A New Beginning

Guest (Male): It was a spectacle no one had ever seen before. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the transfiguration of Jesus Christ.

Greg Laurie: This is an amazing moment. Jesus shining like the sun. Moses and Elijah on each side. Peter exclaimed, "It's good we are here." And I love this detail that's added. He said this because he really didn't know what else to say. When you don't know what to say, don't say anything.

Guest (Male): We've all seen things we'll never forget. Maybe we saw Old Faithful in Yellowstone, or we stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon. Or maybe it was watching our child take their first steps. But nothing on earth could have prepared these certain onlookers for the spectacle they were about to see. Today on A New Beginning, as Pastor Greg Laurie takes us to the transfiguration of Jesus, we'll see it left them speechless. Well, should have left them speechless, but one of them spoke anyway.

Greg Laurie: Have you ever said the wrong thing at the wrong time? I have to admit I've had my share of bloopers over the years as a preacher. You know, I've almost been preaching for 50 years now, and over the years I've made mistakes as I've been speaking.

For instance, one year I was speaking on Peter and Jesus and the conversation they were having. And what I meant to say was, "Jesus said to Peter, 'Peter, do you love me?'" And instead, inexplicably I might add, I said Jesus speaking said, "Peepers, do you love me?" Peepers. Where did that come from?

Speaking of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, years ago I was back in North Carolina, and I've been a part of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association board for over 25 years now. This was back when Billy was still with us before he went to be with the Lord.

After the meeting, my friend Dennis Agajanian would often call me on the phone and ask me how it went. And he did a perfect Billy Graham imitation. That night it was pretty late and I got a call on my phone and I pick it up and Dennis says, "Hello, this is Billy Graham. How are you?"

"Well, I'm good, Billy." And I know it's Dennis, so I'm kind of flipping the channels on the TV. And then Dennis in Billy's voice says, "I was thinking a great deal about what you said to me earlier tonight, and I would like you to help me with my messages." And I'm thinking, "Yeah, yeah," and I'm literally saying, "Yeah, mhm, whatever, whatever."

Then it dawns on me. I did say to Billy that night earlier, "Hey, I could help you out with your messages if you like." And he's the only one who would have known that. Dennis didn't know that, which means I was blowing off Billy Graham. So that was definitely saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. We've all done it in one way, shape, or form.

Well, here's a story now before us in Mark chapter 9 when Peter definitely said the wrong thing at the wrong time. This happened when Jesus was transfigured where he shone like the sun with Moses on one side and Elijah on the other. This happened on the mountaintop, and we're going to talk about that now in this text.

Let's look at Mark chapter 9. I'm reading from the New Living Translation, and here's what we see. Jesus went on to say, "I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the kingdom of God arrive in great power."

Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them to a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus was transformed. His clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could make them. And then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.

Peter exclaimed, "It's good that we are here! Let's make three shelters as memorials: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Don't miss this verse. He said this because he really didn't know what else to say, for they were all terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly beloved Son. Listen to him."

Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone and they saw only Jesus with them. You might underline those two words, "only Jesus." And they went back down the mountain and he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what it meant when he said rising from the dead.

This transfiguration, this moment where Jesus shone like the sun, is at a significant point in his earthly ministry. It's at the halfway point of a very difficult journey. So Jesus is looking back to the cradle and he's looking forward to the cross. And he's giving to Peter, James, and John a glimpse of glory or a taste of heaven.

We could call it a preview of coming attractions. Look at verse one: "I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the kingdom of God arrive in great power." So the transfiguration was a sneak peek of what is to come for all of humanity when Christ returns one day as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It's sort of like a mega-trailer for the return of Christ.

Look at verse 3: "As the men watched, his appearance was transformed, and Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus." Now this is the amazing thing. He's shining so brightly. Have you ever looked directly at the sun? I highly recommend you do not do that.

But who would not be amazed at such a display of glory? And if that wasn't enough to see Jesus shining like that, to have Moses and Elijah show up. But listen to this. We think the miracle is Jesus shone like the sun. That's not the miracle. The miracle is Jesus did not shine like the sun all the time.

