Who is Jesus? Who are You?
Matthew 17:1-9
February 9, 2025 anno Domini
And after six days. That’s how St. Matthew begins the account of the Transfiguration. Mark and Luke do the same. They both begin with a time reference. If the Holy Spirit told Matthew to write “after six days” it must be important.
Six days after what? Six days after Jesus asked his men, “Who do you say that I am?” Six days after Peter gave the bold confession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Six days after Jesus showed them that He was going to suffer many things, be killed, and on the third day be raised. Six days after Peter said, “Never” and Jesus called him Satan. Six days after Jesus said, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
The disciples are following Jesus. They don’t get it yet. They aren’t all in, but they are following Jesus to death – first to His cross, and then to theirs. If someone says, “Follow me. We’re going to die” it would be, as we say in the church, “good, right, and salutary” to ask, “And who might you be?”
Transfiguration answers that question. Jesus was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light, and behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
Jesus is God. That’s who He is. That’s why His face shone like the sun and the radiance of God blazed through His clothing. He is God of God and Light of Light.
Jesus is the Lord of the living and the dead. Moses had died and God buried him on the border of the promised land. Elijah never saw death. He was carried to heaven in a whirlwind. Now they are both with Jesus, alive and in their bodies.
Jesus is the end of the Law and the fulfillment of all the Prophets. Moses received the 10 Commandments, and all the Laws that governed Israel on Mount Sinai. Elijah was the great prophet who battled Baal and the wicked King Ahab and his nasty wife Jezebel.
Who is Jesus? He is the God you need. He is the Son of God come down from heaven, to do heaven’s work on earth. So often the gods that people desire or worship are gods who do only earthly things. People want gods who make them happy, who satisfy their cravings, who fill their bank accounts while letting them do whatever they want. That isn’t a god. That’s the Devil.
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God. He is truly God, while also being truly man. In last week’s Gospel reading we saw that. Jesus got exhausted after healing people and fell asleep in the boat. Then when awakened He calmed the storm. Earthly things and heavenly things. All of that will come together at the cross. Jesus of Nazareth will die, allegedly for breaking the Law of Moses, and for committing blasphemy against God’s Word delivered by prophets like Elijah. But there is heavenly work hidden behind that bloody death. God is forgiving your sins. God is doing what only God can do. He is cancelling your debt to Him by nailing your sins with His Son to the cross.
Moses received the Law on Sinai. The Law tells you what God wants you to do and not do. You shall have no other gods. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. You shall regard His name as sacred and holy and quit using it for a swear word. You shall keep the Sabbath day. You shall not skip church. You shall not murder and you shall love your enemies. You shall not commit adultery. You shall lead a chaste and decent life. Does your favorite Netflix series encourage you to chastity and decency? You shall not covet. You shall be content with what God has given you.
These are not suggestions. These are not guidelines. You cannot excuse yourself because no one is perfect and you cannot jump ahead and say, “but I’m forgiven.” When Peter, James, and John beheld Jesus and heard the Father, they hit the deck and went silent. That’s the proper response of a sinner in the presence of God. Keep your mouth shut. If you say anything, say, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Imitate Peter, James, and John. When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. He is your only hope. Forgiveness can only come from heaven. You’ve sinned against God and He’s got perfect recall and perfect justice. You sin you die, unless He provides a way out. That way out is Jesus. The Son of God came out of heaven to work forgiveness on earth in the flesh of a man for man, for you. His glory is shining for His disciples to see, so that when He hangs on the cross, they’ll know He is God. On the cross He won’t look like God. He won’t act like God. Some people think God is most God when He is doing big, mighty, miraculous things, but that is not the God revealed in His Word. God is most God when He comes down to earth, when He is merciful and compassionate, when He is clinging mightily to His adulterous bride Israel or when He is laying down His life for His bride the Church on the cross. God is most God when He is loving His beloved, when He is loving you.
As Jesus is the answer to the Law of Moses He is also the answer to Elijah and all the prophecies of God. Jesus is God’s yes to every promise He made to save, rescue, redeem, deliver His people, to punish evildoers, and to judge the world. In Jesus sin is judged. All the evil of all the evildoers was taken into His flesh and He got the judgment. God’s promises weren’t about Israel or about America or about happily ever after in some righteous nation on earth. God’s promises are yes in Jesus. He defeated your enemies when He was enthroned on that tree. Good won over evil when He rose from the dead. Believe that and you’re in the Kingdom and God’s yes is spoken over you.
That’s what Transfiguration says about Jesus. It gave Peter, James, and John the answer to His question, “Who do you say that I am?”
You know who Jesus is, but who are you? What’s your identity? Are you following Christ even to death? You’re here this morning and that’s good. Most of Saint Cloud is not in church, but coming to church is the least you can do, right. That’s kind of like the beginning of the text – show up every six days. Hardly a sacrifice. Even sports teams require you to be at very practice unless you’re sick. What’s your identity for those other six days? Do you pray before every meal, even when guests are present? Does your budget and financial plan have Christ in mind? Do you confess the truth when evil is presented as good, and sin is permitted? Do you accommodate your own sins and excuse them, or do you fight the enemy that resides in your own flesh? Do you speak of Christ to your children and grandchildren, or do you keep the conversation safe?
After today we’re heading for Jerusalem. We have three Sundays to prepare for Lent, and then six weeks of Lent to prepare for Holy Week. These next nine week are time for discipline, to discipline your church attendance, your prayers, your tithes, your flesh, your conversation. Your face is not going to shine like Moses, but if your identity is Christian, you will be a lamp shining in the darkness for others to see.
At Transfiguration we clearly see that Jesus is the Son of God. God grant that we look like the children of God that we are, that we shine with His glory. In the name of Jesus. Amen.