A vision of glory for the ministry ahead

2 Kings 2:1 When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. ² Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel. ³ The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it." ⁴ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho. ⁵ The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?" "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it." ⁶ Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan." And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on. ⁷ Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied. ¹⁰ "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours-- otherwise not." ¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more.

This past fall, our WLS boys’ soccer team won the first place trophy in our conference tournament. We had humble beginnings two years ago when we didn’t win a single game. This year we ascended the mountain to achieve the glory of a huge trophy, victorious team pictures, and the adoration of fans and parents. Now when the girls’ team is having to play in the cold and snow this spring (since we haven’t had any cold or snow this winter) or the boys are running through goose poop this fall, during the yelling and the crying (usually both coming from the coach), running sprints and hills, the struggles, losses and temptations to quit, I can pull out the trophy and remind all of them of the glory that they had once seen and the glory they can achieve once again.

Elisha came from humble beginnings as a farmer, leaving his plow and oxen behind to follow Elijah and become a prophet. Peter, James and John came from the humble beginnings as fishermen, leaving their nets and boats behind to follow Jesus and become His disciples. Toward the end of Elijah’s ministry, Elisha was blessed to see Elijah carried to heaven in a whirlwind and a fiery chariot. Toward the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, these three disciples were blessed to see Jesus transfigured before them. The chariot to heaven was obviously important to Elijah. Speaking with Moses and Elijah and hearing the voice of His heavenly Father was obviously needed by Jesus. But these visions of glory were also necessary for those left behind. Elisha, Peter, James and John received a vision of glory for the difficult ministry that lay ahead for them.

Somehow God made it known that Elijah was going to be taken from this earth. So the prophet Elijah and his apprentice, Elisha, visited the three seminaries in Israel. Once he was done touring the seminaries, Elijah headed across the Jordan River. He did this by striking the water with his prophet’s cloak. The water parted so that he and Elisha could cross on dry ground. While the two of them were walking together on the other side of the Jordan, “suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elisha went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” The chariot of fire and the horses of fire are the angels. We know Scripture speaks of the souls of the faithful being carried by an invisible guard of angels to Abraham’s side (Luke 16:22). But now with Elijah, who is both soul and body, the angels are visible, not in human shape with wings and white gowns, but in the form of a fiery chariot and fiery horses. Fire in the Old Testament represents the glory of the Lord. The angels in Scripture are cherubim and seraphim. Seraphim signifies fire, for the Bible says that “the flames of fire are [God’s] servants” (Psalm 104:4). Cherubim, many think, signifies chariots, and they are called “the chariots of God” (Psalm 68:17).

Elijah is taken to the world of the angels, and to show how desirous they are for his company, the angels come to retrieve him. And they come as a fiery chariot and horses so he may ride in triumph, like a prince, like a conqueror, yes, more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37). To Elisha, this must have seemed like this was the place where heaven and earth touched.

Elisha was then left alone. But he was granted the prophet’s cloak that had fallen from Elijah. He was granted “a double-portion of the Spirit” which means that he would be every bit of the prophet Elijah was, not more, but the same, carrying on the prophet’s work. Elisha went out into a land which claimed to be worshiping the true God, but which was becoming ever more heathen. Through his office of the ministry, Elisha went out to do the prophet’s work – preaching under the idolatrous rule of king Ahaziah, calling down curses of bears to maul jeering teenagers, parting the waters, and raising the dead. Elisha left to go to work. Work he did not know or expect. Elisha needed this vision of glory for the difficult ministry that lay ahead. It would be difficult to go on.

The three disciples also needed this vision of glory for the ministry that lay ahead. They followed Jesus up a mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them. They saw the glory of the Lord, not in fire, but in blinding light. We sinful people hide our humble nature by dressing up our outer appearance. Jesus, on the other hand, from His conception, hid His glorious appearance by covering up His glory in human flesh and blood. He did this, not to deceive us, but so He could live among us. He did this, not to spy on us, but to have mercy upon us.

On this mountaintop, Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John – or in other words, the appearance of His figure was transformed to show who He really was, to show them His glory – in order to prepare them for what they were soon to see … another transfiguration, a different transfiguration … when Jesus’ whipped, pierced, beaten, bruised and bloodied body would be hung in a twisted, disfigured mess on a cross. His lifeless body placed into a nearby tomb when, instead of hearing the voice of the Father confess, “This is my Son, whom I love, listen to Him,” they would hear Jesus cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me” (Matthew 27:46)? When the people on His right and left would not be Moses and Elijah, the two greatest prophets, but two common criminals. Where instead of a cloud of light, great darkness enveloped them. And if the Mount of Transfiguration seemed liked the place where heaven and earth touched, then Mt. Calvary must have seemed like the place where earth and hell came together. Jesus knew His disciples would be filled with fear and doubt. It would be difficult to go on.

