The Transfiguration #2

Introduction and Review of the Transfiguration Narrative

0:04 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, August 10th, 1986, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now may I urge you to turn with me in your own Bibles to the Gospel according to Mark as we continue our consecutive expositions of this account of the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus given to us by the Holy Spirit through the pen of Mark under the tutelage of the Apostle Peter. And in our studies of Mark we have come to that very striking event commonly called the Transfiguration. It is found in Mark chapter 9, and I shall read in your hearing verses 2 through 8. Mark chapter 9, commencing the reading with verse 2. And after, After six days Jesus takes with him Peter and James and John, and brings them up into a high mountain apart by themselves.

1:16 And he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, as no fuller or bleacher of garments on earth can whiten them. And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. For he knew not what to answer, for they became sore afraid.

1:58 And there came a cloud overshadowing them, and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son, hear him. And suddenly, looking round about, they saw no one any more save Jesus only with themselves. Now let us again seek the face of God in prayer, that everything we have sung about in the previous hymn may indeed be true this morning, that a glory will shine forth from these sacred pages, that we may be given to see our Lord, and to love him and to serve him. Let us pray.

2:44 Our Father, when we come to such portions of Scripture as the one read in our hearing, we feel that we, like Moses, have come to a bush that burns and yet is not consumed. And we hear you say to us, Take off the shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is holy ground. And as we seek to contemplate all of the mysteries bound up in the person of our Lord Jesus, truly God and yet truly man, in all the integrity of Godhood and yet veiled so that he appeared as an ordinary man, we come again to this portion in which something of his inherent glory breaks forth before the eyes of his disciples, and we confess we cannot encompass the mystery, with our puny little minds, with our feeble and staggering spirits, before such mysteries. Oh, help us by the ministry of the Spirit to grasp what you are saying to us through this record of the transfiguration of your beloved Son. In dependence upon your Spirit, we come and expect help from you to understand your mind as revealed in the Scriptures, hear our prayer and do not disappoint

4:13 the expectation of our faith through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. We do come this morning to our second meditation upon this amazing incident in the earthly life of our Lord, that which is commonly called the transfiguration. And in our first study of this passage three Lord's Days ago, all I attempted to do was to, open up the passage, in terms of its essential content, precisely what is given to us in this narrative.

4:54 And I did so by breaking down the material into three very natural headings. First of all, we noted the precise setting of the transfiguration, both in Mark's account, and in Matthew and Luke's account. We are told the precise time at which, event occurred. It was six days after the first clear revelation of our Lord to the disciples that he was on his way to Jerusalem to suffer, to be killed, and to be raised from the dead on the third day. This event occurred six days after that explicit, clear, blunt teaching about the path that he must walk in fulfillment of his messianic functions. Furthermore, it was the first time he spoke in clear, concentrated ways about the cost of discipleship, that if one were to follow him, he must say no to himself, take up his own cross, and follow him. And so the precise setting of this transfiguration as to its time, was six days after what could be nothing less than shocking teaching had come to the ears of the disciples. Then we are told something about the witnesses to this event, that inner circle of

6:22 Peter, James, and John. The place of this event was on a high mountain in true seclusion, not the semi-seclusion that so often is recorded in Mark's gospel, where the crowd was just a stone's throw away. When Jesus was speaking in a more private setting, but this was true apartness. You see, the text says that he took them into a high mountain apart by themselves. And then the spiritual context of this event is given to us by Luke, for he tells us that Jesus' purpose in going up into that mountain was specifically to give himself to a season of extension. So that's the precise setting of the transfiguration, the time, the witnesses, the place, and the spiritual context. Then we considered under the second heading the specific details of the transfiguration. There are details recorded that relate to the person of Jesus, to the disciples of Jesus, and to God the Father. With reference to Jesus himself, it is said that he was

7:37 transfigured before them. He underwent a metamorphosis in their very presence that resulted in his countenance and his garments shining with a brightness that caused the sun to appear dull by comparison. His attendants in this were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in that setting speaking with him. The details of the disciples' action and the reason for it is given to us, or are given to us, in verses 5 and 6. Peter wants to capture this moment, and so he says, Lord, let us build three booths, temporary dwellings, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah. And the reason for this language, this suggestion of Peter is very clearly given to us. He knew not what to answer. It was the blethering of a man filled with fear and shock, and he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. And then we have the

8:45 details of the action of God the Father, both the visual and the audible. Suddenly, the Shekinah glory cloud appears, and out of that cloud comes a voice saying, this is my beloved Son, hear him. And then in verse 8, we are given the sequel to the transfiguration. Suddenly, just as suddenly as he was transfigured before them, he receives, as it were, into his previous state, and they see Jesus in all of his ordinary appearance. The two heavenly visitors have gone back into the immediate presence of God, and suddenly they saw no one anymore, save Jesus only with themselves. Well, so much for that brief review of what it took about an hour to expound of the actual content of the account of the transfiguration. Now today, we direct our minds to the general theme of the significance of this amazing event, the significance of the transfiguration. As we behold in Scripture this event, we must inevitably ask, what is God doing in this particular incident?

