A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory, Part 2

Today on Insight for Living, from Chuck Swindoll. When will we ever learn, in this narcissistic era, in this self-centered world, that it is not about us? It is all about Him. Regardless of what you are going through, it is all about Him.

Regardless of the depth of pain, it is all about Him. His plan, His message, the things He will teach, is all about Him. Imagine what it was like for Peter, James, and John to witness the transfiguration of Jesus. Standing together on a mountain, the disciples saw Jesus overcome by bright lights. They heard voices and saw Moses and Elijah, the prophets, appear from nowhere.

What a bizarre moment for these men. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll is teaching from Matthew 17, where the transfiguration of Jesus is recorded. In addition to reliving the shocking moment, Chuck will help us understand how this epic event shapes our view of God today.

Chuck titled his message, A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory. Dear Father, as we step into a week that includes a day to reflect, to remember, and to respond with gratitude, we want You to know this Lord's day how grateful we are for You, for all You have done, for Your Son, Jesus, and all that He sacrificed. And for Your Spirit, who lives within Your people, Your children, to enlighten us and comfort us and encourage us and direct our steps. On this Lord's day, we give You thanks, especially for Your Word that guides us in tumultuous and otherwise confusing times. When there is this enormous amount of voices that are shouting and arguing and claiming and denying, demanding our attention, give us the ability to filter out the essential from the non essentials.

The truth in the midst of all the erroneous information that's out there. What I really ask, Lord, is that You enable us to focus on what You have written, that we might live as You have prescribed. We remember others who have been laid aside, would love to be here but cannot be. We remember those who take care of them, the caregivers, the nurses, the staff of places that assist those who are unable to care for themselves. We thank You, our Father, for the law enforcement that surrounds us, providing safety, and watching over the citizenry of this country, protect them, encourage them.

Some work late into the night when it is even more dangerous, and we pray for their safety. We pray for those who represent Your name in difficult places today, our missionaries, our military men and women who serve the country. How grateful we are, Lord, that there is this large body of people serving and working behind the scenes as Your will unfolds. May we be of encouragement to them. May we remember that we are better people because of our knowledge of them and relationship with them. Fatherly Lord, I thank You for the blessing of family, for those who have gone before us and have passed into Your presence, on whose shoulders we stand, from whom we learned great principles regarding life, the importance of obedience and sacrifice and commitment and faithfulness. I pray as we gather together around our tables that You would give us a sweet spirit of gratitude. Slow our pace, silence our lips from needless talk.

Calm us from overreaction. And may we remember, Lord, that You are the one who sovereignly watches over our lives. Now, as we gather together to ask Your blessing, we pray that You will be pleased with the offerings we place before You. We do so full of gratitude in the name of Jesus. We give and we pray. And all His people said, Amen. You're listening to Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now let's listen to the message Chuck titled, A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory. I learned when I got into the depths of the New Testament language that the word in the New Testament for glory is doxa.

We get our word doxology from it. It means bright, shining radiance of brilliant light when applied to a person. Clothed in majestic splendor would be another way of putting it. The Shekinah that burned from heaven into the holiest place was the glory of God filling this holiest place on the earth in the tabernacle. It has in mind the profound totality of God's nature, character, and attributes. That is His glory.

Now, hard to get our arms around all of that. We almost need it personified. And that is why we're grateful, so grateful, for this magnificent transfiguration. Jesus speaks of this, I believe, at the end of the 16th chapter of Matthew when He says that the Son of Man will come with His angels in the glory of His Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. Obviously, a reference to that time when He will come yet future. When He will come and establish His kingdom and fulfill the promises to Israel, set up His rule and reign. And then He adds a verse that can be confusing if you link it with that rather than the transfiguration.

Look at the next verse. And I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. We could render that in His kingly splendor or in His glory.

But I would suggest He had His transfiguration in mind and they are about to witness it. It is easy to forget when it's focused on only the humanity of Jesus that He is also undiminished deity. While at the same time, true humanity. Two natures that do not mix but remain in one person forever.

That's why He's known as the God-man. Undiminished deity, true humanity in one person. The disciples are walking with the one they could easily think of as simply true humanity.

It is easy when you are walking with someone, eating with them, sleeping beside them, becoming very familiar with them that you forget there is that other nature. So Jesus decides, now is the time for them to see evidence of my full person. Which is what the transfiguration is all about. Now the glory becomes manifested, displayed.

