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Book: Matthew
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Matthew 17:4 It Is Good For Us To Be Here
I. This Story is tied with the last verse of the previous chapter. "Verily
I say unto you, there are some standing here who shall not taste of
death till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom."
A. Six days later Jesus took three of the disciples up into a high
mountain, and there He was transfigured before them.
1. His face was as the sun.
2. His raiment was as white as the light.
B. Compare this with the vision that John had of the glorified
Christ in Revelation 1.
1. His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
C. This experience had a lasting effect upon Peter. When he wrote
his second epistle he made reference to it.
2PE 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we
made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2PE 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when
there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2PE 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were
with him in the holy mount.
D. The statement when we made known unto you the power and coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty,
seems to correlate with the words of Jesus of some standing
there who would not taste of death till they had seen the Son
of Man coming in His Kingdom.
E. Not only did they see Jesus transformed, but they also saw
Moses and Elijah who were talking with Him about his decease
when He came to Jerusalem. The word translated decease in the
Greek is exodus.
1. Here two of the great figures of the Old Testament, the
one representing the law, and the other the prophets.
Talking to Jesus of His exodus from the earth when He
went to Jerusalem.
2. Moses the man to whom God gave the law concerning the
sacrifices. Who wrote concerning the sin offerings. He
is now talking with the Son of God, the true sin
offering of which all of those under the law were only
a shadow of the one to come.
3. Elijah, who stood at the head of all the prophets who
wrote so much of the coming King, His lowliness, and
death by crucifixion, and now Elijah is talking with
Him the One of whom the prophets spoke.
4. No wonder Peter said, "Lord it is good for us to be
here."
II. Mountain top experiences are always wonderful.
A. Those times in our lives where God manifests to us the
magnificence
of Jesus, when the heavens seem to open to us, and we get a
foretaste of the glory divine that awaits every child of God.
1. Those are the times that you don't want to leave.
2. As Peter we often want to build three tabernacles and
just stay.
3. They are those wonderful experiences of the presence of
Jesus, and the people just seem to linger around in
expectation of what might happen next.
4. We echo the words of Peter, "Lord it is good for us to
be here."
B. We are told that while he was speaking a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and a voice spoke to them out of the cloud.
1. Bright clouds were associated with the ministry of
Moses.
2. The bright cloud of Moses day was known as the
Shekinah, or the glory of God's presence.
3. In was a manifestation of the presence of God in the
midst of His people.
4. This bright cloud led them through the wilderness. It
rested above the Tabernacle, and at times would settle
on the Tabernacle.
EXO 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
EXO 40:35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the
congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory
of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
1KI 8:10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the
holy [place], that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,
1KI 8:11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of
the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of
the LORD.
5. Now this cloud settles down over the disciples in this
mountain top experience, and the voice of God spoke out
of the cloud saying: "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I
am well pleased hear ye Him."
a. This is the second time that the Father has
testified of His pleasure in His Son.
b. The first time was at the baptism of Jesus.
c. This time God adds, "Hear ye Him."
d. It is as though God is saying, I spoke to you
through Moses in laying down the law.
e. I spoke to you through the prophets, who
testified of My grace to come.
f. I am now speaking to man through My Son. Hear
Him, this is the full and final revelation.
HEB 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
HEB 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds;
HEB 1:3 Who being the brightness of [his] glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word
of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
C. This manifestation of the presence of God was more than the
disciples could handle and they fell on their faces in fear.
1. Imagine being enveloped in the cloud of God's glory and
hearing the voice of God.
2. Mere mortals are not equipped for such experiences.
3. How long they lay in this prostrate fear we do not
know, but Jesus came over and touched them and
commanded them to arise and not be afraid. When they
looked up, they saw no man save Jesus.
4. Moses and Elijah are now gone from the scene, and only
Jesus remains.
5. This in essence declares that you cannot look to the
law for salvation, nor to the prophets for salvation.
You must look to Jesus Christ, He only can save you
from your sin.
6. The requirements of the law were all fulfilled in
Jesus.
a. When John the Baptist objected to baptizing
Jesus, Jesus said to him, "Suffer it to be so
now, for it becometh Me to fulfill all
righteousness."
b. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Think
not that I have come to destroy the law, I have
not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
7. How does this work out as far as our salvation? "Christ
is the end of the law for those who believe."
a. Only to those who believe in Jesus. They are
free from the law. All others are still under
the law, and will be judged by the law. The law
declares the standard by which entrance into
heaven might be attained.
b. Speaking of Jesus, Paul said in Romans,
ROM 3:27 Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of
works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
ROM 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law.
ROM 3:29 [Is he] the God of the Jews only? [is he] not also of the
Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
ROM 3:30 Seeing [it is] one God, which shall justify the circumcision
by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
ROM 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea,
we establish the law.
c. Again in Romans 8 Paul said,
ROM 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
ROM 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
d. To the Galatians Paul said that the Law was our
schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
e. The writer of Hebrews sums it up in chapter 10
HEB 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not
the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually make the comers
thereunto perfect.
HEB 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because
that the worshippers once purged should have had no more
conscience of sins.
HEB 10:3 But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made]
of sins every year.
HEB 10:4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats
should take away sins.
HEB 10:5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared
me:
HEB 10:6 In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no
pleasure.
HEB 10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
HEB 10:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt
offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither
hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law;
HEB 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
first, that he may establish the second.
HEB 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once [for all].
HEB 10:11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering
oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away
sins:
HEB 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
HEB 10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool.
HEB 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.
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