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[0:00] If you have a Bible, please turn with me to Mark chapter 9.! We're going to continue our studies in Mark.

[0:13] And just as we're turning there, I just want to note that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers.

[0:32] And so some of these things, the death of our dear brother, the suffering of brothers and sisters, we all feel this.

[0:43] We all share something of the sorrow, something of the pain, something of the struggle we all share.

[0:56] And so it's natural that we feel this way. We're not always going to come together and just be so full of the zeal of life like nothing is wrong.

[1:13] The world is not as it should be. But the Lord is very aware of this. And he has some things to say about that that will encourage us.

[1:25] And so in the words of the writer to the Hebrews, lift your dripping hands and strengthen your weak knees, make straight paths for your feet so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed, strive for peace.

[1:44] Let us stir one another up to love and good works as the day draws closer. Well, we are in Mark's gospel in chapter 9.

[2:00] Let me pray. Our God, you are the giver of life, and you have given us your word.

[2:11] Your word is sure. The earth will sooner fade away and pass away than your word. Your word will remain forever. Your word is life and spirit to us.

[2:28] Your word is a living word. And in your word, we encounter you. We encounter you through your word and through your promises. And so now as we open your word, would you open our hearts?

[2:44] Would you shine your light into our hearts? And would your spirit illuminate your word to us so that we might see something of the glory of God in the face of Christ? May you be glorified and do us good through your word, we pray in Jesus' name.

[3:00] Amen. I'm going to read the first 13 verses of Mark chapter 9. And he said to them, Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.

[3:23] And after six days, Jesus took with them Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

[3:35] And his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses.

[3:47] And they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

[4:00] For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them. And a voice came out of the cloud. This is my beloved son.

[4:12] Listen to him. And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them, but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

[4:29] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?

[4:42] And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

[4:55] But I tell you that Elijah has come. And they did to him whatever they pleased, as it's written of him. Amen. This is the reading of God's Word.

[5:06] May he bless it to us. I wonder when we consider the problems in our world today, problems such as Stephen has updated us on, that might be the death of a dear loved one in our fellowship.

[5:24] It might be struggling saints and loved ones in our household. It might be missiles going off over the world and wars breaking out. When we think about the problems in our world today, what is our hope for these things being solved?

[5:43] What would you personally like to see happen in the next five to ten years? Perhaps the NHS being restored. That would be good.

[5:54] Perhaps the government being reformed. Perhaps a strong leader to get a handle on who is being allowed to come into our country. Perhaps even a Christian leader to prevent a more violent religion taking over the nation.

[6:09] These things would all be good. What is going to fix this mess that we are all living in? What's your hope to fix the problems of the world that we are facing today?

[6:25] You see, I think when Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, I think the disciples were growing increasingly hopeful about all of the problems being solved.

[6:37] But I think that Jesus gave them two pictures of the Messiah that they were really not expecting. One picture was a very stark teaching of a rejected and crucified Messiah.

[6:55] How is that going to help the problems of the world? The other picture was a very startling experience of a glorified heavenly Messiah who would come in power.

[7:07] Both of these, I think, were nothing like the disciples expected. I think their expectations of the Messiah was completely different. And I don't think they were expecting neither a crucified Messiah nor a heavenly glorified Messiah.

[7:25] But for us now, how likely are we to think about the problems of our day and think that we need a rejected, suffering, crucified Messiah?

[7:37] How are we likely in our minds to come to the conclusion when we see and hear about all these problems that we think to ourselves, do you know what we need? We need a rejected, suffering, crucified Messiah.

[7:50] Is that where our mind goes? Similarly, how likely are we to think to ourselves, we need a Messiah whose face shines like the sun and whose clothes are whiter than anything on earth could bleach?

[8:07] Is that where our mind goes? We know that we want to see less corruption and more justice. We want to see less evil and more righteousness. We want to see less conflict and more peace, less suffering and more healing.

[8:23] But if the cross hadn't already happened, like the disciples, we might not expect that that was the route to get us there. Even now, we struggle with the things we experience.

