{"id":2725,"date":"2021-04-26T16:43:30","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T16:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=2725"},"modified":"2021-04-26T16:43:30","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T16:43:30","slug":"seeing-hearing-and-believing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/04\/26\/seeing-hearing-and-believing\/","title":{"rendered":"Seeing, Hearing, and Believing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The Transfiguration of Our Lord| Rev. Rolf Preus|<\/strong> <strong>January 28, 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/ChristForUs_28JAN2007.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cWhile he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, \u2018This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!\u2019\u201d Matthew 17:5&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus said to Thomas, \u201cBlessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d&nbsp; St. Paul writes, \u201cFaith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.\u201d&nbsp; We want to see.&nbsp; God says no.&nbsp; I won\u2019t show you.&nbsp; I\u2019ll tell you.&nbsp; Take my word for it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But sometimes we do get to see.&nbsp; Peter, James, and John got to see.&nbsp; Jesus took them apart from the twelve.&nbsp; They went up on a high mountain.&nbsp; There, as Peter, James, and John looked on, Jesus was transfigured.&nbsp; He had hidden His divine glory underneath a humble covering.&nbsp; Now He let it shine.&nbsp; His true deity shone forth.&nbsp; He had already shown His glory by His many miracles.&nbsp; Now He revealed His glory in His very appearance.&nbsp; His face shone like the sun.&nbsp; His clothes became as white as light.&nbsp; The glory that he had shared from eternity with His Father was clearly revealed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What a vision!&nbsp; They witnessed with their own eyes the pure and holy and beautiful glory of the God become man.&nbsp; More than that, the two great Old Testament prophets were there with him.&nbsp; Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus.&nbsp; St. Luke records for us that they were talking about Christ\u2019s impending death.&nbsp; While enjoying His native glory Jesus was talking with the prophets about His impending shame.&nbsp; His glory would be hidden under deep suffering.&nbsp; He would fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah who wrote: \u201cSo His visage was marred more than any man.\u201d (Isaiah 52:14)&nbsp; He appeared to be a beautiful Savior on the Mount of Transfiguration, but no souls would be saved there as His glory shone forth like the sun.&nbsp; Salvation would require Jesus to embrace the shame of the cross.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So stop all that foolish talk about building tabernacles.&nbsp; In fact, stop talking altogether and listen.&nbsp; Hear Him.&nbsp; Listen to what He has to say.&nbsp; You can\u2019t listen while you\u2019re talking.&nbsp; You can\u2019t listen while you\u2019re building.&nbsp; You need to settle down, be quiet, and listen.&nbsp; Listen to Jesus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where faith is born.&nbsp; Faith doesn\u2019t come from seeing glorious sights.&nbsp; Not even a vision of Christ displaying the pure beauty of His glorious majesty will do.&nbsp; Faith doesn\u2019t come from having a mountain top experience.&nbsp; No, faith is born when we are rendered blind and mute and helpless.&nbsp; Then we listen.&nbsp; We listen to Jesus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Father identifies Jesus as His beloved Son.&nbsp; But He does more than identify Him.&nbsp; He gives His public stamp of approval upon Him.&nbsp; He says, \u201cThis is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.&nbsp; The glory revealed on the mountain displays an innocence that brings joy to God the Father.&nbsp; The Father beholds His only begotten Son and is happy with what He sees.&nbsp; The Father sees more than the eternal glory He has shared with His only begotten Son from eternity.&nbsp; He sees as well an obedience that is unparalleled.&nbsp; He sees the pure and flawless righteousness that marks Christ\u2019s life.&nbsp; He sees the one and only righteous man.&nbsp; He sees Him whose righteousness becomes the robe with which the Holy Christian Church is clothed.&nbsp; Now listen, Peter.&nbsp; Listen, James.&nbsp; Listen, John.&nbsp; Listen, dear Christian, whoever you are.&nbsp; Listen to Him whose righteousness is your royal robe.&nbsp; Listen to the One whose glory is from eternity.&nbsp; Listen to the One who leaves the Mount of Transfiguration to go to the Mount Calvary.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today is the last Sunday of the Epiphany season.&nbsp; Epiphany is followed by three Sundays known as pre-Lent.&nbsp; This is followed by Lent.&nbsp; The theme of Epiphany is the manifestation of Christ\u2019s glory.&nbsp; The Transfiguration of Christ before the three disciples epitomizes Epiphany.&nbsp; We think of St. John\u2019s words, \u201cWe beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the vision of glory could not last.&nbsp; This we must know.&nbsp; But it\u2019s a bitter lesson to learn.&nbsp; It can be downright painful.&nbsp; Living in glory is much more enjoyable than living under the cross.&nbsp; But the true value of our lives is hidden under suffering.&nbsp; It is hidden under Christ\u2019s suffering and our own.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We don\u2019t base our faith on what we see.&nbsp; We listen.&nbsp; Our faith comes from hearing God\u2019s word.&nbsp; This is because the road to glory must pass through Calvary.&nbsp; There can be no heaven without the cross.&nbsp; Listen to Jesus.&nbsp; That\u2019s what He said again and again and again.&nbsp; He took His disciples aside and said to them that it was necessary that He suffer many things, be betrayed, crucified, and on the third day rise again.