WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.900 A little bit later, we're going to read from Mark, the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.480 We're going to be back in Mark's Gospel, seeing Jesus on the road to the cross. 00:00:11.120 --> 00:00:13.240 Mark chapter 9, we'll begin there. 00:00:14.140 --> 00:00:18.800 But bear this passage in mind as we read in Mark 9. 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:22.980 There's deliberate parallels that Mark draws our attention to 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:28.539 as Moses and others go up the mountain of the Lord to meet with the God of glory. 00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:33.700 So let's read Exodus chapter 24 at page 82 together. 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:37.640 Then God said to Moses, 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:44.280 Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and 70 of the elders of Israel. 00:00:44.960 --> 00:00:49.239 You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the Lord. 00:00:49.879 --> 00:00:53.460 The others must not come near, and the people may not come up with him. 00:00:54.299 --> 00:00:57.519 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:02.500 they responded with one voice, Everything the Lord has said we will do. 00:01:03.260 --> 00:01:05.740 Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said. 00:01:06.540 --> 00:01:10.600 He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain 00:01:10.600 --> 00:01:15.980 and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:20.359 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings 00:01:20.359 --> 00:01:24.040 and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the Lord. 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:30.460 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:33.660 Then he took the book of the covenant and read it to the people. 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:37.340 They responded, We will do everything the Lord has said. 00:01:37.719 --> 00:01:38.500 We will obey. 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:42.760 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, 00:01:42.900 --> 00:01:47.960 This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words. 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:55.719 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. 00:01:56.379 --> 00:02:01.799 Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. 00:02:02.679 --> 00:02:05.599 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites. 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.799 They saw God, and they ate and drank. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:13.020 The Lord said to Moses, Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:18.600 and I will give you the tablets of stone with the law and commands I have written for their instruction. 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:24.480 Then Moses set out with Joshua, his assistant, and Moses went up on the mountain of God. 00:02:24.939 --> 00:02:29.220 He said to the elders, Wait here for us until we come back to you. 00:02:29.700 --> 00:02:34.660 Aaron and Hur are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them. 00:02:34.659 --> 00:02:42.460 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:50.599 For six days the Lord covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud. 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:58.019 To the Israelites, the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 00:02:58.020 --> 00:03:07.760 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain, and he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. 00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:10.040 Amen. This is God's word. 00:03:11.219 --> 00:03:16.600 In the Gospel of Mark and chapter 9, which you'll find on page 1012. 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:20.120 We're back in the Gospel of Mark. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:25.879 We will be, for the next few months, as I said, reflecting on Jesus' journey to the cross. 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:37.439 And here, in this section, we'll be reminded that the King of glory is the suffering servant. 00:03:38.460 --> 00:03:41.919 So let's read the first 13 verses of Mark chapter 9. 00:03:42.079 --> 00:03:47.719 And he said to them, I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:50.500 before they see the kingdom of God come with power. 00:03:50.500 --> 00:03:58.939 After six days, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:01.639 There he was transfigured before them. 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:06.719 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:11.560 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:16.040 Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. 00:04:16.040 --> 00:04:21.819 Let us put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 00:04:22.300 --> 00:04:24.060 He did not know what to say. 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:25.720 They were so frightened. 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:30.620 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud. 00:04:31.040 --> 00:04:33.920 This is my son, whom I love. 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:35.400 Listen to him. 