Jesus’ Glory Is a Sign for All!

Last Sunday after the Epiphany, The Transfiguration of Our Lord, 2/14/21 Mark 9:2-9 Jesus’ Glory Is a Sign for All! I. Preparing him for his passion. II. Preparing his disciples for his passion. III. Preparing us for his passion. Everyone here this morning knows the importance of the message that road signs display. That’s especially true for those of us who have our driver’s license. But even preschool-aged children know how important it is to obey the sign that says “STOP!” And yet, we know that all signs aren’t intended for all people. For instance, when you’re driving the family vehicle down an interstate highway and you see a sign that informs you that a truck weigh station is a mile up the road, you aren’t concerned in the least. You aren’t driving a truck that requires you to pull into the weigh station. But every driver is concerned about the sign that reads, “Detour Ahead.” This morning’s sermon text from Mark 9 contains a sign. Did you see it? Did you read it? The Greek word for “sign” can also be translated “miracle.” Now, let me ask you, “Did you see the sign in our text?” Of course you did; it’s the event we’re celebrating this morning—The Transfiguration of Our Lord. You saw the sign. You read it. You heard it. It was the miracle of Jesus being transfigured. Jesus allowed three of his disciples to see him in his divine glory. But was that glory only meant for these three men? Was it only a sign to those three? God’s word indicates that it was not meant only for those three; it was meant for all. Jesus’ glory is a sign for all! Join me in seeing and reading that sign this morning and in applying it to ourselves. Part I. Road signs prepare you for what’s ahead. A road sign telling you that a rest area is located two miles back is no help to you at all. You want to know when it’s two miles ahead of you. You want that sign to prepare you for what’s coming. The transfiguration of Jesus was a sign in that very respect; it prepared people for what was coming. Well, what was coming? In short—the sufferings and death of Jesus. We call it his passion. Within weeks of this event Jesus would be crucified. His glory, then, as displayed here on this mountain, was a sign. It was a sign meant to prepare Jesus for his passion. Seals of approval are important to many consumers today. Decades ago, products used to carry the Good House-keeping seal of approval. Many modern appliances carry the seal of the Underwriter Laboratories. Frozen pizzas carry the Real Cheese seal. Those are seals of quality that foster consumer confidence. Did you hear the seal of approval in our text? If not, listen once again. “Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’” That voice was the Father’s seal of approval of Jesus to Jesus. Not too many nights from this day Jesus would find himself on his knees in Gethsemane’s garden in fervent prayer to his heavenly Father. He was struggling with the thought of suffering and dying for the sins of the world. Had it not been for this event in our text—this seal of approval—Jesus may have struggled even more. This seal of approval—this glory in the voice of his Father—prepared him for his passion. And so did his transfiguration. Our text states, “There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.” When Jesus entered our world in the womb of the virgin Mary, he left behind the full use of his divine glory. Here on the mountain Jesus enjoyed that fullness once again, although it was only temporary. For a time, Jesus was enjoying heaven on earth. He wasn’t struggling with Satan, the masses of people, or his enemies. He was enjoying his glory. That glory prepared him for his passion. Part II. But Jesus wasn’t alone on that mountain. He “took Peter, James, and John with him.” Have you ever asked yourself why he took those three and not all the twelve? It appears these three were closest to him. On a number of occasions, these three were present with him while the other nine were not. Jesus was not playing favorites here. Just like you, he was fully human. Just like you, Jesus had friends who were closer to him than others. Peter, James, and John were those three. But even though they were closer to him than all the others, they still weren’t clear about the work that Jesus had come to do. In this same event Peter wants Jesus to stay on that mountain and not go back down to complete his work. Later on, James and John want positions of authority in an earthly kingdom that they supposed Jesus was going to establish. Even though these men were closest to Jesus, they just didn’t get it. This event would help them. It would prepare them for his passion. Jesus wasn’t the only one who heard the voice of God the Father. Peter, James, and John heard it, too. In fact, God the Father had a special message for them: they were to listen to Jesus as the Son of God. When Jesus told them that he was going to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again, they were to take those words to heart. And these men also saw and heard Moses and Elijah there on the mountain. Our text says that Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus. What do you suppose they talked about? Certainly not the weather. St. Luke tells us that they spoke to him about “his departure”—another phrase for his sufferings and death. Peter, James, and John heard that conversation. Hearing these great prophets from the Old Testament speaking to Jesus about it prepared them for it. And his transfiguration had a lasting effect on them. Peter would later write about being “an eyewitness of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). These men saw Jesus in a way that only those in heaven have been privileged to see him. They saw him in his divine glory—a glory that assured them he was the eternal Son of God. But what they had trouble believing was that the road to glory led from that mountain up another hill called Calvary. Had Jesus turned away from that cross, he would no longer have been God’s beloved Son. Had Jesus tried to take a detour on the road to Calvary, he would have lost his glory forever. Had he avoided his sufferings and death, you and I would have no hope of ever seeing God’s glory or sharing in that glory in heaven. Jesus’ glory here was a sign to the disciples that prepared them for his passion. Part III. But God also has a purpose in sharing that sign with you and me this morning. As we see Jesus in his glory, we, too, are being prepared for his sufferings and death. And God’s timing couldn’t be better. We’re standing on the threshold of another Lenten season. But how does seeing Jesus’ glory today prepare us for his sufferings and death? First, seeing Jesus in all his glory ought to remind us how far from that glory we are. Peter, James, and John saw it and were struck with fear, and rightly so. Certainly seeing Jesus in all his glory was a wonderful thing; but seeing that glory also condemned them for their sinfulness. They knew that, as sinners, they had no business standing in the presence of the holy God. And neither do we. And if we’re going to observe Jesus’ sufferings and death properly, if we’re going to observe Lent in a God-pleasing way, then we need to keep that truth front and center in our minds and hearts. Observing Lent should never cause us to say, “Boy, that’s too bad Jesus had to suffer that way. Here, Jesus, I’ll try suffering in my life a little bit to show you what kind of Christian I am.” Our observance of Lent should cause us to fall on our knees in terror over the fact that our sins cost him that kind of suffering. That’s how far from God’s glory we are. And yet this glory of Jesus is also a sign that makes me glad. Jesus shared that glory in a way with Peter, James, and John, and he shared it in a higher way with Moses and Elijah. And that’s his highest desire for you, for me. Jesus wants you and me to enjoy that glory with him in heaven eternally. That glory is guaranteed to you and me by faith in Jesus. You see, Moses and Elijah were not there enjoying the glory of Jesus because they were such great prophets of God. They were there because they had faith in God’s promise to send them a Savior. That faith brought them the forgiveness of their sins and the guarantee of eternal life in heaven. Eventually Peter, James, and John received what they longed for as well—the opportunity to enjoy the glory of Jesus eternally. That blessing did not come to them because they were such wonderful disciples of Christ. We know how fickle and sinful they were at times. But they are there now enjoying that glory in heaven because they had faith in Jesus. They trusted that his sufferings and death were the punishment for their sins. And we share that faith with them. The faith of Moses and Elijah, and the faith of Peter, James, and John are a reality. So is your faith in Jesus. These five men are now enjoying the glory of Jesus. So will we. Some signs aren’t intended for everyone. But the sign of Jesus’ glory is. God intends it to prepare you and me for the passion of Jesus, just as it prepared Jesus and his disciples. Don’t neglect to take that sign to heart! The journey from the temporal glory that Jesus enjoyed at his transfiguration to the eternal glory that he assumed at his rising from death at Easter goes through the depths of his suffering and death. Follow the sign of that glory as we stand ready to observe Lent. Amen.