february 19 2023
2023 Transfiguration Sunday, February 19th
Old Testament: Exodus 24:8-18
Psalm: Psalm 2:6-12
Epistle: 2nd Peter 1:16-21
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
Sermon Text: 2nd Peter 1:16-21
Sermon Title: “Something More Sure; the Prophetic Word”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
From the Gospel reading this morning; “And Jesus was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light”. (Matthew 17:2) “A bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said; This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; (keep listening) listen to Him”. (Matthew 17:5b)
(And) From the Epistle; “We were eyewitnesses of His majesty … we ourselves heard this very voice from heaven”. (2nd Peter 1:16b-17a) “We have something more sure, the prophetic Word … knowing no prophecy of Scripture … was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. (2nd Peter 1:19, 21)
Just prior to our Gospel this morning, “Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things … and be killed and on the third day be raised”. (Matthew 16:21) This earned a strong rebuke from Peter who had just confessed Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God”. (Matthew 16:16b) He told Jesus, “this shall never happen to You”. (Matthew 16:22b; which earned an even stronger rebuke from Jesus, who said to Peter, “Get behind Me Satan. You are a hindrance to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man”. (Matthew 16:23b)
The Apostle Peter thought he knew better than Jesus, what was best for Jesus’ life and ministry; he genuinely thinks that he is offering Jesus good advice. He thinks it couldn’t possibly be good for the Christ to suffer in the ways that Jesus predicted. But, in trying to take the easy way, the way of “human wisdom”, (1st Corinthians 1-2) apart from the cross; Peter was actually siding with Satan and needed to be rebuked. If Jesus had to rebuke His disciples in such a way; and it wasn’t the only time He did it; certainly, we should also expect correction when we sin; even in ignorance.
Roughly a week later, Jesus “led them up a high mountain by themselves and He was transfigured before them … and there appeared to them, Moses and Elijah talking with Him”. (Matthew 17:1b-3) Once again Peter misspeaks in his ignorance and fear. We know this from Mark’s Gospel where it says, “Peter did not know what to say, for he/they was/were terrified”. (Mark 9:6)
“Peter was still speaking when … a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud (the voice of the Father) said, this is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him. When the disciple heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified”. (Matthew 17:5-6) They were scared in the moment, but soon Jesus would calm them with His Words saying; “Rise, and have no fear”. (Matthew 17:7b) “They saw no one, but Jesus only”. (Matthew 17:8)
Peter would remember this day for the rest of His life. Other than Jesus’ appearances after His bodily resurrection, Jesus’ transfiguration was likely his most important memory. He brings it up in our Epistle text this morning in which he is having to defend himself against false teachers “among you, who secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them … in their greed, they will exploit you with false words”. (2nd Peter 2:1a, 3a)
He begins, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to Him by the majestic glory; This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with Him on the holy mountain”. (2nd Peter 1:16-18)
The disciples did not make up these accounts of their time with Jesus in order to deceive others, as they were frequently accused of doing, both then and now, everything that they testified to, they either heard with their ears or saw with their eyes. All that they saw and heard was also spoken of in the Old Testament prophesies about the coming Christ; to which Peter now turns his attention.
Did you notice that Peter left out part of the words that God the Father spoke? He left out he words “listen to Him”. On the surface, that seems odd, but the rest of his testimony made the repetition of those words unnecessary. Jesus is “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14a); He is true God, from all eternity, which means the Scriptures are His Word. So, when Peter speaks of the written Word of God, He is in fact speaking of Jesus. Listen to Jesus and His Word.
