Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. On a high place, Jesus gave three disciples a blinding vision of the future. Moses and Elijah appeared with Him, symbolizing Jesus as fulfilling both the law and the prophets. The experience was so powerful that years later, Peter wrote of it as being on the holy mount.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer is showing us portraits of Christ in a series he's calling Come and See Jesus. Pastor, had you been a bystander on that holy mount and seen the transfiguration, would the intense glory have overwhelmed you?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Dave, most assuredly I would have been overwhelmed as anyone would have been. It's such a fascinating story. Just imagine seeing Jesus in all of His glory, and it's the way in which we shall eventually see Him. And there He is on the Mount of Transfiguration, giving them a glimpse of what the future holds.

You know what excites me about that passage? One of the things that comes to mind is this: that Moses was not allowed to enter into the promised land. And yet here he is, centuries later, he's in the promised land. So it's also a story of God's matchless grace. And then of course, Peter, James, and John, their responses, it's the kind of story we should read again and again.

We here at Running to Win are deeply committed to Jesus Christ in all of His glory, recognizing that He came as the Son of God, unrecognized by many, but eventually, yes, like the Mount of Transfiguration has proven, He shall someday come in glory.

I'm so glad to emphasize that during this month, your gift to this ministry can be doubled. We have some generous friends who have said that they will double any gift that is given during this month so that we can continue to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world. Now, I know that you have many opportunities to give to ministries committed to the gospel, but would you pray about the possibility of you helping us?

I want to say thanks to the many who do help us financially, yes, but also with their prayers. I hope that you become part of what I like to call the Running to Win family. Here is some contact info: go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Now, because we want to give this opportunity to as many people as possible, I'm going to be mentioning that contact info again at the end of this message. But for now, let us go to the Mount of Transfiguration and see Jesus in all His glory.

We often sing, don't we? Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does his successive journeys run. But when you look at society now, it sure doesn't seem as if Jesus is ruling and reigning, does it? They seem to be mocking the son.

And so the question is, how do we keep on going in a world that seems to be spinning out of control with so many problems and so many needs and the ugliness of human nature being seen for what it is? You know, the disciples had the same problem.

They had a problem because Jesus told them that he was going to die in Jerusalem. And the Bible says that Peter took him aside saying, "Not so, Lord! You're not going to die." And the reason that Peter said that is because the idea of a Messiah dying was demeaning.

In those days it was believed that when the Messiah comes, he's going to establish the kingdom, he's going to do away with Rome, he's going to unite the tribes of Israel that were so scattered and they were warring one another. And so the idea was that the Messiah comes triumphantly and he comes to win, he doesn't come to die on a cross.

And Peter takes Jesus aside and says, "No you don't." And Jesus says, "Get you behind me, Satan." The very same mouth that just earlier in context had said that you were the son of God is now saying words that really originated with the devil. Because if Jesus had not died, redemption would not be accomplished.

Well, Jesus knows that it's time for the disciples to have some encouragement. And he needs some encouragement. And he knew that you and I, living 20 centuries from these events, we would need some encouragement. And so he takes the disciples to a mountain. And today I invite you to come and see the transfiguration.

Now I know that in your bulletin, the text that is mentioned is Matthew chapter 17. I had originally intended to preach from that. But upon further thought, I decided to use the account in Luke. They're almost identical. When the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke particularly, but also John, when they wrote about the same event, their stories can be reconciled, but one would emphasize one thing, one might include some words that the other omitted.

And so what we're going to do is to look in the Gospel of Luke today, chapter 9. Luke chapter 9, where we have the story of the transfiguration given as recorded here. You'll notice in verse 27 of Luke 9, it says, "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God."

And then Jesus gives them a little glimpse of the coming kingdom. And maybe you're here today and what you need more than anything else is a glimpse of the coming kingdom. Because your world last week might not have gone the way in which you intended it, nor the way in which you planned it.

And part of my responsibility as your pastor is to preach in such a way that I help you worship on Sunday and work better on Monday. So that's the agenda. By the time you're through listening, I believe you're going to be encouraged and you're going to say, "No matter what, I know how it's going to end."

Verse 28. "Now about eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter and John and James and went to the mountain to pray." On three occasions, Jesus took these three men, who had been businessmen together, to special places where the other disciples didn't get to go.

In the house of Jairus, when the little girl died, Jesus shut everybody out. He went into the room and he brought with him Peter, James, and John. Those were the only three men allowed with him in the room when he raised her from the dead. Here you have Peter, James, and John invited to the Mount of Transfiguration.

And in Gethsemane, when Jesus is in his greatest agony, he took with him Peter, James, and John. Notice that all of these experiences that these three had were experiences that surrounded the topic of death. And there was a reason for that, as we shall see.

