Something More Sure

In Nomine Iesu
2 Peter 1:16-21
February 26, 2017
Transfiguration-A

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

Do you have witnesses? Did anybody else see what you saw? Is there someone who can corroborate the details of what transpired? Can they provide an accurate description? If you’ve ever witnessed something extraordinary—something paranormal or supernatural or otherwise inexplicable—it really helps to have someone standing right next to you, seeing what you see and hearing what you hear, ready to verify and testify and corroborate every last detail.

So it was that when Jesus ascended to the top of a very high mountain, He didn’t go alone. Nor did He only bring along one

disciple. But He took with Him Peter and James and John. And that trio of disciples beheld with their own eyes and ears something paranormal, supernatural, and inexplicable. They saw Jesus in all His dazzling glory—or, at least as much glory as they could handle. They saw the Savior shining like the sun—God of God, light of light, very God of very God—Godhead, humanity, union supernal—shining brighter than all the angels in the sky. And not only that: They saw Moses and Elijah, key Old Testament figures who had been dead for centuries, but who are apparently alive and well in the presence of Jesus. And they heard the Father’s voice thundering from the cloud of glory: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.

There on the mountain Peter, James and John came to know that there’s much more to Jesus than meets the eye. They saw it. They heard it. And they wrote about it. John wrote about it in the prologue to the Gospel that bears his name: “We have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14). Peter also wrote about it in today’s epistle from 2nd Peter: “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain.” John wrote about it. Peter wrote about it. We don’t hear from James, but only because he didn’t live long enough to write much, thanks to the sword of Herod.

What Peter, James and John saw on the mountain was unlike anything else, before or after. It was nothing at all like the so-called visions of Jesus or of the Virgin Mary people sometimes see in the clouds or in water stains on the wall. The jury is permanently “out” on that kind of thing. But to have three otherwise sane, sensible, rational men see exactly the same vision—to have two of the three write about it years later—it tells you that they actually saw what they claimed to have seen: Jesus’ face shining like the sun, His clothes shining with dazzling light, and special guest appearances by Moses and Elijah.

What happened that day on the mountain was literally the high point of Jesus earthly ministry. Jesus was preparing the disciples for the road ahead. For the next mountain would be Calvary, and it would be anything but glorious. Instead of light, there would be darkness. Instead of life, there would be death. Instead of glory, there would be defeat. Instead of a voice from heaven, there would be stone-cold silence. Immediately after the Transfiguration, after descending from the holy mountain, Jesus began to teach that He must suffer, die, and rise again. The glory of the Transfiguration pointed ahead to the hidden glory of the cross—where Jesus would defeat sin by becoming sin, where He would conquer death by dying.

Wouldn’t it be grand if we could have been there to see Jesus shining? Don’t you kind of wish you could have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Peter, James and John so that you yourself could see the glory of God in the face of Jesus? Don’t you think that if you could hear and see what happened on the mountain that day that your faith would be strengthened? Wouldn’t it give you hope and encouragement when doubt threatens to derail you, and when life threatens to overwhelm you? Peter seemed to think so. Peter wanted to linger as long as possible: Lord, it’s good to be here. I can make three tents if you’d like, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. But to this God the Father essentially said, “Be quite and listen—listen to my Son.”

Yes, there’s no doubt—it would have been nice to be there on the mount of Transfiguration; but it’s better to be here. Good to be there; better to be here. This is your “mountain.” This is the holy place where Jesus reveals Himself to you—where your faith is strengthened, where your sins are forgiven, where you receive hope and encouragement. This is where Jesus changes your heart. It’s good to be here—here in the Divine Service—here where heaven and earth intersect. Here the very Son of God draws near to you personally in the water of your baptism, in the bread that is His body and the wine that is His blood, in the absolution that follows your confession—where two or three are gathered in His name and around His Word.

So, which would you choose? Being here this morning, or seeing Jesus’ glory on the mountain with Peter, James, and John? Honestly, if given the option, I think these pews would be empty. Why? Because we view what goes on here as purely predictable, as monotonously mundane, as utterly ordinary, unworthy of our absolute attention. We despise preaching and God’s Word as surely as we fail to hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. Here the glory is hidden—hidden like it was on Good Friday—hidden, but nonetheless certain and sure—in fact, MORE certain and MORE SURE than Jesus shining on the mountain. And if you won’t take my word for it, then listen to Peter.

Decades after Peter saw the Transfiguration, he wrote the words of today’s epistle. And hidden away in that paragraph is a remarkable phrase that makes it clear that you have something better—something even MORE SURE than a front row seat for the Transfiguration: We were eyewitnesses of His majesty, Peter writes, We ourselves heard the voice from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain. AND we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. Peter points us to the Word. He tells us that the “prophetic word” is “something more sure” than what he saw on the mountain with James and John.

Now, a lot of Bible translators and theologians struggle with what Peter wrote. He wrote that the “prophetic word” is “something (even) more sure” than the Transfiguration! He’s telling us that what scribes have scribbled on scrolls—including the dry dusty words of our Bibles—these printed pages are something more sure—more beneficial—more powerful—than what transpired at the Transfiguration. Bible scholars admit that’s what Peter wrote, but add that he couldn’t possible mean that. Let’s assume that Peter and the Holy Spirit mean what they say . . . and say what they mean.

Beloved in the Lord, you—YOU—have something more sure than what Peter saw on the mountain of transfiguration. It may have been “good” for Peter to be there; but it is “better” by far to be here, where the Word of God is preached and proclaimed. “This” is even “more sure” than “that.” It is “more sure” to hear the word of forgiveness proclaimed by your pastor than to see Jesus shining on a mountaintop. It is “more sure” to remember your baptism into Christ than to see Moses and Elijah conversing with Jesus. It is “more sure” to eat and drink His body and blood in His Holy Supper than to see His face shining like the sun—more sure to seek Christ in the Scriptures than to fly to Israel and stand on the exact mountain where the Transfiguration took place.

You have something more sure—something better. You have the power and presence of Jesus the Christ here and now to bring you life that lasts forever. It’s good to be here! And, part of what we do here is listen, as we are invited to do by the Father: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him. Listen to Him when life overwhelms you. Listen to Him when sin has you entangled. Listen to Him when your hope is almost gone. Listen to Him. He has the words of eternal life. Only Jesus can save you. Only Jesus bears your sin, your death, the punishment you deserve. Only Jesus can mediate between God and man . . . because He is BOTH God and man.

That’s what the transfiguration tells us: Jesus is both Son of God and son of man. But His crucifixion and resurrection tell us more. Jesus’ dying and rising tell us who Jesus is for you—your Lord, your Redeemer, your Savior, God’s sacrificial Lamb who dies for the sin of the world. You will see it all for yourself one day. You will see Jesus shining soon enough. For He has promised to appear again in glory and to raise you from the dead. You will see Moses and Elijah and all the saints of God.

This week the mountain of transfiguration gives way to Mount Calvary. Alleluias will give way to ashes. But year in and year out, through every month and every season of life, it’s good to be here. For here we have the Word. And something more sure you will not find anywhere else. Amen.