The Last Sunday of Epiphany
The Last Sunday of Epiphany
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt March2nd, 2025
You Can’t Help But Notice
Text: Luke 9:28–36
This past week as I considered the passages for this morning I reflected back many years ago when I first made a somewhat credible profession of faith in Jesus Christ at around 18 years old. Years earlier my father invited Jesus to be
his Savior and Lord when I was 12 years old. I’ve never seen a more complete change in anyone than in the life of my father. My uncle Cy led him to the Lord and years of anger, bitterness, and hatred flowed out from him and never came back.
The joy of this new life in Christ never left my father and for many years as a consequence he talked about Jesus Christ all the time. Prior to this time I don’t recall seeing my father cry before that time, but initially he couldn’t talk about what Jesus had done for him without crying. My mother really thought he had gone crazy, and I must admit it really got on my nerves too. But one of the benefits I received was a constant barrage of the word of God being spoken to me by my father and his friends.
Don’t ever give up speaking the word of God to those who are lost. Remember that Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that,
…the word of God is living and active,sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
I resisted my father’s attempts to evangelize me for a long time, but I have no doubt as to the efficacy of God’s word that had been planted in me over the years. So when I did bow down before the Lord in repentance and faith, I thought that I knew a lot about Christianity and the Bible. I was very wrong. That was over 50 years ago, and I still don’t know all there is to know about
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God’s word, not even close. I’m constantly reminded of that fact. However, when I read about the disciples of Jesus misunderstanding him and what he was teaching, I know where they’re coming from.
The whole time that Jesus was physically with them they still could not really understand the depth of what he came to do or even who it was that stood before them. But I suspect that often the Holy Spirit brought to their remembrance the teachings and examples of what Jesus did and said during the three years he was with them. I’m convinced that there was never a time in their separate ministries when they stopped having those “Ah-Ha” moments when something Jesus taught them many years earlier suddenly came to life in new ways. I know because that still happens to me, and I suspect it does to you as well.
This morning we will be primarily considering our gospel reading from Luke 9:28–36, the Transfiguration of Christ. We’ll attempt to understand the implications both then and now when seen through the lens of our Old Testament reading from Exodus 34: 29–35.
First let’s deal with one of the most common misunderstandings that appear in the scriptures. It pertains to the identity of Jesus Christ and the relationship of the unity and work of the Trinity in the history of redemption.
One of the most common questions asked by those who read the Old Testament concerns people who are said to encounter God and yet live through it.
You likely remember when Moses encountered the burning bush and his reaction. In Exodus 3:2–6, “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush.” Out of curiosity Moses decided to take a further look at this bush that was on fire and yet didn’t appear to be consumed.
When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Why was Moses afraid to look at the burning bush once he understood who was actually speaking to him? This would indicate that even though he was raised by Pharoah’s daughter he was familiar with the stories of Abraham, Issac, and
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Jacob as well as the promises that God made to them.. Also fire is often a biblical symbol of God’s presence, sometimes symbolizing the threat of God’s holiness. Hebrews 12:29 reminds us that our God is a consuming fire.
This was before the story in Exodus 33 when Moses asked God to reveal His glory. God agrees to allow Moses to partially see His glory as He passes by him because, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (v.20). Moses would only be allowed to partially see God’s glory but not in all His glory.
The prophet Isaiah recalls a vision of the Lord seated upon His heavenly throne and writes in chapter 6:1–3,
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Even the seraphim, the Angelic sinless creatures who are continually before the throne of God must cover their faces because His glorious presence is so overwhelming that they cannot bear to look upon Him.
Throughout the Old Testament, we frequently encounter the “angel of the Lord.” In both the Hebrew and Greek the word “angel” is translated “messenger”. Those verses are sometimes referring to particular angels such as Gabriel or Michael but there is an important distinction between the Heavenly messengers and the “Angel of the Lord.”