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:41.480 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:51.280 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:57.680 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what rising from the dead meant. 00:04:58.259 --> 00:05:03.939 And they asked him, why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? 00:05:04.700 --> 00:05:10.259 Jesus replied, to be sure, Elijah does come first and restores all things. 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:16.099 Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:26.480 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him. 00:05:27.259 --> 00:05:27.659 Amen. 00:05:29.039 --> 00:05:32.959 Let's think for a moment about the importance of signs. 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:43.259 A good number of years ago, when we lived up north in Dingwall, a family was heading away overseas for work. 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:52.740 And so it was decided that we would all get together and have a picnic on the top of a small hill just outside Dingwall called Fyrish. 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.879 Think Arthur's Sea, except probably even easier, and you'll kind of have the picture. 00:05:57.879 --> 00:06:01.800 Okay, so short walk up the hill, less than an hour to get up. 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:03.379 We all had a really nice picnic. 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:13.399 And then as we're coming back down, we come to a fork in the road, and some bright spark decided, hey, let's go down a different way. 00:06:13.779 --> 00:06:16.300 So we took a turn in our route. 00:06:16.459 --> 00:06:19.060 Now, the person who suggested it, very important man. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:21.759 So I thought, I'll follow this guy. 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:23.180 He's bound to know what he's doing. 00:06:23.180 --> 00:06:32.319 And three, four hours later, finding ourselves in the woods, beginning to wonder, are we ever going to find civilization? 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:37.800 Should I just abandon this guy who I'm now beginning to figure, he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.519 Should I try and find my own way? 00:06:41.019 --> 00:06:45.780 Well, anyway, after about four hours, we saw the car park sign. 00:06:45.779 --> 00:06:53.519 And you'll understand that sense of relief, that sense of joy that we were going to get home before nightfall. 00:06:54.439 --> 00:07:01.719 Now, back in Mark's gospel, which is where we are, we're told in chapter 1, verse 1, very opening words, 00:07:01.799 --> 00:07:05.839 this is the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:17.199 And in the first eight chapters where we were last year, we saw lots of miracles, miracles showing the authority of Jesus, the Son of God. 00:07:17.299 --> 00:07:22.879 And so the disciples gladly follow Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when he's doing all these wonderful things. 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:29.739 But then the last passage we looked at in chapter 8, read with me chapter 8, verse 31. 00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.239 Here is the turn in the road for Jesus and the disciples. 00:07:33.239 --> 00:07:35.319 This is where things begin to get difficult. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:47.519 Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:55.500 So the disciples are being introduced to the fact that Jesus' route to glory is going to involve suffering and death. 00:07:55.500 --> 00:07:58.099 And instantly there's confusion. 00:07:58.699 --> 00:08:03.719 In verse 32, Peter takes Jesus aside in order to rebuke him. 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:09.920 This is not the pattern for the way things should go for the King of glory. 00:08:11.280 --> 00:08:15.140 And then Jesus says to his disciples, verse 34, 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:17.960 this isn't just suffering for Jesus. 00:08:18.400 --> 00:08:23.860 If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:08:23.860 --> 00:08:31.819 So now they're understanding the road to glory for any disciple of Jesus is also going to be difficult. 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:35.779 But here's the wonderful thing about Jesus. 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:37.940 He gives them a sign. 00:08:38.300 --> 00:08:39.600 Chapter 9, verse 1. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:55.740 Here's a sign that they're going to receive to give them hope, to keep them on their journey, 00:08:55.879 --> 00:09:00.879 to give them their understanding that despite their confusion, this is the leader to follow. 00:09:01.300 --> 00:09:06.040 They're going to see Jesus the King come with the power of God. 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:09.259 They're going to see the curtain pulled back. 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:13.159 The one who has introduced himself to them as the suffering servant, 00:09:13.439 --> 00:09:18.980 they're going to understand that he is at one and the same time the King of glory. 00:09:19.139 --> 00:09:24.939 And so that's what we're going to think about today, that Jesus is both King of glory, suffering servant. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:28.259 And let's think about what that means for our lives. 00:09:28.779 --> 00:09:30.099 So let's think about signs. 00:09:30.179 --> 00:09:33.379 A sign, first of all, of Jesus' glory. 00:09:33.379 --> 00:09:40.000 In verse 1, the sign is that they will see the kingdom of God come with power. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:46.080 Again, we sort of reverse back early on in Jesus' public ministry as he begins preaching. 00:09:46.340 --> 00:09:48.379 And we're told by Mark what his message is. 00:09:48.919 --> 00:09:52.399 The message that Jesus delivers is the kingdom of God is near. 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:54.480 Repent and believe the good news. 00:09:54.820 --> 00:09:59.120 The kingdom of God is near because Jesus, God's King, has come. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:08.039 So people are invited to turn away from sin and turn back to God to follow Jesus, to be part of God's kingdom. 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:16.139 And we saw so many miracles that are, again, signs of Jesus being God's King with power. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:22.879 When he calms a storm or when he heals a paralyzed man or when he raises the dead, 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:30.200 he is demonstrating, he is giving a sign of his future kingdom. 00:10:30.659 --> 00:10:37.100 Miracles, in one sense, are giving us a picture into what life will be like when Jesus comes to make everything new. 00:10:38.439 --> 00:10:50.220 And this transfiguration, when Jesus' appearance is changed, this is a further example, a further demonstration of the power and the glory of Jesus. 00:10:50.220 --> 00:10:58.540 When they see him shine with the glory of heaven, they begin to understand, and they'll understand more later, 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:04.360 that Jesus' suffering and Jesus' death do not lessen his glory. 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:10.460 In fact, Jesus can pray that the cross would bring glory to him and to his Father. 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:18.660 So what Jesus has been talking about in terms of suffering, rejection, and death become a means for us to see the glory of Jesus. 00:11:18.659 --> 00:11:28.240 But when we think about the transfiguration, when Jesus' appearance is changed, it's a sign that Jesus is God's King, come with power. 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:33.199 Let's also think about where this happens. 00:11:33.899 --> 00:11:35.019 This is quite deliberate. 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:37.399 There's a mountaintop meeting with the Lord. 00:11:37.480 --> 00:11:40.480 So we remember that we read from Exodus 24. 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:48.000 And we'll see there are lots of parallels between Exodus 24 and Mark chapter 9. 00:11:48.580 --> 00:11:52.860 So verse 2, for example, it says this took place after six days. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:12:01.659 Moses and the others are before God for six days, and then he is invited to come and he hears God speak. 00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:08.120 Moses had three other witnesses named with him, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu. 00:12:08.439 --> 00:12:09.679 There was also another 70. 00:12:10.059 --> 00:12:13.019 Jesus brings Peter and James and John. 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:18.039 There is the dazzling light of glory in Exodus. 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:22.519 It's described as being like a fiery furnace, the glory of God. 00:12:22.579 --> 00:12:27.120 And here, Jesus, verse 3, his clothes became dazzling light. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:35.519 There is the cloud of glory, the sign of God's presence comes on both mountains. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.700 Both meet with God. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.580 Both hear the voice of God. 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:51.799 So here is Mark, and here is Jesus, more particularly drawing on what happened in the Old Testament when Moses went to meet with God. 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.440 And here's another mountaintop meeting with God. 00:12:54.560 --> 00:12:56.120 But there's a difference here. 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:58.720 And it's a very significant difference. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:02.679 So when Moses went up the mountain, he talked with God. 00:13:02.840 --> 00:13:05.980 We're also introduced in verse 4 to Elijah. 00:13:06.679 --> 00:13:10.600 Elijah also in the Old Testament went up a mountain and he met with God. 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:11.600 He heard God's voice. 00:13:11.960 --> 00:13:18.679 But notice in verse 4 that they are talking with Jesus. 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:24.460 Up the mountain to meet with God, they are meeting and talking with Jesus. 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:26.500 Jesus is God. 00:13:27.060 --> 00:13:32.920 And then we see it too in the voice from heaven of verse 7. 00:13:33.920 --> 00:13:34.960 What do we hear? 00:13:35.320 --> 00:13:38.540 This is my son whom I love. 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:41.940 Listen to him. 00:13:41.940 --> 00:13:50.700 Here is God the Father saying to these disciples, you've come up the mountain to meet with the Lord and that Lord, he's Jesus. 00:13:51.800 --> 00:13:53.080 So you listen to him. 00:13:53.460 --> 00:13:58.200 You can trust his word when he says he must suffer and be rejected and die. 00:13:58.880 --> 00:14:05.960 The Father wants the disciples to see the Father's glory and for that to change them. 00:14:05.960 --> 00:14:13.040 Again, a number of years ago, I spent a summer teaching in a Bible college in South Africa. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:14.980 Met lots of interesting people. 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:24.259 One of my pupils, students, it turned out after a little while, he told me he was a tribal chief in his local village. 00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:27.680 Now, if you hear, wow, tribal chief, that seems pretty cool, doesn't it? 00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:30.480 It's very different to the usual people that you meet. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:38.600 But see the difference when I saw a picture of him all dressed up in his tribal gear and to see the honor that people gave to him. 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:42.440 All of a sudden, then the glory of his position. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:43.980 All of a sudden, it hits me in a new way. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.740 What has Jesus done for his disciples? 00:14:48.500 --> 00:14:53.779 He's given them a new vision of his glory to sustain their faith and their worship. 00:14:54.420 --> 00:14:57.279 They're given a picture of the unique glory of Jesus. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:03.039 I wonder as we sit here today, has the glory of Jesus hit us? 00:15:03.720 --> 00:15:06.819 Have we explored the Bible? 00:15:06.939 --> 00:15:08.379 Have we read about Jesus? 00:15:08.939 --> 00:15:14.879 And have we seen him to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world? 00:15:15.439 --> 00:15:21.439 And one of the things that becomes so clear as we read the Bible is if what the Bible says about Jesus is true, 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:26.199 then he's not someone we can just sort of have a casual encounter with. 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:32.360 He's not someone that we can just pass by as being of little consequence, just a figure of history. 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:38.160 We're being presented with Jesus as the Son of God, as God's glorious King. 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:42.440 And if that's true, it deserves our attention. 00:15:43.140 --> 00:15:46.980 And more than that, if this is true, it deserves our worship. 00:15:46.980 --> 00:15:55.240 And not just half-hearted worship when we can be bothered, but all the devotion of our heart. 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:59.700 So we get this wonderful vision of Jesus' glory. 00:15:59.980 --> 00:16:05.240 But it's also, it's a signpost of his future glory. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:09.560 So Jesus went back to looking just as he had before. 00:16:09.559 --> 00:16:16.539 But there is a day coming when we will all see Jesus shining with the glory of heaven. 00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:21.159 The Bible says that just as Jesus came once, he'll also come back again. 00:16:21.259 --> 00:16:26.359 He'll come back to restore all things, but he'll also come back as the judge of all people. 00:16:27.619 --> 00:16:34.059 And so one of the things that we have to deal with is the fact that one day we will all stand before Jesus, our judge. 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:38.259 We'll have to give an account of how we have responded to him. 00:16:38.979 --> 00:16:43.219 Have we turned from sin and have we trusted in Jesus, our Savior? 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:50.199 In the book of Philippians, we're told that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.679 But you know, some people, they won't do that willingly. 00:16:54.659 --> 00:16:59.699 They'll be forced to acknowledge that Jesus, I wanted nothing to do with when I was alive. 00:17:00.039 --> 00:17:01.479 And now I see that he's the King. 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:11.039 Let me urge you to consider and to respond to the King of glory that we are presented with here 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:17.839 so that we are ready to bow before King Jesus gladly when he comes and we stand before him. 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:21.880 But this isn't just a sign of Jesus' glory. 00:17:22.360 --> 00:17:25.319 This is also a sign of Jesus' mission. 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:31.700 This section, those first 13 verses, go along with those passages we've been referring to in chapter 8. 00:17:31.819 --> 00:17:34.519 It fits together with Peter's confession. 00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:36.659 Jesus asks, who do you say I am? 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:40.559 You are the Christ, Son of the living God. 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:47.519 It goes together with Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death also. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:56.519 Because the pattern of Jesus' ministries, he makes clear, is there is humility before he's raised up in glory. 00:17:57.119 --> 00:18:01.680 There is the cross that must come before the crowd. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:08.759 The disciples, many of the people in Jesus' day were slow to see that. 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:13.819 But it's in line with what they've been prepared for in the Old Testament. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.700 Think about the great prophet Isaiah. 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:25.680 Isaiah, you know, at Christmastime we read all these wonderful passages about Jesus, the promised coming King. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:30.339 So in chapter 9 we read of Jesus and the government will be on his shoulders. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:35.539 He's the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the one who will reign forever. 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:45.359 But that same Isaiah, speaking about the same person in Isaiah chapter 53, describes him as the suffering servant. 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:48.700 Pierced for our transgressions. 00:18:49.299 --> 00:18:51.379 Crushed for our sins. 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:55.220 The one who is led like a lamb to the slaughter. 00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:01.720 And we need both of these pictures to make sense of the mission of Jesus. 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:06.079 But for Peter, he's struggling to hear that. 00:19:06.440 --> 00:19:09.100 For many people in Jesus' day, they really struggled with that. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:14.220 We probably know what selective hearing is. 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.680 If we have children, we definitely know what selective hearing is. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:18.600 You know that ability? 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:20.700 We have it as well. 00:19:21.100 --> 00:19:22.640 Children have it in particular, I think. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.120 They can tune out what's inconvenient. 00:19:25.700 --> 00:19:26.579 And what's difficult. 00:19:27.079 --> 00:19:30.019 What might make them do something they don't want to do. 00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:33.539 Well, many in Jesus' day, what had they tuned out? 00:19:33.619 --> 00:19:37.180 They tuned out the idea that God's king would suffer. 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:39.639 That God's king would have to die. 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:42.279 They wanted a king who was all about glory. 00:19:43.019 --> 00:19:47.519 We want the king who's going to get rid of our enemies and give us peace and give us a great nation again. 00:19:48.900 --> 00:19:54.519 And it explains in part why Peter is confused when Jesus speaks about suffering and rejection. 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:59.139 Because that's not part of the message that he was used to hearing. 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:07.480 But we need to understand that for Jesus' mission, there is suffering before there is glory. 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:13.619 Connects us, in a sense, to the question of Elijah that comes up in verse 11. 00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:20.119 They ask Jesus, why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first? 00:20:20.119 --> 00:20:29.879 So almost the last word of the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 4, verse 5, there is this promise from God. 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:36.459 I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord come. 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:42.619 So the day of the Lord, the day of restoration, day of salvation, day of judgment for God's enemies. 00:20:42.739 --> 00:20:46.279 But before that, there was this promise that Elijah would come. 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:52.599 And so the logic seems to be that the disciples are thinking, well, hang on a minute. 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:55.319 We've seen Jesus as the king of glory. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:58.099 So surely this is the end of the story. 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:00.200 Why would we need Elijah to come? 00:21:00.819 --> 00:21:04.740 Because here we are on a mountain meeting with the Lord and Jesus is shining with glory. 00:21:05.740 --> 00:21:08.379 And Jesus says to them in verse 12, 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:11.500 Elijah does come first and restores all things. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:15.839 Why then is it written that the son of man must suffer much and be rejected? 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:20.880 And he points to the pattern of the second Elijah, who is John the Baptist. 00:21:21.539 --> 00:21:23.480 He's come and they've done to him everything they wish. 00:21:24.119 --> 00:21:28.680 In Mark's gospel, it's understood that the Elijah to come is John the Baptist. 