Remember, he was God. God walking among us. And when he walked among us, he did not void his deity, but he did veil it. As the Christmas song says, "Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th'incarnate Deity." Jesus never ceased to be God. He always was God, but he sort of restrained that glory from showing.

It would have been kind of hard to hang out with him if he was shining like the sun all of the time. Because it's hard to hide light, isn't it? Going back to movie theaters, if someone pulls out a cell phone and they're checking their messages or looking at their social media feed when the movie's playing, your eyes are immediately drawn from the screen to the phone because you're drawn to light.

And Jesus is just shining like the sun. He could have done that at will. When they came to arrest him in the Garden of Gethsemane, he could have just turned on the light and their faces would have melted like that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Remember that scene? But no, he didn't do that. He veiled that light from showing. So the miracle is not that he shone like the sun; the miracle is that he didn't shine like the sun all the time. And who is with him? It's Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen: The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash: Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and much more. Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more. So go and download the Harvest Plus app.

Pastor Greg has brought us to the scene of the transfiguration of Christ with Moses and Elijah there, as well as several disciples. And if you missed any part of today's study, you can catch up at harvest.org.

Greg Laurie: Now Moses and Elijah occupy unique positions in the Old Testament. The Bible speaks of the law and the prophets. You couldn't find a better representative of the law than Moses, the great lawgiver who received the Ten Commandments from God on Mount Sinai. And you couldn't find a better representative of the prophets than Elijah, the miracle-working prophet who called fire down from heaven and stopped it from raining.

And they're having a discussion. Now here's an interesting thing. How did Peter, James, and John know it was Moses and Elijah? Was Moses standing there with Ten Commandments and was Elijah calling fire down? I don't think so. Did they have little name tags like you get when you go to an event and you have to write your name? "Hi, my name is Moses." No, I don't think so.

But somehow Peter, James, and John were able to recognize that that was Moses and Elijah on each side of Jesus, which shows that in glory we're going to recognize each other. Sometimes people ask the question, "When we get to heaven, will we know one another?" And my response is, "Do you think you'll be more stupid in heaven than you are on earth?" You'll know more in heaven, not less.

And so the answer is, yes, you will know one another in heaven. And here's also a reminder that the Bible teaches there will be a bodily resurrection. What does that mean? It means that our body, our personality, everything that we are, will live again. That means that you will see your loved ones who have died in faith and have gone into heaven before you again.

But they'll be in a perfect state, and you'll pick up where you last left off. When Jesus was crucified and then he rose again from the dead, he greeted the disciples with the words, "Peace be with you," almost like, "Hey guys, how's it going?" "Whoa, you're Jesus risen!" But he sort of picked up where he last left off, and that's how it will be when you see your loved ones again because they're not only a part of your past, they're also a part of your future.

What an amazing sight this must have been! Consider this fact: Moses at this moment had been dead for around 1,400 years and Elijah had been gone for around 900 years. But here they are together, and they're having a discussion. What would they talk about? Luke's gospel fills in a detail here about their conversation. Luke chapter 9 verse 31 says they were speaking about his exodus from this world which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

I'm sure Moses had quite a few things to say about an exodus because when we go to the book of Exodus, which means departure, it's the story of how God used Moses to lead the Israelites out of the bondage of Egypt, through the wilderness, through the parted Red Sea, and into the promised land.

And you remember as a part of that story, God's judgment came upon the firstborn of Egypt and the Lord told Moses to instruct the Jewish people to take a lamb, slay the lamb, and apply the blood on the top and on the sides of their doorposts and God's judgment would pass over. And that is still celebrated today as the Passover feast.

And so this is all going to be fulfilled now because everything that Passover lamb was pointing to is fulfilled in Christ. Christ was going to go die for the sin of the world. He would fulfill the fact that he would be the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world and his blood would be shed for the sin of all of humanity.

Remember, he brought this topic up earlier at a place called Caesarea Philippi. And Peter thought he had lost his mind. And Peter began to rebuke Jesus when he talked about his impending death, saying, "That's crazy, you can't do that!" But here's someone now that will listen to Jesus and understand it. Moses understood, as did Elijah as they spoke of these incredible things that were about to happen.