[8:35] Even now, we want a knight in shining armor, but we might not expect a savior in shining clothes. The point is, what we see in the Gospels is a Messiah that the people neither expected nor wanted.

[8:53] It's clearly not what they see in Jesus. Their expectations of the Messiah is not what they see in Jesus. They never expected such rejection, suffering and death, yet they also never expected to see such glory on the top of a mountain.

[9:12] How could they? And like the disciples, even now, it's easy for us to have our minds on the things of man and we struggle to think of Jesus as he truly is.

[9:24] We struggle to think of Jesus both in his humiliation and suffering and we struggle to think of Jesus in his resplendent glory. In the passage last week, Peter said to Jesus, you are the Christ.

[9:42] And then in verse 31 to 37, Jesus presented a picture of suffering that they would not expect. And then in verse 38, Jesus said, the Son of Man will come in the glory of the Father with the holy angels.

[9:58] And then in chapter 9, verse 1, Jesus said, truly I say to you, some are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it's come with power.

[10:09] And then the Gospels tell us that Jesus took some of them up a mountain and transfigured into glorious form before their eyes. They didn't expect this either.

[10:22] Suffering and then glory. You see how his discussion is on suffering and then he is glorified. And so too will be the order of things, suffering first and then glory.

[10:35] And so for us this morning, I was thinking about the first question of the New City Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism. What is our only hope in life and death?

[10:47] What is your only hope in life and death? Well, the Catechism tells us our only hope is that we are not our own, but we belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

[11:03] That is our only hope in life and death. Our hope is rooted both in the suffering and death of our Savior for our sake and in His rising and glorious and indestructible life as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

[11:21] Our hope is both in His suffering and in His glory. He has gone ahead of us in respect to suffering and glory. And indeed, His suffering and subsequent glory is our hope and assurance that if we follow Him, though we suffer, it will not be our end.

[11:39] Rather, the end will be, as Peter says, a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

[11:51] What is your only hope in life and death? Think about the disciples in our passage for a moment, okay? They were trying to grasp what it meant to have a Messiah who was going to suffer.

[12:03] Jesus just told them that He was going to suffer and Peter said, Lord, forbid. No, it's not going to happen. And Jesus says, yes, it is. You're thinking of the things of man, not the things of God.

[12:15] And so they're trying to come to terms with what it means to have a Messiah who's going to suffer. From our vantage point, we have a Savior who has already suffered. Now, of course, we can read in the New Testament that the disciples would come to that point in the book of Acts and their letters.

[12:34] They now knew what it meant to have a Savior who suffered. But just think for a little second, think about the disciples in Mark chapter 9.

[12:45] They don't understand a Christ who's going to suffer. We do. They don't. And so think about that. At this point in time, we could teach the disciples a lot about the suffering of Christ.

[13:02] If we were to go back in time to this very moment in the Transfiguration, we could teach the disciples a lot about the suffering of Christ. We could connect them with Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, with the Lamb of God who is going to take away the sin of the world.

[13:23] We, at this point, we could teach the disciples a lot about the suffering and death of Christ. But something that I was thinking about is how these three disciples, in particular, Peter, James, and John, they could tell us at our point in time, even although we live 2,000 years later, they could tell us something about the glory of Christ because they were there and beheld His majesty on the mountain.

[13:52] We were not there. Although we know about the suffering of Christ, about the cross and its accomplishment, these three disciples could tell us something about the glory of Christ.

[14:07] Now, I don't know what questions you have about this. If you have any, I tend to have loads of questions. Sometimes you might think that preachers know an awful lot, but we don't really.

[14:20] You know, and we, you might not realize that we wrestle with all the same questions that you do. We wrestle with the same questions and we don't always have the answers.

[14:31] So I wonder what questions you have. I'll tell you some questions I have about this passage. Why Peter, James, and John? Why did Jesus not take all twelve of them up?

[14:44] Why didn't He show His glory to everyone? You get people in the world who say, well, if God would just show Himself, then I would believe. But why just Peter, James, and John?

[14:56] Wouldn't it be good for all the disciples to see His glory? Wouldn't it be good for any one of us to see His glory? Would that not help us endure suffering? Would that not increase our faith? I don't, I don't actually think so.

[15:12] But let me just attempt to answer the question, why these disciples? We find some helpful suggestions in history.

[15:23] In the fourth century, there's a very clever chap called St. John Chrysostom, and he said, why does Christ take only these disciples?

[15:34] And he says, because they stood out among all others. Peter, because he loved Jesus. Remember at the end of the gospel, Jesus says, do you love me?

[15:44] And Peter says, yes. Three times. John Chrysostom says, he took Peter because Peter loved Jesus. He took John because Jesus loved John.

[15:55] He was the beloved disciple. And he took James because James gave the answer together with his brother that we are able to drink the cup that you are going to drink. Likewise, in the eighth century, St. John of Damascus says, he took Peter to show that Peter's testimony of Jesus being the Christ was true and confirmed by the heavenly father.

[16:18] He took James as one who was to die for Christ before all the other disciples. He was the first apostle to die. And he took John as the purest organ of theology so that he might see the eternal glory of the son of God and thunder these words.

[16:36] In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. You know, I was thinking about this. I was given my attempt to it. And I thought James was the first apostle to die for his faith, for Christ.

[16:52] Peter was the prominent apostle who gave his life in Rome. And John was the final witness, the last surviving witness to die, who was given heaps of revelation.

[17:03] Others say that Jesus has these three in his inner circle because they are more receptive to witness and grasp and preserve and later reveal these things.

[17:16] And finally, most commentators note that in Jewish law, for a fact to be established, it requires two or three witnesses. And so there are certain things that Jesus does, like the transfiguration.

[17:31] It doesn't require 12, but it requires two or three witnesses that can be trusted. And that's Peter, James, and John. Let me circle back. I mentioned that we could tell the disciples many things about the suffering of Christ.

[17:46] But these three disciples could tell us many things about the glory of Christ because they were unique witnesses to it. And in fact, they do. They do tell us things about the glory of Christ.

[18:00] Now, albeit James, the apostle, didn't write anything down. He was the first to be martyred. Peter is the voice behind the very book of Mark.

[18:11] And in his two letters, he writes to us about the glory of Christ. And likewise, John gives us his gospel. He gives us three letters and he gives us the book of Revelation.

[18:22] So, for instance, John tells us this. John doesn't record the transfiguration. Only the three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke do.

[18:33] Why does John not record the transfiguration? Well, John tells us about the glory of Jesus in other ways. And so, John writes this. John chapter 1, you're familiar with this.

[18:43] The word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

[18:55] In fact, a glory that he later tells us in John 17, a glory that Jesus shared with the Father before the world existed. Likewise, Peter, in his second letter, talks about this very account of the transfiguration and Peter says that it wasn't some cleverly devised myth.

[19:17] That's what Peter says. Peter says, guys, I'm telling you the truth here. The transfiguration wasn't a cleverly devised myth. It really happened. When we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

[19:34] For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son with who I am well pleased, we ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven for we were with him on the holy mountain.

[19:53] That's what Peter says. He says he was there. He saw the glory of Jesus and he saw the voice, he heard the voice from heaven proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. And it wasn't a myth.

[20:05] It wasn't cleverly devised. It wasn't a lie. He's not trying to deceive anyone. He's not trying to make it up or anything like that. And in his first letter, Peter says, if we share with Christ's sufferings, we will rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

[20:23] So, here's the truth of it, right? We are not going to see his glory in a transfiguration like they did. In fact, most of the twelve didn't even see it.

[20:34] Only three of them saw it. However, either these disciples truly did see that and told us the truth or they are deliberately deceiving us and they built the faith on lies.

[20:50] That's it. Either the disciples are telling the truth or they are the worst liars in history. But they assure us, this is Peter's point, he assures us that this is neither legend nor lie and they gave their lives testifying to these things as eyewitnesses.

