CLICK HERE to hear the sermon audio.
CLICK HERE to view the sermon video.
Coming Down the Mountain
Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
When you reach the mountain peak, it is important that you remember what happened to get you to the summit. Matthew begins the Transfiguration account by saying, “After six days.” In this way, he connects what happens on the mountain with what has just happened in the preceding chapter of his Gospel, where our Lord foretells clearly for the first time that He must suffer and die, bearing on the cross the sins of the whole world. That dreadful word leads us right to the mountain top, where Peter, along with James and John, are allowed to see Jesus arrayed in glory, with Moses and Elijah flanking him. The disciples bore witness as the Father glorified His only-begotten Son.
But more than knowing these events, one must also recognize Moses, through whom the Lord delivered His holy Law to His people. Moses carried the Law down from Mount Sinai, and then he led the ungrateful people of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, right to the border of the Promised Land. Neither Moses nor that generation of Israel was permitted to enter, but Moses was allowed to view the Promised Land from another mountain peak, this time on Mount Nebo.
One must recognize Elijah, the mighty prophet who also been summoned in his day to the Mountain of the Lord. Elijah was feeling as though the whole world was against him, which wasn't too far wrong. After all, he was suffering because of his faithfulness in preaching God’s terribly unpopular Word. Elijah had finally gotten to the point where he sat down in disgust, and he prayed that he could give up and die. The Lord gave him rest under a tree, and then brought Him to the mountain, where the Lord reveled to Elijah that God Himself was present with His people—not in the bombastic might of earthquakes and hurricanes and raging fires, but rather in the still small voice—that is to say, in the simple speaking of His Word.
When you reach the mountain peak, it’s important that you remember what happened to get you to the summit; but it’s also important to know what’s going to happen when you climb back down. Moses faced 40 years of wilderness wanderings with the grumbling Israelites when he came down from Sinai. And he never got the chance to descend from Mount Nebo; he died on that mountaintop. Elijah continued to preach the truth to people who wanted him dead, pronouncing judgment even on kings, before the Lord took him up in a whirlwind. Jesus had already explained to Peter what would happen. Not only must Jesus suffer and die, but Peter also must take up his cross. It’s no wonder Peter wants to stay on the mountain! Everything is good at the summit; what comes after is going to hurt. On the summit, Jesus is great and powerful; but when they go down the mountain, Jesus will be nailed to the cross. On the summit, Peter is a witness to the glory of God; but later on, Peter would also be crucified, but with his head down, because he insisted that he did not deserve to die as Jesus died.
And what about you? What brought you here today? What does the mountain hold for you? What will happen once you leave? You know what you’ve dealt with in your life. You know the hardships, the trials, the hard work, the rumors and false accusations, the temptations. You know the sting of your conscience in the sins you’ve committed in thought, word, and deed. It is right and salutary that you should climb this mountain; to approach this peak; to hear the Law, the Prophets, and the Gospel preached to you; to find your rest in the Lord; to taste and see Him in His hidden glory in the Holy Supper of His body and blood. It’s a wonderful experience, one our Lord delights to share with you week after week for your comfort and joy, to give you the peace which the world denies you in the valley and on the plain. It is a foretaste of the eternal banquet, and our souls hunger for that greater, never-ending feast. We’d like to stay forever. And we will.
But for now, the Lord also calls you to climb back down. He calls upon you to take up your cross. He calls upon you to follow Him to Calvary, to bear witness to His crucifixion, to watch Him die the death you deserve. For the true height of divine glory is not on the top of the high mountain, but in what happens after, when Jesus is lifted up on the Cross. The true glory is in His sacrificial suffering and death, in His burial in the tomb. Only then will He rise on the third day, ascending to the right hand of the Father in heaven, so that His blood would cry out for your pardon, so that He may bring you with Himself into eternal life. And then the voice of the Father shines down on you, saying, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment