WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.720 Well, tonight we are continuing our study that's called Flesh and Blood Jesus. 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:19.280 And in this series we've been reminded that not only is Jesus God the Son, he is also 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:20.719 the perfect human. 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:28.879 In Jesus we see the glory of God revealed, but we also see everything that humanity 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:31.320 is meant to be. 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:41.079 Our title tonight is He is Different and we can read again from Luke chapter 9 at verse 00:00:41.079 --> 00:00:42.079 28. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:45.679 Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:51.280 went up on the mountain to pray and as he was praying the appearance of his face was 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:57.560 altered and his clothing became dazzling white. 00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:01.359 This passage as I'm sure many of you know is known as the transfiguration, an astonishing 00:01:01.359 --> 00:01:07.719 moment when Jesus' appearance changed, when Moses and Elijah appeared alongside him, when 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:14.480 the cloud of God's glory overshadowed them and when the Father spoke from heaven and 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:17.040 his voice was heard. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:24.079 And in many ways this moment makes us think of the fact that Jesus is God. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:28.599 It shows us his divinity and it's right for us to think about that. 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:35.159 Peter, James and John saw the glory of God radiating from Jesus' face. 00:01:35.159 --> 00:01:39.879 And I think if any of us had been standing on that mountain with them I don't think 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:48.599 any of us would have been left with any doubt at all that Jesus is God the Son. 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:55.280 But having said that, it's crucial that we remember that even in the heavenly splendour 00:01:55.280 --> 00:02:02.280 of this moment Jesus does not stop being human. 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:08.799 On the mount of transfiguration he is still flesh and blood. 00:02:08.799 --> 00:02:13.959 And that's what I want us to think about a little bit tonight and we're going to just 00:02:13.959 --> 00:02:16.840 ask three simple questions. 00:02:16.840 --> 00:02:19.080 What does this teach us about Jesus? 00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:21.240 What does it teach us about humanity? 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:26.480 And what difference does it make for us? 00:02:26.480 --> 00:02:32.400 So first question there, what does this teach us about Jesus? 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:37.599 Well there's so much that we could say looking at this passage. 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:45.879 But I want to briefly focus on three key words or concepts that I think are highlighted here. 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:50.759 Each of these three reveal a key aspect of who Jesus is and in each of them there are 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:56.319 very strong connections to the Old Testament that I hope that we'll be able to see. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:59.960 So the first three key concepts is holiness. 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:07.879 Now holiness basically means to be set apart and it's very much linked to the idea of purity. 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:16.599 So the opposite of holiness is to be profane, unclean or even just common to be holy is to 00:03:16.599 --> 00:03:23.439 be set apart, unique, undefiled and pure. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:31.359 And throughout these verses there is a profound sense of holiness. 00:03:31.359 --> 00:03:35.919 The appearance of Jesus' face changes, his clothing becomes dazzling. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:42.119 In verse 31 and 32 speak of his glory and then in verse 34 you have the cloud descending 00:03:42.119 --> 00:03:51.319 upon this mountain and all of this is powerfully echoing the Old Testament. 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:58.119 If you think back to some of the key events in the Old Testament, when the Israelites 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:07.599 left Egypt it says that the Lord went before them in a pillar of cloud to lead them along 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:08.599 the way. 00:04:08.599 --> 00:04:14.439 Then when Moses went up to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments it says, the 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:18.120 Lord said to Moses, behold I'm coming to you in a thick cloud. 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:22.480 And then later in the Old Testament when the temple was completed we have the verses that 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:27.439 we read at the beginning that when the priests came out of the holy place a cloud filled 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:29.680 the house of the Lord. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:34.079 So the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud because the glory of 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:39.199 the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. 00:04:39.199 --> 00:04:46.959 In the Old Testament the cloud indicated that they were in the presence of the holy 00:04:46.959 --> 00:04:48.600 God. 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:55.680 And that same awesome holiness is here on this mountain as well. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:05:04.199 The disciples were dazzled, they were afraid, they were overwhelmed. 00:05:04.199 --> 00:05:08.439 Second key term is righteousness. 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:13.079 Now when you hear that word righteousness you should be thinking of God's standard. 00:05:13.079 --> 00:05:19.800 If you imagine if you could have a graph setting out God's standards, righteousness just sets 00:05:19.800 --> 00:05:21.960 everything at the highest standard. 00:05:21.959 --> 00:05:27.680 God's standard is just at the highest level. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:32.000 Righteousness is the standard that God expects and that applies to everything. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:38.719 Attitude, conduct, morality, duty, obedience to be righteous is to conform to the standard 00:05:38.719 --> 00:05:40.279 that God sets. 00:05:40.279 --> 00:05:44.639 And that's emphasized throughout the Old Testament here's an example, a very clear 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:48.039 example from Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 25. 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:53.800 It will be righteousness for us if we're careful to do all this commandment before the 00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.960 Lord or God as he has commanded us. 00:05:56.960 --> 00:06:03.560 It's basically saying that to be righteous is to be all that God expects of us. 00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:12.200 And of course that means that righteousness is very closely connected to God's law. 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:20.439 It's the law that tells us what is righteous and what isn't, the law reveals God's standard. 00:06:20.439 --> 00:06:28.079 And in the Old Testament there's one person who is particularly closely connected to the 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:35.480 law and that of course is Moses. 00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:41.199 And he of course is the one who appears at the top of this mountain alongside Jesus. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:50.120 When God revealed the law to Moses it was at the top of a mountain as you may remember. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:58.759 He came and appeared in that cloud and there he gave Moses the Ten Commandments. 00:06:58.759 --> 00:07:06.560 And Jesus as he has said earlier in his ministry, he has come to fulfill that law. 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:11.399 And when we say that Jesus was without sin which is what we've emphasized several times 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:13.439 in this series that's exactly what we mean. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:20.399 That he never failed to conform to God's righteous standard. 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:30.240 But the link between the transfiguration and the law and Moses is made even stronger by 00:07:30.240 --> 00:07:35.199 a hidden clue that we have here in verse 31. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:41.399 Because it says here behold two men were talking with Moses and Elijah who appeared in glory 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:44.360 and spoke of his departure. 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:49.240 Now that word there is a hidden clue because literally in the original language that is 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:59.759 the word Exodus which of course is pointing us very very powerfully back to what happened 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:01.759 with Moses. 00:08:01.759 --> 00:08:12.639 And I think what that tells us is that the Exodus in the Old Testament is pointing us 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:16.399 towards what Jesus has come to do on the cross. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:22.000 Jesus is going to accomplish that Exodus in Jerusalem. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:27.759 He's going to redeem his people from slavery and he's going to lead them into a new life 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:28.759 of freedom. 00:08:28.759 --> 00:08:34.240 All of this is emphasizing that Jesus has come to fulfill what the Old Testament is pointing 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:35.240 towards. 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:42.840 In other words he is going to reach that righteous standard that God expects. 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:47.799 And then the third key concept is knowledge. 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:53.879 So knowledge in the Bible I think refers to two key things. 00:08:53.879 --> 00:09:01.240 At one level it refers to the fact that we are rational reasoning beings. 00:09:01.240 --> 00:09:05.759 So when we think of knowledge we think of reason or rationality. 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:11.799 The fact that we can understand things, the fact that we can learn and we can thus grow 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:12.799 in our knowledge. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:15.600 And that's what we tend to think of when we think of knowledge. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:17.639 We think of learning stuff. 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:26.080 But knowledge in the Bible also refers not just to reason but also to relationship. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:30.759 And that's an immensely important thing to remember. 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:36.759 When the Bible talks about knowledge it's talking about it also is referring to being 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.879 in a relationship someone where you know them, you speak to them, you listen to them and 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:41.879 you grow closer. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:47.360 In fact this is the language that the Bible uses to describe the most intimate of relationships. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:53.600 And the two things, both reason and relationship are being emphasised in Luke 9. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:10:00.080 There's an emphasis on understanding because the voice from heaven tells us to listen to 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.200 Jesus. 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:05.639 But behind that lies a deep relationship. 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.080 The voice also says this is my son. 00:10:09.080 --> 00:10:12.639 And of course the starting point for this whole event is the fact that Jesus has gone 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.279 up on this mountain to pray. 00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:23.159 And that knowledge is again reinforced by the second Old Testament figure that we see. 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:26.799 And that's Elijah. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:34.120 Elijah was a prophet so he spoke God's word to the people. 00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:38.439 And by listening to him people could grow in their knowledge of God. 00:10:38.439 --> 00:10:43.959 But at the heart of Elijah's message wasn't just intellectual knowledge. 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:50.800 There was also a call to the people to return to their relationship with God. 00:10:50.800 --> 00:10:57.680 In the days when Elijah lived the people had been very unfaithful to God and he was calling 00:10:57.680 --> 00:10:59.400 them to repent. 00:10:59.400 --> 00:11:04.200 And the key moment when he did that was at the top of Mount Carmel when he confronted 00:11:04.200 --> 00:11:05.360 the false prophets. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:11.639 And again all of this is pointing us forward to what Jesus has come to do. 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:13.680 Jesus is the greatest prophet of all. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.079 He is speaking the word of God. 00:11:16.079 --> 00:11:25.519 But his message is a call to repentance, a call to return to relationship with God. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:31.679 So on the mount of transfiguration these three things are being emphasized. 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:43.639 Holiness, righteousness and knowledge. 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:55.559 Now in many ways these are great divine qualities, aren't they? 00:11:55.559 --> 00:12:05.000 God is holy, God is righteous and God is the ultimate ground and source of all knowledge. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:11.439 And so as we said at the start the transfiguration is leaving us in no doubt at all that Jesus 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:14.320 is the Son of God. 00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:22.800 Of everyone who has ever lived, Jesus is different. 00:12:22.800 --> 00:12:27.400 But that possibly leaves you all thinking well okay but what does that have to do with 00:12:27.400 --> 00:12:28.400 us? 00:12:28.400 --> 00:12:33.240 Well that takes us to the second question. 00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:37.920 What does this teach us about humanity? 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:42.360 Well you might be thinking well not very much because it all seems so heavenly and divine 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:46.120 and if anything the only lesson about humanity seems to be in terms of inadequacy because 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:51.959 Peter, James and John don't really know what to do or say. 00:12:51.959 --> 00:12:58.199 But what I want us to see is that the transfiguration is teaching us something about humanity. 00:12:58.199 --> 00:13:01.639 It's teaching us something incredibly important. 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:10.639 And the key to recognizing that is to remember that at this moment Jesus is still flesh 00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:13.480 and blood. 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:20.600 And the point I want to emphasize is that when we see these three words holiness, righteousness 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:30.000 and knowledge, Jesus doesn't have those things just because he is divine. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:38.960 He also has them because he is the perfect flesh and blood human. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:41.240 How do we know that? 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:48.120 Well if you ask the question what is a human, the fundamental biblical answer to that question 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:52.360 is that a human is the image of God. 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:56.200 But what does that actually mean? 00:13:56.200 --> 00:14:02.240 Well at this point I want to refer you all to the shorter catechism. 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:09.759 The shorter catechism is a list of 107 questions and answers to do with the Bible and Christianity. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:17.000 And it's a really helpful resource because it gives us a very, very helpful summary of 00:14:17.000 --> 00:14:22.080 some of the key questions and key issues that we need to face. 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:28.600 So question 10 of the shorter catechism asks how did God create man, or today we would 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:32.560 tend to say how did God create humanity? 00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:34.680 And here's the answer. 00:14:34.680 --> 00:14:44.840 God created man, male and female, after his own image in knowledge, righteousness and 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:50.840 holiness with dominion over the creature. 