[21:10] They laid their lives on the line for this. James, the first to die, Peter, the prominent who died in Rome and John, the last to die who gave as much revelation. They beheld the glory of Christ.

[21:24] And so, that's my attempt at why these three disciples. Another question I have about this and I think it's important to the passage is, why is it Moses and Elijah?

[21:35] Why does he meet these specific Old Testament saints? So, in our passage after six days, Jesus takes these three up the mountain, he's transfigured before them and a cloud overshadows them and they hear from God.

[21:51] Now, I don't know if you remember, it was a long time ago, but this is very reminiscent of Exodus chapter 24. In Exodus 24, Moses goes up the mountain of God with three others, Aaron and his two sons, who would be the priests.

[22:07] So, Moses takes three up the mountain of God along with 70 elders and it says, they beheld God. They beheld God. And then it says, Moses went up and the cloud covered the mountain and the glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days.

[22:28] And on the seventh day, he called Moses out of the midst of the cloud, a voice coming out of the midst of the cloud after six days. It also reminds us of Exodus 34.

[22:40] You'll remember when Moses spent time in the glory of God, his face began to shine and he came down from the mountain with this shining face reflecting the glory of God.

[22:54] Now, if these connections seem unconvincing to you, who is it that's on the mountain with Jesus? It's none other than Moses standing on the mountain with Jesus along with Elijah.

[23:07] Now, Elijah was another who would encounter God on a mountain in a unique way. Do you remember that? Elijah on the mountain and there's the thunder and all the noise and all that kind of stuff and he's listening out for the voice of God.

[23:21] He doesn't hear it in the thunder. He doesn't hear it in the wind. It's in the silence and the stillness. Elijah is another one that was taken up a mountain to encounter God.

[23:36] Another connection is that both Elijah and Moses have a very unique departure from this world. Moses was buried by God himself, Deuteronomy 34.

[23:49] The devil fought the archangel Michael over the body of Moses. That's in Jude 1.9. Likewise, Elijah did not taste death. But was taken by God into heaven by a whirlwind.

[24:03] That's in 2 Kings 2. They've got a unique departure from this world. Now, remember that word departure. Because we learn from Luke's account of the transfiguration that the very thing that Jesus was talking to Moses and Elijah about was Luke chapter 9 that they spoke of his departure.

[24:23] Which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. They're talking about Jesus' departure. Jesus is going to have a very unique departure from this world. And in fact, even more than that, the word that Luke uses in his account is the Greek word for Exodus.

[24:43] Luke is saying that they're talking about Jesus' Exodus. And haven't we just been learning throughout Mark's gospel that Jesus is bringing about a greater Exodus?

[24:53] Jesus is the bringer of a great Exodus. These things help us understand perhaps why it was Moses and Elijah with him.

[25:05] They are all unique. They have unique departures. They uniquely met God on the mountain. And they all have unique ministries. Both which, Moses and Elijah, their ministries point towards Christ.

[25:18] And many have said that Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. But here's the final connection that will help us.

[25:29] We should also see in Malachi chapter 4. Now, if you want to flip over, it's just the last page of the Old Testament. Why don't we flip over there? It's just very easy to find.

[25:40] Just go to the start of the New Testament and turn back a page. Now, Malachi is important for a few reasons.

[25:52] But it shouldn't escape or notice that Mark opened his gospel with a quote from Malachi. Mark is setting up his gospel with Malachi in mind.

[26:07] Look at Malachi chapter 3. Behold, I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. And in Malachi chapter 4, Malachi chapter 4, if you skip down to verse 4, there's two people specifically mentioned in Malachi chapter 4.

[26:27] Who do you think they are? Moses and Elijah. Malachi 4.4 says, Remember the law of my servant Moses that I commanded him at Horeb, the mountain.

[26:41] And then the next verse he says, Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.

[27:01] salvation. And here we have it. Moses and Elijah spoken of in Malachi 4 as the ones who are preparing the way of the Lord, who are trying to prepare the people, who are trying to turn the people back to God.

[27:17] and it talks about the coming of the Lord. And who is it on the Mount of Transfiguration but Jesus, Moses, and Elijah?

[27:30] Now, I think this helps us understand why God says, This is my son. Listen to him. Think about those things we've just read from Malachi.

[27:44] I reckon it's not just, and a lot of people go here, a lot of people say, Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets. But the one who's left is Jesus.

[27:57] And therefore, listen to Jesus more than the law and the prophets. Listen to Jesus. He's fulfilled the law and the prophets. Now, it's true that he's fulfilled the law and the prophets but I don't think that's exactly why God says, listen to him.

[28:11] I don't think God presents Moses and Elijah in competition to Jesus. When we consider the things we've just read in Malachi 4, I don't think it's about listening to Jesus more than the law and prophets.

[28:28] I reckon there's something more going on about the fact that Moses and Elijah sent by God were both rejected. The people didn't listen to Moses.

[28:41] The people didn't listen to Elijah even though both of these people were sent by God. And so, when you look at Jesus who's sent by God, not just a servant, not just a prophet, but the Son of God sent by God, are the people going to listen to him?

[29:00] Well, that's the question, that's the statement, isn't it, in the transfiguration. God said to the three disciples, this is my beloved Son, listen to him. Because, boy, are there going to be people who are going to reject him just like they rejected Moses, just like they rejected Elijah.

[29:16] You see, I think this whole listen to him statement isn't because they're saying listen to him, don't listen to Moses and Elijah. He's saying listen to him because in the past people didn't listen to Moses.

[29:29] In the past people didn't listen to Elijah. How much more should we listen now that God has sent his Son? God sent his great servant Moses, and throughout Jesus' ministry, Jesus was arguing with the Pharisees, and the Pharisees kept saying, ooh, Moses this and Moses that.

[29:51] And Jesus says, you don't listen to Moses. If you listened to Moses, you would listen to me. You see, Moses and Elijah were saying the same things that Jesus is saying because they got their message from Jesus.

[30:05] Moses. And so it's not listen to him over them. It's listen to him particularly now because people didn't listen to Moses and people didn't listen to Elijah. And Jesus would later tell a parable of the tenants.

[30:21] If you know the parable, you know that God likens the world to a vineyard and the Pharisees and leaders as tenants of this vineyard.

[30:32] they're looking after it on God's behalf and God sends his servants the prophets and yet the tenants are wicked and they beat them and they send them away and they reject them.

[30:44] And then finally the owner of the vineyard says, I will send my beloved son. Surely they will listen. And he sends his son and the wicked tenants kill the son because they want to inherit the vineyard for themselves.

[30:58] Jesus knows they're not going to listen to him. They didn't listen to the servants. They're not going to listen to him. But he says, God says to his chosen disciples, this is my beloved son.

[31:11] Listen to him. Listen to him. How much more now that God has sent his son should we listen to him? And they have this question.

[31:22] The disciples come down from the mountain and back in chapter nine of Mark's gospel if you see they come down the mountain and they ask him why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?

[31:34] And Jesus says, yes, Elijah does come first. And how is it written of the son of man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

[31:45] And Jesus says this to them. He says, I tell you, Elijah has come. Elijah's already come. And they did to him whatever they pleased. And who's he talking about?

[31:56] He's talking about John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the Elijah figure in Malachi 4. John the Baptist came in the spirit and the power of Elijah and they did to him whatever they pleased.

[32:09] They cut his head off. They rejected him. And what does it say in Malachi 4? That, behold, I will send Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers.

[32:22] But if their hearts are not turned then I will come with a decree of utter destruction. And what happened? Because they rejected Elijah, they rejected the Messiah and what happened in AD 70?

[32:38] But yet the temple was destroyed by the Romans and the city of Jerusalem was razed to the ground. A decree of utter destruction because they didn't listen.

