, it's good 
to be here. Let's prolong this by building 
these tabernacles and let's build one for each of you. And yet 
Moses and Elijah are talking about Christ, and they're talking 
about the cross of Christ. And the disciples witness this, 
and the disciples hear this, and they still don't get something 
of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, especially as it relates to the 
cross. And Jesus is marginalized because 
of their insensitivity. There is an egalitarianism here, 
a kind of flattening. And the uniqueness of the Lord 
Jesus is lost. And yet just a week before, Jesus 
says, who do men say that I am? Well, some say this, some say 
that, some say someone else. Some were even saying he was 
Elijah. Now Elijah's here. Who do you say that I am? Well, 
you are the Christ. You're unique. You're the Messiah, 
the one sent uniquely and for a unique task. And now Peter 
has lost all of that and marginalizes the Lord Jesus with this flattening 
statement. He did not see the supremacy 
of Jesus Christ. The two are not there to testify 
of his equality with them, but of his supremacy over them. And in fact, that their words 
had spoken of him. He's not just one of the prophets, 
but he's greater than all of the prophets. And the perspective 
of our age is often this same perspective. Jesus is important. 
He had something to say. He came to do something, but 
there's this kind of flattening, and there are others equal to 
him, and the superiority of Jesus Christ is lost. There's a third 
problem here that marginalizes Jesus, and that's the problem 
of interference. They're talking about his decease. They're talking about his Acts 
in Jerusalem that are to take place shortly and Peter wants 
to hold him back. Do you see that? Peter wants 
to hold him back. Let's stay on the mountain and 
we'll build these booths. Perhaps reflecting the Feast 
of Booths. One of the feasts or festivals 
which spoke of the provision of God. Here's the provision 
of God. God has brought you to us and 
Moses and Elijah. Let's camp out a while. Just 
sort of enjoy this experience. It's as if Jesus was held back. Now he wasn't, but certainly 
that is embedded in the text. Peter is saying, let's stay here. Again, he does not hear, does 
not pay attention, does not make sense to him that Moses, Elijah, 
and Jesus are talking about something altogether different. Peter is saying, Jesus is saying, 
I must go to the cross. Peter is saying, let us prolong 
this experience by manmade means. Let's prolong this experience. This is glorious. And we'll do 
it by manmade means. We'll build these temporary shelters 
out of sticks and keep you here. Whereas Jesus wants to go to 
Jerusalem. to experience something for them. And then there's fourthly, the 
problem of ignorance. You notice in verse 33, it's 
rather stark. Peter did not know, or Peter 
did not know what he was saying. Fourthly, and finally, I want 
you to notice with me the son's commendation. We've had this 
transformation, this transfiguration. We've noted Peter, excuse me, 
Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus about what he is anticipating, 
his death. We've seen Peter marginalizing 
this great event by his statements. Now notice the son's a commendation 
that comes from the Father himself, the Father's sanction, the Father's 
endorsement. We've heard from a disciple, 
but what does God have to say about the Lord Jesus Christ? And you'll see from the text, 
of course, there is this cloud that overshadows him. Significant, if you think again 
of the Old Testament, The presence of God often was signaled by 
a cloud. A cloud descended upon the mountain 
when God spoke and gave the law to his people. In the tabernacle 
in the wilderness as the tabernacle was moved from place to place 
and God indicated that the tabernacle was to move during the day, a 
cloud would descend. as a signal that they were to 
move and that God was present with them. Throughout their desert 
wanderings then, the cloud led the way, the presence of God 
led the way. And then even at the dedication 
of the temple under Solomon's reign, as the temple is dedicated, 
God descends in the midst of this cloud. God is present. is the point. And notice what 
happens. The cloud descends and even before 
God speaks, the disciples are filled with fear. Now that's 
significant. That's significant. Because Peter 
and James and John have wanted to build these booths and to 
keep Jesus there. They see Jesus in his humanity, 
but they do not yet know Jesus as their mediator. And so they 
enter into the presence of God or God comes into their presence 
and they have no mediator. And they're terrified. And my 
friend, if you are an unbeliever and still haven't come to faith 
in Jesus Christ, and you think of standing in the presence of 
God, and you come to understand something of the nature and character 
of the true God, and you are afraid, so you should be. And that's a good thing. It's a good thing to be terrified 
right now if you do not have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter needed a mediator. and 
he's given a mediator, and you and I need a mediator, and we're 
given a mediator, and it's the same mediator. There is one God 
and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. And if you have a mediator, there's 
no reason to be afraid. You have no good reason, no cause 
to be afraid, but without one, you ought to be. And Peter, rightly 
so, is filled with fear. And while he said these things, 
there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared. Because you see, they're entering 