The passages referring to the “Angel of the Lord” usually identify Him to be, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, or simply God. Many commentators believe this to be the pre-incarnate, second person of the Trinity and there are many examples of this. John 1:18 makes the point, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (NASB1995).
The Apostle Paul writes in Timothy 6:16, referring to The King of kings and Lord of Lords, “who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”
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Throughout the Old Testament there are many examples of the Angel of the Lord appearing as a man yet revealing Himself as God. It was the Angel of the Lord who appeared to Hagar in Genesis 16, Abraham in Genesis chapters 18–19, Gideon in Judges 6:11–24, Manoah in Judges 13, and many other examples that we don’t have time to point to them all. Suffice it to say that the angel of the Lord was not simply a created being as were the other angelic messengers. Rather, He was who He claimed to be, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”—Yahweh, yet a distinct person from another Yahweh.
Another example is found in Genesis 19:24 when the Angel of the Lord is about to rain down God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. “Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”
In the highest probability, the identity of the angel of the Lord was the preincarnate Christ, God the Son. As revealed in the New Testament, He mediates and intercedes for the people of God, on their behalf— not as a mere created agent, but as Yahweh Himself, second person of the Holy Trinity. Now in light of this let’s turn back to our comparison between our Old Testament in Exodus 34:29–30 and Gospel passages.
In the first part of Exodus 34 Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai where he had been with the Lord. He had broken the first set of tablets, that had been engraved by the finger of God. (Exodus 32:19). Moses broke the tablets out of rage because Israel broke the covenant, with God by making a golden calf to worship. They bowed down before this man-made image of God. Actually, they didn’t consider themselves worshipping a different god, just one they could see in their midst, in effect an idol. However, that entire story is for another time.
So in our passage Moses, who experienced a revelation of God’s glory is returning back down the mountain to the children of Israel.
Exodus 34: 28 offers an important bit of information for us to consider. “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” God engraved upon the first set of the commandments but Moses in anger broke them. So he had to engrave the second set with his own hands and tools.
When Moses came back down from Mount Sinai there is tangible evidence that he had been enveloped in the glory of God and none the worse for wear. This
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kind of fasting is never repeated or recommended in the Scriptures, accept for when Jesus, after His baptism was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days and 40 nights.
Charles Spurgeon wrote concerning the effect of beholding the Lord on Moses,
The radiance of Moses’ shining face was a reflected radiance, a received glory. The source was the face of God, and as Moses communicated so directly with God his face received some of this shining glory. The face of Moses shone because he had long looked upon the glory of God.
Let’s now turn to our gospel and read Luke 9:28–31,
Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses, and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
Luke places this story around eight days after Peter’s confession that Jesus was the anointed one of God. Jesus’ foretelling that he was going to be rejected by the religious leaders, killed, and on the third day be raised added,
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me…. For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”
Luke makes no comment as to why only Peter, James, and John are singled out to go with Jesus. I do think the fact that Jesus takes them with him up on the mountain to pray is instructive. Since the Garden of Eden, before the fall of man, God would descend down from His dwelling to walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. The Prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel 28:12–15 points to God descending from His mountain and coming down to the Garden of God to walk with one he created. So the fact that Moses ascended up to the Mountain follows the same type of setting.
So as Moses went up upon the earthly Mount Zion to meet with God. Jesus is taking the three disciples up on what is likely Mount Hermon to pray. It was likely at night because the disciples were sleeping soundly when they are
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awakened by voices and as they look on they see Jesus’s face and clothing both radiant as dazzling white. Somehow they recognize Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus about departure and the upcoming events in Jerusalem. I don’t know how they identified Moses and Elijah but I’m certain that the whole scene was revealed to the disciples through the Holy Spirit.
For this brief time, Jesus took on an appearance more appropriate for the King of Glory than for a humble man. This was not something new for Jesus, but the temporary pause of an ongoing revelation. The real amazement was that Jesus, most of the time, could keep from displaying His glory, while displaying His humanity.
