Matthew 17:1-9 + Transfiguration (B) + Rev. Charles Lehmann
In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
Your Lord is a consuming fire. When the bright cloud of His presence
descends on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John quake in fear.
But why should they tremble when the cloud comes but not before? Jesus is
shining like the sun, and his clothes are as white as uncreated light. Moses
and Elijah stand on the mountain with Him. The one whom they prophesied now
stands in human vesture but Jesus shines as brightly as Sinai did when Moses
received the Lord's Law. The glory here is far greater than when Elijah saw
the fire of God fall from heaven and completely consume the offered sacrifice.
This should be enough for the disciples to tremble, but it isn't. When
God reveals Himself in His glory, He's not safe. The Lord tells Moses to keep
the people from coming up the mountain. In order for them to even come up part
way they need blood on them. Sin has ripped them apart from God and it is only
by death that they can be safely brought together again.
Before the elders of Israel approach the Lord, they need blood dripping
from their beards. The Lord receives the blood as an atonement for their sins.
And so the Lord does not raise His hand against the Israelites. They see God,
and they eat and drink.
But the Lord has wrapped Himself up. He has taken human nature into
Himself, and so Jesus is able to allow his glory to shine through His humanity
without destroying his friends. Though He shines like the Sun, His light does
not beat down on them. Peter, James, and John are not set ablaze like the
stubble that they are. By the Lord's mercy, they they see God and live.
But their attention is divided. Peter is excited about the heavenly
visitors. He wants to build tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He says, “It
is good, Lord, to be here.” It's been less than a week since Jesus said to
Peter, “Get behind me, Satan,” but Peter is at it again.
The transfiguration is Peter's Martha moment. John tells us about the
time that Martha was hard at work getting everything ready for Jesus, the
honored guest. But Mary sat at Jesus feet. Mary held fast to her Lord's
words. And she received the Lord's commendation for this.
We sometimes joke that somebody had to do the work, and that's certainly
what we in our unbelief want to think. We are not willing to acknowledge God's
mercy. We refuse to believe that when the Lord comes into our midst it is only
He that should be working.
There is a Sabbath for the people of God. The Lord commands that on His
day, in the moment He comes to teach us, to nourish us with His word of
forgiveness, and to feed us with His body and blood... In that day we are to do
nothing. He commands us to rest. He demands our sloth.
To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, his
faith is credited as righteousness. But that won't do for Peter. There are
honored guests. They need a place to stay. If he doesn't do it, it won't get
done.
But the church is not about Peter's works, Martha's works, your works, or
my works. It is about Jesus. It is about what Jesus is doing for you. When
you come into the Lord's house and pay attention to your works, you are
ignoring Jesus. Here, in the divine service, when the Lord is coming to you
with salvation, attention to your works can only come between you and Jesus.
That's the problem with Peter. He wants to stay on the mountain. He
remembers what he was rebuked for, but he hasn't learned his lesson. When
Jesus said that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, to suffer, to die,
and to rise again, Peter gave what could have been considered a good and pious
response. He said, “God be merciful to you, O Lord.” But this was the answer
of Satan, and Jesus said so. “Get behind me Satan! You have not in mind the
things of God but the things of men.”
Peter refused to listen to the words of Jesus. When Jesus spoke of the
necessity of his death and resurrection, Peter had a better idea. God could be
merciful to Jesus. God could figure out another way. There is no need for
Jesus to suffer. There is no need for Jesus to die.
But that's the way of Satan. Satan wants to steer Jesus away from the
cross. Satan does not want Jesus to save you. He wants you in hell for
eternity. And in Peter's words he ironically wants the same thing. First he
is Satan's mouthpiece by denying the necessity of the cross, and later, in a
more subtle way, he tries to steer the Lord away from his path by building
tents on the mountain.
If Jesus stays on the mountain, then there will be no crucifixion in
Jerusalem. But Jesus is about to turn toward Jerusalem. He will go there; he
will suffer, and he will die. Despite the fact that Peter wants mercy for
Jesus on the cross, there will be no mercy for him. The Father will strike the
shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. The Father will pour down His Son's
throat the full cup of his wrath. There will be no mercy for Jesus on Good
Friday. Mercy for Jesus would mean eternal hell for all the Peters and Marthas
of the world. It would mean hell for you. It would mean hell for me.
Peter is focused on Peter. Peter wants to keep His Lord for Himself, and
he wants to stay on the mountain as long as possible. But He's missing the
point. The Glory of the Lord shines from the mountain. But there's only one
thing that can make it safe for man to dwell with God. Blood. Blood dripped
from the beards of the elders of Israel. And Jesus has come into the world to
shed His blood. That is the one and only reason that Peter, James, and John
haven't been destroyed already. Jesus will reveal the fullness of his glory
when blood flows freely from His sacred veins.
And so Peter's satanic ways have to be answered on the Mount of
Transfiguration. The cloud of the Lord's glory appears, shining brightly with
the light of the Father's presence. Peter, James, and John hear his voice.
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Now the disciples tremble. Now the disciples quake with fear and despair
for their lives. The Father's command is a word of harshest law. “Listen to
Him.” But they haven't been. Peter is representative of the rest. They've
not been listening to the Lord's words. They're stunned by the miracle, and
they're hoping to make the experience last as long as they can, but they're not
listening to Jesus.
Between the cloud on the one hand and the voice on the other, they are
terrified. They expect to die. They know they've blown it. Their sin and
their guilt is now laid bear not only before Jesus, but the Father as well.
Like Isaiah in the temple they are probably saying in their hearts, “I am lost;
for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
But fortunately for them, and for you and me, the Lord's ways are not our
ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. He does not give to these three
sinners the wrath and the destruction that we know they deserve. He comes and
touches them, and when they look up they see Jesus only.
Jesus has not only come to Peter, James, and John in this way. Your flesh
and blood Savior will touch your lips today also. His body and blood will pass
into your mouth and nourish you with life, salvation, and the forgiveness of
sins. He came in the flesh to redeem those in the flesh.
Though you have earned nothing but the Father's wrath, Jesus has taken it
for Himself. Instead He has come to you in love and mercy. Though you are
Peters and Marthas, the Lord forgives you. He credits to you His works. He
forgives your sins. He continues to come to you week by week with the mercy He
won when He bore all the Father's wrath for you on the cross. He suffered the
punishment for your sin. He shed His blood. He ransomed you from the grave.
These are not metaphors, dear Christians. They are realities. You are
ransomed, justified, forgiven, and saved from all your idolatry of works.
After the transfiguration, Peter would eventually write that he was an
eyewitness of the Lord's Glory. In a way, so are you, but not an eyewitness,
but rather an earwitness.
You see Jesus with your ears. You don't see His body and blood. They are
hidden in the bread and wine. But you hear that they are there, and you know
that the Lord has come to you. He has come to you with a touch of mercy just
as he came to Peter, James, and John.
Your Savior is manifested in all His glory for you today. Rejoice, for
your sins are forgiven and you are free.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rev. Charles R. Lehmann
Assistant Pastor, Youth and Education
Peace with Christ Lutheran Church
Fort Collins, CO
http://wickedbutforgiven.blogspot.com/
http://believeloveprayfight.blogspot.com/
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