So let's simply move through the events very quickly of the transfiguration and then we will ask ourselves what difference this should make, not only today but on Monday morning. First of all, we see here the Son's transformation. You'll notice it says, "And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered and his clothing became dazzling white."

It's amazing what happens when we pray. Your countenance may change. Jesus is up on the mountain and he's praying and suddenly he is transfigured. Luke doesn't use the word, but Matthew does. The Greek word transfigured is our word metamorphosis.

And what happens when in metamorphosis, you know, is the inner nature, there's an outward change, but it's based on the inner nature. And we think of the word metamorphosis when we think of how butterflies are created by God, metamorphosis. There's that inner nature that comes out. And that's what happened here.

The inner nature of Jesus just broke forth and you saw the glory, the wonder, and the beauty and the dazzling light of God. And so Jesus was transfigured before them, the scripture says. And we can see here in the text that this was really an indication of his coming glory, the kingdom.

Again, I'm quoting Matthew when it says that his face shone like the sun. Now you can't stand too close to the sun, can you? 93 million miles away from the sun is about right. But it gives you an idea of the dazzling brilliance and beauty and effulgence of God.

Remember, Jesus said, "This is the son coming in his kingdom." This is Jesus as he is. As he is in glory, as you and I shall someday see him. And there's even more to the story, as we shall learn in a moment. So here we have Jesus, he is in this dazzling beauty and glory.

And now we see the saints' participation. We notice that two Old Testament saints show up on the Mount of Transfiguration. The first is Moses. I need to pause there. Aren't you happy for him? Aren't you happy for Moses? You should be.

Remember, in the Old Testament, he wasn't allowed in the land. He was buried on Mount Nebo. You can go to Israel today, look across the Dead Sea if you're on the Jordan side and you can see Mount Nebo where Moses was buried and Satan and Michael had a little tussle about Moses' body. Some people don't think the body is important. The dead body. The dead body is important.

But Moses is there and you kind of feel bad for him because you remember he was supposed to speak to the rock and he smote the rock and God said, "Moses, you're a great guy, but because you hit the rock instead of speaking to it, you will not see the land that has been your vision and your dream for all of your life."

And so when Moses dies, we're kind of sad. He wrote Psalm 91 very plaintively, you know, and saying, "Boy, teach us to number our days because life is tough and it's hard." And he goes on and on, you say, "Oh poor Moses." But you know what? He made it across the Jordan River.

He did make it into the land 15 centuries later. He's on top of the Mount of Transfiguration. He got in. I'm really happy for Moses. He was remarkable because the Bible says of him that he spoke to God like a man speaks to his friend. He represents the law. The law. Oftentimes you hear, you know, the law of Moses. That's what he represented.

And then Elijah. He represents the prophets. Elijah was a remarkable man full of strength and power. In fact, he did not die, but he was taken to heaven directly. What a remarkable man Elijah was. And so he represents the law and the prophets.

And there they are on the Mount of Transfiguration and we are told what they were talking about. It says two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah. Verse 31, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure which he, that is Jesus, was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

I can imagine Moses saying, "Lord Jesus, you know I had an exodus." That's the Greek word. You know that the Greek word is Exodus. We have exits in this building and the second book of the Old Testament is called Exodus. Why? Exodus is a going out.

They went out of Egypt and they went into the promised land. They moved out so that they could go in. And I can imagine Moses saying, "Well, you know Lord Jesus, I had an exodus too, but it sure isn't going to be as glorious and as important as yours." And there they are, they're talking about his exodus that he's going to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Old Testament, what happens? They move out of the slavery of Egypt and the exodus took them into Canaan. Jesus goes into Jerusalem, crucified on a cross on the outskirts of the city and he moves into heaven.

When Moses had his exodus, he took a whole group of people with him into the promised land, though he did not quite get there but eventually they did. Jesus, when he dies, he takes a whole group of people with him. Old Testament saints, New Testament saints who trust him. His exodus takes us all the way to the pearly gates.

So there they are, they're discussing his exodus that he's going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Well, you'll notice it says these words: "Now Peter and those who were with him," that is the other two disciples, "were heavy with sleep." Oh, Peter. You know, I'm all for sleep, but here?

Possibly he's not the only person who when in the presence of God has fallen asleep. In fact, Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples are sleeping. I don't know if Peter had a sleep deficiency and he tended to make up for it on certain occasions.

But there he is, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah," not knowing what he said.

Where in the world is he getting this? They're talking about Jesus Christ's departure and suddenly it triggers something in Peter's mind and he's saying, "Let's stay here on the mountain top and let us be sure that we build these three tents, these booths, these tabernacles, and let's stay here, one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for Jesus."

