“And Peter answered and said to 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 Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.” Mark 9:5-6 (Read 2-10)

What do we learn from Jesus’ transfiguration? Why do we consider it just before we enter the season of Lent and focus our attention on Jesus’ innocent sufferings and death for the sins of the world? And, why must we, like Jesus’ three disciples, go down from the mountain?

First of all, we learn that Jesus is indeed the eternal Son of God for His disciples saw His glory – a glory which was hidden from their eyes during His earthly ministry. And, God the Father spoke from the cloud of glory, saying, “This is my beloved Son: hear him.” Cf. Deuteronomy 18:15; Mark 1:11; John 12:28.

Secondly, we learn from the transfiguration the truthfulness of the Scriptures and all they teach concerning Jesus and the Christian Faith. As Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:16-21, Biblical Christianity is not some cunningly devised fable to deceive the world. Jesus is indeed the Son of God and His doctrine is true. Peter, James and John were there on the holy mount. They saw Jesus in glory and they heard the testimony of God the Father concerning His Son.

Thirdly, we learn from Jesus’ glory, when compared to the fading glory which shone on Moses’ face in Exodus 34:29ff., as well as the fact that Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus “of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31), that the purpose of the Old Covenant was to point people to the New Covenant which Jesus would put in place by the shedding of His blood upon the cross.

Fourthly, we learn that, as Moses’ face reflected the glory of the LORD after he communed with the LORD in the tabernacle of meeting, so we, when we commune with our Lord Jesus through Word and Sacrament, reflect more and more the glory of our Savior. Cf. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Fifthly, we learn that Moses and Elijah also appeared with Jesus in glory. They were glorified and so also will we who believe be glorified with our Lord Jesus when He returns for us in clouds of glory. Cf. Revelation 7:9-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:35ff.; 1 John 3:2.

And finally, we learn that, though it is wonderful to be on the mount and see the Lord’s glory, we have to come down into the valley of this world. As Jesus descended from the mountain to bear the sins of the world and to suffer and die upon the cross, so also we are called to take up our crosses and follow Jesus (cf. Mark 8:34). As long as we live in this world, we have work to do here in the valley. We are called upon to “go … into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). We are to preach “repentance and remission of sins” in Jesus’ name to all nations (Luke 24:46-47) that others, too, might see Jesus for who He is and place their faith in Him. We are to proclaim the glorious Gospel of Christ Jesus that others, too, might partake of His glory.

Yes, “it is good for us to be here” and we need to be here that we might be assured of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, but we also have work to do down in this world that others might learn of Jesus and partake of the glory which awaits all who trust in Him!

O glorious Jesus, Son of God and our Savior, You have shown us Your glory that we might know You and have a glimpse of the glory to come, but You humbled Yourself and went to the cross that we might have pardon and forgiveness and be raised up in glory on the Last Day. Grant that we hear Your Word, trust in You and proclaim Your glorious Gospel to the world. Amen.

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:16-21

The Christian Faith is not built upon cunningly devised fables. It does not rest upon the visions of one or two founders (such as the faith of Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventists or Islam) The Christian Faith, unlike other religions, is a religion based on historical fact – witnessed by not only a privileged few but by 12 apostles, numerous prophets and hundreds and even thousands of eyewitnesses.

The Apostle Paul could testify in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

If people had doubts about the resurrection of Jesus, there were ample numbers who had witnessed Jesus’ death and had seen Him alive again after His resurrection. They didn’t have to take the word of one or two witnesses. The events surrounding Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were witnessed by so many they were undisputed. If you notice in the Gospel accounts, Jesus’ enemies didn’t dispute the things He had done; they disputed by what power He had done them.

Peter himself was a witness to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. And, as he says in this epistle, he was there on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus (cf. Matthew 17:1ff.) when God the Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

And we Christians have far more proof and documentation upon which to build our faith than just Peter’s testimony. As he writes, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

As Christians, we have the testimony of Scriptures, written over a period of about 1,600 years by approximately 33 different authors – though, in fact, it has only one author, and that is God who moved these men to write and put into their hearts and minds the words which they wrote so that all of Scripture is God’s own inspired or God-breathed Word (cf. 2 Timothy 3:15-17).