[32:49] Now, we've heard about why it was these disciples. We've heard about why it was Moses and Elijah. We've heard about the connections on the top of the mountain. We've heard about the connections with his teaching on suffering.

[33:03] But let me just finish pondering on the glory of Jesus. As I mentioned at the start even for us now we face all these problems in our world and our minds don't always go to a saviour who suffers or a saviour whose face shines like the sun.

[33:18] That comment isn't in Mark's gospel but it's in Matthew 17. And so when Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ and Jesus spoke of his suffering and he finished by saying that the son of man will come in the glory of his father with the holy angels so don't be ashamed of him.

[33:39] He then says in verse 1 some are standing here who will not taste death before they see something of that happen. And I think one of the purposes of the transfiguration was that Jesus revealing his majestic resplendent form as the son of man with glory confirms the statement he made about the son of man coming in glory.

[34:05] It confirms that he is the son of man who will come in the glory of his father. He's telling his disciples he's shown his disciples after telling them that he's going to suffer he's basically shown them in a way to say you will see me crucified but you must remember and you must know that I am the son of man who will come in the glory of his father with the holy angels.

[34:31] Have that in mind when you see my suffering. Unlike Elijah who was just a prophet unlike Moses who was just a servant Jesus is the beloved son and while Moses met with God in the mountain and his face shone with the reflected afterburn of God's glory Jesus being the very son of God is himself.

[34:54] He is the glory of God. He doesn't just reflect or shine the glory of God he is the glory of God. Hebrews chapter 1 says that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.

[35:11] You see Moses is a bit like the moon. I think Moses' face he would have been old. His face would have been battered and bruised like the moon but it shone with the reflected glory of the sun.

[35:24] It wasn't his own light it was merely a reflected light whereas Jesus who is the son of God shines like the sun.

[35:36] Matthew says his face was like the sun and his clothes like light. If you've ever tried to stare at the sun have you ever tried that?

[35:47] Don't do it. It's not a good idea. I remember as a boy I used to think how long can I stare at the sun before it burns my eyes? Don't do that. But if you stare at the sun you know how intensely bright it is.

[36:02] So bright for Paul when he saw the glorified Christ it blinded him. I think the three disciples were given a provision of God to see this without it blinding them.

[36:16] It should have blinded them. And I think God protected their eyes. But certainly for the apostle Paul when he seen the Lord Jesus in his glorious form it blinded him. And so it says that Jesus in John chapter 1 Jesus is the true light which came into the world.

[36:40] You see he doesn't reflect light. The true light emanates from his being. Up to this point the disciples have only seen the son of God veiled in flesh. But now for a moment the veil is removed and they behold his glory.

[36:55] As John says glory as of the only son from the father. The glory that he had with his father before the world existed. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4 6 the glory of God in the face of Christ.

[37:11] Nicene Creed if you've ever read the Nicene Creed says that he is the only begotten son of God. Begotten of his father before all worlds.

[37:22] God of God. Light of light. Very God of very God. Begotten not made being of one substance with the father. That's who Jesus is. And when the father says this look my beloved son with whom I am well pleased listen to him.

[37:42] We need to know there's no other that we should look to. There's no other we should listen to. Which of the prophets in this world or which of the religious leaders in the history of humanity shone with the glory of God?

[37:55] or as Hebrews says of which of the even the angels did God say this is my son? There's no one else. There's no other who shone with the glory of God and who was declared to be the very son of God.

[38:10] No one other than Jesus Christ. Who are you going to listen to? Who can we trust? How can we know who to trust? Where can we find hope in this dark world?

[38:22] How can we endure suffering and find any purpose in it? How can we know what is beyond the grave? Who should we listen to?

[38:34] Folks, of all the voices that we hear in the world and of all the noise that we hear in the world, of all the thoughts and doubts and lies that we might believe in our minds, of all the struggles and uncertainty, listen to Jesus.

[38:52] His voice is sure. His is the only one we can trust. Don't listen to all the confused voices out there. Listen to Jesus. Don't listen to all the sketchy religious leaders whose bones still lie in graves somewhere on earth.