00:14:50.840 --> 00:14:53.840 Did you see what that's saying? 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:58.600 It's saying that the three key ways in which humanity bears the image of God is in terms 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:06.519 of holiness, righteousness and knowledge. 00:15:06.519 --> 00:15:12.519 The transfiguration isn't just telling us that Jesus is divine. 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:21.439 It's telling us that he is the perfect human, the perfect image of God. 00:15:21.439 --> 00:15:28.759 And I think that's crucial for us because it means that on this mountaintop we don't 00:15:28.759 --> 00:15:39.159 just get a glimpse into heaven, we get a clearer view of what it means to be human. 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:48.799 At the heart of our humanity there should be holiness, righteousness and knowledge. 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:54.000 All of this is showing us that God and humanity belong together. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:58.319 And I think that's such an important thing for us to remember because sometimes we can 00:15:58.319 --> 00:16:02.879 think that God and humanity are almost like polar opposites. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:07.439 And of course it's true that God and humanity are not identical and there's a sense in which 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.240 God is utterly beyond us. 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:16.240 But that does not mean that God and humanity are complete opposites and they are therefore 00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:17.240 incompatible. 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.320 That's not true at all. 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:24.200 The truth is humanity is like God. 00:16:24.200 --> 00:16:26.360 We reflect God. 00:16:26.360 --> 00:16:28.200 We're similar to Him. 00:16:28.200 --> 00:16:30.560 We bear His image. 00:16:30.560 --> 00:16:33.680 And I think one of the simplest ways to try and think about that is just to think of a 00:16:33.680 --> 00:16:34.680 photo. 00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:39.079 You are at the top of a Monroe on a beautiful day and you take a photo. 00:16:39.079 --> 00:16:44.639 That photo is the image of the majestic scene that's in front of you. 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:49.000 And you can show that photo to other people and they can look at it while it's not quite 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.439 the same as standing on the top of a Monroe. 00:16:52.439 --> 00:17:00.279 It does give you a glimpse of what it is like to be at the summit of that hill. 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:02.559 It's the same with humanity. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:08.919 You should be able to look at a human and there you see something of what God is actually 00:17:08.919 --> 00:17:09.919 like. 00:17:09.919 --> 00:17:17.599 And of course, there's no one of whom that is more true than of Jesus. 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:21.879 As the perfect human, he is the perfect image of God. 00:17:21.879 --> 00:17:28.119 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:33.159 It's all reminding us that God and humanity belong together. 00:17:33.159 --> 00:17:40.399 And it's really important to think about that because it's raising an incredibly important 00:17:40.399 --> 00:17:50.399 point because it's showing us that if we think that we can be human without God, then we 00:17:50.399 --> 00:17:53.479 are making a huge mistake. 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:58.519 So a lot of people think that we can eliminate God from our lives and still be perfectly 00:17:58.519 --> 00:17:59.519 human. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:01.799 But it's not true. 00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:06.640 When we abandon holiness, righteousness and knowledge, we don't just rebel against God, 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:09.480 we actually compromise our humanity. 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:13.839 But that is exactly what we've done. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:25.000 And we have traded our holiness, our righteousness and our knowledge for counterfeits. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:32.919 So we have traded holiness for individualism. 00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:46.080 So instead of a humanity being a united community, one that's set apart with a unique specialness, 00:18:46.080 --> 00:18:52.160 one that stands out from the rest of creation, our individualism means that we've become 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:58.240 a very divided and hostile entity where each individual is competing for specialness. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:03.440 And that individualism means that instead of saying we are unique as a humanity, we 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.519 cry, I am unique. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.480 And therefore my expectations need to be met. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:15.960 And we've replaced the holiness of the whole with the sacredness of the self. 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:20.400 And the consequence of that is that instead of humanity collectively reflecting the beauty 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:27.359 and purity of God, we now have conflicting and competing ideas of what beauty and purity 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:28.359 really are. 00:19:28.359 --> 00:19:30.879 And the result is very messy. 00:19:30.879 --> 00:19:34.799 One of the ways to maybe think about that is to imagine a big orchestra. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:40.359 So in an orchestra, you have a single conductor, an amazingly diverse set of musicians and a 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:44.719 single piece of music that brings everything together in wonderful harmony. 