Sunday Sermon
If I were to go out onto the street and ask people “ who is Jesus” “What is Jesus about” I might get a variety of answers. Some might say to me well Jesus was a great teacher, some might say Jesus was a great thinker, some might describe Jesus as moral great example. Some might say Jesus was loving, and open, Muslims would tell you that Jesus was a good prophet but neither the son of God nor a savior, Jews would disagree with Jesus’ claims to be God, and the Messiah. , Buddhists might speak fondly of Jesus because they think he was dedicated to the happiness of all people. For there are many things people might tell you about Jesus.
But Today’s Gospel lesson on the Transfiguration begins to ulitmately answer the question of “who is Jesus?”
Up until this point in the Gospel of Mark- Jesus had driven demons out of people, and healed people . Jesus had fed five-thousand people, with five loaves of bread and 2 fish. People had heard Jesus tell parables, and explain to them the Christian faith.
And Maybe a week before they had even hear Jesus talk about how he must be rejected by those in authority, killed, and after three days rise again.
But who exactly would be undergoing this dying and rising, this is what today’s Gospel reading seeks to answer.
In Today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus goes up onto the mountain top with Peter, James, and John. Then something strange happens all of a sudden-The scripture reading says that Jesus was transfigured. To be transfigured means a change in appearance or form.
For instance, the seventh grader who grew six inches, and gained fifty pounds of muscle over the summer , would be transfigured.
But Jesus transfiguration or changing of appearance was a bit different. The scripture reading from Mark says that Jesus’ clothes become a dazzling white, whiter than anyone could bleach them. Other gospel accounts of the Transfiguration describe Jesus clothes as being bright as light, and his face shining like the sun. -
This wasn’t the first shock to come though for the three disciples, then -all of a sudden Moses and Elijah appear along Jesus. Moses who had freed the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians, given God’s Law, and was buried by God around 1200 years before with Elijah who had brought a dead boy back to life, and called down fire from heaven. Elijah who had been taken up to heaven by God in a fiery chariot via a whirlwind, 800 years before. They were now standing alongside Jesus before Peter, James, and John.
But then even more shocking !!!! a Cloud came over head and the voice from the cloud then speaks the important words of this passage “ This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him”.
It was in those words that state all the heroes of the faith that had come before such as Moses and Elijah whatever they had said about God, or whatever miracles they did, were all leading to God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.
It was in those words along with Christ’s transfiguration that spoke to that Jesus is of God, and is god.
For in scripture:
Colossians 1-speaks of Jesus being the image of God, and the first born in all of creation.
In Philipians 2-It speaks of Christ being in the form of God, and equal to God.
Colossians 2- speaks of Christ being God in a human body. John 1 points to Jesus being present at the creation of the world.
So when scripture speaks of Jesus, he wasn’t just a someone who did great things through God and was faithful like Moses and Elijah, but rather God himself.
Although to just focus on stories of Jesus displaying great power like the transfiguration, doesn’t paint a full picture of who God is.
For instance, This month I have been choosing hymns to sign during the service. So considering what hymns to sign I thought about the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy- And this song speaks about how “ God is holy, God is without sin, God is perfect, God deserves to be worshipped by all people living and dead, and God does many great things in the world”- And all these things are 100 percent true.
But standing up here as one, who doesn’t like to be critical of great classic hymns. I saw this song like the Transfiguration as not giving the full details of who God is.
For when speaking of someone as Holy means to be “set apart” or to be “different” from us so it is true that God is different from us by his awesome power, and perfection.
But God’s most important work is centered on the doing something unholy, something downright shocking, the last thing, you would ever expect God to do, and that was to come into this imperfect sinful world in our flesh, as Jesus, and suffer the humiliation of the cross to bring us salvation.
For in the words of Phillipians 2:6-8 speaking of Christ says “Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! “
In the last couple weeks in the news their has been a lot in the news about the controversial Danish cartoons of Mohammed-the founder and leader of the Islamic faith, which caused riots, and demonstrations with some Muslims. The fury was caused by Muslims saying that Mohammed must be honored, and Mohammed must not be insulted.
Where as in Christianity the saving work of Jesus Christ is based on Christ being insulted, and mocked.
. For Jesus as Holy as he is, as perfect as he is, even though he is God.
He still came into this world and he became one of us.
Yet he was mocked, riducled, stripped, spit on, forced to wear a crown of thorns, and beaten by religious leaders, and government leaders of his day. To top it all of he died what was considered the most, humiliating death of all and that was death on the cross.-
He did this Inspite of every bad thought, bad word or bad action we have ever committed.-
All so sinners like us can be forgiven. –
For when Muslims speak about Jesus Christ-the hardest thing for them to understand is how someone being of God could ever have been put to death in such a humiliating way as the cross. But you can’t understand who Jesus is without understanding how Jesus did the very last thing, one would ever expect a God to do.-
For every Sunday-we speak of Christ’s power, his miracles, the trueness of his teachings, and his authority. But we don’t really understand who Jesus is- Without all he endured to show the depths of his love for us and bring us salvation. –
So who is Jesus? He is more than just a great teacher, or thinker. He is more than just a moral example, he came to offer us more than self-help theories. For Jesus is our God, who out of his love for us, did the unthinkable, so he could be our savior.-Amen
But Today’s Gospel lesson on the Transfiguration begins to ulitmately answer the question of “who is Jesus?”