For this is the reason Jesus came. He was born in a manger and we love to celebrate that, the beautiful little baby there. But don't forget he came with a purpose, and that purpose was to go to the cross and die for the sin of all of the world.

So this is an amazing moment. You don't want to miss it. Jesus shining like the sun, Moses and Elijah on each side talking about his crucifixion. And what did the disciples do? What did Peter, James, and John do? Well, they basically fell asleep. Again, Luke fills in a detail here. Luke 9:32 says Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were fully awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him.

By the way, that's not the only inappropriate time that Peter, James, and John fell asleep. They also fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is that moment that Jesus went into the garden and prayed and according to Dr. Luke, sweat as it were great drops of blood.

And some doctors believe that was a first-century description of what we now call hematidrosis, and that's a condition that when you're under intense pressure, you perspire blood. Not pure blood, but your blood and your perspiration are mixed together. So maybe that's what Dr. Luke was talking about.

But Jesus had a request for Peter, James, and John which was basically, "Stay with me. Just be with me." You know, sometimes when a person is suffering, they don't need a sermon; they just need a friend. And that's all the Lord asked for. "Just be with me." "Yeah, we're with you, Lord." And he said to them, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

And he comes back to them after this anguish, after this suffering, after this prayer to the Father, and they fell asleep. You know, sometimes we fall asleep as well. Heard about a burglar who was robbing a house and he heard a cop car go by, so he took cover on the floor and then he fell asleep.

And the homeowner got up that morning and saw this burglar asleep on his floor and called the cops and they came and woke the guy up and said, "Buddy, this is your wake-up call." And I wonder if sometimes in the church we need a wake-up call. I wonder if some of you watching me right now need a wake-up call spiritually because you're spiritually asleep.

That is why in Romans 13 the apostle Paul says, "It's high time to awake out of our sleep because the night is far spent and the day is at hand. Let's be Christ's men from head to foot and give no chance for the flesh to have its fling." Wake up! It's a wake-up call.

Well, they wake up and there they see Moses and Elijah and of course Jesus. And now Peter says the wrong thing at the wrong time. Verse 6: "It's good we are here." And I love this detail that's added. He said this because he really didn't know what else to say. When you don't know what to say, don't say anything. There's an old proverb, not a biblical one, but it has some truth, which goes as follows: better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and dispel all doubt.

"It's good we are here," says Peter. "Let's memorialize this place and build three tents: one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Have you ever said something you wish you could take back? For instance, if you're driving down the road and you break the speed limit and you're pulled over by a police officer, never say the following things to a police officer who has pulled you over.

Number one: "Man, you must have been going 120 miles an hour to keep up with me." Or don't say this: "Sorry, officer, I didn't realize my radar detector was not plugged in." Don't say that. How about this one to the officer? "Wait, are you one of the guys from the Village People?" No, don't say that ever. Okay, how about this one? "Oh, I saw your lights were on and I just thought you were on your way to get a donut." Don't say that to a cop.

By the way, I found that on a website posted by cops for cops, so I hope I didn't offend any police officers right now. Recently, I actually was pulled over by an officer when I was on the island of Maui. We have a church there called Harvest Kumulani, and the speed limits are very slow in Maui. They're like 12 miles per hour, or it seems that way, honestly.

So I'm driving, I didn't think I was speeding at all and this cop pulls me over, ironically after the guy who's a local there said, "Slow down, there's cops here sometimes that find people for speeding." I slowed down then I sped up slightly, so I wasn't going 12 miles per hour, I was going 13 and a half miles per hour and he pulls me over.

The lights are flashing, he comes up and I said, "Hi, officer, was I speeding?" "Yes, you were, you were speeding. Can I have your driver's license?" and so forth. So I give it to him and he came back and I said, "Well, officer, I'm from California, I didn't know." And he goes, "Yeah, a lot of people from California drive faster than the speed limit."

I said, "I understand you're just doing your job, I'm sorry," and I didn't try to get out of it. And he goes, "Well, I'm just going to give you a warning today." I said, "Yes, thank you, Lord." So I don't know. You know when you're with a cop, just tell them the truth. They're so tired of people lying. Just say, "Yeah, well, sorry and you're just doing your job." That's all they're trying to do.