into the very presence of God. And as of yet, there is no mediator. Fear is not a bad thing. I hope 
you don't remain in that state, and there's no reason for you 
to remain in that state. As you turn to the Lord Jesus 
Christ and embrace him through repentance and faith, there's 
no reason to be terrified. But without him, again, you ought 
to be and have every good reason to be terrified. But a voice 
speaks out of the cloud, and it is the voice of God. And therefore, 
it comes to the disciples with authority. And he says, this 
is my son. pointing us in the direction 
of the eternal generation of the Son and the unique character 
of the Lord Jesus Christ as the eternal Son of God. This is my Son, my chosen one, again. reminding us of the mediation 
of Jesus Christ, of the words of Isaiah, the servant of the 
Lord who comes to do the bidding of the Lord. Here is divine authority, 
here is deity, here is activity, the servant of the Lord, the 
appointed mediator, the prophet, priest, and king for his people. Notice here that God wanted to 
talk about the very same thing, that Moses and Elijah wanted 
to talk about, and that Jesus wanted to talk about. Isn't that 
significant? Again, all of the things that God could have communicated, 
all of the things that could be said, all of the questions 
that could have been answered, all of our curiosity satisfied, 
and yet the Father wants to talk about the same thing as Moses, 
Elijah, and the Lord Jesus. And it has to do with Christ 
himself. And then as the cloud disappears, 
they're left with Jesus, and only Jesus, and the word of the 
Father. Hear ye Him. J.C. Ryle writes, The voice was 
the voice of God the Father, conveying both reproof and instruction. That voice proclaimed to Peter's 
ear that however great Moses and Elijah might be, there stood 
one before him far greater than they. They were but servants, 
he was the king's son. They were but stars, he was the 
sun. Sun now spelled differently, 
S-U-N. They were but witnesses, he was 
the truth. And another writer says, to be 
heard not over and against Moses and the prophets, but as the 
proper interpreter and fulfillment of what had been preserved in 
the scriptures. Now, this is a significant text. 
And it's significant by way of what it introduces and what it 
introduces by way of contrast. There's a series of contrasts 
that are set up here, and we don't have time to explore all 
of them. But there are some interesting contrasts here that we need to 
speak to our age and to our generation. First of all, notice the contrast 
between the visual and the verbal. We live in a very visual age. And postmodernism tells us that 
we ought to distrust words. and that words are capable of 
multiple meanings. And then words typically are 
used to exercise power and control over people. And so away with 
words, and we ought to be preoccupied with the visual. And of course, 
we're a very visual-oriented culture in society anyway, because 
of computers and movies and television and all of the rest. There's 
a contrast here between what we see and what we hear. Peter 
was impressed with sight, with what he saw, with glory, 
dazzling display. But it ended. It didn't last. 
It came and it went. And then the father speaks. And 
he doesn't say, wait for another vision, wait for another visual 
demonstration. But what he says is, this is 
my son, hear. That has to do with words. Hear ye him. Language may be suspect, according 
to the postmodern, but language is central to our understanding 
of God and are learning about Him. The world in which we live 
today in so many churches, even evangelical churches, is that 
preaching is either abandoned or marginalized and relativized. It's replaced with something 
else, with dance and mime and music and all sorts of things. 
Or people speak of visions that 
they have had. instructions from the Spirit 
himself. Or in a Bible study, a person 
often might say, well, this is how I see the text, as if that 
really means anything or matters at all. It's not how you see 
the text, it's what the text actually says. And so man's experience replaces 
Christ's experience. You see, Peter on the mount is 
is focusing upon his experience of this wonderful vision, but 
Christ must go to Jerusalem and have an experience for him. And so there's the contrast between 
the visual and the verbal, the contrast between the experience 
of Peter, the experiential and the saving experience of Christ 
for Peter. There's a contrast here between 
what we might call, or what Luther called, a theology of glory and 
a theology of the cross. Luther said the problem with 
Rome was that it focused upon a theology of glory. You could 
bypass the cross and almost ascend into heaven through mystical 
experiences of one kind or another. And Luther said, no, no, it's 
Christ's experience for us and the cross. Not a theology of 
glory, that comes later, but a theology of the cross. And 
then you have a contrast as well between using very specific theological 
language, a covenant of works and the covenant of grace. Peter 
says, let us build. We're going to build something 
and we're going to keep you here. Here's the activity of Peter, 
James, and John, and Jesus says no, and the Father says no. It's 
not your works that matter. What really matters is my work 
for you. And they're discussing and speaking, 
and the Father as well points in the same direction having 
to do with the Son. Well, as we try to pull all of 
this together by way of some application or further application, 
there are two or three things that I'd like to leave you with. 
