Friday, February 24, 2012
The
Glory of Jesus
I
John 3:2 - 2Dear
friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made
known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see
him as he is.
28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John
and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was
praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright
as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31
appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his
departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32
Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men
were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let
us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He
did not know what he was saying.)
34 While he was
speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they
entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is
my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” 36 When the voice had
spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves,
and told no one at that time what they had seen.
There are no red
letters in this story. There are no direct words of Jesus. However, a picture
is worth a thousand words. What Jesus does in this story is worth far more than
a thousand words. He takes Peter, James and John up on the top of a mountain to
pray and is transformed in front of them. Jesus gives these three a preview of
what is to come. He shows them the glory that he will experience and all of us
who follow him. Not only did they get a preview of Jesus’ glory but he was
joined by two other companions – Moses and Elijah. They were not ghosts. They
were recognized by the others. They didn’t have wings. They were talking, they
were fellowshipping, and they were standing and enjoying their life. What does
this teach us? That life with God is not some eerie existence but real life in
real bodies enjoying a perfect life with God.
This was such a wonderful experience that Peter wanted to build some
shrines so that they could stay there.
The
hope of the Christian life is that we will follow in the glory of Christ.
Romans 8:28-30 - 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For
those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his
Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And
those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those
he justified, he also glorified.
John
17:22 - 22I have given them
the glory that you gave me, that they may
be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved
them even as you have loved me.
Philippians
3:20 - 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly
await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by
the power that enables him to bring everything under his control; will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
This story not only teaches us that we will be glorified but how
we can glorify Christ right now.
1) Be passionate about Jesus. Jesus took Peter, James and John up on to the
mountain. Why not the others? Did Jesus not like them? No. The Bible says that
God does no respecter of persons. I believe Peter, James and John were more
passionate about Christ. They wanted to be with him. They wanted to be close to
him. And as a result of their passion they were able to see this wonderful
moment. The more passionate I am about Christ, the more He is glorified in my
life.
2) Shake off spiritual sleepiness.
– I can’t believe they got sleepy but they did
(verse 32). But it wasn’t until they were fully awake that they saw Christ’s
glory. It’s easy to get spiritually
drowsy, sleepy, to get ho-hum in our approach to worshipping Jesus. Being fully awake means we know the hour, we
know the urgency of the hour and we’re fully engaged in Christ’s kingdom.
3)
Obedience glorifies Jesus. A simple yet
profound three word command from God – “Listen to Him.”
4)
Exalt Jesus above all else. After God’s voice had spoken, they found Jesus
alone (verse 36). He alone is worthy. He
alone is to be worshipped. He alone is the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. The more I exalt him the more he
is glorified in my life.
Prayer:
Thank you for the glory that is to come in our life. What hope, what joy, to
know we will be like you! May I glorify you in my life every day. May your
light shine through me and may people see Jesus in me. Amen.
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