Let's see how it unfolds as we get into chapter 17. Six days later, Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, meaning Peter, James and John, notice it came without an announcement. He is transformed before their eyes. A little man, but now his face shone like the sun and his clothing became as white as light. Remember earlier the comment about the effulgence, the resplendence of God's light-like presence? Here, this one who has walked with them, talked with them, been teaching and training them, now emerges in this glowing, glowing presence. And if that isn't enough, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. So Moses and Elijah come and now appear alongside him.

I don't want to rush through this. I want you to see him as he is transformed in your mind. He shines brightly and his clothing is blinding in brightness. I mean, if there's ever a moment to stand and let the wonder in, it's now.

Now. But of course, when you're addicted to talking, as one of them was, you got to say something. So Peter exclaimed, Lord, it's wonderful for us to be here. If you want, I'll make three shacks, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. Now, you know, what we need is more information. First of all, we read that Moses, Elijah and Jesus are talking, but we're not told what they said to each other.

What were they talking about? You can't know from Matthew's account. There's a parallel in Mark 9 and in Luke 9. So with me, find Mark 9, hold your place.

We'll come there second. First, let's look at Luke 9 and locate verse 31. They were glorious to see, meaning Jesus, Elijah and Moses. They're the they. And they were speaking.

Here we go. Matthew didn't tell us this. Luke does. They were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. And so they're talking with Jesus about what's coming when it gets to Jerusalem, namely his arrest, the trials, the death, the resurrection. They're talking about all of this.

And notice also that Luke gives us a little more information about the disciples. Peter and the others had fallen asleep. So unlike all of you, most of you, you're wide awake and you're very aware of where we are with this. They're sound asleep. But they awaken with a start and we read, when they woke up, they saw Jesus glory and the two men standing with him as Moses and Elijah were starting to leave.

Peter, watch, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out. Hey, why don't I build three memorials, one for you, one for you, one for you? OK, before I say anything more, let's look at Mark 9, verse 5. Got that? Both of you that are looking in your Bibles, have you got Mark 9, verse 5?

Can you find that? Good. Peter exclaimed, Rabbi, it's wonderful for us to be here.

Let's make three shelters as memorials, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. He said this because he didn't really know what else to say, for they were all terrified. OK, you know, I'm not going to just go on beyond that. We got to stop right here.

First, I want to just use these two words. Oh, Peter, I love the way one expositor describes the scene. What an amazing sight, luminous, dazzling Jesus is talking to Moses and to Elijah. If ever there was a time for silence, this was it. But enter Peter, a man who always had something to say when there was nothing to be said.

What in the world was Peter up to? He asks, we do not know, but we do see that the Lord's only answer to him was silence. Silence. Now you see the value of correlation, plus you understand why we pause here to draw upon it, because this is an unusual moment that required absolute silence.

Just taken in. If anyone should speak, it's the one being transfigured. If anyone has something to say, he's the one to say it.

I've noticed that that cloud appears while Peter is talking. The cloud interrupts Peter as if to say we have something far more important than what you have to say. But before I go there, let me pass along some key advice regarding listening. Never miss an opportunity to shut up.

Just put bluntly. Or as one lady said to me afterwards, she said my dad used to say, do not speak unless you can improve upon the silence. What good words. Peter, stop.

The cloud overshadows them and a voice from the cloud says, I love this, this is my son, the dearly loved one. There's a restrictive attributive. Remember my mentioning that last time? Some of you may remember that.

Here is where the description is highlighted a little later. This is my son, the dearly beloved one. This is my one and only.

This is the one I give you as a gift from glory. And then he adds, he brings me great joy. Listen to him.

Listen. Even in the silence Jesus is speaking. His change of countenance is a message. And this awesome, truly, I use the word rarely but it fits, this awesome interruption as God breaks on the scene as Peter is speaking and God says, listen to the one I've sent.

They're finally terrified, we read, and they fall on their faces. This is a great use of the word terror. We often think of it as having a negative connotation and not necessarily. It's like the word awful. You read some of the divines of old and they will talk about the terrible majesty of God, the awful holiness of God.

The words are used differently than we commonly use them. And when shaped by the theology of the setting, you understand why. I love it that Jesus came over, found them on the ground, on their faces and touched them. And simply said, get up. Don't be afraid.

