Delightful Doctrine
Matthew 17:1-9
January 29, 2023 anno Domini
Doctrine isn’t sexy, but it is life. That’s my warning that today’s sermon is doctrinally deep and entertainment light. It will have twice the calories of my average sermon but won’t taste as good. That’s okay, because we all know that food that tastes best on the tongue (think triple berry pie or turtle cheesecake) isn’t the best food for your body.
The doctrine of the day is Jesus of Nazareth is true God and true man at the same time. At the conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit the eternal Son of God assumed human flesh and became a man. That doctrine is taught in the Virgin birth, in the visit of the Wise Men, in the changing of water into wine, the miracles, and ultimately (until the resurrection) at the Transfiguration of Jesus.
This doctrine we confess in the Athanasian Creed. We confess that our Lord Jesus Christ
is at the same time both God and man.
Heis God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages;
and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age;
perfect God and perfect man,
composed of a rational soul and human flesh;
equal to the Father with respect to His divinity,
less than the Father with respect to His humanity.
Now, control yourselves. I know you can hardly wait for the next morsal of my sermon. This is almost as tasty as lemon meringue pie.
Transfiguration reveals the nature of Jesus. He is God in the flesh, but then Jesus commands His men to conceal this revelation, to put this glorious light under a bushel basket. “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” What good is doctrine unless it is taught, preached, and proclaimed? Of what value is the truth about the way to the life if no one hears it?
Why is this doctrine not yet to be proclaimed? Because Jesus being true God is of no value without the cross. Jesus is God revealing God to us, but what sort of God is He? Is He a god of fire and brimstone that will destroy the wicked? Is He a god made in the image of man, who expects you to be good (whatever that means to you) and universally saves everyone (except for perhaps Hitler and child molesters). Jesus won’t let His men teach His doctrine until He has fully revealed His true nature. He does that because of your nature.
Consider the last six days of your life. That’s how the text begins, “after six days.” What have the last six days revealed about your nature? What did you spend your time doing? What consumed your thoughts? What sort of conversations did you have with your spouse, your children, your parents? What are you worried about? Angry about?
Let me tell you about your nature according to God’s Word. You are a self-centered narcissist. You want life your way and you think of yourself first. When someone cuts you off in traffic you wonder where the police are, but when you do the same because you’re running late you justify it. You can’t believe how rude people are, until your cable goes out and you’re talking to Bobby at Spectrum. Our nature is revealed for all it is (and isn’t) as we look into the perfect mirror of God’s Law. What have I feared, loved, and trusted in above all else this week? Has the Lord’s name been on my lips in prayer or praise or as an explicative? Am I as eager for God’s Word as I am for news about Joe Biden or Donald Trump? Have I honored my parents, taught my children the faith, loved my wife as myself?
Our nature is corrupted by sin. We want to be God and when we encounter any trouble, we think it is unfair and we want it fixed now. So if God came along we would expect Him to make it better NOW. During the Epiphany season that is what Jesus did. When they ran out of wine at a wedding, He makes 180 gallons out of water right now. When the centurian’s servant is dying, He restores his life NOW with His Word. Many people would be content with that, until the next problem came along. Jesus came to address the very nature of the problem, which is our corrupted sinful nature.
God took on flesh to be a real man in your place. To be the good human for all humanity. After keeping God’s Law (that’s why Moses is on the Mountain) and fulfilling every prophecy (that’s why Elijah is there), Jesus completes His work by dying in man’s place. Because He is God that offering of the perfect man works for all humanity, because He wasn’t only a man. He IS true God and true man. God’s life was offered for your life. God’s blood was shed for your sins. God breathed his last so you would breath again for all eternity after you died. God’s Son became a man so that all mankind might once again be sons of God, and as sons heirs of life.
That is why Peter, James, and John, could say nothing until after the resurrection. Jesus wasn’t the quick-fixing, man-pleasing, make everything go your way god. Jesus revealed His Divine nature and the Divine will of His Father. The Father’s will is to make you pleasing to Him, to change your nature from sinful to righteous, to transfigure you from a selfish narcissist to a son of God and a servant to your neighbor.
The first of the Devil’s targets in early church history was this doctrine – that Jesus is the Son of God in human flesh. Pastors, Bishops in the Church were tempted by the Devil and succumbed to his lies. It doesn’t make sense – how can God be contained in human flesh. Jesus is not true God. He is like God, but less than God. He is of a different substance than his father. Heresies usually make sense – the finite (human flesh) cannot contain the infinite (God Himself). Thankfully faithful Bishops like Athanasias and Saint Nicolas (the real Santa Claus) condemned this heresy and put an end to its preaching and teaching in the church. From them, meeting at Nicaea we received the Nicene Creed which confesses Jesus as
God of God, Light of Light,
Very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father
That’s almost as good as Fondant au Chocolat (FONDOW OH SHOK-O-LAWT) It’s good because it proclaims the certainty of salvation. Jesus was no ordinary man. He is God in the flesh. Should the Devil pester you with your sins or torment your conscience look to Jesus. Your sins were paid for with God’s blood. If, in the last six days, your sinful nature dominated your Christian nature, run to Jesus and from His servant receive the forgiveness for your sins proclaimed and preached as doctrine. Should your faith struggle against your flesh kneel at the Lord’s table, and receive the very body and blood of Christ under the bread and wine. Oh, and there’s another doctrine intimately connected to the person of Christ. The bread and the wine is no ordinary bread and wine. By Christ’s Word it is as the same time the Body and Blood of Jesus. But we’ll hold that doctrine for another Sunday because you’re likely reaching your calorie limit for rich doctrine. So, remember doctrine is life. If Jesus isn’t true God, you are still in your sins, but He is so you aren’t. That means you’re forgiven and alive in the name of Jesus. Amen.