00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:32.960 And John the Baptist, his ministry was to begin restoring people back to God. 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:38.079 He turned people away from sin and towards God, prepared people for the coming of Jesus. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:39.279 But what happened to John? 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.480 He was killed by King Herod. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:48.680 And Jesus says, if that's what happened to the Elijah to come, that's what's going to happen to the Savior. 00:21:48.879 --> 00:21:50.059 That's what's going to happen to me. 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:53.740 Jesus too will suffer and die. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:58.859 Do you know what desire lines are? 00:21:59.879 --> 00:22:03.319 I discovered this helpful expression recently. 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:08.920 Desire lines are paths that are worn into the ground when people want to take a natural shortcut. 00:22:09.279 --> 00:22:16.940 So, you know, when you've got a path that meanders, a road that meanders all the way around here, you'll often find a dirt track where lots of people have taken that shortcut. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:20.059 What was the desire line of the disciples? 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:26.240 They wanted Jesus to take his crown without having to go to the cross. 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:29.940 They want glory without suffering. 00:22:30.640 --> 00:22:34.680 And Jesus is saying to them, that's a shortcut that can be taken. 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:45.960 And we also discover in Jesus' mission, again connected to Moses and Elijah, that Jesus is God's final bridge between people and God. 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:59.259 Moses and Elijah meet with Jesus partly because they were those who had met with God on the mountain, but partly because one of their functions in the Old Testament was to be mediators between God and his people. 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:04.779 They were the middlemen speaking on God's behalf and speaking for the people. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:07.940 And that's what Jesus came to be. 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:12.320 Jesus comes from heaven with the glory of God. 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:20.820 So he perfectly represents God, but he also comes to be truly human, to be the suffering servant, to be our substitute. 00:23:21.820 --> 00:23:24.980 And so he is the mediator between us and God. 00:23:25.100 --> 00:23:29.039 He is the only way back to God. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:43.039 And so Jesus is going to be explaining, he's begun and he's going to continue to explain that his going to the cross is the way for him to be that mediator, the way for him to be that bridge back to God. 00:23:43.960 --> 00:23:51.119 So just as Moses led the people out of slavery into freedom to become God's people, so Jesus leads a new exodus. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:56.899 But he will do that by being the lamb who is sacrificed. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.220 Who dies in our place for our sins so that we might be free to know God. 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:11.539 Elijah, his job was to bring an unfaithful people back into relationship with God. 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:23.940 And Jesus will do that for us by taking all our sins on himself at the cross and then gifting to us his perfect record of right living. 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:31.600 So the only way for us to be right with God is to know Jesus, to have faith in him, to be trusting in him. 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:38.440 But you know, he's also reminding us, Jesus is also reminding us that his life is the pattern of the Christian life. 00:24:40.019 --> 00:24:42.420 So for us too, we will often have that experience. 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:45.480 It's suffering now, but glory to follow. 00:24:45.480 --> 00:24:54.099 For those of you who were here on last Sunday evening, we heard from Willie's brother Andy, who's a minister in Nantes in France. 00:24:54.860 --> 00:25:02.120 And he spoke about a lady who was told, if you read the Bible at home or if you try and talk to me about Jesus, I'll divorce you. 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:08.500 There is opposition and there is rejection to be faced as Christians. 00:25:08.500 --> 00:25:15.440 There is the call for us to sacrifice our comfort, to sacrifice time and energy for others. 00:25:15.559 --> 00:25:23.259 There's cost in being a follower of Jesus, but we do it gladly when we know that there's eternal glory to follow. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.180 When we know we're following Jesus, the King of glory. 00:25:29.079 --> 00:25:32.440 So it's a sign of Jesus' mission, but it also informs our mission. 00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.480 What are we here for as a church? 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:42.680 We're here to help others to see and enjoy the glory of King Jesus for themselves. 