Darrell Book in his IVP Commentary on Luke suggests,
The disciples are trying to come to grips with what is happening. In their view Jesus is another great figure, like Moses and Elijah. He will find a people like Moses and sustain them through hope like Elijah. So Peter suggests they together celebrate Tabernacles, a feast that looked forward to the eschaton (also called the Feast of Ingathering, They should build three booths in honor of Jesus and his colleagues. The suggestion is eminently reasonable, except that it understates Jesus’ relationship to his two witnesses. Peter wants to enjoy the moment and prolong it in celebration. He wants to stay on the mountaintop for as long as possible.
You can hardly blame Peter for wanting this scene to continue. I mean come on, it’s Moses and Elijah! Luke, however, just points out that Peter didn’t know what he was saying (this is where I identify with him) but what happens next is so powerful. Let’s read again Luke 9:34–36,
As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
Once again the cloud comes down as the Lord God comes to meet with His people. For their protection He comes shrouded in a cloud for their safety but also to identify to them who is speaking. What is the Father telling them about the Son that they haven’t understood yet? They believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and they believe that He is the Son of God, and they also believe that Jesus is
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great and wonderful just like Moses and Elijah. They are Jews who have been raised believing that the law was given to them by God, but through Moses, and Elijah was the prophetic voice that not only spoke the words of God to His people but revealed the power and authority of God through miracles and even brought divine justice down upon the enemies of God.
They thought they knew who Jesus was and they loved Him, but what they didn’t yet understand is that Moses and Elijah were not there to meet up with a colleague, they were there to honor the one who created them and poured out His power and love into them. This wasn’t their co-worker—this was their God.
So when the Father shows up, which likely made them fall on their faces and they grew silent. This wasn’t so much a rebuke as it was telling them to listen better and seek to understand what Jesus had been telling them all along. They needed to listen to Jesus so they will understand His uniqueness, His call and destiny to suffer. They needed to come to terms with the truth that their role was not only to contemplate Jesus but to faithfully serve him. Celebration would come in the future, but now was the time for instruction, response, and action.
To really grasp the importance of this event I find it helpful to consider 2 Peter 1:16–21 written many years after the transfiguration of Jesus,
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The disciples didn’t realize while they were up on the mountain with God that the day would soon arrive where the Jewish leaders would accuse them of betraying their Jewish heritage and violating the law of God. They would be seen
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as those who turned away from the law and the prophets and therefore turned away from God. The pressure was lessoned by the memory that they were there the day when Moses, the very one who represented the law of God, and Elijah, the one who symbolized the prophetic voice of the Messiah, came to honor the Son of God that they loved and served.
They had come to understand who Jesus really was and it was far, far, far greater than what they had originally believed. Once they had run away from the religious authorities who arrested Jesus and had him put to death. They had seen and been with the resurrected Lord and watched Him ascend back to the Father with instructions to go back and wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Nobody would be able to convince them that Jesus was anything but what they now knew Him to be. He wasn’t just the head of their band of brothers, He was their creator, the Lord of all—worthy of praise, honor, and glory. He was worthy of their service; they would both live and die for Him. Is that how you know him?
This Wednesday, on Ash Wednesday we come to the end of the season of Epiphany and enter the Lenten season, a time of penitential preparation for Easter. It’s said to be an opportune time to reflect on what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ and that is true. It’s also a time to ask the Holy Spirit to provide you with a deeper understanding of who Jesus Christ really is and why He is more important than anything this world has to offer.
That is very much the feel of the transfiguration, except that in this scene the call to listen comes at two levels. There is the divine voice, which stops all discussion between the disciples and Jesus, and there is the central instruction to listen to Jesus. The point in both cases is that instruction is needed, because the path Jesus walks is unexpected. If disciples are to understand this walk and follow in its footsteps, they will need to listen to him. That hasn’t changed one bit. It is only in and through Jesus Christ that we will find true life and bask in the overwhelming glory of His presence.
Let’s pray.
©2025 The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt
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