Month: April 2024

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Taking His Shine

Jesus invited three of His Apostles – Peter, James, and John – to take a climb with Him. Up the mountain, they went to a place where the Savior gave Himself to prayer.

Seems to me this would have been a time when I would want to keep my eyes wide open. I mean these guys had just gotten confirmation of the reality of Jesus. Peter was the one who got the revelation that this Leader of theirs was “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (see Matthew 16:16). With this fresh knowledge, we would expect a greater sense of awareness and attention to detail in the following of Him.

Again, we are allowed to see that these followers of Jesus were all too human. Sleep overcame these disciples. They napped almost to the point of missing a most remarkable episode that involved not just the Son, but two of the great faith heroes of Israel.

Jesus’ face began to glow and “His clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them” (Luke 9:29). Next to Him, stood Moses and Elijah, who were also arrayed gloriously.

They had come to talk of the Savior’s road to the Cross through Jerusalem. These two men had been through tortuous times with the people of God.

God and Discipline

For Moses, this moment on the mountain had to be most welcome and significant. Remember, he failed to heed the command of God at the rock that gave water in Numbers 20. The Lord told Moses to speak to the rock in order to produce the water needed for the huge congregation that was trekking through the wilderness.

Instead, Moses raised his staff and hammered the rock – twice. God sent the water, but He also chastised His leaders:  “And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in Me, to uphold Me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them’” (Numbers 20:12).

Later, in Deuteronomy 3, we read of how Moses pleaded with the Lord to relent and allow him to finish his course and enter the Promised Land. He wrote of how he had weathered 40 years with this stiff-necked, stubborn multitude. “Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan. …,” Moses said.

The Lord was having none of it. “… And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to Me of this matter again.’ Go up to the top of Pisgah … and look at it with your eyes …” (see Deuteronomy 3:23-28 for the whole story).

Moses was basically told to shut up about it. This says something to us about God and the leaders He chooses. These people are anointed for their roles in the purposes of the Lord. He deals with them in His way. Yes, these leaders are worthy of honor. They share things that God has given them to share.  But let us never lose sight of this fact – all leaders are also responsible and accountable.

It is important to keep this Moses story in mind when a leader may cause us pain. Our temptation in such a situation is to start spreading the news and airing our grievances for everyone to hear. I don’t want to dismiss any hurt that someone may feel. It’s real and it’s tragic and it’s wrong. Still, God is in control and His vengeance goes deeper and farther than anything we could manufacture.

If you find yourself in such a wounded state, I pray that the God of all mercy will hear and comfort and shed His love abroad in you so that you live in the freedom of forgiveness. And this will likely take some time, especially if the offense is especially grievous. I expect you may express some truly angry feelings even toward the Lord Himself. Fear not. He will love you still and will allow you to vent and complain for as long as is necessary. See Psalm 13 for a brief example.

Made for Glory

Back to the mountain with Jesus – in Luke 9 and also in the accounts related in the gospels of Mark and Matthew, Moses has been allowed to set foot in Israel. He is aglow in the Land of Promise that he once pointed the multitude toward after their deliverance from Egypt.

This manner of glory was not new for Moses, as we can read in Exodus 34. Moses’ face shined after he came down from meeting with the Lord on Mount Sinai. The sight of him brought terror to the people. He veiled his face so that they could come near him.

Our human bodies were designed for glory it seems. Jesus, along with Moses and Elijah, were making this clear. Made in the image of God, we were to acquire this clothing as we walked and talked with Him. Sadly, this privilege was forfeited when Adam ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

This moment of transfiguration represented an outward display of the holy heart of the Son. It burst forth on that moment because the revelation of His Person had been spoken forth by a man chosen to follow Him.

And so I think God always intended His glory in us to be something that works from the inside out. In fact, the word “hallelujah” means to “flash forth light for God.” As our hearts are filled with His Spirit, we reveal more and more of His Light.

This was true of Stephen, as he spoke of Christ just before His stoning. Those there described Stephen’s face as having the appearance as that of an angel (see Acts 6:15).

Glory, we are destined for it. We shall see Christ one day and we shall be like Him, as it says in 1 John 3:2:  “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.”

Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Peter blurted out an idea, a most religious idea that involved erecting something of a shrine, a site for pilgrimages. Shrines were common to the region where they were at the time. “’Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah’—not knowing what he said” (Luke 9:33).

Peter had spoken of the identity of Jesus under the influence of the Lord. He also tried to rebuke Jesus for mentioning His destiny of death upon the Cross. To that outburst, Jesus turned from Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!” Now, this rambunctious Apostle seemed to suggest another path for the Son to gain the fame and renown due Him.

Just then, the cloud of The Presence of the Lord settled upon the mountain and engulfed the group.

“And a Voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’And when the Voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. …” (Luke 9:35-36).

Looking Ahead

When all was said and done, the Apostles were instructed to keep silent about it. This top of the mountain experience would have to be kept to themselves until after the Resurrection. Jesus wasn’t interested in creating a public relations or promotional storm. He worked deliberately in ways He often kept hidden.

Only true hearts are welcome in His Kingdom. Only true hearts really heard what He had to say and what was said about Him.

And true hearts given to Him can imagine what’s ahead. Jesus gave these three guys a taste and a sight of what our eternal existence will be like.

The here and the now are important. But we can better serve the present with a healthy view of the future.

Christ is alive, and He’s alive with a body that is perfect and redeemed, a body that shall bear the Light of God, a body that can stand in the full and forever cloud of His Presence.

The Apostles saw what they could be like in the transfiguration of Jesus. This is hope. Believe it and look to that day.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the NEXT.” In other words, those who most think of things to come are the most useful and important in the present.

Jesus came, and Jesus is coming. Think on this. And hear Him. Know that we shall be like Him, all glorious and majestic, as His prized people.

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The Great Miracle of Forgiveness

She crashed the dinner party, just to get to Jesus. It was an embarrassing moment for the religious man who’d extended the invitation to the Son.

Yes, Jesus chose to eat at the house of Simon, a Pharisee, even though He had pronounced woes upon these religious ones. He was more than the friend to publicans and sinners. He also sought to be the friend of those who despised publicans and sinners. The Son was the friend to men such as this man, men who prided themselves on their right living and rigid law-keeping.

These, too, needed the saving grace of God. Jesus did say that He would be lifted up on the Cross to draw all men unto Him and to the Father through Him. All means all. Those who fail to see themselves as sinners are still trapped in their sin and in need of redemption, even though they are blind to their desperate state.

What to do about her? The Pharisee had to wonder. She was a woman known for her life on the streets of town.

Jesus had just taken His seat and there she was. And what she was doing only made matters more uncomfortable for the host Pharisee and his distinguished company. I must say for myself that the scene would be disconcerting to just about anyone who had just sat down to take a meal.

Something had moved this woman to tears, and she let those tears fall on the feet of Jesus. She carried no towel with which to dry His feet so she used her hair. She let loose her locks and they fell upon His toes. This is how she wiped them clean.

She proceeded to a most public display of affection by kissing those feet. Her finishing touch was to pour out on Him an expensive flask of fragrant oil. If, as some think, this woman was a prostitute, this ointment likely was a tool of her trade as a sex worker. In anointing His feet with this, she declared that she was turning away from her line of employment in coming to Christ.

Just before this encounter, Jesus gave an invitation of His own, one we can read in Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come unto Me, all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

She heard this and answered His call to repentance.

Tale of Two Sinners

What we really read at the conclusion of Luke 7 is a tale of two sinners. One had become very much aware of her need for forgiveness and mercy; the other, as far as we can tell, remained restless and confused at the power and propriety of Jesus.

First, consider the inappropriateness of a woman – any woman – openly lavishing such endearment on a man – any man — in plain sight. Jesus had status in the community. He had gained a measure of respect as a Rabbi, and Simon was contemptuous that Jesus did not move away from her, nor did He move to stop her. “… [Simon] said to himself, ‘If this Man were a Prophet, He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner’” (Luke 7:39).

Jesus would reveal just how much of a Prophet He was. He did know this woman and her ways. He also knew Simon and his thoughts. He exposed what was going on in the Pharisee’s head. He also took issue with his manner of decorum.

This moment was one of supposed hospitality, but Simon treated the guest of honor rather shabbily by the standards of the day. Jesus noted what went missing from his welcome.

The Son got no kiss of greeting. No water was provided for His feet. No oil was offered for His head. All of these would have been standard courtesies extended to a visitor.

Simon’s casual treatment of Jesus was a matter of heart. He possessed a curiosity. Perhaps, this whole setup was to be just a little meet-and-greet session, a get-know-you time. On another level, maybe this was part of the Pharisees’ investigation of Jesus. The Son was known and followed and this made the religious establishment anxious and envious.

Jesus knew Simon better than he knew himself. He was blinded to his true need and to the Truth about the Messiah sitting before him.

Jesus offered a brief parable about two debtors and their responses to the cancellations of what they owed. The one who owed much more was the more grateful one, as Simon pointed out.

Notice, both people in the story had debts they could not pay. The woman and Simon were in the same condition – each needed the forgiveness that comes from above through the Son.

It was most clear to the woman and so she seized the opportunity to express gratefulness. Her heart overflowed for the love and grace she had sensed from the Savior. None of the disfavoring glances were going to hinder her.

Who would squelch such joy? Certainly not Jesus.

This was a revelation. A life made right and clean was rejoicing before the One who set her free.

How long had she labored enslaved to her sinful lifestyle? Finally at peace, she let herself go to extremes in her thanksgiving, regardless of those present.

Set Free and Grateful

Forgiveness; it is the greatest miracle of them all. The result of it was there for all to see in the midst of a “holy” man’s house.

This chapter, Luke 7, began with a powerful turn of events. A Roman centurion, a Gentile magistrate, sought healing for the servant boy whom he loved. And Jesus marveled at his faith, his understanding, and the recognition of the Son’s power and authority.

With His Word, Jesus made that boy well at the request of a soldier.

With His Word, the Son next raised a widow’s only son from the dead and out of his coffin.

With His Word, Jesus brought this woman to Himself and His wholeness; He made her new and alive again.

Let he who has ears, hear and hear well. May we hear and believe.

Simon thought he was doing Jesus a favor with a seat at his table. Instead, it was Jesus who offered this Pharisee the greatest invitation of all, the invitation to be free from his debt, small as it may seem to him.

Forgiveness was there for the taking. Pardon must be received. Mercy extended must be mercy accepted.

This woman got the message. Did Simon get it, too? That remains a mystery. We are not told whether his unbelief was helped at all by what happened here.

Jesus brought the message of salvation home to this man.

And He brings it home to us, over and over. We are forgiven and free. Let us weep before Him. Let us pour out praises to Him.

Our faith saved us. May we go in peace.