First of all, notice this, that a theology of glory is never 
a substitute for the theology of the cross. A theology of glory is never 
the substitute for the theology of the cross. Jesus will always 
be misunderstood without the cross. Ecstasy Experiences that 
we might have are not better than the Word, 
or an exposition of the Word. Mysticism is not better than 
what we might call the mystery of the faith. Hearing the Word 
is always better than prolonging a specific spiritual experience. Now we have them. And we enjoy 
communion with God in private prayer. And there are things 
that occur in the Christian life that are meaningful to us. But God does not intend for us 
to prolong them, to hold on to them at the expense of biblical 
truth. Furthermore, they come and they 
go. You have them and then they disappear. But Christ is always 
present. Whether you feel Him or experience 
Him in some mystical way perhaps or not, He's always there. And 
what is most important then is not your experience of Him from 
time to time, these mountaintop experiences. We have them, enjoy 
them when they come. But what is central is not those 
experiences, but rather His experience for you at the cross. One writer says, this is a mountaintop 
experience but not the kind about which persons write glowingly 
of sunrises, soft breezes, warm friends, music, and quiet time. On this mountain, the subject 
is death, and the frightening presence of God reduces those 
present to silence. The experiences that we have 
are never marked by permanence. But the experience of Christ 
for us is marked by lasting and final permanence. It is a mark of unstable piety 
to prolong experiences by artificial agencies. It is not a mark of maturity. Secondly, notice from the text 
that the fulfilled exodus of Jesus Christ, remember, he's 
speaking about his decease, about his death, about his exodus, 
the fulfilled exodus of Jesus Christ ought to be a source of 
endless fascination for us. Notice that Moses and Elijah 
are talking about Christ and the cross. Jesus is talking about 
his own cross, and the Father from heaven as well is talking 
about the cross, and he says, this is my son, pay attention 
and listen to him. The most important event in the 
universe, the most important event in all of human history 
is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that ought 
to be, and indeed must be, the focus of his people's life here, 
and it certainly will be hereafter. We gather, how often for the 
Lord's Supper? Well, maybe monthly, maybe weekly. 
Different churches do it differently. But what is it that we remember? 
Why do we come together? Why do we gather? 1 Corinthians 
chapter 11, we remember his death until he comes. What happens 
when we get to heaven? And we sing the song of the lamb, 
the song that's recorded in Revelation chapter five. What is that song? 
Worthy is the lamb who was slain. Had a young man come to me one 
time. raised in a very reformed context, struggled with assurance. And he came to me and he'd been 
attending a church in which the focus, though Calvinistic, was 
not reformed. And the focus was upon sort of 
mystical kinds of experiences. And he was telling me that he 
just could not find assurance at all, could not find assurance. 
And I struggle with that. ways to help him and to answer 
the question without giving him a false sense of assurance. And 
every time I said something, he said, yeah, but he said, my 
pastor would say you're wrong because you don't have a PhD. 
And the guys he's listening to have a PhD, as if, I guess that 
somehow matters. The more degrees you have, the 
more you know the Bible. But at any rate, and I just, 
I was struggling to help him. And finally it occurred to me 
what I just said to you. And I said, wait a minute, how 
often do you come to the Lord's table? Well, in that church once a month. 
So what's the purpose of coming to the Lord's table? to remember 
his death, because his pastor was telling him, you need to 
get beyond the cross. And you need to find a way to 
love God for his own sake, for the sake of his glory. Again, 
this theology of glory, that's really what you need to do. If 
you do not have a self, a disinterested love for God, you really haven't 
gone all the way. And I said, I don't know that 
that's even possible. A disinterested love for God? And away from the cross, the 
Lord's Supper says no, and the Song of the Lamb tells us no. The fulfilled exodus of Jesus 
Christ ought to be and must be the source of endless fascination 
for us. One preacher has said, what Jesus 
accomplished in his exodus is worth a lifetime of careful study, 
and after that, an eternity of joyful praise. And then the third 
and final thing, and then we'll be finished. The third and the 
final thing, and in some ways perhaps the most important thing 
and something that gathers together virtually everything I've said 
in the sermon, and it's this. When Christ speaks, you must 
listen. Or to put it differently, Christ 
has spoken. Are you listening to Him? And I'm not asking you 
if you have out-of-body mystical kinds of experiences. But are 
you listening to Christ and have you heard him? Have you listened 
to Moses and Elijah and what they have to say about his exodus? Have you heard the words of Jesus? 
Are you paying attention? And if you heard the word of 
the father who says, this is my son, he's my anointed one. He's my servant. Listen to him, 
hear him. and go on listening to him. He is our mediator. He is the 
one appointed by the Father. He is the one who serves us faithfully 
as prophet, priest, and king. What more could we want? You 
know, it's as simple as all of that, and it's as complex and 
as glorious as all of that. What more could we want? Someone has said, in the spiritual 
life of a believer, the most wonderful spiritual experiences 
are the exception and of short duration. Those mountaintop experiences 
is what he's talking about. But God be thanked. Our Redeemer and Lord is and 
always remains close to us. This is my son. Hear him." Father in heaven, 
we do thank you for the gospel. We thank you for this glorious 
text, which, if we didn't have all of the words, we might be 
tempted to think that Peter was right and we ought to aim after 
all kinds of mystical experiences, retaining Jesus here and there 
in whatever way that we could. And yet, here is a text that 
reminds us that Christ Jesus has come among us to stay and 
to remain close to us in the gospel. So we would pray, oh 
God, that our thoughts and contemplation today and beyond might be upon 
Christ and upon this great gospel. We pray as well for those who 
may still be in their sins, never having repented for one reason 
or another, perhaps thinking that their temporary shelters 
of sticks might be good enough. We pray that they will hear the 
voice of the Father in the gospel and come to faith in the Lord 
Jesus. We pray all of these things then 
in Christ's name. Amen.