Of Mark, chapter nine, beginning. We're going to read verses one through 13. I want you found that if you wouldn't mind standing for the reading of the gospel. Excuse. Mark, chapter nine. And Jesus was saying to them, truly, I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after has come with power. Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and brought them up on a mountain high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. And his garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. For he did not know what to answer for. They became terrified. Then a cloud formed overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son. Listen to him. All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen until the son of man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. They asked him, saying, why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first? And he said to them, elijah does come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the son of man that he will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come. And they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him. Let's pray. Father, may your will be done. Jesus, may your word be proclaimed. And, holy spirit, may your work be accomplished in us. We pray. Amen. You could be seated. Well, I don't know if you guys have put our sermons together over the last several Sundays, but we began epiphany, the season of epiphany, with this invitation to come and see. Does anything good really come from Nazareth? And the disciples share with another disciple? Come and see. And so we've had this journey, so to speak, throughout the season of Lent. And today we come to the last Sunday of Epiphany. The season's coming to an end and we're transitioning into the new season of Lent. And here today we are going to be, by the time we're done here, able to see. Oh, we came and saw. And ever since we've been walking through on this journey of epiphany. We've been looking at all that Jesus has been doing, and today we're actually going to see something that we haven't seen before. Today we are going to go up on the mountain with Jesus and his disciples, and hopefully, by the end of our time here, you are going to see something and encounter Jesus in a new way that has not been revealed to you up till now. And this is really what the season of Epiphany is all about. It's this manifestation of Christ who Jesus truly is. It is this light that has come into the world, a dark world. And Jesus comes and turns on the light, so to speak. And so that's what we're going to see. And it's an amazing journey because we are a people that just don't need to be told things. We also need to be shown things. Right? We just got done singing a song. Oh, victory in Jesus. You have heard about the old, old story. You have heard this. You have always heard that we're all sinners, but it's when you suffer the results of those sins that you saw for the first time that you are a sinner. Seeing, not just hearing, really brings it home to you. Right? You've also heard that if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved and you will be given the holy spirit. You've heard that, but it's when you experience the victory in your life that you actually begin to understand it, and it takes deep root into your life. The point being is that we are a people that just not only need to be told something, we need to be shown something so that it could take root and hang on. And the good news is, God the Father does this for us here. He preserves not only the things we have heard about the Messiah, the one to come, but he also shows us the messiah in his full glory. And the season of Epiphany comes right before lent. It's kind of like a dark shadow of sorts, a journey through the valley of the shadow of death. And right before we enter into that time, right before we enter into kind of a time of fasting, we are given glimpse of hope to sustain us as we walk through that. And so that's what we find ourselves. So I want to ask you, if you would not mind to join me as we walk into this scene with the disciples and Jesus, come with me, and let's go to this mountain and let's see what this transfiguration is all about. And I must be honest. Every time I've read the transfiguration up till now, it's always been, like, cloaked in mystery and intrigued. To me, it's neat. Jesus'face glows. Cute. Disciples are experiencing something weighty. I get it. But what's the significance? What does it mean for me? And it's been kind of lost. The significance has been lost on me until now. For whatever reason, the Lord has saw fit to really expose what I believe is the true impact and implication of this message. But in order for us to do that, we have to walk through the events that happen at the Transfiguration. And so I want to move us from just making several observations to implications. What is it that we're seeing, and what does that mean for us? And one of the first things that we're going to see is we're going to see Jesus in all of his fullness. But to grasp and understand the fullness of Jesus, we have to understand that since he's come cloaked with flesh, right, since he's come to be a human and to walk among us, his whole life has been about and surrounded with death. From the time he was born, Herod was killing kids trying to find this child. And his whole life being clothed with humanity and beset with weakness, that's been his ministry. And we're getting glimpses when he's healing people and freeing them of demons and all those, we get glimpses. But now we're really about to get a huge glimpse. And it all makes sense, because Jesus is the suffering servant. Hear what is said of him in a prophecy, that he is despised and forsaken among all men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem him so far in Jesus'ministry. That's how he's defined. And yet he takes a few of his disciples, he goes up to this mountain, and he's transfigured. We're told before them, something happens, something miraculous, something monumental is taking place. And what this shows us is that Jesus doesn't abscond. He doesn't leave suffering. He doesn't forsake being human. He doesn't forsake men. But he joins men, and he becomes even a man of sorrows, one who endures suffering, one who is about to endure death. The transfiguration is a turning point in the gospel, where it is that glimpse, that unveiling of who Christ really is before he puts the veil back on and journeys to Jerusalem to go to the cross to endure