00:25:42.839 --> 00:25:44.559 It's the one thing that everybody needs. 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:54.299 And we need to be willing to lose our lives for Jesus and the gospel, as he says in chapter 8 and verse 35. 00:25:56.019 --> 00:25:58.420 One last thing to say about this sign. 00:25:59.700 --> 00:26:00.539 And it's this. 00:26:00.599 --> 00:26:03.940 It's a sign to aid our worship. 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:06.279 Peter's response. 00:26:06.539 --> 00:26:10.600 I love Peter's response in verse 5 when he sees Jesus shining in glory. 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:12.880 He sees Elijah and Moses come to talk. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:16.140 Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it's good for us to be here. 00:26:16.980 --> 00:26:20.779 Let's put up three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 00:26:20.900 --> 00:26:22.759 So he doesn't know what's happening. 00:26:22.880 --> 00:26:23.420 There's fear. 00:26:23.740 --> 00:26:25.180 But there's also that understanding. 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:35.720 If I'm in the presence of Jesus and I realize that he's my king, and if I'm seeing him in his glory, then surely it's a good thing for me to want that and to enjoy that. 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:37.400 And so he says, please let this last. 00:26:37.820 --> 00:26:39.580 It's good for us to be here. 00:26:40.340 --> 00:26:42.380 It's like any great thing that we enjoy. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:43.799 Now we have a holiday. 00:26:44.340 --> 00:26:45.759 We enjoy a nice meal. 00:26:45.860 --> 00:26:47.080 We enjoy a nice occasion. 00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:49.340 And we want that moment to last. 00:26:49.339 --> 00:26:54.179 Of course, because we're finite and we know that it never does. 00:26:56.459 --> 00:27:02.819 But for Peter, this is a wonderful, wonderful desire to know Jesus in his glory. 00:27:02.939 --> 00:27:04.799 But for Peter, it couldn't last either. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:12.240 Because Peter has been taught that Jesus must go down the mountain to ascend another mountain. 00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:17.440 And he must go up, having been rejected, to carry his cross and to die. 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:24.779 Unbroken joy and glory for Peter cannot come without Jesus going to the cross. 00:27:25.380 --> 00:27:31.779 Now once he's done that, and once Peter goes to be with Jesus, then there is glory and joy forever in the presence of Jesus. 00:27:32.019 --> 00:27:35.640 But there must be the cross first. 00:27:35.640 --> 00:27:40.840 Verse 9, which again is interesting. 00:27:41.120 --> 00:27:45.380 You know, when you've seen something amazing, surprising to be told, to stay quiet about it. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:54.460 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they'd seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 00:27:54.620 --> 00:28:00.540 So there's a time of quiet while they need to process, while they need to see the whole story out to understand what's going on. 00:28:00.540 --> 00:28:04.300 But once Jesus has risen, then everything's different. 00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:14.220 Then they know and they're invited to share this life-changing news that the one that they have seen as the King of Glory has also suffered as their Savior. 00:28:14.339 --> 00:28:17.839 But he's now risen again with power. 00:28:19.720 --> 00:28:25.359 So for now, we find Peter confused and his faith is weak. 00:28:25.399 --> 00:28:29.720 He can't see how this path should be. 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:44.539 But this transfiguration, this event is a gift to him from Jesus to bring strength for what lies ahead, to help him to keep on following the King of Glory who's also the suffering servant. 00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:49.240 We need those signs to strengthen our faith to keep going. 00:28:50.240 --> 00:28:54.120 That's why we gather for worship Sunday by Sunday. 00:28:54.119 --> 00:28:59.339 We need a fresh sight of the glory of Jesus. 00:29:00.199 --> 00:29:09.539 So we sing and we pray and we read the Bible and we seek to explain it so that we might keep following after Jesus. 00:29:10.299 --> 00:29:13.479 Next week, we'll share the Lord's Supper together. 00:29:13.480 --> 00:29:29.220 Again, a meal intended to strengthen our faith in a physical way to remind us of the self-giving love of the Lord Jesus, which is intended to strengthen our faith. 00:29:29.220 --> 00:29:38.259 And just as it's a sign to aid our worship, it's also a sign to aid our mission. 00:29:38.860 --> 00:29:45.600 Because just like Peter and the disciples, our mission is to make public what had then been seeking. 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:56.779 That the King who dies on the cross in humiliation is the King of Glory who is now ascended into the glory of heaven. 00:29:56.779 --> 00:30:02.200 And he is our way to know and to enjoy God. 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:10.299 How do we need to respond to Jesus, the King of Glory and the suffering servant? 00:30:11.740 --> 00:30:15.720 How do we need to hear and respond to this sign?