It is as is recorded of David in 2 Samuel 23:1-2: “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.”

Notice that the Bible does not teach that the writers of Scripture were inspired – though God indeed did move them to write – it says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). The Scriptures themselves are God-breathed and inspired.

Though recorded by so many different men and over such a lengthy period of time, the Scriptures agree completely and throughout. There are no unexplainable discrepancies. The message is the same from beginning to end: Man has sinned and fallen short, but God provided redemption in His Son.

And so, our faith rests upon solid truth – upon the witness of so many eyewitnesses who were so convinced of the truth they gave their lives for it, and upon the witness of God Himself who gave us the Scriptures and has preserved them down through the centuries as a witness of the truth that we might be made “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15; cf. Matthew 5:18; 24:14).

Yes, the Scriptures reveal the holy will of God and our utter failure to live up to His law, but the same Scriptures assure us that “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). The Scriptures assure us that God “hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:6,7).

We would do well to pay heed to the Scriptures “as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.” When we read our Bibles, attend church where the Scriptures are faithfully taught and listen carefully to God’s inspired Word, the Scriptures are like a light shining in a dark place – they reveal to us Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, the Light of the world.

Again, the Scriptures themselves say: “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple” (Psalm 119:130).
Through the hearing of God’s Word, God shines into our hearts and reveals to us Jesus and salvation in Him.

It is as Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (2 Corinthians 4:6), “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

And so, unlike other religions and faiths, our faith rests upon the witness of many chosen apostles and prophets recorded for us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. It rests upon the witness of God Himself, recorded for us in His inspired Scriptures. God’s Word shines like a light into a dark place – it shines into our hearts to reveal to us Christ Jesus and to show us the salvation God provided for us in Him! It tells us that in Christ Jesus we have a lively hope – the everlasting joys of heaven – because He shed His holy and precious blood to redeem us and make us His own and is risen again (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-9, 18-19).

God grant that the light of His Word shine in our hearts and reveal to us Christ Jesus and salvation in Him. Amen.

“But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” Exodus 34:34-35 (Read v. 29-35)

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with God’s commandments, he didn’t realize that his face shown with God’s glory because he had been in the presence of the LORD God. Because of it, the people were afraid to come near him.

Moses wore a veil over his face so that the people could not see the glory fading away (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:13). He took off the veil when he went in before the LORD in the tabernacle of meeting. He came out and told the people the words of the LORD and then covered his face with the veil until he next went in before the LORD.

As St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the same veil yet remained and prevented the people of Israel from seeing that the glory of the Old Covenant was fading away because its purpose was to point people to Christ and the New Covenant instituted by Messiah Jesus when He shed His blood on the cross and made atonement for the sins of all people (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8-9). It is only when people come to faith in Christ that the veil is lifted and people come to see the Old Covenant in its proper light – not as a way of salvation but pointing to Christ Jesus and the salvation He provided by His atoning sacrifice!

Today, too, people fail to see the fading glory of the Old Covenant and wish to use the New Covenant only as a patch on the Old. They miss out on the glories of the New Covenant and fail to take hold of the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting which are ours through faith in Christ Jesus and His blood shed for us upon the cross.

Does the veil still cover your eyes? Are you looking to your own works and obedience under the law for your salvation? Or has the veil been removed? Do you see your sins and failures under the law and look in faith to Christ Jesus and His perfect obedience and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross for the sins of the world as the basis of your salvation?

O glorious Savior, open my eyes to see my sins and shortcomings under the law and grant that I believe the gospel and place my faith alone in You and Your sacrifice upon the cross for the sins of the world. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 (Read v. 7-18)

Does your face shine? Does it, like the face of Moses, reflect the glory of the LORD God? But, does it diminish as did the face of Moses after he had talked to the LORD and shared the words of the LORD with the people, or is it growing in brightness? Are you reflecting more and more of the Lord’s glory every day?

