church

INI
Transfiguration Sunday
February 14, 2010
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

DEMONSTRATION OF THE DEITY
II Peter 1:16-19

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. This morning’s text
is found in the Second Epistle of Peter, chapter one, beginning with the
sixteenth verse, as follows:

For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His
majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a
voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven
when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 And so we have the
prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a
dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. These
are the Words.

In Christ Jesus, Who said, "If you abide in My Word, then are you My disciples
indeed," Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Which of the twelve disciples of Jesus is remembered especially for his
skeptical nature? -If you answered "Thomas," you're correct! Better known as
"Doubting Thomas," he refused to believe it when the other disciples told him
that Jesus had risen from the dead. He stubbornly said, "Unless I see in His
hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
But Jesus appeared again to His disciples, and this time Thomas was there.
Jesus told him to go ahead and touch His wounds, if that's what it would take
for him to believe. Thomas could only exclaim, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus
said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Just think: here was one of Jesus' own disciples, just days after His death and
resurrection, and already he was skeptical. Is it any wonder that there is
skepticism about Jesus in our day and age, some two thousand years later? And
not just skepticism, either, but downright unbelief. Sometimes you can see it in
your closest friends and neighbors -- you can tell by their tone of voice that they
think you're a little "soft upstairs" to believe in a mythical figure called Jesus
from so long ago.

Yes, there is a lot of doubt, a lot of skepticism about Jesus Christ. Worst of all,
we may at times find those doubts creeping into our own minds. "Is Jesus really
the Son of God? Is He really the only Savior of mankind? Or are the skeptics
right - am I just wasting my time with this Christian religion?" In our text for
today, Peter offers a powerful remedy for such doubts. He offers us irrefutable
proof of Christ's deity. That’s why our theme today is:

DEMONSTRATION OF THE DEITY
I. The Apostles prove that Jesus is the Son of God
Because they were eyewitnesses to His glory.
II. The Bible proves that Jesus is the Son of God
Because it shines the light of His Gospel in our hearts.

I'll give you another example of skepticism -- a hundred years ago already,
famed historian Albert Schweitzer published a best-selling book entitled, In
Quest of the Historical Jesus. It was considered revolutionary for its time,
though nowadays it would seem rather tame. The title itself makes a number of
assumptions, doesn’t it? It assumes that the Jesus we Christians believe in is not
the historical Jesus. It works from the assumption that that Jesus is a fairy tale.
It takes for granted that the Bible is full of myths and legends that must be
stripped away in order to find out the truth about the "historical" Jesus of
Nazareth. To the question, "Is Jesus really the Son of God?" the best answer
the author can give is, "I doubt it!

The Apostle Peter knew that people would always have these doubts about
Jesus. He was especially concerned that, as time passed, even the Christians
would begin to entertain doubts. Doubts about who Jesus was, and what He did
while He was on this earth. That's why Peter was careful to leave us his own
testimony that Jesus really IS the Son of God. Where is the DEITY
DEMONSTRATED? Where's the proof? In the first place, the Apostles prove
that Jesus is the Son of God, because they were eyewitnesses to His glory.

Peter says, We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known
to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of
His majesty. You know, Peter says, we disciples didn't just get together and
make up a story about Jesus being the Son of God.

For the sake of argument, though, let's assume the opposite for a moment.
Because of course, this is exactly what so many people today say about the
Gospel – that it’s nothing more than a fanciful story made up by the followers
Jesus. So let’s run with that for a minute. Suppose Jesus wasn't really the Son of
God, and the disciples did just make up a story about Him. Then what a
cunning story it would have had to have been! And what an intricate conspiracy
it would have involved! Think of it: for all the disciples to get their stories
straight, for all of them to give exactly the same facts about Jesus: His virgin
birth, His sinless life, the miracles He performed, even His rising from the dead
on Easter Sunday -- well, there are only two conclusions we can come to.
Either it all really happened, or else all those disciples, and all those writers of
the New Testament, are telling us an impossibly elaborate lie! But it's no lie,
says Peter, it's no cunning fiction. You can take it from us that it's the truth,
because "we were eyewitnesses of His majesty!"

Jesus is the Son of God, and we have proof! What's the strongest evidence you
can bring into an American courtroom, in order to prove that a certain event did
(or did not) take place? Of course - it's an eyewitness. One or two eyewitnesses
to an event establishes the truth of that event beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Well, to prove the fact that Jesus really is the Son of God, Peter reminds us of
one particular event - the Transfiguration. You heard the account of that event
a few moments ago in our Gospel Lesson. And there were not one, not two, but
three eyewitnesses to that event - Peter, James and John! All three of them saw
Jesus' face shining like the sun, and His clothes whiter than any launderer on
earth could whiten them. All three of them saw Jesus discussing His coming
death and resurrection with Moses and Elijah. All three of them heard the
irrefutable evidence of Jesus' deity, in the thunderous words of God the Father
Himself. Peter says, For He received from God the Father honor and glory
when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased." 18 And we heard this voice which came from
heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

You have before you the evidence - the eyewitness account of what happened.
You, my Christian friends, are the jury. What is your verdict? Was Jesus merely
a good person, a "fine human teacher," as so many today wish you to believe?
In a world full of work-righteous moralism, was He merely the Supreme
Moralist? Or is He something else altogether? Is He the eternal Son of God, the
Savior of the world, as Peter says? Because you know, it's one or the other.
They can't both be right. Be careful how you answer, for if you agree with Peter,
then your life can never be the same. If Jesus really is your God, who has
redeemed you to serve Him in righteousness, then your Christian faith can't just
be a convenient garment that you put on on Sundays, and take off for the
remainder of the week. If all this is true, then Jesus Christ must be the very
center of your life, not just a small part of it that you can neglect whenever you
feel like it. In a solemn warning, the writer to the Hebrews asks, "How shall we
escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken
by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him?" Heb 2:3.