it. For you and me, it's a glimpse of hope, and it's a little shining light that says, here's how it's all going to end, in order to encourage us, to embolden us, to walk through it. So Jesus first shows us that he's a suffering servant, and his ministry has been about this up to this point, that he's. Paul tells us that he's veiled in this humanity. This is what Paul says in Philippians chapter two. Although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Jesus veiled himself in humanity. And this is astonishing, because only those who were really looking for the Messiah could truly see Jesus for who he was. But now Jesus is going to lift that veil up, and he's going to show you who he truly is. So who is he? What is this glimpse of glory? What does this transfiguration mean? What is the glowing face and the white clothes and the people present all about? Well, it's all about the glory of Christ. And his glory is filled in all the offices that Jesus holds, right? Notice this, that mark clues us in on something. Right at the gate. He says, six days later, jesus took with him Peter, James and John and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. Not only is Jesus a suffering servant, but he also is one who represents humanity. This is keyed in on the six days. I do not think that these three disciples are counting the days that they're journeying with Jesus, and they go up on this mountain. This is something I believe Mark is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to us, the reader, it says, six days later, they go on this mountain. Do you know what else happens on the 6th day? Man is created on the 6th day. And Mark is saying, you know what else happens on the 6th day? Jesus is transfigured. We behold his glory. He unveils himself as true humanity. What happens when the divine comes into humanity and walks among us? You're about to see it. After six days, the second Adam appears, the better Adam appears. And this is one of the first offices that we get a glimpse of the glory of Christ, and we behold his glory as one who is the best among us, who veils himself in our flesh, who endures the same temptations that we do, who suffers just like we do. And he teaches us, and he shows us how we can do it with him. He is the better Adam. He is the one that represents us. He is the one that goes before us. Not only is he a new Adam, but he's a great high priest. The attire that a high priest would adorn himself with on the day of atonement would be linens of white to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins. And this is further affirmed by Peter's response. We are told that Jesus'linens are radiant, white, as if to be a high priest. One who not only represents us as the second Adam, but now one who mediates for us, who goes before us, who walks into the very presence of God and offers himself as a sacrifice. He is a great high priest, representing us and uniting us again with the father. And that is seen in his clothes. So much so that Peter says we should build a tabernacle, this tent of meeting where the presence of God and humanity coexist in one place on earth. That's what was in the mind of Peter, I believe. But not just a new Adam, and not just a great high priest. We also see that he is the prophet among prophets. Moses and Elijah are there, and they're all talking with Jesus. And Jesus is the king of kings. He is the lord of all lords, and he is the prophet among all prophets of whom we now listen to. But it's not just that. There's something else going on with Elijah and Moses. One of the last voices that happened for Israel prior to Jesus showing up on earth before the birth of Jesus is found with the prophet Malachi. In his final words of his book. This is what he speaks and what we read. For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace. And all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff. And the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet. On the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of hosts, remember the law of Moses, my servant. Even the statutes and the ordinances which I commanded him at Horeb. For all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord, he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to the fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. Here is this prophecy of the one to come, and they are to see it with Moses, one who comes like Moses, one who comes like Elijah. This is where the great day of the Lord comes. And here we find these two characters. And so if you are Peter, James and John and Peter, who says, rabbi has a certain understanding as a hebrew, as a jew, he understands that Moses and Elijah are somehow important figures when the great day of the Lord is to appear. And here Peter on the mountain is seeing Moses and Elijah and Jesus, and they're talking with Jesus, and Jesus'face is glowing, so much so that Moses and Elijah's face are glowing. And this is a reality that they step into. This is the beginning of the great day of the Lord, the end. The great things are coming. The Lord has heard our prayers. He has taken heed to our cries. He has sent his chosen one. He has sent the one who is anointed, the prophet among the prophets, the king of all kings, the Lord of all lords. And so we're seeing the fullness of the glory of Jesus as the man of all men, the great high priest who intercedes for us, the prophet who commands us by his very voice. And then lastly, the son of the living God. Up to this point, there's only been one confession from Peter, that he is the Christ, the messiah, the anointed one, the one to come to redeem Israel. But here, God shows up. And that's another point I just want to briefly make, is that the transfiguration shows up before the father even comes down. Jesus has his glory, and he's unveiled himself for the first time to show his face, who he truly is. He pulls back the garment of skin, so to speak, and reveals who he truly is and all the ways that we need him and that he will succeed and be victorious. And then, last but not least, the climax, the pinnacle of all the offices he holds. He is the very son of God. And the father says, this is my son. Yes, he's the anointed one, Christ. But he's my son. Listen to him. So we get this multifaceted, deep layered Christ that is standing on this mountain before us. We've heard of these things. They have been prophesied. They've been told to us. But now we behold Christ, whose face is unveiled, and we see him for who he truly is. The son of