“Behold the Glory”

(Matthew 17:1-13)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

January 19, 2020

The Passage

Matthew 17:1-13

1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown and were terrified.

7 Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up they saw no one except Jesus alone.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Don’t tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”

10 So the disciples asked him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

11 “Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” he replied. 12 “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

Introductory Comments:

If you think of some of the greatest character revelations in movie history, there may be several that come to mind. Perhaps when someone figures out Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same guy, or when someone figures out Clark Kent and Superman are the same guy. Perhaps one of the most popular is when Darth Vader is revealed as Luke Skywalker’s father in The Empire Strikes Back. It’s such a powerful moment when Luke sees who Darth Vader really is. 

Well, here in the book of Matthew, the disciples are learning more and more about who Jesus is. They’ve seen some marvelous things about Jesus so far. They’ve seen Him as a great teacher, a brave leader, a miraculous healer, and more. They’ve seen Jesus stand up to the Pharisees and Sadducees. They’ve seen Him heal people. They’ve seen Him calm the waves and the winds. They’ve even seen Him miraculously feed thousands of people. 

Today’s passage, though, is something special. In today’s passage, the disciples will see something truly powerful. 

Before we dive into this passage, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to guide us. 

Let’s pray together.

(prayer)

In today’s passage, we will experience four actions related to Jesus. 

We will learn about Jesus, God the Father, Elijah, and ourselves.

That’s a lot to cover, so let’s get to it.

The first action is . . .

I. We see Jesus’ supernatural nature. (vv. 1-4) [on screen]

The disciples had already seen glimpses of Jesus’ divine nature. They are beginning to understand that He is much more than just a man. However, this passage takes that to another level. Let’s check it out. Look at verses 1-4. 

1 After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here. If you want, I will set up three shelters here: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Remember, Jesus has twelve apostles whom He called to follow Him. Among the twelve, there were three to whom He was particularly close: Peter, James, and John. Here, Jesus takes with Him Peter, James, and John. 

Jesus took these three up on a high mountain for the purpose of seeing Him transfigured. 

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