A man with his new bird do is out for the hunt. After shooting his first duck, it fell in the
lake. His dog ran to the water’s edge
then gently walking out on the water, picked up the duck, and brought it to his
master. Stunned the man didn't know what to think. So he shot another duck and again the dog did
exactly the same thing! No one will ever
believer this, he though. So the next day he decided to invite a neighbor to
come and see his new dog fetch a downed bird. The dog repeated his miracle for
the friend to see but he didn’t say anything. So the man shot another duck and the miracle
happened again. We he could no longer contain himself, he asked his
friend. Didn’t you notice something
strange about my dog. Oh yes of course said the friend. Your dog doesn’t know how to swim.
Mar 3, 2019 Luke 9:28–36,
Psalm 37 vu page 763
Is there a Jesus of the Old Testament? Many church folks have struggled with this
idea. Well the gospel of John refers to
an entity called “The Word” that was
there in the beginning and then tells us that the word became flesh. Paul and the other Apostles have a name for the
Jesus resurrected they call him “The Christ”.
Christ you see was not Jesus’ last
name but a name used by them to describe the entity that always existed. We first hear about this entity in the book
of Genesis 1: 26. here is what it
says: “Let us make humans in our image” Colossians
1: 15-18 gives us a description of this eternal entity called “The Christ”. This reading is called “The Supremacy of the Son of God” 15 The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. 16 For
in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things
have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things
hold together. 18 And
he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the
firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have
the supremacy. Here we need to
remember, to the early followers of the Apostles, this idea of an eternal Jesus
dying on a cross and then rising from the dead just did make any sense to them.
In fact when Jesus tries to tell them He
is going to experience death on the cross they don’t understand what he is
talking about let alone believe it. In
their minds, Jesus was to over through the Roman authority and set up a new
Kingdom that would rule over the people eternally with peace, justice and love.
So for us who base our faith upon an
eternal resurrection story, a story that never ends, these verses from Colossians
are very important for us to understand. In fact they speak of The Christ that was
there in the beginning. Genesis 1:
26 “Let us
make humans in our image”. The writer of Colossians describes a Jesus
who was there from the very beginning. He
is ruler over all creation, He is Lord of lords and King of kings. Everything that was made, was made for and
through Him. According to Colossians the
realm of Christ’s reign covers everything that happens in heaven and on the
earth. No one, not even those who deny
Christs existence can be free of His rule or be outside His sphere of love and authority
for “The Christ” is as Paul states in Romans 14: 9, “Both Lord of the Living and
of the Dead.” So I ask you to hold onto those thoughts as we reflect
upon the gospel and this “MIRACULOUS” transfiguration story.
The first question that always
seems to crop us is: is this just a story or is it a fact? This is something only the individual
Christian can judge for themselves after doing personal reflection of all
scriptures involved. We should always
be reading the scriptures not necessarily for fact but for signs of hope, and
revelation, something we can take home personally. A key to comprehending this story’s significance
is found in Mark 9:1. Jesus spoke these
words 8 days before these three men are led up the mountain to experience this
event. And I quote: And
He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing
here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with
power.” I
believe His prophetic words we meant for three of His followers, disciples Peter,
James and John, why because: shortly after saying this, Jesus takes Peter,
James and John up to a mountain top. There, Jesus is somehow transfigured. They no longer see Jesus as He was but as a shining
white light, so bright it transforms Him into something greater, something too difficult
for their minds to comprehend.
This transformation only lasts for a moment, but in that moment it seems to have transported
these three men to another place and time. It appears to resemble the near death
experience we often hear reported by many.
They experience being present to a bright shining image, with a voice
and the voice almost always that tells them to return to their bodies. They also
report an overwhelming feeling of peace and contentment nothing like they have
ever felt before.
This place and time is visible to
Peter, James and John who are still among the living, but also includes two of
the most significant figures from the Old Testament who are dead, yet they are all present to this
experience. We have Peter, James
and John, the living and Moses and Elijah the dead, all in the presence of a
transformed Jesus, not the physical man these men went up to the mountain top
with, but an entity that is “Lord of
both the living and the dead.” May I
suggest to you they were all in the presents of “The Christ” the entity that we heard about in the Colossians reading,
the entity that was there in the beginning with God, Genesis 1: 26? No one knows for sure what these 5 men were
getting a glimpse of, but may I suggest to you that Jesus’ prophetic words from
Mark 9:1 have now become a reality. And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say
to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see
the kingdom of God present with power.”
In this place both the living and
the dead are able to see and speak with the transformed Jesus, “or as Paul refers to Him, “The Christ” in
His glory and in His power just as He said. This passage represents for the Christian
a truth that can only be believed by faith, a faith that is overflowing with
hope, and the assurance that Jesus is “Lord of both the living and the dead,”
Romans 14: 9. and I quote the passage “For this very reason, Christ died and
returned to life, so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” And the congregations sang: Amen!