The Significance of the Transfiguration for Our Lord Jesus Christ

10:08 What was he saying to his Son? What was he conveying to the disciples? What is he saying to us? While avoiding all irreverent speculation, is there any clear message coming to us from the dazzling face of Jesus, from the glistering garments of Jesus, from the heavenly visitors, Moses and Elijah?

10:38 Is there any clear word of God coming to us from the bright cloud, and from the voice that thundered, saying, This is my Son, hear him? Well, in reverent dependence upon the Holy Spirit, and with a determination not to go beyond what Scripture reveals, I want you to consider with me, first of all, the significance of the transfiguration for our Lord himself, and that will take the place of the transfiguration. In the bulk of our time, and then briefly in conclusion, the significance of the transfiguration for us. First of all, then, the significance of the transfiguration to our Lord himself. And I acknowledge without embarrassment that I am in great debt to a servant of God from another generation for some of the seeds of the thoughts that I lay before you, that servant of God being A.B. Bruce, who is the one who is going to be the first to be born.

The Father's Upholding of the Son: A Preview of Glory

11:40 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the message of the transfiguration. What, then, is God the Father saying to God the Son in this singular incident of the transfiguration?

12:10 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

13:10 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

14:12 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

15:12 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

16:13 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

17:13 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

18:13 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

19:14 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

20:14 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

21:16 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

22:16 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

23:17 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

24:21 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

25:21 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

26:25 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

27:27 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

28:27 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

29:28 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

30:29 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

31:32 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

32:33 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

33:35 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

34:41 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

35:57 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

37:03 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration.

The Father's Upholding of the Son: Fellowship with Glorified Saints

38:23 A.B. Bruce, who wrote a masterful work called The Training of the Twelve, and in his treatment of the transfiguration, I first found some of these thoughts set forth, and as I pursued them and examined them, became more and more convinced that they were indeed the heart of the transfiguration. event, they perceive the vision that Jesus must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die to secure in time the very region which has landed them safely in heaven, as God has already applied to them the virtue of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Oh, what a ministry to the Son of God was this transfiguration. It is the Father upholding the Son, upholding Him by giving Him a preview of His coming glory, upholding Him by granting to Him an insight to and fellowship with the sympathy and the understanding of glorified saints, but strengthening and upholding Him in a third way, by granting Him a verbal declaration

The Father's Upholding of the Son: Verbal Declaration of Delight and Approval

39:47 of fatherly delight and approval, by granting Him a verbal declaration of fatherly delight and approval. Notice what Mark tells us. There came a cloud, verse 7, overshadowing them. There came a voice out of the cloud. This is my beloved Son, hear ye Him. Mark gives us the abbreviated version. Matthew gives us the fuller version. This is my beloved Son in whom I listen to Him. What was the Father doing? Well, He was doing here precisely the same thing. He was doing here precisely what He did at the inauguration of our Lord's public ministry. You remember in Mark's gospel several years ago when we began our expositions, in the first chapter we beheld our Lord standing in the river Jordan, undergoing a sinner's ordinance, publicly identifying Himself with sinners, publicly declaring that His messianic function had to do with undertaking the liabilities of sinners. And as He does, Mark 1 11, a voice breaks out of the heavens, You are my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. There on the threshold of His public ministry the Father says to

41:15 the Son, I have beheld Your years of obscurity. I've beheld You living in the poverty of that little home in Nazareth. I've beheld You faithfully standing at Your Father's workbench. I've beheld You reacting with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with the devil, with grace and patience to your unsaved brothers and sisters.

41:38 For it's clear from John's Gospel, none of them came to faith until Jesus was much older. I've beheld you in your patient commitment to do my will, the cultivation of the graces of sensitivity, Christian manliness. I have beheld you in your disciplines of prayer and fasting and spiritual watching. I have beheld you in every thought and word and deed.

