Intro
What is glory?  Whatever glory is, rock stars exude its essence, inspiring many 
a teenager to pick up a guitar or play the drums.  So also top athletes, with 
an aura of mystery with its drawing power—as long as they are winning.  Earned 
by their sacrifices, others also hold such an allure.  Do we not honor our 
military, firefighters, police, or those in medical fields who save the lives 
of others?  Of course.

Main Body
Now, if we can’t pinpoint its exact essence, neither do we let such a minor 
impediment hinder us.  Dazzled by glory’s greatness, we are sucked in by its 
power.  Perhaps, the amazingness of the rock star or the athlete will wash over 
us, if we can touch them.  In the presence of such impressive grandeur, we find 
ourselves ensnared.  The savor of stardom and the tingle of success, so feeble 
do we find ourselves next to its attraction.

The prophet, Moses, wanted to gaze on such glory too.  Earlier, with a bush 
aflame before him, his eyes confront the God of Israel in a fire, with the 
plant still unscorched.  The impressive deeds of the Almighty against the 
Egyptians still resonate within him.  So much did the man experience.  

Still, Moses sidles up to God, “Please show me your glory.”  Such an unsafe 
request he makes!  Perhaps, but God comes in mercy, in a way, which will still 
preserve Moses’ life.  The Merciful One allows him to delight in His goodness, 
the goodness of Yahweh.  Are we like Moses, wanting more, to marvel in the 
glory?  

What if Moses, a sinner, stood in the Almighty’s presence, unmasked, holy and 
righteous?  Instantaneous death, for his frailty caused by sin’s corruption, 
cannot withstand the full holiness of the Almighty.  So, the Lord responds in 
mercy, “You cannot glimpse my face, for no one who does will live.”  In the 
crevice of the rock, God cloisters him, saving Moses from death.  The prophet 
will only set eyes on God’s “back,” on His passing glory—perhaps, the minimal 
glance of fading splendor.

The Scriptures say: In many portions and many ways, God spoke to His people of 
old by the prophets.  In these last days, He did so through His Son (Hebrews 
1:1-2).  Yes, God did speak to Moses and the other prophets, but no more.  For 
God chose to reveal Himself to us—in the form and fashion of a man—in His Son.  

So, our Lord’s disciples experience more than a passing glance at God.  Every 
day, they gaze on God’s presence—not in His majestic wonder, but in breathing, 
blood-pumping flesh—in Jesus, the Son of the Father.  

A follower of Jesus, Philip, once fancied what Moses craved.  “Lord, show us 
the Father, and we will be content” (John 14:8).  How do you think his Lord 
responded?  “Don’t you understand me, Philip?  Whoever gazes at me gazes on the 
Father.”

Still, with more to come, Jesus will surprise them.  The inner circle—Peter, 
James, and John—climbs with Christ to the top a mountain.  At the top, tired 
from the climb, their Lord transfigures before them, astounding them in His 
divine majesty.  

The everyday, ordinary appearance of Jesus changes as He reveals His divine 
splendor.  Aglow like the sun, His face dazzles, His clothing becomes white as 
pure light.  The Old-Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah, show up, speaking 
with the Messiah about His death and resurrection, events soon to take place.

A short time elapses.  A bright cloud envelops the disciples, and they fear the 
voice coming to them from eternity.  “This is my Son, whom I love; listen to 
him.”  The sound of God pierces their eardrums as they gaze on divine glory.   

The three men fall face down, which is Scripture’s word to describe the posture 
of worship.  To the ground, they fall in holy fear.  The brightness fades, and 
their Savior comes to them, touching them, raising them up.   

What a story to tell to others and anyone else within earshot!  Not so fast 
relays their Lord.  “Don’t tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man 
rises from the dead.”  Now is not the time to call forth the story.

What the three disciples experience is a glimmer, a preview, of Christ in His 
exaltedness.  Let’s pause for a moment and think about what happened before 
Jesus returned to His throne in heaven.  For something needs to take place 
first.  Yes, His execution and death, for our Lord’s glory will come only after 
going through the cross. 

On the night He suffers betrayal, the Son prays to His Heavenly Father.  