00:19:44.719 --> 00:19:49.079 But if every musician wants to be their own conductor, or if everyone wants to be the 00:19:49.079 --> 00:19:54.319 soloist and if each musician corrupts the music in front of them according to their own ideas, 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:57.519 the result is not beautiful. 00:19:57.519 --> 00:20:01.079 It's a derby chaotic mess. 00:20:01.079 --> 00:20:11.039 In an orchestra, each individual is crucial, but individualism is destructive and exactly 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:16.480 the same is true of humanity. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:25.200 We've also traded righteousness for mediocrity. 00:20:25.200 --> 00:20:31.400 We've been saying that righteousness is God's standard, the highest standards of all. 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:34.839 But we have dismissed those standards and we've replaced them with our own. 00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:40.599 But the key point is that our standards are far too low. 00:20:40.599 --> 00:20:45.079 We have replaced righteousness with mediocrity. 00:20:45.079 --> 00:20:52.240 The result is that we are perfectly willing to accept things that in reality are nowhere 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.279 near good enough for humanity. 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:03.439 So for example, we live on a planet with abundant resources. 00:21:03.439 --> 00:21:08.599 But we don't seem to mind too much about the fact that half of humanity lives in poverty 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:11.960 with barely enough to eat. 00:21:11.960 --> 00:21:16.680 Even though humanity is made for community, even though we all know how much we need family 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:23.240 and friends, we just accept the fact that even in our most populated cities, thousands 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:26.519 of people live in horrible isolation. 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:31.240 We're quite happy to sit in front of a screen and be entertained by the gifts of others without 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:36.519 even thinking about how we might display and develop the gifts that we have ourselves. 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:40.559 We think a good weekend is one where we forget about our problems rather than one where we 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:42.000 actually address them. 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:48.799 We think nice house, nice job, nice family, a good life of about 80 years is pretty much 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:49.799 as good as it gets. 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:55.799 We think that possessions are the primary goal, that sex is the highest pleasure, that 00:21:55.799 --> 00:22:03.440 money is the ultimate dream, and that if we get these, then we've made it. 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:12.799 But in the name of God, we need to recognise that you are made for far higher standards 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:15.759 than that. 00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:23.960 You're made to bear God's image, to be a stunning, dazzling display of the goodness, 00:22:23.960 --> 00:22:29.840 wisdom, creativity, wonder and beauty of God Himself. 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.759 And so to go back to the illustration of the orchestra, often we find ourselves thinking, 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:37.439 oh, well, if I could just be a member of the audience, then that would be great. 00:22:37.439 --> 00:22:43.159 When all the time God is standing at the conductor's podium looking over at you saying, what on 00:22:43.159 --> 00:22:45.879 earth are you doing over there? 00:22:45.879 --> 00:22:53.159 You belong right here in the orchestra because you are made to be part of this. 00:22:53.159 --> 00:22:58.839 But whether it's in our friendships, our relationships, our work, our availability to help others, 00:22:58.839 --> 00:23:05.919 the fact that we are willing to replace righteousness with mediocrity means that we are falling 00:23:05.919 --> 00:23:12.759 way short of realising just what humanity has created to be. 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:20.759 So we've traded holiness for individualism, we've traded righteousness for mediocrity, 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:27.240 and we've also traded knowledge for assumptions. 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:32.599 So one of the key things that makes humanity unique is that we're capable of receiving, 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:36.319 understanding and articulating the truth. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:41.839 That's why it's humanity and not the animal realm that's made scientific discoveries. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:46.240 So we're the ones who learned that the earth goes round the sun. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:50.039 That's why it's humanity that makes moral judgments. 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:52.599 We're the ones who have a criminal justice system. 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.120 That's why it's humanity that appreciates beauty. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:59.679 We're the ones with theatres, art galleries and concert halls. 00:23:59.679 --> 00:24:07.639 We have the capability of learning and appreciating the truth. 00:24:07.639 --> 00:24:15.399 But all too often we have traded that knowledge for assumptions. 00:24:15.399 --> 00:24:23.279 So in terms of life, humanity today has, well certainly in the western world, humanity has 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:28.240 made the massive assumption that death is the end. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.799 In terms of others, we make assumptions about people all the time. 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:37.079 So we decide if we like someone or not on the basis of their ideologies or their political 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:42.279 views or their sexual ethics or their race. 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:50.359 Long before we ever get to know people, we make judgmental assumptions about them. 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:55.399 And we even make assumptions about ourselves, sometimes positively. 00:24:55.399 --> 00:24:59.519 So sometimes we assume that we're always right, always noble and that our conscience is clear. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:07.679 But probably more frequently we look in the mirror and we make negative assumptions. 00:25:07.679 --> 00:25:15.319 We see ourselves as someone who's ugly, worthless and a waste of space. 00:25:15.319 --> 00:25:23.159 And all the time God is saying you are not made for assumptions. 00:25:23.159 --> 00:25:26.359 You are made for knowledge. 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:29.359 You are made to know the truth. 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:35.319 But our willingness to trade knowledge for assumptions means that today when it comes 00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:40.039 to the biggest questions of life, far too many people are quite happy to just shrug 00:25:40.039 --> 00:25:44.319 their shoulders and say, I don't know. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:47.879 In an orchestra, you don't sit before the conductor and make assumptions. 00:25:47.879 --> 00:25:52.359 You accurately learn and follow the music in front of you. 00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:57.799 And if you think of God's word as a musical score, one of the great truths of the musical 00:25:57.799 --> 00:26:06.359 score of God's word is telling you is that you are so not a waste of space. 00:26:06.359 --> 00:26:15.839 And the key point I want to highlight is that all of these counterfeits are destructive. 00:26:15.839 --> 00:26:18.399 Each one of them, I should have drawn my line there. 00:26:18.399 --> 00:26:19.399 They're the good ones. 00:26:19.399 --> 00:26:21.799 The counterfeits over here. 00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:23.719 These are the ones. 00:26:23.719 --> 00:26:25.279 These are all destructive. 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:33.000 So individualism makes us competitive, hostile, aggressive and it leads humanity into war. 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:40.400 Humanity makes us numb to suffering and it makes us tolerant of things that really aren't 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:42.079 right. 00:26:42.079 --> 00:26:48.440 And assumptions leave us walking blindly down a road that leads to hell. 00:26:48.440 --> 00:26:56.880 All of this is why humanity without God is a humanity that is gradually destroying itself. 00:26:56.880 --> 00:27:02.079 And I think that we can prove that all of this is the case by looking at the richest 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:08.079 man in the world who I think at the moment or certainly as of a month ago was Elon Musk. 00:27:08.079 --> 00:27:16.399 Elon Musk, as many of you may be seen in the news, owned Tesla, cars and SpaceX and numerous 00:27:16.399 --> 00:27:17.399 other things. 00:27:17.399 --> 00:27:20.399 And he became the richest man in the world earlier this year. 00:27:20.399 --> 00:27:23.839 And I saw this really interesting tweet from him. 00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:28.960 If you can see, let me just turn the screen around so you can see it more clearly. 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:29.960 There it is. 00:27:29.960 --> 00:27:35.039 Here he is talking about his money and all 200 or a billion of it or whatever it is. 00:27:35.039 --> 00:27:39.880 He says, about half my money is intended to help problems on Earth and have to help establish 00:27:39.880 --> 00:27:46.240 a self-sustaining city on Mars to ensure continuation of life of all species in case Earth gets 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:54.440 hit by a meteor like the dinosaurs or World War III happens and we destroy ourselves. 00:27:54.440 --> 00:28:05.600 So half of his money is to solve problems that we have either created or exacerbated 00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:06.759 on Earth. 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:12.880 And the other half is in case we destroy ourselves. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:20.759 The richest man in the world is well aware that humanity is at risk of self-destruction. 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:29.559 And it all comes down to the fact that we've forgotten the fact that we are made to be 00:28:29.559 --> 00:28:36.599 the image of God in knowledge, righteousness and holiness. 00:28:36.599 --> 00:28:42.279 So to go back to the orchestra illustration, we're not made to be our own conductor of 00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:44.119 our own little solo orchestra. 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:48.400 We're not made to watch from a distance and we're not made to guess what the music should 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:58.800 be, we are made to play beautiful harmonious music to the very highest standard. 00:28:58.800 --> 00:29:07.600 So when we see Jesus on this mountain, we see that he is holy, that he is so special, 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:09.720 so beautiful, so glorious. 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:11.720 We see that he is righteous. 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:14.560 He's going to accomplish all that God wants him to. 00:29:14.560 --> 00:29:16.560 He's never going to compromise on God's standard. 00:29:16.559 --> 00:29:19.039 He's going to achieve amazing things. 