42:04 My son, as you now embark upon your official public ministry, you are my son, my beloved, in whom my soul delights. Now that public ministry of poured-out life in lengthy vigils of prayer, ministering while virtue went out of him, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, patiently teaching, instructing, doing the work of the Lord, doing the work of the Lord, doing the work, as it were, of a dozen men in the space of those three years. And now, as he's about to go to his climactic work, the Father again speaks out of heaven and says, this is my son, my beloved. Luke says, my chosen.

42:48 That's why I'm personally convinced Isaiah 42 enters into this. That's the very word used. Behold, my elect, my chosen one. Luke picks that up and says that the Father, identifies him as the elect one, the beloved one, the chosen one.

43:06 And he says, in all that you've accomplished in that ministry up till this point, all of the validation given to your identity as Messiah, you have fulfilled all of the things that were said would be true of Messiah when he came. I'm well pleased with you, my son, my beloved son, in whom I am well. I'm well pleased. Now, the tragedy with this is that we live in a day when there are precious few fathers that understand the role of verbal reinforcement of encouragement to their sons.

43:44 I'm amazed when I counsel with people to find how many young adult males never had a father put a hand on the shoulder, look them in the eye and say, son, you did that well. I'm proud of you. I'm pleased with you. Never put a hand on the shoulder.

44:02 Never put a hand on the shoulder. Never put a hand on the shoulder of the son and said, son, I love you. I sat with a man in his mid-twenties in my study recently and said, did your father ever say you and hug you? He said, no.

44:13 I said, well, will you let me do it? He said, yes. I said, well, I will. And I told him I loved him and I hugged him.

44:23 So many of us can't relate to this. All we can do is relate to the sense of starvation we've had in the soul. That when, long before perhaps we even thought of it, of pleasing God, we wanted to please our dads and please our moms. And nothing much mattered if, when we finished doing something, if dad came to us and said, son, you did a good job.

44:48 A little squeeze on the shoulder, a hug, a pat on the back, a little tap on the rump like ballplayers do. Even rough, ungodly ballplayers, when the pitcher's having a rough time, they go out to the mound and pat him on the rump. Don't they? It's a way of encouragement.

45:04 Dear people, the Son of God, had all of the needs of a human soul without sin. But He had all of the needs of a human soul without enforcement and encouragement, yes. And that's exactly what the Father gave Him. And He spoke out of the heavens all of the things He could have said.

45:27 It is this that He said, this is My Son, My Beloved, My Chosen. In Him I am well pleased. Oh, do you see why the word Father was so much upon His lips? Even in the agony of Gethsemane?

45:45 Even in the agony of Gethsemane? Yes, I commend my spirit. You see, for the Lord Jesus, Father was not just an abstract title. It embodied all the warmth and the intimacy of knowing the approbation of filial love.

46:13 Oh, dear people, what this must have meant to Jesus to have ringing in His ears as He faces the ordeal, the voices. It could be objectively tested, justified, too. You are My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. You see something of the wonder of inter-Trinitarian communion and fellowship and ministry.

46:41 Never view the doctrine of the Trinity as some kind of a theological abstraction. View it as it comes to us in strict accomplishment of the redemption of sinners.

The Significance of the Transfiguration for Us: An Infallible Pledge of Christ's Second Coming

46:59 And now I said I would touch very briefly in closing. If that's the significance, of the Transfiguration to Jesus, what is its significance to us?

47:11 Well, precisely what it was to those disciples. And my answer to the question is this. First of all, the Transfiguration is an infallible pledge of the second coming of Jesus in power and glory. This was the message the disciples were to receive.

47:28 This is the message we're to receive. This event is an infallible pledge of the second coming of Jesus in power and glory. You say, Pastor Martin, what makes you say that? Well, the words of Peter who was there as he records for us his own assessment in 2 Peter chapter 1.

47:45 Turn there if you will, please. 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 16.

47:55 The significance of the Transfiguration to us, first of all, it is an infallible pledge of the coming of Jesus in power and glory at the end of the age. 2 Peter 1, verse 16. We did not follow cunningly devised, fables when we made known unto you the power of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter said, look, we've preached to you that Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified in weakness, raised in power, went back to the right hander, is coming again in power and in glory at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead, to usher in His everlasting kingdom.

