Luke 9:28-36

Luke 9:28-36 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.) While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

Mark 1:9-11 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

In this passage from Luke, we see Jesus praying. As He prays the glory of the Lord comes upon him, and Moses and Elijah appear in glorious splendor and speak with him. When Peter, John, and James awaken fully and see this glorious sight, they are so awed and impressed that Peter immediately tells Jesus they should build a memorial for this event with a shelter for him and one for each of the prophets who were with him. As Peter speaks a cloud appears, and they hear a voice saying words similar to those spoken by the Spirit when Jesus was baptized. In other words, it takes a voice from heaven to show these men who knew Jesus well, that He is not just another in a long series of prophets, but He is the Son of God. He was the One to receive honor and praise; He was the chosen One they were to worship and to listen to his words.

One of the problems with many people even today is that they see Jesus as a good man, one of the best even, a man with good ideas about love and peace, a man worthy of our attention and respect. They fail to see his holiness, his position as the Son of God who came to save us. When we do not see Jesus for who He is and yield our lives to him, then we might as well build another shelter for him along with other famous and influential people in history. However, Jesus did not come to join the line of prophets and religious leaders; He same to be a sacrifice for the sins of all and to reveal a new and better way through a new covenant with God that through Christ's death and resurrection, all people could come to God and have communion and fellowship. Jesus deserves more than an altar of honor; He deserves our all, our everything. We do not bow before him as an acknowledgement that He did good things while He walked this earth; we bow before him as Lord of all.

When we accept Christ as our Lord and begin to see who He is, the Spirit reveals the truth of that new covenant to our hearts as we begin to walk in freedom. In Hebrews when the writer describes the great people of faith throughout Jewish history, Moses and Elijah would be part of the throng of people who by faith served God, keeping faith alive in difficult and even impossible situations. But as Hebrews goes on to say, God had another plan, a better way than what the patriarchs knew. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40) Through his Son, his beloved and only Son, God established his redemption plan to bring his fallen creation back to his heart. This was the message of the Spirit at Jesus' baptism and again when the glory of God rested upon him with his disciples. God was saying, Here is my Son, the best I can offer: hear him, obey him, follow him to the cross and be saved.

Today we have the joy and the privilege of revealing to our world that Jesus Christ is not just a historical figure, a good person who did good things. We have the responsibility, through our lifestyles, our actions, and our words, to show others that Christ changes lives and sets people free to worship him in spirit and in truth. As we put our hope and trust in him and his plan for our lives, those around us see the difference in our lives; they see that we have something they do not have, peace with God and hope for life eternal. They see the fruit of the Spirit emanating from our behaviors and life choices: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. (Galatians 5:22) Each life we touch becomes a potential believer, one who will also follow Jesus and hear him. So today, let us not be about doing religious things, praying at an altar to Jesus as if He were a saint, deserving our homage. No, let us run the race set before us in faith, sharing the "good news" that Christ was born, lived, died, and rose again to bring us to the Father. This is the gospel message: Christ came to save sinners. We rejoice that He saved us and commissioned us to bring the lost to him.