Don't be afraid. When they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone and they saw only Jesus. Well, it is about time. You would have thought and we would have wished that on the way up a mountain they would have anticipated just Jesus, just whatever he has to teach us, whatever he has to say, however he wishes to speak, or reprove us or inform us. We're here to listen.

We're here to learn. And when they finally were silent, it was all about Jesus. Kate Wilkerson, one of the 20th century writers of a hymn, wrote this marvelous hymn, May the Mind of Christ, My Savior.

She closes it. It's really a prayer, a series of prayers. And she ends the hymn with, May his beauty rest upon us as we seek the lost to win. And may they, that's the lost, may they forget the channel, seeing only him.

That's a great prayer. When will we ever learn in this narcissistic era, in this self-centered world, that it is not about us. It is all about him. Regardless of what you are going through, it is all about him. Regardless of the depth of pain, it is all about him. His plan, his hand, his touch, his message, the things he will teach is all about him. When you begin to cultivate that concept, you go deeper, and you're weary of the superficiality of so much talk. You tire of the evening news.

So much talk, so much advertisement, so many images, too many words. They saw only Jesus. And you know what I really believe? I believe they are, for the first time, caught up in the moment, as we wish they would have been from the very start. Jesus says, get up. When they looked up, they saw only Jesus. And we find them in verses 9 through 13, coming down the mountain, and there's a brief dialogue when they remember their days in synagogue school and what they were taught by their teacher. So it's a good time to mention this because they had just seen Elijah, and they want to know.

They went back down the mountain. Jesus commanded them, don't tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead. Shh, shh, shh, shh.

Keep this to yourself. First of all, it'll simply make people more inquisitive. They'll jump to conclusions. They'll imagine all kinds of things. Furthermore, some will think it's an evidence that Christ is beginning his work of conquering, and that's why the effulgence of God's presence. Don't go, I just wanted you to get a glimpse between us of the full presence that often isn't revealed. Can you imagine witnessing the transfiguration and then having Jesus tell you to keep the moment to yourself?

It must have taken tremendous restraint for the disciples to stay silent. You're listening to Insight for Living and a message from Chuck Swindoll titled A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory. And there's much more from Matthew chapter 17 he wants to share with you.

And to discover what resources we have available for today's topic, please visit us online at insightworld.org. But before we move ahead, I want to remind you about one of Chuck's hallmark books to complement your study in the book of Matthew. I want to direct your attention to The Grace Awakening, if you begin to question whether or not you're qualified to serve God in any capacity, this book will restore your outlook. If Peter can be redeemed, so can you and I. In The Grace Awakening, Chuck assures us that none of us can attain God's standard of perfection, and we need to stop trying. Our only hope is found in submitting to the gift of God's amazing grace. Chuck will help you understand how to rest in God's gift to you in this hallmark book called The Grace Awakening.

And you can purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org slash offer. And then as we close, let me say a special word of thanks to our monthly companions who understand the importance of their monthly gift. Your generosity means so much. And as God leads you to support Insight for Living, either with a one-time donation or by becoming a monthly companion, we invite you to join the ranks of those making Insight for Living possible. If it's easiest for you, please feel free to speak with our ministry representatives by calling us. If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888. Or you can easily sign up online by going to insight.org slash monthly companion. Or you can also give a one-time contribution today by calling us.

If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888 or by going to insight.org. In March 2022, Insight for Living Ministries is hosting an unforgettable journey to Israel. Carefully plan to deepen your understanding of the Bible and draw you closer to God.

Chuck Swindoll. For thousands of years, no place has been more meaningful to God's children than the land of Israel. The rugged landscape reminds us to find refuge in God alone. The fertile valleys invite us to follow our shepherd. Jerusalem's position at the very center of the world announces the good news of Christ to every nation. And now you can see Israel with Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living Ministries, March 6 through 17, 2022. Every time I visited the Holy Land, I returned home with a refreshed heart for God and a renewed vision for the world.

Really, I mean it every time. And so I want you to have the same life-changing experience. To learn more, go to insight.org slash events or call this number 1-888-447-0444. Insight for Living Ministries Tour to Israel is paid for and made possible by only those who choose to attend. Join us when Chuck Swindoll concludes his message about a terrifying glimpse of glory Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, A Terrifying Glimpse of Glory, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.