00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:21.759 And we see that Jesus has true knowledge. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:23.839 He is the source of truth. 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:28.480 He is the one who has this beautiful relationship with his father. 00:29:28.480 --> 00:29:35.279 But the incredible truth is that Jesus is not just showing us what God is like. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:41.519 He's showing us that we are made to be like that as well. 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:51.639 In a world where humanity has lost its identity, Jesus is different. 00:29:51.639 --> 00:29:55.240 Last question, I can't quite see it there. 00:29:55.240 --> 00:30:04.319 Last question is, what difference does it make for us? 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:08.319 Passages like this and sermons like this can, I think, simultaneously be inspiring and 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.319 depressing. 00:30:09.319 --> 00:30:13.919 We can be really inspired as our minds are stretched to think about Jesus in all the 00:30:13.919 --> 00:30:18.119 glory of his divinity and in the fullness of his humanity. 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:23.000 But we can just as easily be depressed and discouraged when we see how far humanity has 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:24.519 fallen. 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:30.679 And all this can seem like a great ideal, but it seems a long way from reality. 00:30:30.679 --> 00:30:35.799 So we can marvel at Jesus and say he is so different. 00:30:35.799 --> 00:30:40.680 But at the same time, we look at ourselves and we look at our world with sadness and 00:30:40.680 --> 00:30:43.879 we see a wish it was different. 00:30:43.879 --> 00:30:48.000 And maybe that's exactly how you feel. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:56.359 Maybe you look at your flesh and blood life and your long or something different. 00:30:56.359 --> 00:31:05.119 Maybe you look at all the corruption, exploitation and horribleness and sin in the world and 00:31:05.119 --> 00:31:09.959 think, I wish it was different. 00:31:09.959 --> 00:31:18.000 It's no wonder you feel like that because that longing is a longing for holiness. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:20.399 Maybe you look at the injustices in the world. 00:31:20.399 --> 00:31:22.519 Maybe your life feels unfair. 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:27.079 Maybe you feel like you've never reached your potential and you think, I wish it was different. 00:31:27.079 --> 00:31:31.359 That longing is a longing for righteousness. 00:31:31.359 --> 00:31:36.839 And maybe you look at fake news and broken promises and all the confusion in the world 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:40.439 around us and in our own hearts and think, I wish it was different. 00:31:40.439 --> 00:31:46.839 That longing is a longing for knowledge. 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:54.719 And you might be thinking, well, maybe Jesus is different, but what difference does that 00:31:54.719 --> 00:31:56.919 make for me? 00:31:56.920 --> 00:32:06.200 Well, the amazing truth of the gospel is that Jesus hasn't just come to show us that he 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:08.960 is different. 00:32:08.960 --> 00:32:15.640 He's come to transform us into something different as well. 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:19.759 And this is where I hope we can see where it all comes together because here in this 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:23.440 passage, Jesus is standing at the top of this mountain. 00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:30.480 And on that mountain, he's showing us what humanity is created to be. 00:32:30.480 --> 00:32:36.559 And so in many ways, the Mount of Transfiguration is kind of a culmination of many mountaintop 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:39.080 moments in scripture. 00:32:39.080 --> 00:32:43.120 All the way back in Eden, humanity was created. 00:32:43.120 --> 00:32:46.320 And Eden, one thing, we don't know exactly where Eden was, but one thing we do know about 00:32:46.320 --> 00:32:50.759 Eden was that it must have been at the top of a hill because a river flowed out of it. 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:58.960 And in Eden, humanity was created in the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. 00:32:58.960 --> 00:33:06.079 But as we've seen in our morning services recently in Genesis 3, we fell from that. 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:10.879 But throughout the narrative of the Old Testament, there are various mountaintop moments. 00:33:10.879 --> 00:33:16.079 You've got Sinai with Moses when the law was given. 00:33:16.079 --> 00:33:24.599 You've got Mount Carmel with Elijah where people were called back into our relationship 00:33:24.599 --> 00:33:25.599 with God. 00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:34.599 And then we come to this mountain of Transfiguration where we see Jesus in the fullness of his 00:33:34.599 --> 00:33:37.240 glory and humanity. 00:33:37.240 --> 00:33:42.879 And we could easily think, you know, all that's in the Old Testament is pointing forwards 00:33:42.880 --> 00:33:46.560 to Jesus here at the top of the Mount of Transfiguration. 00:33:46.560 --> 00:33:55.600 We see Jesus in all his glory and we can just stand over here and we just admire him from 00:33:55.600 --> 00:33:58.320 a distance. 00:33:58.320 --> 00:34:07.320 But the amazing thing is that the Bible is not saying to you that you should admire him. 00:34:07.320 --> 00:34:12.559 The Bible is saying, join him. 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:17.480 And what we are seeing is that here at the top of the Mount of Transfiguration, we're 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:21.400 not just seeing that Jesus is a wonderful human. 00:34:21.400 --> 00:34:28.599 We're seeing that Jesus has come to create a wonderful new humanity. 