After Six Days
Matthew 17:1-9
February 2, 2020 anno Domini – Redeemer
After six days they went up the mountain with Jesus. That’s how long it had been since Peter’s great confession. It had been the highlight of confirmation class with the Disciples. Peter finally got it. Jesus, always the pastor, asked the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter the catechumen answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus couldn’t have been happier. Good answer Peter. My Father has revealed this to you. You have given a wonderful confession and upon that confession I will build my church. It was the highlight of three years of instruction.
Then the class hit an all time low. Jesus told them He was going to die. Peter stumbled at those words. Never Jesus. You cannot die. Jesus praised Peter no longer. “Get behind me Satan. You are a hindrance to me.”
After six days. Who knows what the disciples wrestled with those six days. Everything about Jesus said what Peter confessed. Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Words of Jesus said He was also a man, “I’m going to die.”
Saint Luke tells us that Peter, James and John were drowsy when they got to the top of Mount Hermon, the mount of Transfiguration. The stress of the week. The wresting with Jesus’ impending death. The long climb up past the tree line. The quiet of Jesus’ prayer. It all added up to exhaustion. They were heavy with sleep.
After six days. That is how long it has been since you were in the Lord’s House. How have the last six days been for you? How did work go? How is your family doing? Have you wrestled with God and what He is doing in your life? Have you struggled with sin? Have you been burdened with the cares of others? Was it a challenge to climb out of bed and get here this morning? Are you exhausted?
Peter, James, and John weren’t expecting anything to happen on that mountain. Jesus frequently went off by Himself to pray. Did you come expecting anything out of the ordinary this morning? It’s an odd question to ask a congregation that uses the hymnal every Lord’s day, whose pastor has been around long enough that he has no new stories and you kindly laugh at the old ones. You get bored with church, with worship, with religion. You are lulled to sleep by the Devil’s serenade. All religions are the same; be good, be faithful, and God will be good to you. Or the Devil awakens you with the desire for something new, something shiny, something that feels good and looks more appealing.
Peter’s words in today’s Epistle awaken us to the reality of what happens every Lord’s Day, every Divine Service. Christianity is not the same as every other religion. Ours is not a be good, feel good, and it might turn out good for you after you die religion. Our worship and our hope are not centered around human speculation or the appetites of man. Peter writes, |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.” Peter tells us, “We were with Him on the mountain. We saw His glory. We heard the voice of the Father.” All of this confirms the Word of the prophets, that the Old Testament is not some myth concocted by guys named Moses and Elijah and Habakkuk. No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
What did drowsy Peter see as he, James and John shook off the dull sloth from their eyes? They saw the glory of God shining through the flesh of Jesus. They found themselves in the company of heaven – Moses and Elijah who had long ago departed the earth. They heard the Father’s voice declaring Jesus to be His Son. Before it was over Peter declared, “It is good for us to be here.”
Peter, James, and John were told, “Tell no one the vision, until the son of man is raised from the dead.” Not many months later Peter and John would hear the testimony of the women that Jesus’ tomb was empty. They would run to the cemetery and find it just as the women said. That night they would see Jesus with their own eyes. A few days later they would eat shore lunch with Him. They would watch Thomas probe His wounds with his finger. They would see Him ascend into heaven and hear the angel’s promise that He would return.
What did Peter then declare as he preached the Word on Pentecost day? He didn’t say, “Be good and God might be good to you.” He proclaimed that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s own Son, the Christ. He preached that Jesus died on the cross and three days later rose again. He preached the fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word, the accomplishment of forgiveness, the end of death and the certainty of life forever with God.
It is the last Sunday after the Epiphany. Wake up. Open your eyes. It has been six days since you were last here, perhaps even more, and you’re exhausted. You’ve been running after false gods. Death has visited nearby. You’re burdened by your sins, your suffering and your death. You need Jesus and He is here for you. He bids you to come up. Come up to the Altar, the highest point in our church and there in His Supper, you will see the glory of Christ, you will have communion with the Saints on earth and in heaven, and you will be ready to go down and out into the dying world.
Jesus tells your eyes to see through your ears. He says, “Take eat, this is my body, given for you. Take, drink, this is my blood shed for you.” In this supper you have Jesus for you in all His glory. The same body and blood offered on the cross, the same body and blood risen from the dead, the same living body and blood that sits in heaven is here for you. It is as real and as certain as His own birth, death, and resurrection. Don’t ask me how, but be certain that you are eating the living flesh and blood of the Son of God, your Savior, here, on this holy mount.
If Jesus is here in His body and blood, then the angels and archangels are here, and Elijah, Moses, Peter, James, and John. For when a believer dies He is with the Lord. You cannot see it, but with you at the railing, gathered around the altar, and singing along is the whole company of heaven. The unseen congregation with us this morning is thousands of times larger than our little band of brothers and sisters.
Wake up to this reality. You are never closer to heaven then when you receive the body and blood of Jesus. You are with Jesus and He is with you. Is it any wonder Peter declared, “Lord, it is good for us to be here?” There is no better place to be than with Jesus.
When the glorious light had dimmed and the Father had spoken, the disciples looked up and saw no one but Jesus only. Jesus only for the next six days. Jesus only for your sin. Jesus only for your suffering. Jesus only for this hateful, hopeless world. You have Jesus only, the sin-forgiving, death-conquering, Devil destroying, life bestowing Son of God, right here for you.
After the last six days He is here. After the next six days He is here. Where Jesus is there is forgiveness, life, and salvation. That is why it is good to be here in the name of Jesus. Amen.