When Moses entered into the presence of the LORD God, his face shone with the glory of God; but after sharing God’s Word with the people, Moses put a veil over his face so the people would not see that glory fading away. But he removed the veil when he went back into the presence of the LORD and again reflected God’s glory for a time as he shared God’s Word with the people (cf. Exodus 34:29-35; Mark 9:2-10).

The apostle Paul tells us that veil remains over the heart of the unbelieving Jews to this day. When they hear the law of God read and proclaimed, they see its glory but they do not see that glory fade away because of man’s sinfulness and inability to keep God’s commandments. And with that veil over their face, they fail to see a greater and more glorious covenant established by the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus in our stead. With the veil over their eyes, they do not see the fading glory of God’s law or their need for a Savior from sin and eternal death.

But when we, by the grace of God, come to Christ and place our faith and hope in Him and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, the veil is lifted from our eyes. Instead of attempting to be righteous in God’s eyes by the keeping of the law, we acknowledge our failures to keep that law and look to the holy life and innocent sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ in our stead. We recognize that Jesus has fulfilled God’s laws for us and that He paid in full for all our sins when He died upon the cross and rose again (cf. 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 10:4).

Those with the veil over their face may try their best to keep God’s law and measure up to His glory; but no matter how hard they try, they fail and come short (cf. Rom. 3:23). But those of us who place our hope in the redemption accomplished by Christ Jesus (cf. Romans 3:24-26) are counted righteous and holy for Jesus’ sake and are being changed by the sanctifying work of God’s Spirit into the image of Christ.

The closer we draw to our Savior, the more the Spirit is able to transform us into the image of Christ. And, of course, that sanctifying work will finally be completed in us when we are raised up on the last day in a perfect and glorified body like our Lord Jesus (cf. Romans 8:28-30; 1 John 3:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:49ff.; Philippians 3:20-21).

Dear Lord Jesus, as we see You through Your Word and behold Your glory, change us more and more into Your image until that day when we are changed and raised up without sin to be like You. We ask this for the sake of the redemption You accomplished for all when You suffered and died upon the cross and rose again. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38

Those who trust in Christ Jesus believe His words. They do not pick and choose, nor do they twist or explain away Jesus’ words and teaching. They accept His teaching on all things – even where it is contrary to contemporary public opinion. In fact, Jesus warns that, if we are ashamed of Him and His words in this present adulterous and sinful generation, He will be ashamed of us at His coming.

Do we live in an adulterous and sinful generation? Without a doubt! Even “Christians” and “churches” adulterate Jesus’ words and teaching to fit their opinions and lifestyles and to be more acceptable to this world.

And what do Jesus and His words entail? He said marriage is between one man and one woman, citing Genesis 2 (Matthew 19:3-9). He condemned adultery, pornography and divorce (Matthew 5:27-32). He was there in Genesis 18, talking with Abraham about God’s judgment upon the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. He is the one who forms and gives life in the womb (Psalm 139:13-16 and John 1:1-4). Jesus called God His Father and not His mother or some neuter-generic name.

Jesus also taught that He is the only way to the Father, that apart from faith in Him as the eternal Son of God and Savior we will die in our sins and be condemned to hell (John 14:6; 3:14-36; 8:24).

Are we ashamed of Jesus and His words? Do we shrink back from confessing Jesus as our God and Savior in the present adulterous and sinful generation? Do we pick and choose or twist His words to make our beliefs and teaching more palatable to those around us? Do we use our own limited reason to explain away what we don’t understand or what does not fit our modern worldview? Do we trust in our own works and lives rather than repenting of the sin and evil in our lives and looking to Jesus and His cross as our sole source of salvation?

Consider Jesus’ warning: “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Dearest Jesus, forgive me for failing to confess You and Your words without shame before this adulterous and sinful generation. Grant that I hold fast to You in faith and boldly proclaim Your name. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible]