"And Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white."Matt:17:2
The Apostles of Jesus had spent nearly two and a half years as his inner circle of Disciples, they had heard him preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, they witnessed the deliverance of many and the power which Jesus so willingly used to heal and to restore the sick and downtrodden, yet through it all they seemed to miss the point of his divine identity.
Atop the Mountain
Jesus chose three of the Disciples to which he would give them just a glance of who he was, so that in the coming weeks and mounts they could encourage the others and affirm to them the reality of the divine nature of their Lord.
While retreat at Caesarea Philippi, which was located at the foot of Mt. Hermon, Jesus takes St.Peter, St. James and St. John atop the mount and it is there that the glorious divine truth is disclosed to the three Disciples.
"Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and his brother John and led them upon a high mountain alone " Matt:17:1
At the mountain top, it is here, that the glory of their Lord is revealed to them, in power and in an unmistakable way, and not only to they, but to all who would come to believe in Jesus. Here , before their eyes, their Lord is transfigured and seen in the glorious radiance which he would receive again trough his resurrection. Jesus is transfigured before them.
The Radiance
"and Jesus was transfigured before them; and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became as white as light" (2)
These Disciples see the Holy truth as to who Jesus is, they are in truth seeing Jesus as the glorious Son of God by whom we are given the purest revelation as to who God is. All that the great God has to reveal to us Jesus shows us. All of the glory of the divine Holy Trinity is found in Jesus.
"in these last days has spoken to us in his Son" Heb:1:1a
Jesus is the living embodiment of the glory of God , the very divine radiance which has shown for all eternity.
"And Jesus is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature" (1:3a)
This glorious display before the Disciples also hearkens to the dawn of creation and the conformation that Jesus as God's eternal Son is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and the very one by whom all things have been made and are upheld even to this very hour.
"through whom also he made the world" (2c) and " up holds all things by the word of his power" (3c)
Out of the Darkness
In Jesus we see God's Holy glory, as the very God who brought all things into being, the one who at the very creation shined the divine light of God out of the chaotic darkness. St. Paul speaks of this very thing as the supernatural light of God breaking through the darkness of the world and illuminating our hearts and minds shining in full strength the divine truth of who Jesus is, the very Son of God.
"It is God who commanded the light light to shine out of the darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" 2Cor:4:6
His Face Shone Like the Sun
What St. Paul, is telling us is , that the very one who brought all things into being leads us through the spiritual darkness of ignorance regarding the person of Jesus. Out of this darkness the light shines forth with power and glory with glorious truth of Jesus, that he is God's Son, leading us to worship and to praise our God.
We , like the Disciples upon the Mount of Transfiguration, have had Jesus' son ship revealed to us seeing his face in glory, we are seeing what the Prophet Moses desired to see, the Prophet upon the mountain wished to see the glory of the Lord .
" and Moses said "show me your glory" Ex:33:18
Seeing His Back
This is the same very same glory which the Apostles witnessed there upon the Mount of Transfiguration of Jesus. Even as Moses sought this divine disclosure, the Lord would only permit him but a faint glimpse of the his divine self.
"And he said "I myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you" (19a)
Moses receives the affirmation from the Lord that he will be permitted but a glimpse of the Great God's Holy person , but only his back. This tells us that there would be but a partial revelation of the Great God to be seen upon the mount with Moses, God's face would not be revealed.
"But the Lord said"you can not see my face" Then the Lord said "There is a place near me where you may stand upon a rock. When my goodness passes by you , I will put you into the cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I pass by. Then I will remove my hand and you may see my back; but may face must not be seen"(20-23)
Seeing the Face of God
What Moses, so earnestly sought , was not fully revealed and seen until the Disciples acceded the Holy Mountain with their Lord Jesus; and there the face of God was seen in glory in it's holy radiance. Moses could not see the face of God because the Lord had not yet assumed the very face of humanity through the incarnation of the Second person of the Holy Trinity, the Eternal Son of God.
The Great God has come to us in the person of Jesus. This is to say that when we read the Old Testament portion of the Holy word of God we are like Moses seeing the back of God, it is glorious bit not the full glory we see in Jesus found in the New Testament. This makes the Old Testament the incarnation anticipated and the New Testament the incarnation fulfilled.
Jesus is the Face of God upon which we might gaze and see the glory of the Great God, we no longer look upon his back as did our spiritual predecessors having only a partial revelation of the Holy God, we rather have been given the fullest possible disclosure of who God is in and through the incarnation of Jesus.
We believers in Christ are, like the Disciples who witness the radiance of the face of Jesus in the Transfiguration seeing the express image and divine revelation of the Great God in the holy person of Jesus. St. Peter wrote of this very truth which we Christians experience when he penned his second general Epistle to Christians , but not just to believers two thousand years ago , but to believers in all and every age. St.Peter noted that this glorious Transfiguration came with confirmation of the Father that Jesus is Holy Son of God.
"For Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice from the Majestic God said to Jesus "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". And we ourselves heard this voice fro Heaven when we were with Jesus on the Holy Mountain" 2Pet:1:17-18 .
God the Father is telling us more than about his relationship with Jesus, he is in truth, speaking of his relationship with us. The Father is telling us that in Christ we are able to experience knowing him as our very own Father. The Transfiguration of Jesus and the divine declaration out of Heaven is an invitation to any and all to enter into that SonShip with God all through Jesus alone.
We can come to understand what Jesus spoke to St.Phillip when he asked our Lord to "show us the Father". Our Lord answered St.Phillip "Don't you know me Phillip? have I not been with you such a long time and you do not yet know me?"
What our Lord is telling St.Phillip and all believers is that the Father is revealed to us through himself, when we come to look upon Jesus, we are seeing the Father.
"he that looks upon me is seeing the one who sent me"John:12:45
This is true for believers through out the ages , that when we come to Jesus in prayer, the study of the Holy Scripture or when we gather together in worship we are looking upon Jesus and in so doing we are seeing the Father. It is as if , we have ascended the lofty summit of the Mount of Transfiguration and there as we look upon our Lord Jesus he is transfigured in the eyes of our hearts and minds we see the radiance and the express image of the Father in it's most perfect way, we see the glory and the light which shines out of the darkness, the same light which was shown at the creation, the pure radiant light of holiness that beckons us to come to our God, the Holy Trinity, and to know his unconditional divine love for us all, the love which calls us to be Children of God all through Jesus, and in Jesus we see the eternal truth which Moses desired of the Lord on the mountain top , and the ancient prophets so dearly sought to know and to experience that "Jesus is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature" .
This is what the Disciples and we see there with Jesus upon the Mount of Transfiguration, we see in the Face of our Lord Jesus the divine radiance of God.
Benediction: May we each and all see in the face of our Lord Jesus the image and exact representation of the Great God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit today, tomorrow and forevermore.Amen
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
2101 Old National Pike, Washington, Pennsylvania, 15301 www.gcfountainoflife.org
The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
You can follow the Fountain of Life on Face Book - Click on our Face Book link : https://www.facebook.com/Fountain-of-Life-Church-349595355088375/
"If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"
These Disciples see the Holy truth as to who Jesus is, they are in truth seeing Jesus as the glorious Son of God by whom we are given the purest revelation as to who God is. All that the great God has to reveal to us Jesus shows us. All of the glory of the divine Holy Trinity is found in Jesus.
"in these last days has spoken to us in his Son" Heb:1:1a
Jesus is the living embodiment of the glory of God , the very divine radiance which has shown for all eternity.
"And Jesus is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature" (1:3a)
This glorious display before the Disciples also hearkens to the dawn of creation and the conformation that Jesus as God's eternal Son is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and the very one by whom all things have been made and are upheld even to this very hour.
"through whom also he made the world" (2c) and " up holds all things by the word of his power" (3c)
Out of the Darkness
In Jesus we see God's Holy glory, as the very God who brought all things into being, the one who at the very creation shined the divine light of God out of the chaotic darkness. St. Paul speaks of this very thing as the supernatural light of God breaking through the darkness of the world and illuminating our hearts and minds shining in full strength the divine truth of who Jesus is, the very Son of God.
"It is God who commanded the light light to shine out of the darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" 2Cor:4:6
His Face Shone Like the Sun
What St. Paul, is telling us is , that the very one who brought all things into being leads us through the spiritual darkness of ignorance regarding the person of Jesus. Out of this darkness the light shines forth with power and glory with glorious truth of Jesus, that he is God's Son, leading us to worship and to praise our God.
We , like the Disciples upon the Mount of Transfiguration, have had Jesus' son ship revealed to us seeing his face in glory, we are seeing what the Prophet Moses desired to see, the Prophet upon the mountain wished to see the glory of the Lord .
" and Moses said "show me your glory" Ex:33:18
Seeing His Back
This is the same very same glory which the Apostles witnessed there upon the Mount of Transfiguration of Jesus. Even as Moses sought this divine disclosure, the Lord would only permit him but a faint glimpse of the his divine self.
"And he said "I myself will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you" (19a)
Moses receives the affirmation from the Lord that he will be permitted but a glimpse of the Great God's Holy person , but only his back. This tells us that there would be but a partial revelation of the Great God to be seen upon the mount with Moses, God's face would not be revealed.
"But the Lord said"you can not see my face" Then the Lord said "There is a place near me where you may stand upon a rock. When my goodness passes by you , I will put you into the cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I pass by. Then I will remove my hand and you may see my back; but may face must not be seen"(20-23)
Seeing the Face of God
What Moses, so earnestly sought , was not fully revealed and seen until the Disciples acceded the Holy Mountain with their Lord Jesus; and there the face of God was seen in glory in it's holy radiance. Moses could not see the face of God because the Lord had not yet assumed the very face of humanity through the incarnation of the Second person of the Holy Trinity, the Eternal Son of God.
The Great God has come to us in the person of Jesus. This is to say that when we read the Old Testament portion of the Holy word of God we are like Moses seeing the back of God, it is glorious bit not the full glory we see in Jesus found in the New Testament. This makes the Old Testament the incarnation anticipated and the New Testament the incarnation fulfilled.
Jesus is the Face of God upon which we might gaze and see the glory of the Great God, we no longer look upon his back as did our spiritual predecessors having only a partial revelation of the Holy God, we rather have been given the fullest possible disclosure of who God is in and through the incarnation of Jesus.
We believers in Christ are, like the Disciples who witness the radiance of the face of Jesus in the Transfiguration seeing the express image and divine revelation of the Great God in the holy person of Jesus. St. Peter wrote of this very truth which we Christians experience when he penned his second general Epistle to Christians , but not just to believers two thousand years ago , but to believers in all and every age. St.Peter noted that this glorious Transfiguration came with confirmation of the Father that Jesus is Holy Son of God.
"For Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice from the Majestic God said to Jesus "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". And we ourselves heard this voice fro Heaven when we were with Jesus on the Holy Mountain" 2Pet:1:17-18 .
God the Father is telling us more than about his relationship with Jesus, he is in truth, speaking of his relationship with us. The Father is telling us that in Christ we are able to experience knowing him as our very own Father. The Transfiguration of Jesus and the divine declaration out of Heaven is an invitation to any and all to enter into that SonShip with God all through Jesus alone.
We can come to understand what Jesus spoke to St.Phillip when he asked our Lord to "show us the Father". Our Lord answered St.Phillip "Don't you know me Phillip? have I not been with you such a long time and you do not yet know me?"
What our Lord is telling St.Phillip and all believers is that the Father is revealed to us through himself, when we come to look upon Jesus, we are seeing the Father.
"he that looks upon me is seeing the one who sent me"John:12:45
This is true for believers through out the ages , that when we come to Jesus in prayer, the study of the Holy Scripture or when we gather together in worship we are looking upon Jesus and in so doing we are seeing the Father. It is as if , we have ascended the lofty summit of the Mount of Transfiguration and there as we look upon our Lord Jesus he is transfigured in the eyes of our hearts and minds we see the radiance and the express image of the Father in it's most perfect way, we see the glory and the light which shines out of the darkness, the same light which was shown at the creation, the pure radiant light of holiness that beckons us to come to our God, the Holy Trinity, and to know his unconditional divine love for us all, the love which calls us to be Children of God all through Jesus, and in Jesus we see the eternal truth which Moses desired of the Lord on the mountain top , and the ancient prophets so dearly sought to know and to experience that "Jesus is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature" .
This is what the Disciples and we see there with Jesus upon the Mount of Transfiguration, we see in the Face of our Lord Jesus the divine radiance of God.
Benediction: May we each and all see in the face of our Lord Jesus the image and exact representation of the Great God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit today, tomorrow and forevermore.Amen
Rev. Todd Crouch, Pastor
The Fountain of life Church a Congregation of Grace Communion
2101 Old National Pike, Washington, Pennsylvania, 15301 www.gcfountainoflife.org
2101 Old National Pike, Washington, Pennsylvania, 15301 www.gcfountainoflife.org
The Fountain of Life is heard on the RKP Radio Network 1710 and 1670 AM in Washington and North Franklin ,and 1790 AM in the Arden Fair Grounds area of Washington Pennsylvania, and on 1710 AM in Bentleyville and Monongahela, Pennsylvania. And online around the world at www.rkpradio.com
You can follow the Fountain of Life on Face Book - Click on our Face Book link : https://www.facebook.com/Fountain-of-Life-Church-349595355088375/
"If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"
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