To his everlasting credit, he didn't apparently think that he was worthy of one himself. But what triggered that in his mind? They're talking about the exodus. And one of the feasts of Israel was the Feast of Booths.

And scholars tell us that it was the time of year very probably when the Feast of Booths, mentioned in Leviticus chapter 23, was now being celebrated. It is the last of Israel's seven feasts. And during the Feast of Booths for one full week, they lived as it were in a tent.

It was just a makeshift tent or booth oftentimes made with branches so that you could see the stars through it and they lived there as a reminder of what they endured in the desert. That's what the Feast of Booths was all about.

A number of years ago, I was on a high-rise building. Someone, I don't remember who, invited me to the top of one of the large buildings here in Chicago, the tall building. And as we looked down, we saw during the Feast of Booths here in the city that the Jewish people keeping the Feast of Booths were building booths on the top of other high-rises.

If you've never seen this during the Feast of Booths, which is going to occur sometime after Passover, what you need to do is to go there and go to the top of a building and you'll see that little structure there and that little structure there as the Jewish people, the Orthodox Jewish people, are still keeping the Feast of Booths.

So it seems to me here that Peter, thinking about this, says, "Let's celebrate the Feast of Booths here and let's stay up here all week and enjoy this." Well, the Bible says he didn't know what he was talking about. Have you ever said anything and you didn't know what you were talking about? Have you ever had that experience?

Have you ever had the experience of wishing that after you had said something that your mouth had been taped shut early in the morning? I came across a prayer, and I hadn't planned to share this, so I'm going to have to make it up a little bit.

But the prayer goes something like this. "Lord, Lord, I've not yet been angry today. Lord, I have not yet had evil thoughts today. Lord, I have not yet slandered anyone today. Lord, I have not yet misused my tongue in any way, Lord. But Lord, you know that in a moment, I'm going to get out of bed."

Well, I have to emphasize this. If I had been on the Mount of Transfiguration, I also would probably have said something, and I would not necessarily know what that would be. Imagine the scene.

We here at Running to Win are so excited to let you know that this ministry is in 50 different countries in seven different languages, and we will be going into an eighth language. How can we do that? It's because of people just like you who believe in the ministry and who make an investment that pays eternal dividends.

I know that you have many opportunities to give to ministries, but would you pray about giving a special gift this month? Because your gift will be doubled. We have friends who have said that whatever gift is given during these days will be doubled.

Here's what you can do. You can go to RTWoffer.com. That's RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Take this opportunity to say, "Yes, we stand with you," and remember this: it's an opportunity for you to double your gift. Once again, that contact info: go to RTWoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Help us continue this ministry as it goes around the world.

Dave McAllister: It's time once again for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Paul listens to Running to Win in Florida and has this question about the Old Testament.

"I've heard it taught that we should make a distinction between the Ten Commandments or the moral law and other Old Testament commandments which are ceremonial law. Because the Ten Commandments are moral law, shouldn't the Christian Sabbath still be on Saturday?"

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Paul, an excellent question and I might say that you framed it very, very well. I know that I was brought up with the idea that we should make a distinction between the Ten Commandments and which are the moral law versus the ceremonial law. But actually, I think that is not correct. I think that in the Old Testament, you find that the law was given as a unit and there wasn't this neat breakdown between moral law and ceremonial law.

And because it was given as a unit, I believe that in Christ it was done away with as a unit. Now having said that, it is very clear that in the New Testament, you have some of the Ten Commandments repeated with even a deeper meaning. For example, in the Old Testament you have the statement "thou shalt not commit adultery". In the New Testament, Jesus says to look upon a woman to lust is to commit adultery.

Old Testament, "thou shalt not steal". New Testament has to do with covetousness even more directly than the 10th Commandment does. And so what we find is a deepening of the commandments. Now isn't it interesting that when it comes to the Sabbath, it is not a part of New Testament teaching.

As a matter of fact, it says do not let anyone judge you with regard to a day. Some regard one day above another, others regard every day alike. Let each man be fully persuaded in his own mind, the Bible says. And in Colossians 2:16, "Let no man pass judgment on you in questions of food or drink or with regard to a festival, new moon, or Sabbath."

So I think it's better to simply let the law be as a unit and say that it was done away in Christ. It still has value for us obviously because it reflects so much of God and it reminds us of our sin. But then look at the New Testament as a different era, recognizing of course that there are some things that are transtemporal. That is to say, they apply to all cultures at all times. And that certainly is true about the teachings of the New Testament which in some regard parallels the Old Testament.

Dave McAllister: Some wise counsel for Paul and for all of us from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. If you'd like to hear one of your questions answered, go to our website at RTWoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337.

You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. Next time on Running to Win, why we like those atop that mountain need to heed God's call. This is my beloved son, listen to him. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.