Jesus IS the Son of God, and Peter offers us his own eyewitness testimony as
proof. But there is an even stronger demonstration of Christ's deity. Something
that should convince us even more than if you and I could have been present on
the Mount of Transfiguration ourselves. The Bible proves it, because it shines
the light of Jesus' Gospel in our hearts.

After giving this amazing account of the Transfiguration, Peter goes on to say,
We have the prophetic word confirmed. What's he referring to? Where is the
prophetic word confirmed even more than it was at the Transfiguration? Where
can you hear the Word of the Lord more clearly than if you yourself had been
standing on that mountain with Peter? In the Bible! The only evidence more
convincing than a miracle, more certain even than an eyewitness account, is the
evidence of Holy Scripture.

What would you answer if I asked you to identify the most powerful object in
your home? Maybe your furnace comes to mind, because it draws the most
electric power. Maybe you own a portable generator that can put out a good
deal of power. Perhaps you have a rifle or handgun, that has the power to
propel a bullet several miles in a matter of seconds. Well, it's none of these!
Even if you had a nuclear reactor in your home, its power couldn't equal a
fraction of power contained in your family Bible. Yes, your Bible is by far the
greatest source of power in your home. The writer to the Hebrews says that
"The Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword." God, through Isaiah, says that this powerful Book always gets done
what He wants done: "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it
shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Is 55:11.

The Bible is the "sure prophetic Word" that Peter says is stronger than any
miracle. And why is it such a powerful force in our lives? Because it
DEMONSTRATES THE DEITY. It proves to us that Jesus is the Son of God,
our Savior. In this Book, God reveals His amazing plan for saving us sinners
from hell. It was a plan that no one could ever have guessed. Truly, as Paul
said, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man
the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." No one could
have guessed that God planned to save the souls of lost mankind by giving His
Son as a sacrifice for our sins! That's the power of the Gospel that's revealed in
the Bible. It's what made Paul confess, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes."
Rom 1:16.

It's good advice when Peter says to us that we have the prophetic word
confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place. This
world is certainly a dark place, full of sin and unbelief. Your life, too, may
sometimes seem like a dark place; especially when sin burdens your conscience,
when troubles and illness strike you and your family, when a flood of cares and
worries threaten to overwhelm you and wash you away. But even when things
seem darkest, you have a light! That light is God's Word. It's the Word you're
listening to right now, and the Word that you can read for yourself every time
you find a moment to open your family Bible. The light of God's holy Word is
there to reassure you when your heart is fearful. It tells you that all of your sins
have been washed clean in Jesus' blood. For it's especially when you have that
burden of sin on your heart - when you know in your heart that you've done the
things you shouldn't have done, when you know in your heart that you've
neglected the things God has commanded you to do - that's when you most
need the Bible. That's when God's Word is the only power on earth that can lift
the depression and calm your fearful heart. That's when you need to hear the
voice of Jesus saying to you, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee.
That's when the only thing that can calm you is the forgiving Word of God:
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool. Isa 1:18.

Do you feel lonely and depressed? Jesus says, "Lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world." Are you worried about money and finances? Jesus
says, "Do not worry -- your Heavenly Father knows you have need of all these
things." Are you facing trouble? The Lord says, "Call upon Me in the day of
trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." This powerful Word
contains answers to all your questions, solutions to all your problems, and proof
to silence all your doubts. And the greatest proof of all that Jesus is the Son of
God, your Lord and Savior, is the faith that the Holy Spirit has worked in your
heart through this Gospel. Isn't that the biggest miracle of all? Paul says, "For it
is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ." II Cor 4:6.

Here especially, THE DEITY IS DEMONSTRATED. For the powerful
working of God in our hearts and in our lives confirms His Word. It's similar
with people, isn't it? -The work confirms the word. Gustav Dore was a famous
French artist of the 19th Century; his woodcut of the transfiguration is on your
bulletin cover for this morning. Once, while traveling in Europe, Dore lost his
passport. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to
one of the guards, hoping that the guard would recognize him and let him pass.
The guard, however, while he had heard of the artist, had never seen him. "I
know one way to prove who you are," said the guard, and handing him a piece
of paper and a pencil he asked him to draw a group of peasants who were
standing nearby. Dore drew so quickly and skillfully, the guard knew at once
that he was who he said he was. His work confirmed his word. The same thing's
true about God. God's work confirms His Word. The work done by the Holy
Spirit in your heart is the hands-down proof that what the Bible says is true.
And I know you can feel it, can’t you? You can feel it here on Sunday morning,
when the Word that’s preached from this pulpit seems to touch on exactly
what’s going on in your life right now. THE DEITY IS DEMONSRATED.
When you’re at home and you open up your Bible to read, and the passage hits
you like a hammer, because it’s exactly what you need at that moment. THE
DEITY IS DEMONSTRATED. There are many times when you hear the
Word and you can't help but feel the same way those two Emmaus disciples felt
after speaking with Jesus – do you remember? Then their eyes were opened and
they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one
another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road,
and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" --Lk 24:31-32.

I think you’ll agree – Jesus’ deity has been amply demonstrated! The Apostles
prove it, for they were eyewitnesses of His glory. The Bible proves it, for it
shines the light of His Gospel in our hearts. For a time yet, we live in this dark
place, this vale of tears. But it won't be that way forever. Peter says, heed this
light… until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Now we
walk by faith, but a Day is coming when we won't have to rely on faith any
longer - we'll see our Savior Jesus with our own eyes. My friends, the light of
that heavenly dawn is already beginning to brighten in the east. In the words of
the Apostle Paul, "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put
aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." In Jesus' name,
AMEN.