Eyewitnesses of His Majesty 2 Peter 1:16–21; Exodus 24:8–18; Matthew 17:1–9 

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord who showed us His majesty on the mountain.

 

Our message is from our Epistle, 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. 

 

In our modern, secular culture, its’ sometimes fashionable to deny what Scripture tells us about the life and miracles of Jesus. 

 

But that’s nothing new. As sinners we’re all prone to doubt what we ought to gladly believe and obey. It’s been that way since day one.

 

Soon after Jesus rose, His enemies made up lies about Him and spread rumors about His disciples, that they had stolen and hidden His body.

 

The writers of the Gospels responded by going into detail in their accounts of Jesus’ resurrection, and His appearances after He rose. 

 

They wanted to make it clear, as Peter wrote in today’s Epistle, that they did not devise clever myths… but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 

 

As amazed as the disciples were with the many miracles that they had already witnessed, they were even more amazed when they saw a miracle happen to Jesus Himself, a miraculous transformation, or transfiguration. 

 

Matthew says, 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 

 

Jesus’ clothes couldn’t hide His glory; it shone through His clothing and lit up the night.

 

Matthew continues, 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 

 

For the sake of His Son, to encourage Him, and for the sake of the three  disciples, Peter, James, and John, as a witness to them, God sent the two great prophets, Moses and Elijah, from Heaven on High, to a mountain on earth, to have a conversation, to talk with someone they had never met before, the world’s Messiah.    

 

They surely knew and saw the Son of God in Heaven before He came to earth and was born, but they had never before seen Him in human form.

 

We know how amazed and surprised the three disciples were to see the two great prophets that night. 

 

I wonder what it was like for Moses and Elijah that night, to see what they saw, or who they saw, for the first time. 

 

From all we know in Scripture this was the first and only time Moses and Elijah had come back to earth, so it was a new and amazing experience for them. 

 

Elijah had been taken up alive into Heaven in a chariot, so he had that experience. But this was the first time he had returned, but not the only time. 

 

There will be a second time for Elijah and Moses, when they will return with Jesus, and with all the saints and angels; all the population of Heaven will come to earth, on earth’s Last Day, when all people will be raised for the Final Judgment, and eternity will begin for us in the flesh, as God’s glorified, risen people.

 

Moses and Elijah, were the only two who were blessed to return from Heaven to earth before the Final Day, when all will return. 

 

Surely God had spoken with Moses and Elijah about what they were to do and say that night. 

 

Although they had never seen Jesus before, they knew Him when they saw Him -- He was the One shining with the glory of God.

 

After encouraging Jesus, Moses and Elijah returned to their place in Heaven, and they waited; they waited until Jesus had fulfilled His task of dying and rising for the world.

 

And then they saw Him again, after Jesus ascended into Heaven, and now they see Him in His glory forever, as will we.    

 

It was indeed a blessing to Jesus, for Him to be ministered to by Moses and Elijah, but it was also a great blessing to them, to see their Savior for a short time that one night. 

 

What a joy for them to see the One they had believed in, and hoped and waited for. And what a joy it will be for us, when we see Him, too.

 

And it was a blessing for Peter, James and John to see it all. 

 

It’s a blessing for us to have this story, this eye-witness account of this miraculous, divine event in the life of Jesus. 

 

Everything that happened that night was also done for us, to assure and encourage us, that Jesus is God’s Son, our Savior indeed, the One for us to believe in and hold on to.

 

There was another encouragement for Jesus that night, and for the disciples and for us, not something they saw but something they heard: the very

voice of God. 

 

Matthew writes, 5 [Peter], who was offering to set up shelters for them to stay in, was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 

 

How encouraging it had to have been for Jesus to hear the voice, and receive the blessing, of His dear Father. 

 

And then, just like that, it was over. 

 

Matthew says, 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

 

Everything was back to the way it was before. 

 

But it wasn’t. After seeing and hearing what they saw and heard, it would never be the same for Peter, James and John. They would never forget. 

 

And so Peter writes in the first chapter of his second Epistle, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 

 

And John writes in the first chapter of his Gospel, we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father. 

 

What they saw, they shared with the world, that the world might know what really happened that night on that mountain… and what really happened for the world in the life and ministry and death and resurrection of the Messiah.

 

John says in the first chapter of his first Epistle: That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

 

As they, the apostles, were, so someday we will be… we’ll be eyewitnesses of our Lord’s majesty. 

 

On the day we rise, with our eyes, we’ll see our Savior who raised us. 

 

We’ll see His glory at last. And we’ll fully realize why we praised and adored Him all these years.

 

But even now, we see Him by faith; in our hearts and minds we see His majesty to be in awe of, and His glory and grace to praise Him for.

 

While only five people, the three disciples and the two prophets, saw and beheld Jesus’ glory on the mountain that night, still He shone in glory for us all.

 

He was transfigured for the whole world to see and believe.

 

Going back down the mountain, Jesus told His disciples to be quiet about this for awhile, but after He rose and ascended, and then sent His Spirit, He told His disciples to be quiet no more, to speak out in the world as eyewitnesses of all He has done for us and our salvation. 

 

And so we sing of His glory, and speak of His grace, sharing this Good News with all who will listen; and we pray that they would believe and receive the joy that never ends.

 

Thanks be to God, in His Word, through His Son, He has revealed to us, His magnificent majesty, and His splendid glory. 

 

May we live as witnesses of His majesty, and as we do may His peace, which passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, who lights up our lives with the brilliance of His glory. Amen.