Up until this point in the Gospel of Mark- Jesus had driven demons out of people, and healed people . Jesus had fed five-thousand people, with five loaves of bread and 2 fish. People had heard Jesus tell parables, and explain to them the Christian faith.
And Maybe a week before they had even hear Jesus talk about how he must be rejected by those in authority, killed, and after three days rise again.
But who exactly would be undergoing this dying and rising, this is what today’s Gospel reading seeks to answer.
In Today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus goes up onto the mountain top with Peter, James, and John. Then something strange happens all of a sudden-The scripture reading says that Jesus was transfigured. To be transfigured means a change in appearance or form.
For instance, the seventh grader who grew six inches, and gained fifty pounds of muscle over the summer , would be transfigured.
But Jesus transfiguration or changing of appearance was a bit different. The scripture reading from Mark says that Jesus’ clothes become a dazzling white, whiter than anyone could bleach them. Other gospel accounts of the Transfiguration describe Jesus clothes as being bright as light, and his face shining like the sun. -
This wasn’t the first shock to come though for the three disciples, then -all of a sudden Moses and Elijah appear along Jesus. Moses who had freed the Israelites from the slavery of the Egyptians, given God’s Law, and was buried by God around 1200 years before with Elijah who had brought a dead boy back to life, and called down fire from heaven. Elijah who had been taken up to heaven by God in a fiery chariot via a whirlwind, 800 years before. They were now standing alongside Jesus before Peter, James, and John.
But then even more shocking !!!! a Cloud came over head and the voice from the cloud then speaks the important words of this passage “ This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him”.
It was in those words that state all the heroes of the faith that had come before such as Moses and Elijah whatever they had said about God, or whatever miracles they did, were all leading to God’s salvation in Jesus Christ.
It was in those words along with Christ’s transfiguration that spoke to that Jesus is of God, and is god.
For in scripture:
Colossians 1-speaks of Jesus being the image of God, and the first born in all of creation.
In Philipians 2-It speaks of Christ being in the form of God, and equal to God.
Colossians 2- speaks of Christ being God in a human body. John 1 points to Jesus being present at the creation of the world.
So when scripture speaks of Jesus, he wasn’t just a someone who did great things through God and was faithful like Moses and Elijah, but rather God himself.
Although to just focus on stories of Jesus displaying great power like the transfiguration, doesn’t paint a full picture of who God is.
For instance, This month I have been choosing hymns to sign during the service. So considering what hymns to sign I thought about the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy- And this song speaks about how “ God is holy, God is without sin, God is perfect, God deserves to be worshipped by all people living and dead, and God does many great things in the world”- And all these things are 100 percent true.
But standing up here as one, who doesn’t like to be critical of great classic hymns. I saw this song like the Transfiguration as not giving the full details of who God is.
For when speaking of someone as Holy means to be “set apart” or to be “different” from us so it is true that God is different from us by his awesome power, and perfection.
But God’s most important work is centered on the doing something unholy, something downright shocking, the last thing, you would ever expect God to do, and that was to come into this imperfect sinful world in our flesh, as Jesus, and suffer the humiliation of the cross to bring us salvation.
For in the words of Phillipians 2:6-8 speaking of Christ says “Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! “
In the last couple weeks in the news their has been a lot in the news about the controversial Danish cartoons of Mohammed-the founder and leader of the Islamic faith, which caused riots, and demonstrations with some Muslims. The fury was caused by Muslims saying that Mohammed must be honored, and Mohammed must not be insulted.
Where as in Christianity the saving work of Jesus Christ is based on Christ being insulted, and mocked.
. For Jesus as Holy as he is, as perfect as he is, even though he is God.
He still came into this world and he became one of us.
Yet he was mocked, riducled, stripped, spit on, forced to wear a crown of thorns, and beaten by religious leaders, and government leaders of his day. To top it all of he died what was considered the most, humiliating death of all and that was death on the cross.-
He did this Inspite of every bad thought, bad word or bad action we have ever committed.-
All so sinners like us can be forgiven. –
For when Muslims speak about Jesus Christ-the hardest thing for them to understand is how someone being of God could ever have been put to death in such a humiliating way as the cross. But you can’t understand who Jesus is without understanding how Jesus did the very last thing, one would ever expect a God to do.-
For every Sunday-we speak of Christ’s power, his miracles, the trueness of his teachings, and his authority. But we don’t really understand who Jesus is- Without all he endured to show the depths of his love for us and bring us salvation. –
So who is Jesus? He is more than just a great teacher, or thinker. He is more than just a moral example, he came to offer us more than self-help theories. For Jesus is our God, who out of his love for us, did the unthinkable, so he could be our savior.-Amen
posted by Stew at 1:59 PM
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