Eyewitnesses of His Majesty
What do you think it would be like if we could actually see God, in all of his glory and majesty? Do you think it would change us? Do you think it would be possible to see God and ever be the same?
The Bible records several instances where ordinary people like you and me had an experience of seeing at least a glimpse of the glory of God. The event we are looking at today is known as the transfiguration of Jesus, and there were only three people who were eyewitnesses: Peter, James, and John.
They already knew Jesus very well—at this time, they had followed him, day in and day out, for three years. They had heard him preach, they had seen him heal people and cast out demons. They understood that he was the Son of God. Even among Jesus’ twelve disciples, these three were the inner circle, and on this day, Jesus invited them to go with him in order to show them something beyond their imagination—his glory and majesty.
As I read this story, notice that God reveals the glory of Jesus. Not knowing how to respond, Peter tries to be helpful, but he ends up showing that he doesn’t understand. Then, when they hear the voice of God speaking audibly, the disciples literally fall to the ground in terror. Jesus comes to them and physically touches them, once again in the human form they have come to know and understand.
I am reading from Matthew 17:
1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead."
Jesus was born into the dusty world of Palestine and walked the same dusty, rocky paths as his followers. He was human. Yet his followers understood that he was something more than human. He was flesh and blood and sweat and grime—just like you and me. And, he was the Son of God.
After almost two thousand years, we, his followers, are still trying to wrap our minds around the concept of what it means that Jesus was fully human and fully God.
Is it no wonder that his followers were sometimes perplexed by him? Shortly before this event of the transfiguration, Jesus asked his followers, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah, and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Then, Jesus asked, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
Then Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter knew that Jesus, who ate with them and walked in the dirt with them and sweat with them—this fully human Jesus—was also God.
It was Peter, James, and John who Jesus chose to bring with him up a high mountain to witness his glory in the transfiguration. As they watched, Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became like white light. And Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with Jesus.
Now, it seems to me that most people would react to such an event by watching in stunned silence. But not Peter. Peter was the one who always had to say or do something, generally before he thought.
So picture this scene. Jesus is shining like white light, and he is talking with two men who have been dead for centuries—Moses and Elijah. And instead of just watching, Peter has a suggestion. Peter doesn’t quietly analyze the situation. No, he pipes right in and says, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
I guess that’s why we all love Peter. He’s the guy with his foot in his mouth.
“Peter,” we want to say, “What were you thinking? Couldn’t you see that this was some sort of holy moment?”
But Peter wants to build some sort of shelters—perhaps to capture the moment forever. Today, there is, in fact, a big church or temple that has been erected on the spot where this event is supposed to have taken place. Apparently someone else liked Peter’s idea.
But before Peter was even done speaking, the voice of God interrupted. It says a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
And now even Peter is speechless—it says when they heard the voice of God, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. We don’t know how long they were on the ground, but Jesus came and touched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
Jesus, who they know, touches them physically, and reassures them. Jesus understands that they, being human, cannot quite deal with the blinding presence of God. So he walks over to them and quietly puts his hand on their shoulders and tells them, “Get up. Don’t be afraid.”
Jesus understands that none of us really can fully comprehend God, in all of his glory. In fact, that’s one reason Jesus became human—to give us a better understanding of who God really is, by encountering him, not as a spirit, but as a living human person.
Even though we really want to know God, we are intimidated by him, and we should be. You can’t just walk into the presence of God and not be completely overwhelmed.
Years after this day when Peter, James, and John had the privilege of getting a glimpse of God’s glory when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, Peter wrote about it.
We read what he said earlier, in 2 Peter 1:16-21.
16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.
Then Peter relates his experience to us, his readers:
19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Peter wants us to understand that the scriptures—the Word of God—have a purpose in our lives. The words of the Bible are actually God’s word to us, for the purpose of helping us understand God.
As we read God’s word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and shows us the truth about God. That’s why the Bible is so important. It’s not important that you read the Bible in order to learn a lot of facts that will help you win when you play Bible Jeopardy. The reason it’s important for you to read the Bible is that it is the very Word of God, and it is the method that God has chosen to use in order to communicate himself to us.
If we want to know God, then we must know his Word, the Bible. We can’t see God yet, but someday we will. If we have invited Jesus into our hearts and our lives and we claim him as our Lord and Savior, then we are already his children.
Remember a couple of weeks ago that wonderful passage I preached on from I John? John reminded of the amazing fact that God’s love is so great for us that he calls us his children.
I John 3:1-3 says,
1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
We have not seen God, but we can know what God is like through the words of scripture. We’re a long way from perfect. God is our Father, but we’re not like him yet. But that is our goal—to be like God, our Father. John explains that “what we will be has not yet been made known.” That is, something wonderful is going to happen to us in the future, on the day we come face to face with God. Because, as John says, “we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
When we see God face to face and we see him as he is, we will be transformed and we will be like him. We will not become God, or gods—that is never the goal. Rather, we will become pure and righteous as our God is.
In the meantime, how can we understand the majesty of God? All of us would like some sort of magical answer. The truth is just so simple that it doesn’t seem very exciting. But the truth is that the way to know God is to read his Word and pray. Pure and simple. That’s why we read the Bible and pray when we come together on Sundays. And that’s why I encourage you to read the Bible and pray every day. It is, quite simply, the way God reveals himself to us. And it is the way we will become more and more like Jesus.
Are we there yet? No—“what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Until then, the words of scripture hold up for us the goal, and looking at the goal keeps us moving in the right direction. And one day we, like Peter, James, and John, will also be eyewitness of his majesty.
Prayer:
God, we know that if we could see you as you truly are in all of your glory and majesty, we would fall on our faces. You are far more glorious than our wildest imaginations can take us. Lord, give us a thirst to know you more and more. Give us the desire to know your Word, so that we might become more like you, day by day. Lord, draw us to yourself, that we might be conformed to your likeness, little by little. May we see your purity and your perfect goodness and love. And someday, when we finally see you, in all of your glory, we will be completely overwhelmed with your goodness and your purity, and we will be like you. What a wonderful hope that is. Amen
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