Good Morning Friends,
In one of today’s Gospel readings Jesus asks the disciples who they think He is, so that He can instruct them and us on who we really are to become. The question is raised in Caesarea Philippi. It is here where Herod the Great built a pagan temple. Perhaps Jesus gestured to it as He asks, “What do people say?” Here, near the site of the Transfiguration, the Northern boundary of the Promised Land…here in a land of gentiles, at the base of the triple summits of Mount Hermon, is where the story takes place. Here Jesus announces that He will not yet establish His Kingdom but will instead establish His church on a rock-hard foundation of faith. Here Jesus offers the keys of power for those willing to submit to the unity and blessings of following in the way. And in the midst of all this we have the Transfiguration, an often-overlooked facet of spiritual life, and a critical precursor to the cross and the resurrection and the giving of the Holy Spirit. And this connection is the overall focus of today’s devotional. So, as we explore our own sanctification, we ask a question of conversion. Are We Observing The Key Divine Attributes of Jesus Transforming Others And Ourselves?
Scripture: Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. ‘And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.‘
Matthew 16:13-20; 18:18-20 (NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!’ When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, ‘Get up and do not be afraid.’
Matthew 17:1-7 (NRSV)
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
Roman 11:33-36 (NRSV)
I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and will clothe him with your robe and bind your sash on him. I will commit your authority to his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open. I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his ancestral house.
Isaiah 22:19-23 (NRSV)
Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16, 25 (NRSV)
Message: If I to told you that Jesus is the eschatological manifestation of the Imago Dei few would have a clue as to what I believed. Well, maybe some of you, but we may have been blinded by the dogma in the process if we respond in this way. The thing is that Jesus’ closest disciples had trouble with this question about who he is, so take heart. This is not about one disciple making it to heaven on a confession and eleven others doomed to hell. It is more important that we know Jesus than understand some textbook answer. It is more important that we experience Jesus not just know things about Jesus. By the authority of Jesus, we are being transformed so we might understand on a deeper level that this is about the Holy Spirit indwelling in us. Sure, we could say Jesus was a carpenter, but maybe he was a stonemason. We could have said that Jesus was the son of a Galilean, and a talented speaker and Rabbi. Peter could have answered that way too, but he did not. Peter said that Jesus was the presence of God and God’s salvation to the people of Israel and by extension through the church to the whole world. And to this Jesus responds that not only the answer was correct but that it had been revealed to Peter divinely. And we too need that kind of divine revelation. From the days of the first apostles. The foundation is the same. What God asks of us is that we come to know Jesus. We are to proclaim him as the Messiah in our own lives and then we are to share that Good News with others. Peter was only able to answer that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior because he knew Jesus, not just things about him. The Scripture records that this was revealed through the Holy Spirit. And we too need the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus’ Lordship to us as well. And if we are caught up in the ecstasy of glorifying God, we might just be living the answer. For the point of the matter is that the Westminster catechisms got it right: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” To those who do not know God that is perhaps the most foolish of all statements. But to those who do know God… who experiencing God’s majesty in a sunset and in inspiring music and wonderful relationships…to those who are in love and being saved, it is not only a right statement, it is a happy, wise, true, inescapable, and highly desirable confession. So, even though we do not have the same opportunity to walk alongside of Jesus as Peter did, the Good News is that we still have the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us and in that relationship, grow together for God’s glory. No scare tactics, no threats, no pushing or shouting, just a simple invitation that begins with a question from the Master himself… Christians, what do you believe? How has God been revealed to you?
And So, if you believe Jesus is the Son of God then you have been given certain authority to defeat the enemy of your soul. You have been given rock solid trust in the trinity. Here our purpose and Jesus’ Spirit’s presence converge as we are deployed to work in the powerful unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…His peace, His bliss, the high ground where our earthly rebellion is lifted. Only when we learn to operate in the God given authority we possess as Christians can we live victoriously… trusting in God, the Father Almighty, the sustaining Spirit and the redeeming and renewing power of following Jesus. All this relates to the three elements of the Transfiguration scene and our Sanctification as well. First Jesus’ glory is revealed. His face shone and his clothing became radiant convincing Peter, James and John that Jesus was the Son of God as we are to come to the same conclusion. Then Moses and Elijah appeared and talked with Jesus, proclaiming that the law and the prophets are fulfilled in Jesus…the whole point of the story and ultimately of our story joining with The Story. And then finally God the Father and creator affirmed Jesus as the Son of God and that the disciples needed to listen to him even though what Jesus had to say was not easy to hear. So too we are to become children of God. So, let us get ready to face our future as we consider the elements of this amazing conversion. Let us gaze upon the face of Jesus and contemplate the significance of the event for our own growth and the growth of others. And here as we gaze on an earthly Jesus close the heaven, we might just discover that our capacity for adoration grows and can spill over into the world in which we live. Here as we see the change in the earthly Jesus and the disciples we might just learn to respond to Jesus’ voice as we listen to the leanings of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the Word made flesh. For here we are transformed as cooperative covenant partners with God. Here we get the connection between what God did with Jesus and Moses and Elijah on the Mountaintops and what God does on the cross and tomb and to the followers of Jesus at Pentecost. And we, who with unveiled faces now hopefully reflect the Lord’s glory and are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory in the clear knowledge that our purpose to glorify God.
Pray Jesus unlock for a better understanding of what it means to be human. Pray
we realize that all power and authority come from Jesus. Pray we feel the penetrating gaze of Christ but also his love as we ponder all the divine attributes in the Word made flesh. Pray we focus on the penetrating purity of the holiness of Christ. Pray we are informed and transformed by the Holy Spirit. Pray our Heavenly Father helps us to be all that He has called us to be. Pray we introduce Jesus to other people through his image in us. Pray we yield every aspect of our being, of who we are, to the Trinity’s transforming love. Pray the veil between Heaven and Earth become so thin that we not only sense God’s presence but become an intimate place of communion with the transformative power of what God desires to change in the world through us. Pray we do not fear. Pray we realize that our salvation is won though Christ for the glory of God. Pray we be a testimony of Peter’s faith affirming an answer to today’s question that comes from our heart not our head. Pray we enjoy the experience of love to the glory of God. Pray the Holy Spirit reveal the majesty of Christ into the experience of our lives. Pray Jesus shine right through us and into the world.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 