48:36 He says, now when we preach that second coming, we weren't preaching something that was spun out of someone's head full of fables. We did not follow cunningly devised fables, but rather, notice, rather, in contrast to a doctrine of His second coming that is the fruit of following cunningly devised fables, He said, no. We were eyes of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when there was born such a voice to Him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, and this voice we ourselves heard born out of heaven when we were with Him, where? In the holy mount. In the holy mount. Not a mount that was inherently holy, but became holy and sacred because there was transfiguration, the glory of the second coming. And Peter

49:41 says when we preach He's coming again in power and glory, we preach that with certainty because we've been hoodwinked, we've followed fables, we got a glimpse of that glory registered, a brightness that made them smart and hurt and we can never forget it. And having seen the outshining of that glory for but a moment, it is no stumbling block for us to preach He's coming in the full display of that glory. No longer to have the glory veiled, withdrawn, but in glory to sit upon His throne, in glory to judge the wicked, in glory to usher His own into His presence. Dear people sitting here this morning, listen to me. As surely as Jesus' face and garments became clistering white, there upon the mountain, seen by eyewitnesses, a moment is coming in history when the clouds will once again be resplendent with glory and upon those clouds will come the Son of Man in power. And if you're not in Him, if you're not one who's entered into His train by saying no to self, taking up your cross, trusting only in the merit of His cross, willing to bear your glory and power

51:08 to crush you with judgment that will land you in hell forever. And weary, suffering, distraught saint, He will come to take you home to be with Him. There shall be no more crying, no more tears, no more sickness, no more death, but only eternal glory in His presence. That's the significance to us.

The Significance of the Transfiguration for Us: An Authoritative Summons to Hear Him

51:39 It is an infallible pledge of the second coming, and then secondly and finally, it is an authoritative summons to our great and immediate duty. The transfiguration is an authoritative summons to our great and immediate duty. What is it? The voice that could have spoken many things out of the clouds spoke but one thing.

52:03 Out of the cloud came a voice. He is my Son.

52:09 To Him, for who He is, temple is the dwelling place of my glory. Now on, says, we beheld His glory. Glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. What is our supreme and immediate?

52:40 Listen to Him because of who He is. Listen to Him because of what He has done. Listen to Him because of what He will do. Listen to Him when He says, the only way of man's salvation lies through suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection of the one man, Christ Jesus. Listen to Him.

53:02 Those who flatter you, saying, you can get to heaven by your just be good, figured out well. Jesus never said the Son of Man must die because God will not rescue sinners in a way that stains the majesty of His glory, of His holiness and His justice. Sin must be punished. He says there is no way of salvation.

53:40 But through His bloody cross, through His triumphant resurrection, listen to Jesus when He says if you would be saved by His blood and His cross, you must deny self, self-righteousness, self-will, self-help, self-everything and throw yourself upon His mercy. Come under His gracious yoke and be yoked to Christ in faith and love and obedience. That's the message of the transfiguration to us. Not only pledging that He will come again in glory and our immediate duty.

54:22 Hear Him. Hear Him. Oh, my sinner friend, hear Him. He says come. Come all that labor and I'll give you rest. Hear Him when He says if any man come to Me, he must take up his cross and follow Me. Child of God, hear Him when He says if you love Me, keep My commandments. Hear Him when He says, why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say. Hear Him as He speaks to us in His Word found in Genesis to Revelation. This is no call to throw out the Old Testament and to regulate our lives only by the new, as some have tried to say that this is the message of the transfiguration. No! Because when I hear this, don't think I came to destroy the law.

55:16 I came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill. Listen to Him when the Old Testament is indeed regulative of the life of the new covenant community. Listen to Him when He says that the prophets speak of Him and point to Him. Listen to Him when He tells us through His inspired apostles that these things are written in the Old Testament history for our admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come.

55:44 Listen to Christ as He interprets the Scripture, not as modern antinomians would interpret it. Listen to Him when He would comfort us, when we would grow weary. Listen to Him when He says, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world gives, give I unto you.

56:05 Oh, dear people, that's our duty. May we find it our delight to obey Him whom the Father upheld and so upheld Him that now He is safely seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high and the next time anyone sees Him, it will not be in humiliation but in glory, either to the everlasting shame of the impenitent sinner or the everlasting glory of every believing saint. Let us pray.

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Application

56:46 Our Father, how we thank You for the message of the Transfiguration. We worship You for all of Your faithfulness to Your Son. We worship You, We worship you and magnify your name that you wonderfully fulfilled every promise made to him and upheld him in his task so that when he cried, it is finished. You were able to validate that cry by raising him from the dead.

57:18 We thank you that the message of the transfiguration comes to us as well. May we not take it lightly. May we be sobered. May we be encouraged.

57:30 May we be directed. May we be comforted. Oh Lord, apply this portion of your word in the broad spectrum of its own inherent power to every heart. Hear our cry and dismiss us with your blessing, we pray.

57:47 In Jesus' name, amen.