But Peter says, "It's good we are here." That's the operative word: here. "Hey, Lord, this is blessing central! We love hanging out with you and Moses and Elijah, basking in your glory. Let's forget all this crazy talk about going to Jerusalem and dying. Let's stay here."

And now Peter gets a rebuke, not from Jesus, but from the Father in heaven. Look at verse 7. Then a cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him." Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone and they saw only Jesus with them. The Father steps into the conversation and in effect says, "Peter, if my Son says he's going to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die, then that's what's going to happen and you need to believe him. And if he tells you to take up your cross and follow him, you need to do it."

Guest (Male): We're drinking in the spectacle of the transfiguration of Christ today on A New Beginning. Pastor Greg Laurie has titled his message "Only Jesus!" and there's more to come. It's worth pointing out that that same Jesus who was transformed before the astonished eyes of his disciples is the Jesus who wants to have a relationship with us. As Pastor Greg said, he came to give his life to pay for your sins so that we could join him in heaven. Have you ever accepted that free gift yourself, the gift of salvation? Pastor Greg, what would you say to the person who wants to do that right now?

Greg Laurie: I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know, it doesn't take years to become a Christian. It doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen so quickly. It just starts with you saying to God, "I know I'm a sinner. I know that you love me. I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead. And I want him to come into my life."

So here's my question to you: have you done that yet? Because Jesus, who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now and he's knocking. And he's saying, "If you'll hear my voice and open the door, I will come in."

Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven? Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so, why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing and pray this prayer with me? You could pray it out loud, you can pray it in the quietness of your own heart, but pray this prayer to God.

Say: Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, but I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it now. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. I ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Listen, if you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So God bless you. You've made the right decision, the decision to follow Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. And listen, Pastor Greg would like to help you get started off right living for the Lord. He'd like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It features hundreds of helps for new believers and it's written in an easy-to-understand translation. So contact us for your free copy of the New Believer's Bible. You can call us at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click "Know God."

Well, Pastor Greg, we hear from listeners literally every single day, and they confirm how this program is touching lives. In fact, take a listen to this comment.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg, thank you so much for your messages. For years I thought I was saved, but I came upon your message. I was in the gym working out and I was listening to one of your messages, and the message I was listening to was "Can You Lose Your Salvation?" And at the very end you said, "I'm going to ask you a question. Did you ever have it?"

And I went next door to the Walmart and I ran into my preacher, and I told him what had happened. And he said, "What do you want to do?" And I said, "I want to get saved." He said, "When?" I said, "Right here, right now." So I got saved in the produce section of Walmart because of your message. And I thank you because for years I thought I was saved and I wasn't. And I got saved and I got baptized, and for two years I've been living for Jesus. And I thank you. Thank you for all that you do. You're a great blessing to me. Thank you.

Greg Laurie: Wow. What a beautiful story. Just think how he was reached. How would you normally reach a guy like that? That is what I love about radio is you can reach unexpected people in unexpected places with the unexpected message of the gospel.

And here's a guy who thought he was saved, but actually he wasn't. Then he ran into his preacher. So the Lord orchestrated all of those circumstances. And this is just a reminder why we do what we do. And I have to be honest with you, this is what really motivates me to continue on doing what I do, hearing stories like this.

So I would encourage you to pray for us, but also to support us financially. In fact, some of you might even consider becoming a Harvest Partner. A Harvest Partner is someone who makes a commitment to support us on a regular basis financially. Every month they send a gift that we can depend on. And the reason that matters is that it helps us to consider new opportunities to go to new places and reach new people like the gentleman we just heard from who committed his life to Jesus Christ at Walmart after hearing our broadcast. So prayerfully consider if you should become a Harvest Partner so we can continue to reach more people in more places.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right. You can call us and we'll help you become a Harvest Partner. Our number is 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24/7 number, so call anytime. Again, 1-800-821-3300. Or just go online to harvest.org.

Next time, Pastor Greg brings us insights on what happened after the transfiguration. More good lessons to be learned from the ninth chapter of Mark. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.