00:34:28.599 --> 00:34:33.759 And the message of the Gospel is not, oh, stand and admire him and watch him. 00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:43.520 The message of the Gospel is join him and be part of that humanity as well. 00:34:43.520 --> 00:34:47.280 That means that Jesus is not the ideal that we admire. 00:34:47.280 --> 00:34:50.600 He's the pioneer that we follow. 00:34:50.600 --> 00:34:55.720 In other words, he's calling us into a new humanity, into a humanity of holiness where 00:34:55.720 --> 00:35:00.560 we are part of something incredibly special where every individual is a precious part 00:35:00.560 --> 00:35:02.160 of the beautiful whole. 00:35:02.159 --> 00:35:07.039 He's calling us into a new humanity of righteousness where everyone matters, where standards are 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:10.039 high, where great things are achieved. 00:35:10.039 --> 00:35:15.239 And he's calling us into a humanity of knowledge where we find knowledge that we can rely on 00:35:15.239 --> 00:35:20.359 and where we meet the God who we can always, always trust. 00:35:20.359 --> 00:35:26.679 The Mount of Transfiguration is showing us that Jesus is offering us all a new future, 00:35:26.679 --> 00:35:33.239 a future where we can be part of a new humanity that's been restored by God, a humanity of 00:35:33.239 --> 00:35:38.839 holiness, righteousness and knowledge. 00:35:38.839 --> 00:35:46.399 And at one level, that future lies in eternity when the new humanity will be in the new creation 00:35:46.399 --> 00:35:49.319 where we will be conformed to the image of God the Son. 00:35:49.319 --> 00:35:54.319 That new creation will be our holy city, a place where righteousness dwells, where we 00:35:54.320 --> 00:36:00.160 will know God fully just as we are fully known ourselves, but we must never forget that that 00:36:00.160 --> 00:36:04.680 future actually starts now. 00:36:04.680 --> 00:36:11.440 If you are a Christian, or if you become one, then you are part of that new humanity tomorrow 00:36:11.440 --> 00:36:13.640 morning. 00:36:13.640 --> 00:36:15.880 So what does holiness look like tomorrow morning? 00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:20.720 Well, holiness in a Monday morning is being ready to be different, to stand out from all 00:36:20.719 --> 00:36:26.079 the harshness, cruelty and selfishness of our individualistic world. 00:36:26.079 --> 00:36:28.119 What does righteousness look like? 00:36:28.119 --> 00:36:32.399 Righteousness on a Monday morning means never settling for mediocrity. 00:36:32.399 --> 00:36:37.399 Instead, by God's grace, you give your best, your best friendship, your best words, your 00:36:37.399 --> 00:36:41.039 best tone, your best attitude. 00:36:41.039 --> 00:36:44.079 What does knowledge look like tomorrow? 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:47.519 Knowledge on a Monday morning means going into every situation knowing that Jesus is 00:36:47.519 --> 00:36:53.239 with you, that he's given you a firm truth on which to build your life, and he's given 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:56.960 you a wonderful message to share with others. 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:01.840 The Mount of Transfiguration is absolutely amazing because it shows us that Jesus is 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:09.440 different, and it shows us that Jesus has come to make us different as well. 00:37:09.440 --> 00:37:15.880 And in many ways, you would think that this Mount of Transfiguration, you'd think that 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:22.119 it would be the main focal point of the Christian faith, because this is where we see how great 00:37:22.119 --> 00:37:23.280 Jesus is. 00:37:23.280 --> 00:37:31.280 We could easily think that Christianity is all about admiring Jesus and trying to reach 00:37:31.280 --> 00:37:32.960 his level. 00:37:32.960 --> 00:37:35.920 And many of the world's religions are like that. 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:43.599 They present us with an individual in all his greatness and say, you need to be like 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:51.799 that, but yet again, Jesus is different. 00:37:51.799 --> 00:37:59.519 Because although the Transfiguration is showing us where Jesus will take you, it is not where 00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:04.440 Jesus will meet you. 00:38:04.440 --> 00:38:08.920 Because Jesus is not waiting at the top of this mountain as though you need to climb 00:38:08.920 --> 00:38:14.639 up to his level in order to match up to him. 00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:20.000 The place where Jesus will meet you is not at the top of the Mount of Transfiguration. 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:26.760 The place where Jesus will meet you is at the cross. 00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:33.920 And at that meeting place, all you need to bring is your empty house. 00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:41.840 Let's pray. 00:38:41.840 --> 00:38:47.880 Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are so different and that you show us everything that humanity 00:38:47.880 --> 00:38:50.599 has created to be. 00:38:50.599 --> 00:38:55.400 We thank you that you have come not just to show us that you're different, but you've 00:38:55.400 --> 00:38:59.240 come to make things so different for us as well. 00:38:59.239 --> 00:39:04.039 And we thank you for that so, so much and ask and pray that in every way you would lead 00:39:04.039 --> 00:39:13.359 us closer to you, that we would know you and love you more, and that we would be different 00:39:13.359 --> 00:39:19.159 tomorrow morning and every day of our lives, that we would be all that you have created 00:39:19.159 --> 00:39:20.839 us to be. 00:39:20.839 --> 00:39:26.639 Please lead us in your ways and may we be filled more and more with knowledge, righteousness 00:39:26.639 --> 00:39:27.639 and holiness. 00:39:27.639 --> 00:39:28.639 Amen. 00:39:28.639 --> 00:39:29.639 Amen.