Transfiguration is a Perspective-Altering Event
Luke 9:28-36  +  The Transfiguration of our Lord

It’s one of those movie lines that just sticks with a person. I don’t remember the name of the movie or who starred in the movie. I don’t even remember the plot. But I remember the line – “If I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.” Obviously, the character who said that had a strong opinion and didn’t want to be bothered by another perspective. Though we might wish for a world filled with people who shared our opinions on absolutely everything, we’ll never have that. People have different perspectives. 

The truth is that there really is no harm in having different perspectives on many matters of life in this world. For example, you are free to think that vanilla ice cream is far better than chocolate ice cream. Some would feel sorry for your unenlightened ignorance, but there really is no harm in thinking that. However, when it comes to the Lord Jesus, there is great harm in having the wrong perspective. By nature, our spiritual perspective is all wrong. That’s why the Lord has given us his holy Word. Through that word, the Holy Spirit alters our perspective on Jesus. The portion of God’s holy Word before us this morning is one through which the Holy Spirit will change our hearts, because Transfiguration is a Perspective-Altering Event.

Jesus is not to be pitied, but praised

The disciples certainly had a unique perspective on Jesus. By this time they had spent probably two-and-a-half years with Jesus. They knew him as a good teacher, who explained Scripture to them more clearly and beautifully than anyone else ever had. They also knew him as a kind man who even served little children. The disciples also knew that he had special power from God. He performed many miracles before their very eyes – not long before this he had fed 5,000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish. When they added it all together – his powerful teaching and preaching, his kindness and his miraculous power, they came to this conclusion (rightly): Jesus was the Christ, the one that God had promised.  

That was the confession of the disciples just eight days before this account. When Jesus asked them, “Who do you say I am?” the disciples, through their spokesman Peter, said, “The Christ of God” (Luke 9:20). While that was definitely an accurate assessment, there was still some misunderstanding amongst the disciples as to the significance of that fact. You see, they had been taught in their youth to believe that when the Christ came, he would unite the people of Israel, and, as a great warrior, destroy all of the enemies of Israel. His rule would be marked not only by peace, but also great prosperity. 

Wanting to make sure that the disciples understood that he had not come to establish an earthly kingdom, Jesus explained what the Christ would do. He told them, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Luke 9:22). The Christ was going to give up his life for a world of sinners, to rescue them from the punishment that they deserved. Jesus also told them that they would be called upon to suffer, too. “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus said, “he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). 

Imagine how those words must have rocked the disciples’ world. There must have been some sadness as they realized that Jesus might be right, that the leaders of the Jews were so jealous of him that they would put him to death. Don’t you suppose they might have felt sorry for Jesus? He didn’t deserve rejection; he certainly didn’t deserve to be put to death. 

Jesus knew the sorrow that the disciples were feeling. He knew the pity that they had for him, that his career was being cut short by leaders who were interested only in their own authority. Jesus had to alter the disciples’ perspective, lest they see him simply as a tragic figure who suffered and died only because he couldn’t change the perspective of the leaders of the Jews. So, Jesus took Peter, James and John up on a mountain to alter their perspective. Jesus demonstrated to his disciples, in dramatic fashion, that he would not die because the mighty leaders of the Jews were jealous and he couldn’t escape their murderous plot. “As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.” The appearance of his face was altered in some way and his clothes were brighter than anything ever seen. The message is unmistakable. This Jesus is not just a man. He is God. He has all power. If he has the power to alter the appearance of his face and the brightness of his clothing, he has the power to avoid suffering and death. He has the power to destroy all of his enemies. His suffering and death, then, would not be the result of his weakness or of the intense hatred of the Jewish leaders, but because of his willingness to carry out the Father’s plan for the salvation of the world.

So intent was Jesus on altering the disciples’ perspective that he did something more than alter his appearance. He even brought some special guests on the scene. “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.” If he had the authority to summon Moses and Elijah from heaven to come and speak with him, then he certainly had the power to avoid arrest. If he suffered and died, it would not be because he couldn’t avoid it, but because he wanted to do so. What’s more, Moses and Elijah talked about Jesus’ departure, his exodus from this world. That was clear testimony to Peter, James and John that his suffering and death was not contrary to the will of God, contrary to the blueprints in heaven, but completely in accord with it. Jesus was not to be pitied, but praised. 

While the Lord was trying to teach his disciples that he would suffer because of his love for the world, they were fading in and out of sleep. When they finally woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and they saw Moses and Elijah standing with him. Their first thought must have been, “This is more like it. Finally he has chosen to use his power. This is the life we were anticipating when we dropped our nets, left everything and followed him.” But at that very moment, it became apparent that the glory was coming to an end, because Moses and Elijah were leaving. So Peter came up with a solution: “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Luke tells us that Peter didn’t know what he was saying. Moses and Elijah didn’t need a tent. For one thing, they had no need of sleep and no need of protection from the elements. They were no longer subject to the needs of the flesh. For another, they were not going to stay, because Jesus wasn’t going to stay. He was going to Jerusalem to die – not because he wasn’t strong enough to resist death, but because he was focused on the world’s redemption.

The transfiguration was to be, for the disciples, a perspective-altering event. They thought Jesus should be pitied, because those horrible Jews were going to put him to death and there was no way for Jesus to avoid it. The Transfiguration tells a different story. Jesus would not die because of the power of the Jewish leaders or his inability to stop their attack, but because he wanted to die. Jesus is not to be pitied, but praised.

