“Behold the Glory”
(Matthew 17:1-13)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
January 19, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 17:1-13
1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
7 Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus alone.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
10 So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 “Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
Introductory Comments:
If you think of some of the greatest character revelations in movie history, there may be several that come to mind. Perhaps when someone figures out Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same guy, or when someone figures out Clark Kent and Superman are the same guy. Perhaps one of the most popular is when Darth Vader is revealed as Luke Skywalker’s father in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s such a powerful moment when Luke sees who Darth Vader really is.
Well, here in the book of Matthew, the disciples are learning more and more about who Jesus is. They’ve seen some marvelous things about Jesus so far. They’ve seen Him as a great teacher, a brave leader, a miraculous healer, and more. They’ve seen Jesus stand up to the Pharisees and Sadducees. They’ve seen Him heal people. They’ve seen Him calm the waves and the winds. They’ve even seen Him miraculously feed thousands of people.
Today’s passage, though, is something special. In today’s passage, the disciples will see something truly powerful.
Before we dive into this passage, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to guide us.
Let’s pray together.
(prayer)
In today’s passage, we will experience four actions related to Jesus.
We will learn about Jesus, God the Father, Elijah, and ourselves.
That’s a lot to cover, so let’s get to it.
The first action is . . .
I. We see Jesus’ supernatural nature. (vv. 1-4) [on screen]
The disciples had already seen glimpses of Jesus’ divine nature. They are beginning to understand that He is much more than just a man. However, this passage takes that to another level. Let’s check it out. Look at verses 1-4.
1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Remember, Jesus has twelve apostles whom He called to follow Him. Among the twelve, there were three to whom He was particularly close: Peter, James, and John. Here, Jesus takes with Him Peter, James, and John.
Jesus took these three up on a high mountain for the purpose of seeing Him transfigured.
This term transfigured means being transformed. The Greek word used here is the word that gives us the English word metamorphosis. Jesus was radically and supernaturally changed in front of the disciples. This was an amazing experience for the disciples to witness.
Notice these descriptions that show the amazing nature of Jesus’ transformation:
“. . . his face shone like the sun . . .” and “ . . . his clothes became as white as the light.”
We see the glory of God manifested in and on the Son of God.
In the Old Testament, Moses had an experience with the glory of God on Mt. Sinai and it was so amazing that Moses’ face was left shining afterward, so much so that he had to cover His face to be around others.
The Apostle Paul had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and the glory of Jesus was so bright that Paul fell to the ground and was blinded.
The glory of God was on display!
Can you imagine how amazing it would be if my face just started shining? Now, my skin is pretty pale, but not in a special way. What if the skin of my face was shining so vividly that it hurt your eyes? What if my clothes just turned a brilliant white, miraculously? Wouldn’t you think that was amazing? In this event, we’re seeing Jesus’ supernatural nature!
We must realize that the glory seen on Jesus was not a temporary glory. The concealing of His glory while Jesus was on earth is what it is temporary. Jesus has beheld the glory of God beyond all time and will behold glory forever.
Even in the New Jerusalem in heaven we hear of the glory of Jesus. Revelation 21:23 says, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” [on screen]
The disciples got a sneak peek of Jesus’ true glory.
If that wasn’t incredible enough, then Moses and Elijah appear. These events are amazing!
We don’t know all of the details, but we know that these two Old Testament heroes are there with Jesus.
We don’t know what they looked like. We don’t know if they had physical bodies, or were there as spirits.
We don’t know why it was these two, rather than someone else. Perhaps because Moses represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets. Perhaps because these two were messianic forerunners. Perhaps it was because they both represented major periods of miracles among God’s people. In any case, they are there and it’s amazing.
I’m not sure what I would do if I witnessed this, but I’m sure I would be in awe. I’m not sure Peter really knew what to do either, but he asked if he could set up tents for them all.
Peter said, “It’s good that we’re here,” which is quite the understatement. Then he couldn’t think of anything better to do but to set-up tents.
Perhaps he wanted to set-up something like the Old Testament tabernacle, which would have taken quite some time. Perhaps he thought they would stay longer if they had some shelter. In any case, Peter, bold as he was, suggested these tents.
However, the time never came for Peter to set-up these tents because something greater happened.
That takes us to our next action:
II. We hear God the Father’s approval. (vv. 5-8) [on screen]
In case things were not miraculous enough, God the Father spoke in the presence of all those who were there. Listen now to verses 5-8.
5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.
7 Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus alone.
First of all, we see this bright cloud covering those who were there. Not only was Jesus bright, but this cloud was bright.
This was the presence of God the Father.
This is what we call the shekinah glory of God. Shekinah comes from the Hebrew word that means “dwelling” or “settling.” Shekinah glory refers to the presence of God dwelling or settling with people, as God did with Moses, as He did with the people of Israel escaping Egypt, and as He is doing now at the transfiguration of Jesus.
The presence of God was there in a magnificent way.
Not only was the glory of God dwelling among them, but the Father also spoke. He says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!”
How incredible this must have been! God Himself is affirming Jesus as His Son, and that the disciples should listen to Him and follow Him. Incredible!
This is not the first time that this has happened. Remember, God spoke these words at the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3.
Imagine the wonder on the faces of Peter, James, and John at the presence of the brilliant cloud, and then they hear the magnificent voice of God!