[39:13] Listen to Jesus. Who else are we going to go to? That's what Peter says. To whom would we go to? We've come to know and believe that you are the holy one of God.

[39:26] And you is life. You have the words of life. Jesus has the words of life. Who else are we going to listen to? And so when we want to think about I don't know what's beyond the grave.

[39:40] Yeah, we do. Look at Jesus. Look at his glory. We know what's beyond the grave. When we think about is there any meaning in our suffering? Yes.

[39:51] Look at Jesus. Look at his cross. Now we're not going to save souls by our suffering, but we're going to follow him. We'll go through suffering and be glorified.

[40:02] God will turn our suffering into glory. If you've ever heard of kintsugi, have you ever heard of the Japanese art of kintsugi? You'll have seen it.

[40:12] It's these balls that have the golden veins. basically a bowl that has been cracked and put together with golden resin, and it looks beautiful. I can't remember what century it was, but they used to repair broken pottery by drilling wee holes and putting metal staples in it, and it looked hideous.

[40:34] It looked like Frankenstein, this big unsightly scar down your pottery just so it could be put back together. And some shogun in Japan, I can't remember his name, but came up with this idea to mix resin with gold, golden dust and resin, and he began to patch these broken pots together.

[40:55] And it made them so beautiful and valuable. And what happened when he did that was people began to buy new pots and smash them and put them together because this form was so much more valuable than even an item that was brand new.

[41:14] And so, in the new creation, maybe the suffering that we experience here will give us scars of gold in the new creation.

[41:26] Maybe when you were brand new in this life, your new creation form with golden scars will be even more valuable. Amen? God knows what he is doing.

[41:38] Our suffering is not going to be meaningless. God is going to bring such glory and beauty out of all of these things that we are going to stand in awe of God.

[41:49] And we are going to look at this new creation and say, wow, God, I had no idea you could do this with all of this. He can put it all together again in a form that is far better than we've ever seen or imagined.

[42:05] God is so good. God, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. You see, the disciples have so much to tell us about the glory of Christ.

[42:16] The disciples endured much because they saw the glory of Christ and they listened to him. And for us now, we need to know that we have a savior who has already suffered and who is presently glorified.

[42:29] You see, we don't need to wait for Christ to be glorified. He already is glorified. We just don't see it with our earthly eyes. But we don't live by sight.

[42:40] We live by faith. We live by faith. John, his best friend in Revelation 1, saw Jesus.

[42:51] He spent years with him. He was his best friend. And yet he saw Jesus in Revelation 1 and his hair was white. His eyes were like flames of fire.

[43:02] His feet like burnished bronze. His voice like the roar of many waters. And his face shone with the full strength of the sun. And John felt his face as though dead in awe of Christ.

[43:16] And Jesus said, fear not. Fear not. We might not see him now, but he is glorious. He is majestic. And this is what he has done for us right now.

[43:27] Because we can't see with our eyes. But what he has done, Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6, he says, God has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

[43:44] One day we will see the glory of God in the face of Christ, but right now we have the knowledge of the glory of God in our hearts, testifying to us that the glory of God is in the face of Christ.

[43:57] Christ. And so what should we do? It's nothing new. Listen to him. Let me pray. Oh, Lord, we have much to endure in this world.

[44:14] Even right now, my dear brothers and sisters, have had to endure me speaking for so long. But Lord, these words that you have given us, these truths in your scripture, these testimonies from your servants who have seen the glory of Jesus on the mountain.

[44:31] Oh, please would you imprint that on our hearts and give us courage. Please help us to listen to Jesus, for there is no other who is the glorious one, the glorious Son of God, with whom you are well pleased.

[44:47] Father, help us to listen to him and stir up our hope to see beyond the grave and beyond the suffering, to see the glorious Christ that we will be with for all eternity.

[45:01]  May he be given all praise and glory and majesty forever and ever. Amen. Amen.