Transfiguration demonstrates, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus is God. Jesus had the power to resist arrest. He chose not to use that power. So don’t pity him. If all we do is pity him, and feel sorry for him that he had to endure such horrible things, we are actually insulting Jesus. Then we are seeing him as nothing more than a mere human being. But he’s not just a human being. He is also the all-powerful God. He chose to put aside the full use of his power as God because he wanted to die for the sins of all people of all time, for your sins and mine. Because he’s God, his suffering and death count for all people of all time. There’s absolutely no reason to pity Jesus. There’s every reason to praise Jesus. 

You are no doubt aware of the movie “The Passion of the Christ” that will be coming out soon. I think many Christians are eager to see the movie, to see if it accurately portrays his suffering. I don’t doubt that it will be historically accurate in presenting the crucifixion. The greater challenge in presenting the suffering and death of Jesus is to indicate his willingness to suffer and die for the sins of the world. If all the movie does is lead us to feel sorry that such a thing had to happen to an innocent man, then it has worked at cross purposes with Scripture. While the Scriptures make it clear that our sin caused his suffering and death, the emphasis of the Scriptures is the willingness with which Jesus suffered. Let me state this most simply – Jesus didn’t die to make us feel bad.  He died to make us glad. He died to forgive our sins and to give us eternal life. 

Jesus is not to be dismissed, but heard

Have you ever had a conversation with someone whose face, you were convinced, belonged next to the word “pessimist” in the dictionary? Talk to a true pessimist and everything in the world is horrible and rotten. So what do you do when you have heard someone tell you how everything is horrible and everyone is against them? Don’t their words go in one ear and out the other? We simply dismiss their ranting and raving. 

That’s probably what the disciples thought about Jesus’ repeated predictions of his death. “Here he goes again,” they might have said as they rolled their eyes, “talking about how he’s going to die.” They dismissed what he had to say because it went against their view of things. They just couldn’t see how such a good man who had done so many good things could be put to death. Though the leaders of the Jews didn’t like Jesus, that didn’t automatically mean that they would resort to violence. Add to that the fact that the people seemed genuinely to appreciate Jesus and his power, and it seemed that Jesus’ predictions of his death were best dismissed as the words of a pessimist who was simply frustrated by the reception he was meeting among the leaders of the Jews. 

After seeing his glory, Peter, James, and John had even more reason to dismiss Jesus’ words as just “pessimistic.” That’s why God the Father stepped in. He wanted to alter their perspective. It began with a cloud. “While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.” A cloud, you may remember, was a symbol of God’s presence. When the people of Israel were leaving the land of Egypt, the Lord led them with a pillar of cloud by day. When God gave the Law to his people on Mt. Sinai, a cloud covered it. This cloud was meant to send a message to the disciples: “God has something to say about what is in your heart.” 

In the following verse we hear what the Lord had to say: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” God himself weighed in on the matter. They were not to dismiss what Jesus had said, but to listen to him. He even gives reason why they should listen to him. First, he says, “He is my Son.” That is to say, “He is God.” Turning a deaf ear to Jesus is turning a deaf ear to God. It is breaking the first commandment. It is idolatry. The person who dismisses what Jesus says makes himself his God. The Lord gives a second reason to listen to Jesus when he describes him as the one he has chosen. That is to say, “He is the Christ. He is the one promised on the pages of the Old Testament. He is the Prophet greater than Moses that I said I would send.” Since he is the Christ, and therefore the Prophet, all ears should be tuned to everything he says. 

Transfiguration was meant to be a perspective-altering event for Peter, James, and John. Jesus is not to be dismissed, but heard and believed. Since Jesus is God and he is the Prophet, everything he says is to be trusted. So, when Jesus tells us that we will face suffering because of our connection with him, we ought not dismiss that as unfair, considering all that we have given up for him. Yet, how often haven’t we grumbled about the trials we face in life, thinking that Jesus should give us better. When Jesus tells us to seek first the kingdom of God, to make his Word a priority in our lives, we cannot dismiss that. He is to be trusted. Too often, though, we do dismiss the study of his Word as unnecessary, since we know what we need to know and don’t really need to know anymore. 

Because we have dismissed the Lord Jesus and his word in these and other ways, we deserve to be dismissed ourselves. Had Jesus thought about how we would respond to his word and determined on that basis whether or not to go to the cross, there would never have been a crucifixion. Had Jesus considered our thankfulness and our obedience in deciding whether or not to offer his life into death, there would have been no passion of Christ. But Jesus thought only of our redemption, exclusively of our forgiveness. That’s why he allowed himself to be punished. That’s why he gave up his life – to take away our sin and cover us in righteousness before his Father.

When we know the Savior’s love for us and his gracious forgiveness of all our sin, we want to listen to him. Transfiguration has altered our perspective on Jesus. We do not want to dismiss anything of what he says in his word, even if it is hard to understand, even if it disagrees with our experience. We hear what he says and we believe it. That is the key to the Christian life: listening to Jesus instead of dismissing him. When he says that our sins have been forgiven, that we need not carry around guilt, we listen and we believe. When he says that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us, we listen and we believe. When he promises to be with us in good and bad, we listen and we believe. 

We’re ready now. We’re ready for the forty days of Lent. We’re ready to watch the Lord Jesus suffer and die. Transfiguration has altered our perspective. Transfiguration assures us that Jesus suffered out of love for our souls. He suffered and died, not because he was weak and powerless, but because he was strong. Amen.