The disciples followed Jesus down the Mount of Transfiguration up to Mt. Calvary. Then they would leave the first mountain and experience the second mountain, so they could get to work – work they could not possibly know or expect. Jesus gave them His Holy Spirit as their divine Counselor, carrying on Jesus’ work and words. Elisha went from a vicar to a prophet. Peter, James and John went from disciples to apostles. They needed this vision of glory for the difficult ministry that lay ahead – preaching in Christ’s name, then being put in prison for it, testifying that they must obey God rather than men, calling down curses upon Ananias and Sapphria, and healing the sick and lame.

Because we know that America is the greatest country in the world and we are blessed to be living in it, too often we begin to act like this is heaven on earth. We can get satisfied and complacent. And yet, just as King Ahaziah opposed the prophet, and the Roman government and the Jewish religious leaders tried to silence the apostles, so we find that our nation is not the Christian nation that it once claimed to be.

Just look at recent news stories. Brandon Wegner, a student at Shawno High School was asked to write a dissenting viewpoint on whether homosexual couples should be able to adopt children. He quoted the Book of Leviticus which calls homosexuality an “abomination” and Brandon was vilified by the media as a bigot. Dexter Thielhelm, a second grader at James Madison Elementary School in Sheboygan wanted to give out valentines to his classmates featuring his favorite superhero – Jesus. His mom helped Dexter fill empty water bottles with candy and rolled notes with John 3:16 on them. Before the valentines could be given to his friends, though, they were confiscated by the principal for having a religious (i.e. Christian) message on them.

Though you may not have heard about those stories, surely you have heard about President Obama’s “accommodation” to a previous mandate in his health care plan demanding that all religious institutions must cover all forms of birth control. It is important for you to understand the difference in definitions. We Christians define birth control as preventing life from forming in the womb. President Obama, the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services and Planned Parenthood define birth control as preventing a birth from leaving the womb – this includes abortive drugs and abortions. This is not a political issue. It is a moral and Christian issue. It is a clear threat to the religious liberty guaranteed to all citizens by the First Amendment. Though we do not agree doctrinally with the Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants or other Lutherans, on this issue we stand with our fellow brothers and sisters in the Holy Christian Church. Together we cal out our government for overstepping their bounds and violating the consciences and rights of its citizens. We can no longer expect a favored position for Christianity in this country.

Jesus bids us to “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God” (Mark 12:17). We will pray for and support our government when we can, but our consciences and lives belong to God. Like the apostles being told to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, we profess, “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Surely, Elisha and the apostles became discouraged, afraid and disheartened as they preached God’s name and were opposed, belittled and persecuted. It is a very real temptation in the face of similar opposition and persecution to back down, cower in fear and remain a majority – a silent majority. We are belittled in the media, ridiculed for our convictions and constantly opposed by our sinful nature, the devil, and very often by our own elected leaders.

This is why we need today. We need to see the glory revealed on the Mount of Transfiguration and the glory hidden on Mt. Calvary to get us through this plain of suffering, opposition and persecution. We need the vision of glory of a championship trophy to get us through the tears, sweat and mud of another difficult soccer season. And like Elisha with the fiery chariot and the disciples with the transfigured Christ, we need this vision of Jesus’ glory as we follow Him to the cross this Lent and also carry our cross daily as His followers. For we go from being followers to becoming defenders of the faith and soldiers of the cross.

We follow through this earthly plain of suffering and through the valley of the shadow of death to the cross. Because we know it doesn’t end there on Mt. Calvary. We follow Jesus to another mountain – Mt. Zion in the New Jerusalem in heaven. Some day we will enjoy Jesus’ glory in all its fullness for eternity. But until then we must take up our crosses and follow Him, showing ourselves to be His disciples. We, too, must follow Jesus by ascending the hill of shame to the foot of the cross. That is where we witness the true glory of Jesus as our Redeemer. For this is what Jesus came to do – to die on the mountain. It is all heaven is interested in and constantly talking about and praising – the Lamb of God who offered Himself for the sins of the world. The shameful death of Jesus is our glory. It is the fulfillment of all that Moses and Elijah prophesied. And so what looked shameful and humiliating to the world was actually glorious and redeeming. For not Christ incarnate, but Christ crucified is the Desire of the Nations, the Hope of Israel and the Light of the world.

We may struggle this next soccer season. There is always the possibility that we may not win many games. But if we work hard, if we are faithful in our calling as Christian soccer players … and we beat Friedens, then we’re fine. We may continue to be bombarded by anti-Christian sentiment, we may not win in the media or on Capitol Hill, but if we work hard under the weight of our cross and we are faithful in our calling as citizens of two kingdoms – the U.S.A and God’s Kingdom – then we are fine. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us enough to go to the cross for us. Plus we have a double-portion of the Holy Spirit as our Counselor.

We, too, need this vision of glory – not of soccer trophies or political and ethical victories – but of Jesus upon the mountains. We see the visible glory of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. We kneel before the hidden glory of Jesus on Mt. Calvary. So we may one day join Jesus in all His eternal glory on Mt. Zion. Amen.