Matthew tells us, “When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.” I imagine so! This is the voice and presence of God the Father!
Finally, as this moment comes to a close, Jesus comforts them all. He touches them and tells them not to be afraid.
What a wonderful experience this was. We see the glory and supernatural nature of Jesus revealed. Listen, church, we must understand that Jesus is more than just a man; He is supernatural and He is the Son of God. He is worthy of our worship and devotion!
The third action we experience regarding this passage is . . .
III. We’re reminded of Jesus’ fate. (vv. 9-12) [on screen]
Jesus has already spoken to His disciples in detail in the last passage about the fact that He must die, and He addresses it again here.
Let’s check out verses 9-12.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
10 So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 “Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
After all this was over, Jesus told them not to tell anyone until after He is raised from the dead. One might wonder why Jesus gives them these instructions.
Well, first of all, many people may not believe the story of the three disciples if they shared it right away. However, after Jesus rose from the dead, people would know that there is something significant about Jesus.
Additionally, Jesus was not yet ready to reveal the full scale of His Messiahship. He will reveal much more about Himself after His death, burial, and resurrection.
He’s pointing out again that He must be crucified to accomplish what He came to accomplish. He must die before everything comes into place.
Then, a discussion takes place regarding Elijah and John the Baptist. We’ll talk about that more in a moment, but for now, pay attention to verse 12: “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.”
Jesus is speaking of John the Baptist and pointing out that he was killed by those in authority. Jesus then says that the Son of Man (which is Him) will also suffer at the hands of authorities.
Jesus is pointing out once again in this passage that He must suffer and die.
Even though He is the Messiah the Son of the Living God, even though He displays His own glory, even though Moses and Elijah join Him, even though the glory of God the Father appears, even though God the Father speaks, even though one like Elijah prepared the way for Him, He must still suffer and die.
We’re reminded here of Jesus’ fate. He must suffer and die.
Finally, . . .
IV. We learn about Elijah. (vv. 10-13) [on screen]
In the midst of all these miraculous events, the disciples begin to ask Jesus about the prophet Elijah. Let’s look at verses 10-13.
10 So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
11 “Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.
The Old Testament prophecies including Malachi 4:4-6 spoke of Elijah coming to the earth before the day of the Lord. The religious experts knew this and taught this. They said Elijah will come before Messiah comes.
The scribes were saying that Jesus could not be the Messiah because Elijah had not yet come.
Well, the disciples believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but they hadn’t seen Elijah come in his fullness, even though they were just hanging out with him on the mountain. It’s sort of like they were saying, “Hey, speaking of Elijah why hasn’t he come yet?”
Jesus has already addressed this in part. He already spoke of John the Baptist as being like Elijah in Matthew 11:14. Now, Jesus reminds them that part of the fulfillment of this prophecy is seen in the coming of John the Baptist who was a prophet in the spirit of Elijah.
Like Elijah, John the Baptizer prepared the way of the Lord.
Like Elijah, John the Baptizer was really odd.
Like Elijah, John the Baptizer was not afraid to stand alone.
Like Elijah, John the Baptizer preached a message of repentance and faithfulness.
Like Elijah, John the Baptizer was despised by the rulers of the day.
Jesus is saying, “Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him.”
Verse 13 tells us, “Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” They finally realized what Jesus was saying.
Now, there’s an indication that Elijah may come again in some way because Jesus says, “Elijah is coming and will restore everything.”
However, the disciples didn’t have it all figured out then about Jesus’ first coming, and we sure don’t have it all figured out now about Jesus’ second coming. Think about that for a moment: if you asked the disciples to make a chart with all of the ways Messiah will come, what He will do, and when it will happen, all of them would have got it wrong. Why, then, do we in our arrogance act like we have everything figured out about Jesus’ second coming. Let’s just stick to what the Bible makes clear and let the Lord take care of the rest.
The disciples learned something about Elijah and about John the Baptizer. Let us learn as well.
Concluding Thoughts:
Jesus is supernatural, He is Messiah, and He must suffer and die for our salvation.
See, hear, be reminded, learn.
Let’s summarize this passage by zeroing in on this bottom line:
Bottom Line: The glory of God and the grace of God were revealed in Jesus the Messiah. [on screen]
(repeat)
We behold the very glory of God in Jesus the Messiah, our Suffering Servant Savior.
Jesus is brilliantly revealed as supernatural and He reminds us that He must suffer for our sins.
His glory is revealed in His supernatural nature. His grace is revealed in His death.
See His glory. See His grace.
Challenge yourself this week in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
- Behold the glory of Jesus. [on screen]
Spend time this week seeking to see how beautiful and majestic Jesus is.
Seek Him in prayer. Seek Him in His Word. Do a study on the glory of Jesus.
- Behold the grace of Jesus. [on screen]
Have you contemplated God’s grace in your life lately?
Can you imagine what a mess you’d be if God’s grace was removed from your life?
Behold His grace. Thank Him. Love Him. Live for Him.
- Share the grace of God for the glory of God. [on screen]
Do you want to magnify and glorify God? Share about His grace!
Every time we tell someone about Jesus it brings glory to God, both in our telling and when those we tell turn to God for His grace.
Share with others this week!
Closing:
As the disciples beheld the glory of Jesus on His face, let us now look to Jesus.
Let us turn our eyes upon Jesus. Today, this week, and forever.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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