Father, the hour is here.  Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.  
For You gave him authority over all people, so he can give eternal life to all 
those you gave to him.   Now, this is eternal life: to know you, the only true 
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.  On earth, I glorified you by completing 
the work you gave me to do.  Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared 
before the world began.  [John 17:1-5] 

The hour arrives.  So, the Father glorifies the Son through His work of 
salvation.

The prophet of old wants to bask in the Almighty’s blazing brilliance.  Such 
foolishness, for in such a meeting, death will come to slay him.  So, the 
Merciful One allows a hidden sliver to come before Moses.  Later, God will also 
hide His magnificence and power, displayed to the world in the weakness and 
shame of the cross.  

In Christ’s suffering and death, our Creator restores the world to Himself.  
The Son honors the Father through His willing sacrifice, who offers Himself for 
the sins of the world, for your sins.  On the third day, after His death, the 
Father sends the Spirit to raise His Son, Jesus, back to life.  With His 
redeeming work complete, the crucified and risen Lord returns to heaven, 
exalted to reign at the right hand of the Father.

Peter describes his mountaintop encounter of his Savior blazing before him in 
full opulence.  In a letter he wrote, “We witnessed his majestic glory and 
listened to a voice from heaven on the sacred mountain” (2 Peter 1:16, 18).  
Now, our eyes never took in Jesus as a man living among us.  An Apostle’s eyes 
who did, Peter, directs us to another witness—the prophetic Word—so we may 
learn what our eyes did not capture.  

So, we should heed the Word “like a lamp shining in a gloomy place.”  Through 
the witness of the Word, we gaze on our Savior, but can only do so with 
believing eyes.  So, we too can rejoice in the story of our Lord’s life, 
crucifixion, and rise from death.  In His Supper, as His people, we also eat 
and drink of His glory, where He forgives our sins and nourishes our faith.

The disciples receive instructions.  Don’t talk about your experience on the 
mountain until I rise from the dead.  After the empty tomb, oh what a story, an 
account, to tell, for they are eyewitnesses!  

To witness something requires two actions.  First, you need to be watching some 
event—if you don’t, you aren’t a witness.  Second, you tell someone else what 
your eyes earlier took in.  In other words, you describe what took place to 
another.

One problem: Does Jesus walk and talk among us, like He did with His first 
followers?  No, for He rose from death and is now in heaven.  So, you and I 
can’t be witnesses.  To do so, we must be watching something, in real time, 
with our own eyes, and later tell someone else what happened.  

Does not being able to witness Jesus now mute our mouths and silence our 
tongues?  No, for the Almighty Word still comes to us to grace our lives in the 
proclaimed Word.  This changes who we are, changing us from witnesses to 
confessors.  

Such a change also takes place in the language of the New Testament.  To 
first-generation Christians, whose eyes gazed on Christ in human flesh and 
form, Scripture uses “witness” and “testify.”  To the second generation, 
Scripture switches to confess—confessing the Christian faith, the Christian 
hope, and the Gospel (1 Tim 6:12, Heb 10:23, 2 Cor 9:13).    

Today, we do not witness about what Jesus did.  For we did not catch sight of 
His death and resurrection.  No, we “confess.”  To confess also consists of two 
parts.  First, confessing involves hearing something.  The second part of 
confessing is repeating the Word you received, saying the same.  

The Scriptures tell us, “Faith comes by hearing, hearing the spoken word of 
Christ” (Romans 10:17).  No wonder God calls us to “walk by faith and not by 
sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), which is trusting what He calls you to believe, not 
following your experiences or feelings.

In the proclaimed Word coming to us this day, the glory of eternity, revealed 
in Christ, graces our ears.  The story of our salvation comes to us anew, 
entering our hearts.  
On the Last Day, however, what we believe will become sight.  For our Redeemer 
will return, and we will bask in His blazing brilliance.  

The Apostle John reveals: “Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we 
will be is yet to come.  Not so when he appears, for we will be like him 
because we will see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).  Glory!  One day, believing in 
our risen Lord, we will delight and share in the unmasked, eternal splendor of 
God.  

Conclusion
Today, however, is different.  A story lingers on our lips and tongue, awaiting 
our retelling.  This story to be told, is greater than any in human history, 
the story of salvation!  For what your ears receive, your mouths can speak.  
Amen.
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