Worship Helps for the Transfiguration
Worship Theme: Jesus appears in glory as the Son of God. The
Epiphany season is bookended by the voice of God the Father proclaiming Jesus
his Son. Before he suffered as man’s substitute, Jesus gave his Church a
glimpse of the glory that he set aside to be our Savior. See how much he loves
us! The God of Mt. Sinai, the Majestic Glory, became a man to suffer and die
for us, just as Moses and the Prophets had foretold. It’s good that we are
here.
Old Testament: Exodus 24:12 The LORD said to
Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you
the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their
instruction." 15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud
covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount
Sinai . For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the
seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To
the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the
mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the
mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
1. Why was Moses
called up to the top of Mount
Sinai ?
2. What covered the
mountain for six days?
3. What did the
glory of the Lord appear to be to the Israelites?
Epistle: 2 Peter 1:16 We 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. 17 For 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."
18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with
him on the sacred mountain. 20 Above all, you must understand that
no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.
21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke
from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
4. What event is
Peter recalling in these verses?
5. What did some
people apparently think of Peter’s account of this event?
6. What is the
source of everything in Scripture?
Gospel: Matthew 17:1
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was
transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became
as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses
and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter 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." 5 While 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!" 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to
the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. "Get
up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8 When they looked
up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As 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."
7. Who met Jesus
and his three disciples when they climbed this high mountain?
8. Why did Peter
make the suggestion he did in verse 4?
Answers:
1. Moses went up the mountain to meet God “face to face” and to receive
the Old Testament Law.
2. A cloud enveloped the mountain and the glory of the Lord rested on it.
3. The glory of the Lord seemed to look like fire to the Israelites.
They were terrified by the Lord’s glory.
How
different Mt. Sinai 20:21 ) to receive the Law of God and the two-sided covenant for Israel . When he came down from the
mountain and found Israel dancing before a golden
calf, he could see how man would never be able to keep this Law. Yet on the Mount
of Glory in the midst of a bright cloud, Moses saw God’s new covenant in the
person of Jesus Christ. Here was the Man who would not just keep the covenant,
but who would be the covenant for all mankind. On Mt. Sinai
4.
The Transfiguration of our Lord.
5.
Some apparently thought that Peter, James and John made this story up. Peter
tells us the origin of the Bible is not “the will of man [man’s ideas], but men
spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
6. God is the source of Scripture. The Bible is God’s Word. “We were
eyewitnesses of his majesty.” Only two remained, since Herod had killed James
years earlier. But for Peter and John, that day on the sacred mountain
continued to shape their lives. From John 1 to 2 Peter, these men who had seen
Christ’s glory testified that the man Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God.
Peter promised that the Lord Jesus Christ would come again in power, and he
offers us a three-fold assurance of his reliability: Peter was an eyewitness of
the glory of Christ; Peter heard the Majestic Glory call Jesus the Son of God;
Peter had the word of the prophets which were inspired by the Spirit and
fulfilled in Christ.
7. They met Moses and Elijah, who were generally considered by the Jews to
be the two greatest prophets in the Old Testament.
8. Peter wanted to build shelters on the mountain for Jesus, Moses and
Elijah. Jesus, though, needed to head for Jerusalem , where he would suffer
death on a cross (verse 9).
Six
days earlier, Peter had his moment of great triumph and great failure. After
witnessing the ministry and miracles of Jesus, his mouth confessed what his
heart believed: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. But his great
failure of faith came immediately thereafter when he wanted no part with a
crucified Christ. Six days later, God gave him proof for what his faith
confessed, and hope in the face of what his heart feared. God showed Peter,
James, and John all the glory that belonged to the Son of God shining out in
the person of Jesus. They heard God the Father testify that this was his own
Son. They understood that Jesus’ death and departure were a fulfillment of the
Old Testament promises of God. As Peter said, it is good for us to be on this mountain
and see this Jesus, because it prepares us for Lent, and it prepares us for
life. We have seen his glory, so we know he goes to his suffering and death
willingly, lovingly, to be our Savior. We have seen his glory, so we know that
no matter the sorrow or darkness we face in this life, we have been bought for
another life in the kingdom of glory with our Lord.
Putting
your faith into action
It is so appropriate that the story of the Transfiguration
comes just before Lent begins. Before the blood and gore of Lent, we see
Jesus on the mountain exalted and glorified. We need that, as did Peter, James,
and John. The Heavenly Father attests to his love for Jesus, something we
need to remember when Jesus calls out, “My God, my God why have you forsaken
me?” on Good Friday. This is the same Jesus that the prophets attested to
in the Word when the Holy Spirit inspired them to write. This is the same Jesus
we attest to as we dedicate our lives to him by learning more about him and
serving him in all we do.
Confession in the churches is
not abolished among us. The body of the Lord is not usually given to those who
have not been examined and absolved. The
people are very carefully taught about faith in the Absolution. Before, there
was profound silence about faith. Our
people are taught that they should highly prize the Absolution as being God’s
voice and pronounced by God’s command.
The Power of the Keys is set forth in its beauty. They are reminded what great consolation it
brings to anxious consciences and that God requires faith to believe such
Absolution as a voice sounding from heaven.
They are taught that such faith in Christ truly obtains and receives the
forgiveness of sins. Before,
satisfactions were praised without restraint, but little was said about faith,
Christ’s merit, and the righteousness of faith.
Therefore, on this point, our churches are by no means to be
blamed. Even our adversaries have to
concede the point that our teachers have diligently taught the doctrine of
repentance and laid it open.
Our churches teach that naming
every sin is not necessary and that consciences should not be burdened with
worry about naming every sin…
Nevertheless, because of the
great benefit of Absolution, and because it is otherwise useful to the
conscience, Confession is retained among us. –
The Augsburg Confession, Article XXV, Confession (paragraphs 1-7, 13)
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