Deuteronomy 34:1-12 -
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top
of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the
land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the
land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western
sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the
Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And
the Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I
have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over
there.” 5 So Moses the servant of
the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of
the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in
the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his
burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when
he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. 8 And
the people of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.
Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full
of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the
people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded
Moses. 10 And there has not arisen a prophet since
in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none
like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to
do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his
land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the
great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
Hebrews 3:1-6 - Therefore,
holy brothers,[a] you who
share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high
priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him
who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's[b] house. 3 For
Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as
the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For
every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is
God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God's
house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken
later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house
as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our
confidence and our boasting in our hope.
Luke 9:28-36 - Now about eight days after these sayings he
took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to
pray. 29 And as he was praying, the appearance of
his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30 And
behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah,31 who
appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,[a] which he
was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter
and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became
fully awake they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 And
as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that
we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and
one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said. 34 As he
was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were
afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 And a voice
came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One;[b] listen
to him!” 36 And when the voice had spoken, Jesus
was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days
anything of what they had seen.
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is the Gospel lesson just read, especially these words, “This
is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ. This morning is the last Sunday
in the season of Epiphany – the season of the church year when Jesus is
revealed to us. And this morning, we see
the clearest picture yet of who the babe born in Bethlehem is. We’ve seen time and again, that Jesus is the
one who has come to fulfill the law on our behalf, how has come to take our
sins away. And today, we see who this
person really is. God in our human
flesh.
The historical
event is well recorded. It takes place
eight days after Peter’s confession that Jesus is the “Christ the Son of God,”
and Jesus replied for the first time, “the Son of man must suffer at the hands
of men and die and raise.” So Jesus
takes Peter, James and John up on a mountain, and there, our text says, he was
transfigured before them. That word,
transfigured means that the way Jesus looked changed. The humble son of a carpenter suddenly looked
like God himself – for that’s who he is.
His skin suddenly glowed like bronzen face of God. His robes became so white that the disciples
could not look upon him. The Godness of
Jesus which was hidden during his earthly life, was suddenly very
apparent.
And to top it all
off, the only two men in scripture to see God on earth appeared. There was Moses and Elijah, speaking with
Jesus about his coming exodus, which was about to happen in Jerusalem. It was an exodus from this world. It was an exodus in which God’s holy people
would be rescued, not from Pharaoh as with Moses, but from their guilt and
death. It was an exodus not as Elijah’s
exit from this world on the Chariot of God, but an exodus on a cross, with
blood, guts, suffering and death. It was
an exodus for you, for me, and for all of God’s people in this sinful world, an
exodus bought with the cross.
Peter, James and
John are uncertain what to think. They
suddenly and very frightfully realize who Jesus is, with absolutely no doubts
or misunderstanding. Only God would talk
to Moses and Elijah. Only God would
appear in such a way. So Jesus is very
definitely God, there could be no doubting that. But the problem was, Peter, James and John
knew the truth, that God hates sin, and all who commit sin. Sinners could not be in God’s revealed
presence, without facing death and eternal destruction.
That’s why there
was a temple in Jerusalem. A huge
building with thick walls and a heavy curtain to separate God from
sinners. Only the high priest bearing
the blood of a sacrifice could enter before God’s dwelling place. Those three disciples had read what happened
to sinners who came before God’s presence.
The first high priest Aaron’s two oldest sons were killed before God
when offering a false sacrifice. The men
of Beth-Shemesh were killed when they opened the Ark of the Covenant where God
dwelt. Uzzah died when he bumped the Ark
with his hand. Isaiah cried out in
terror in heaven “woe to me, for I am a sinner!”
So what are Peter,
James and John to do. Not only is the
great leader Moses there, and the Great Prophet Elijah, but God himself is
present and revealed in Jesus before their very eyes. Peter speaks up first, trying to offer a
biblical solution. “Lord, let us build a
tabernacle here, just like Moses did so long ago. No, not just one tabernacle tent, but three
of them. One for you, one for Moses, and
one for Elijah!” For Peter loves the
protection that separation brings. Peter
loves the comfort that comes when you ignore your sin, and hide the God that
judges it from your sight.
But Jesus will
have nothing to do with that kind of talk, and neither will his Father. Suddenly, a cloud appears covering them. Peter and the disciples immediately remember
the cloud that covered Sinai from view, keeping God’s righteous wrath apart
from Israel. And a loud voice comes from
that cloud – This is my Son, my selected one. To him you must listen.
Yes, listen to
him. Hear his words in regard to you and
your life. You are guilty. You have sinned, in thought word and deed. You have been afraid of God, you have tried
your hardest to please him on your own terms, ignoring the perfection He has
required. You have done countless
wrongs, time and again, and you will this afternoon, tomorrow and for the rest
of your life. You do not deserve on your
own merit to stand alongside Peter, James and John before God, because they
themselves do not either.
Listen to God’s Selected
one, you sinners! Listen to the word
that he told Peter – The Son of man must suffer many things. He must die.
He must be buried. He must shed
his blood and raise again so that you may be forgiven. He has been selected by God to be the
ultimate sacrifice to sin, to destroy it forever, to make God’s people well,
and to lead them in an exodus from this world into eternity apart from
sin.
Listen to God’s
Son, as he says to you, through the lips of a poor miserable sinner pastor,
that your sins are forgiven, not by me, not by your works, not by the act of
coming to church, but by cross of Christ.
Listen to God’s Son as he says truthfully, - all who believe and are
baptized will be saved. Take and eat,
this really is my body. Take and drink
this really is my blood. IT is all for
you, for your forgiveness. To make you
well, to set you free to be a people of God – holy not in yourself, but in
Christ.
This is God’s Son,
Jesus. Revealed today for who he really is,
the one who comes to die to put God’s house in order. As Hebrew’s says, “For Jesus has been counted
worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house
has more honor than the house itself. 4 (For every
house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now
Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the
things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ
is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed
we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”
Today Jesus is
revealed. God’s Son, in human flesh to
set this world right. He is God’s
beloved son, listen to him, your sins are forgiven in his blood. Amen.