Peter wrote, “we have something more sure (than the miracles and the glory of God that they had seen); the prophetic Word”; (2nd Peter 1:19) the Scriptures, in which God cannot lie. The Psalmist wrote, “The testimony of the Lord is sure”. (Psalm 19:7b) “All of Your commandments are sure”. Psalm 119:86) The prophet Isaiah calls the Word of the Lord, “a precious cornerstone and a sure foundation”. (Isaiah 28:16b)
“You would do well to pay attention (to the Scriptures, Jesus’ Word) as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”. (2nd Peter 1:19b) Luther wrote of this verse, “We must have the light of the Word and cling to it until the Last Day … God bids us to fix our eyes on the Word alone, on baptism, on the Lord’s Supper, on absolution, and to regard everything else as darkness”. So, also in the Small Catechism, we are exhorted “not to despise preaching and His Word, but to hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it”. (Third Commandment, Small Catechism)
So, the Apostle Paul tells us, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. (Colossians 3:16) In the book of Acts, we are (also) given the example of the noble Bereans who, “received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily”. (Acts 17:11b)
Later on, in the Large Catechism, Luther expands his discussion of this commandment by saying, “you must be concerned not only about hearing the Word, but also about learning and retaining it … those who after hearing a sermon or two … feel that they know it all and need no further instruction … should be chastised … even if you think you know the Word of God perfectly (which no one is able to do), still you are daily under the attacks of the devil … you must keep God’s Word in your hearts, on your lips, and in your ears”. (Third Commandment, par. 98-100, Large Catechism)
Peter continues to speak of the Word of God saying, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophesy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. (2nd Peter 1:20-21) They were not writing as they saw fit, but only what God the Holy Spirit inspired them to write. So, Paul calls the “Word of God, the sword of the (Holy) Spirit”. (Ephesians 6:17b) And the writer of Hebrews also calls “the Word of God … sharper than any two-edged sword”. (Hebrews 4:12a)
Therefore, because the Bible is God’s very own Word; because it is Jesus’ Word, it is the norm for all doctrine and teaching in the church. All Christians must accept the authority of Holy Scripture. The Word of God is perfect, inerrant, powerful, and it will accomplish what God intends it to accomplish. Thus says the Lord, “So shall My Word be; that goes out from My mouth; It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it”. (Isaiah 55:11) For the prophets of the Old Testament “predicted the sufferings of Christ and His subsequent glories”. (1st Peter 1:11b)
Jesus said, “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35b) meaning it is not to be questioned and the Apostle Paul also testified, “I believe everything laid down by the Law and written in the prophets”. (Acts 24:14b) “All Scripture is breathed out by God” (2nd Timothy 3:16a) and “able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”. (2nd Timothy 3:15b) The Bible is the opposite of the wisdom of this age that Paul said is “doomed to pass away”. (1st Corinthians 2:6b)
We are also to pay close attention to the Word of God, not to swerve to the right or to the left, in order that we might recognize false teachers. In chapter 2 of this letter, Peter warns at length that; “False teachers arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction”. (2nd Peter 2:1)
In our day, the church is often criticized for being too judgmental, both in doctrines and morals. We are told that we need to be to be uncritical and tolerant of other doctrines and behaviors that contradict God’s Holy Word; but that is not how the Scriptures speak. Peter says they “have eyes full of adultery; insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children … for them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. They promise freedom (from the restraints of God’s Word) but they themselves are slaves of corruption”. (2nd Peter 2:14, 19)
Clearly, man-made laws and doctrines/teachings are not just harmless matters of opinion; they have caused tremendous damage to the church and the lives of believers over the centuries; even causing some to lose saving faith in Christ. Believing and promoting false doctrine not only endangers our salvation and causes divisions in the church, it also causes “the way of truth (the Gospel of Christ) to be blasphemed” (2nd Peter 2:2b) and the Word of God to be despised in the world.
But, God would not have His sure and prophetic Word and commandments despised, but rather heeded, because He reveals Himself to us in His Word; which testifies of His saving work in the person of Jesus Christ. He speaks to us in His Word so that everything a person needs to know in order to be saved and receive eternal life is contained in them. So, the Word of God (along with the sacraments) is a means of grace.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God has the power to deliver these gifts of God; for Paul wrote, “the Word of the cross … to us who are being saved, is the power of God”. (1st Corinthians 1:18) So, John concludes his Gospel with the words, “These things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have (eternal) life in His name”. (John 20:31) Therefore, we pay attention to the “sure, prophetic Word (of God) … as to a lamp shining in a dark place”. (2nd Peter 1:19a) Amen
The peace of God …