God, great high priest, the prophet and the new Adam. Who will succeed. He won't fail us. He will represent humanity and bring humanity into the fullness of his glory. Which is probably one of the most profound things I took away from reading this week. And I think Luke is the one that gives us this glimpse the most. Yeah. Luke nine tells this story as well. So does Matthew. But in Luke nine, something is mentioned here about Moses and Elijah. And behold, two men were talking with him. And they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Luke mentions that Moses and Elijah, too, appear in glory. Jesus is revealed in his glory. It's unveiled. We see it. We behold it, and so does Moses and Elijah. They not only behold the glory of Christ, but they mirror the glory of Christ. That is to say that those who are connected to Jesus, Jesus share in Jesus'glory. That's very profound. This is Jesus who says, I am glorified. And when I'm glorified, I will share my glory with you. That has deep implications for all those who were in Jesus Christ. And we're going to talk more about that here in just a minute. But we get to share in the glory of Christ. On this mountain, Jesus removes his veil, as I've mentioned, and we see him for who he fully is, which has not been done. We see him as he represents the full potential of humanity, the one who speaks to us with truth as a prophet, the one who intercedes on our behalf as a high priest, and one who is the son of God. We behold the glory of God with unveiled faces. This is a tremendous moment. The fullness of Christ has been veiled up to this point. Jacob never saw who he wrestled with in the night, because the Lord left before the sun rose and he limped. And that limp kept him company. Recognizing that I wrestled with the Lord Moses, Moses asked to see the glory, the very face of God. And he didn't allow it to happen. He says, you could see my back. But here, for the first time in the scriptures that we are told, God now has revealed himself through his son. And we can see the face of God in Christ Jesus. So we're on this mountain, we behold these things. What's the big deal? I get it. Christ is glorified, and we got to see it. He was transfigured. We get it. He's about to go to the cross. And this conjures up hope in us. We get a glimpse, a foreshadow of the end before things go real dark. So what does this mean for us? I think there's four implications that I want. There's a lot more, but I want to stick with four for the sake of time. And the first is this because Jesus laid aside his office and took on the form of a bond. Servant took on flesh, because he emptied himself to live and walk in this world with us, to experience the sufferings that we experience, the temptations, the turmoil, the tragedies, the difficulties, all those things. You have a glorious God who can sympathize with what you are experiencing, and not only sympathize with you, but he can also help you and show you how to navigate it, how to be victorious on the other end. And that's not to say that he removes those things. All of us have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. All of us have to continue to walk and engage with the things we fear. All of us may not have the things removed from us that we desperately want removed, but we still have to experience them. But we don't experience them alone. And we could take great courage in this. We have one who sympathizes with us, who has been tempted like we have and yet overcomes. And you can have victory like he has had when he comes inside of you through the Holy Spirit. This is why Peter, in response to this transfiguration, writes an epistle. And this is what he says to the church to encourage him. He says, because I have seen the glory of Christ, because he has unveiled himself and I witnessed his fullness. Cast your cares on him because he cares for you. The psalmist would say, cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you. He will walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death, and his presence in your life is a beacon of hope that as you might be overcome with fear, as you are being swallowed by death and trial and tribulation, the one who stands next to you has already done it and already came out on the other side and can remind you it's going to be well. Remember the light that you saw in my face. Yours is about to shine, but things are going to go dark. But I'm right there with you. Take courage, Christian. I have seen my own sorrows. I have seen my own tribulation. I have seen my own sin. Life can be challenging and hard, and you cannot do it on your own. And praise be to Jesus that he experienced these things and can identify and sympathize with you and lead you in the right way to overcome as he has, Peter goes on to encourage. He says, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. Paul would encourage us this way, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us in Christ Jesus. The disciples, seeing the glory of Christ on the mountain helps them, I believe, helps Peter specifically endure hanging upside down on a cross and suffering for Christ. I believe as Peter was hung up and martyred for the faith, that he closed his eyes and he remembered that mountain and he beheld the glory of Christ. He says, this suffering is temporary, and I too will come to share in the glory of Christ, who has gone before me. I believe that the other implication is that if we share in the glory of Christ, then that has to become the standard for which we live our lives. Paul talks about sin as a falling short of the glory of God. So the glory of God must be the marker that we're falling short on, for all of us have sinned and that sinning has fallen short of the glory of God. I think that's extremely profound. If the marker is the glory of God, that means the glory of God must be shared with us. And that's the standard. That's the whole purpose we were created. That is the fullness, your full potential of what you are supposed to do, not to be living into the fullness. Isn't living your own glory what you want to make up of your own life? The full potential of humanity which is displayed in the life of Christ, is that you come into the glory of God, that you meet the mark, that you share in his glory, that that's why he created you. It's not to give you a glory of your own, but to reflect and mirror and image his glory that he shares with you. And if that is the case, then Paul, who affirms this, says, and if children heirs, also heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. When we share in his glory, we also become the very means by which others come to see God. And here's what I mean by this. When we share in the sufferings of Christ, he shares his glory with us, and then we become the agents through which others out there, when we love them, come and see God. God orders this. Amazingly, John would say, one of the guys up on the mountain would say, no one has ever seen God at any time. The only begotten God who is in the bosom of the father Jesus. He has explained him, but then he would write in his epistle, no one has ever seen God at any time. Same phrase. But if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. And they behold the face of God. The whole purpose of Christ coming and revealing his glory is so that we see the target. We see what it is that God is trying to accomplish in us, which is to share his glory, that we reflect him. And when we reflect him, that means we're going to be loving others. Then all of a sudden, we become those people who have been revealed by Christ, to go and speak and act love for others, so that they also can not only be told about Jesus, but they can see Jesus in our acts of love. I guess the question becomes, what holds you from your potential? So why do some of us still live in the shadows and continue to be cloaked? Could it be that we have a misguided understanding of what our potential is? Could it be that we are embarrassed to show our full potential because it might set us apart from the rest of the world? Could it be that you don't know how to live it out, whatever is holding you from your full potential, to live like Christ and pursue holiness? Because let's just be honest, let's frame it that way, is that the fullness of the glory of Christ is to be holy, for he is holy. So pursuing holiness is living your full potential as humanity, as one created by God. What holds you back? Why aren't you living into your potential? What stymies your pursuit for holiness? Which also begs the question, it must be then that the christian life is an unveiled life. If we share in the glory of Christ, we do not throw back the veil, but with unveiled faces, we walk around in this world radiating the light of Christ into it. We open and fling open the doors of this darkened world, and we turn on the lights. We undrape the furniture, and we show people that this world is heading to be restored into a kingdom. And we are here to turn on the lights in the house. We are here to show you what this world was meant to be. And so we, the christian life, is a life that is meant to be lived with unveiled faces. We don't hide anymore the glory of Christ in our lives. We show it. We demonstrate it in Matthew five. It says, you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand and gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven. In him was life and the life was the light of men. John says, jesus is our life, should be our life. And when Jesus lives in our life, he radiates his glory and shares it with us. But why does God only show? Why does Jesus only show to only a few of the disciples? You've heard show me the glory if you're into third day, right? Why is it that only three? Why does it only take three? Why not all the twelve? I think there's two reasons here. The first one is that we are a people that not only need to be told, but a people that need to be shown. As I mentioned before, we need to be shown. And so Jesus does take a few. But those few that are shown are supposed to go and tell, so that those who are told can come and experience for themselves and see the face of Jesus in our acts of love. And so I don't know about you, but I've experienced in going through this transfiguration narrative again, as I've put myself in the position where those disciples are experiencing Jesus and seeing the fullness of what they got to experience. And I realized, because I have often said that God doesn't share his glory with another. So what does it say that he shares it with you? I don't share my food with my wife. I don't like to. But what does it say when I do? God shares his glory and you were actually created for such to reflect his glory as a mirror? Have you veiled yourself in your christian walk? Are you hiding behind the veil? Or have you uncloaked yourself and are making radiant the glory of Christ through your life? Are you pursuing holiness? That's why I'm a Methodist. This is why we're a Methodist church, because we believe not only are we saved from something, we're saved to something. For the longest part of my christian walk, I was just satisfied with that first bit. It's good and right and a great thing that I am forgiven of sin. Blank slate. But he just doesn't stop there. Yes, he says, okay, now you got the clean slate. What are we going to do with it now? You're going to live into your purpose and the intent for why I created you. And that is so that I can share my glory with you. I'm holy. You be holy. I don't know if where you are in your walk with Christ. I don't know if you even have a walk with Christ. If you want to live into the fullness of Christ, you have to be born again. You have to uncloke yourselves of the flesh, and you got to be born again. Receive the spirit, and that spirit permeates the glory of Christ throughout you. He gives you his righteousness in order that you might walk in righteousness. He gives you the strength and the power to do what he did because he's living in you. And Jesus shows us that what happens when his divinity takes on humanity. He glows. He shines. He overcomes. And all this as he's about to go to the cross for you, because they come down off this mountain, they get back to reality. You know what that reality is? Death. A brutal one. That he endures so that you could be made glorified so that you can live your life with an unveiled face. Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you that you have, before this moment, revealed the fullness of who you are. And we cling to that hope. We cling to that image to carry us through the dark seasons of our life and the struggles we find ourselves in. We cling to you and ask for you to come into our lives and to radiate your glory, that we might walk and become victorious and overcome. May we not be embarrassed. May we never throw the veil back on, but help us to walk in you and with you living through us. May others see our. Our good works and glorify you up in heaven. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.