&nbsp; This is why Jesus commanded Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone about seeing Him transfigured until after He rose from the dead.&nbsp; He didn\u2019t want any misunderstanding.&nbsp; He didn\u2019t want anyone to think that the route to glory could bypass the cross.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is why we need to rely on what Jesus says to us instead of relying of what we see.&nbsp; What do we see, really?&nbsp; Compare what we see to what Jesus says.&nbsp; We see death.&nbsp; Jesus says, \u201cI am the resurrection and the life.&nbsp; He who believes in Me will live even though he dies and he who lives and believes in Me will never die.\u201d&nbsp; Yet we see the body in the casket and there is no life there at all.&nbsp; The body lies perfectly still because the breath is gone and the heart has stopped beating.&nbsp; We hear that this body will rise from the dead to be glorified with Jesus in heaven.&nbsp; But that\u2019s not what we see.&nbsp; So will we believe what we see or what Jesus says?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We see sin.&nbsp; Oh, there\u2019s so much and it overwhelms us.&nbsp; We promise and then we break our promise.&nbsp; And we promise again with true sincerity and conviction and strength of resolution.&nbsp; And then what do we see?&nbsp; We see our broken promises.&nbsp; They litter our lives with the refuse of sin.&nbsp; But what does Jesus say?&nbsp; What do we hear?&nbsp; \u201cTake and eat,\u201d He says.&nbsp; \u201cThis is my body, given for you.&nbsp; Take and drink, this is the New Testament in my blood shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.\u201d&nbsp; So He says.&nbsp; His saying and our hearing contradict what we see.&nbsp; But our heavenly Father tells us to hear Him.&nbsp; Listen to His only begotten Son.&nbsp; His words are words of life.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we insist on seeing, on looking, on watching the Lord Jesus then we will have to divert our eyes from the Mount of Transfiguration and look instead to Calvary.&nbsp; There we don\u2019t see the glory shining forth like the sun.&nbsp; There we see shame and sorrow and death.&nbsp; We see Him suffering for us.&nbsp; We see Him dying for us.&nbsp; In that suffering our sin is borne away.&nbsp; In that sorrow our joy is secured.&nbsp; In that shame is the true glory of God and of all Christians.&nbsp; On the cross the power of sin is broken.&nbsp; He in whom the Father was well pleased was made to be sin for us.&nbsp; Innocence triumphed.&nbsp; But the world could not see it.&nbsp; We could not see it.&nbsp; It remains hidden from our sight.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But we hear the words of absolution that flow from it.&nbsp; We hear the voice of our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us only to take it up again.&nbsp; We hear and our faith finds its source.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The true light of Epiphany shines from the cross.&nbsp; Oh, for a vision of heaven.&nbsp; But Jesus won\u2019t guarantee this.&nbsp; Peter, James, and John saw it.&nbsp; Let that suffice for us.&nbsp; To see heaven is not such a blessing as to hear the gospel.&nbsp; The gospel is not just talk about heaven.&nbsp; It is the giving of heaven here and now where we live.&nbsp; To know that there is a place where sin cannot enter is a wonderful knowledge.&nbsp; We know that there is a place where the effects of sin are entirely absent.&nbsp; There is no sorrow of any kind.&nbsp; There is no suffering, no regret, no guilt, and no shame.&nbsp; Everyone loves purely and is so loved.&nbsp; The physical deterioration of the body with its attendant diseases leading to death are in the past.&nbsp; We enjoy pure and radiant glory that belongs to God.&nbsp; We enjoy it without it diminishing even though it lasts forever.&nbsp; All this is prefigured by Christ\u2019s transfiguration on the mountain.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it was not gained on that mountain.&nbsp; It was gained on the cross.&nbsp; It is given to us in the gospel we hear.&nbsp; This is why we treasure the message of the cross.&nbsp; This is why we love what we hear and why we pray God that we will always be hearing it until our hearing is gone.&nbsp; Should God give us a vision of glory, we will thank Him for the privilege.&nbsp; But our faith will rest on what He did for us after leaving the glory of the first mountain to embrace the shame of the second.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To me the preaching of the cross is wisdom everlasting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thy death alone redeems my loss, on thee my burden casting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I, in thy name, a refuge claim<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From sin and death and from all shame<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blessed be Thy name, O Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Amen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Transfiguration of Our Lord| Rev. Rolf Preus| January 28, 2007 \u201cWhile he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, \u2018This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!\u2019\u201d Matthew 17:5&nbsp;&nbsp; Jesus said to Thomas, \u201cBlessed are those&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/04\/26\/seeing-hearing-and-believing\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,4,31],"tags":[481,238,177],"class_list":["post-2725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-sermons","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermons-by-rolf-preus","category-transfiguration","tag-matthew-17","tag-rolf-preus","tag-transfiguration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2725"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2727,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2725\/revisions\/2727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}