A MOUNTAIN TOUR OF OUR SALVATION
As people living in this part of the country, surrounded by some of the most unique and remarkable natural wonders of God’s creation, we are very familiar with the beauty of mountains. The impressive size of each one even from a distance; the majestic views from the summits; the towering peaks; the dark valleys; the long climb up; the quick descent down; the distinct characteristics of each mountain that make every one of these rock formations different from the another. That’s why so many people come out to tour these mountains, right? Whether by jeep or by atv or by bike or by foot, many different people from many different parts of the world want to see and experience for themselves what these mountains have to offer.
This morning we are presented with some important mountains in the pages of Scripture. And they are important not because of their height or because of their location; they are important because they have to do with our salvation. Would you mind if we took a little tour of these mountains today? And this is not meant to be “cute” in any way. Scripture is not cute. But it is clever. And it is always interconnected. And so when we have the chance to talk about our salvation in tangible terms like the Bible does here by going from one mountain peak to the next, we should probably take advantage of that simple outline. And so if you would, we’ll start our tour of these Mountains of Salvation in Exodus 24 on Mt. Sinai. From there we will make the long trek to the Mount of Transfiguration. We’ll then spend some time on a place called Calvary and then we will end our trip taking in the view of what Scripture calls the heavenly Mt. Zion. It’ll be an interesting journey, one that will summarize our salvation in picturesque langue.
SINAI
Our first stop is an important one. It’s a place that will really set the stage for every other mountain we will see this morning. It’s the mountain of Moses, Mt. Sinai, the place where this man of God saw the burning bush before he went back to Egypt as well as the spot where the entire nation of Israel stopped after Moses led them through the Red Sea. It’s a big mountain, a famous mountain, but we can’t go up there. We are not allowed. Only Moses and his right hand man Joshua are allowed to go up onto this mountain. Listen to what happens on this mountain at the beginning of the Israelites’ journey through the desert.
The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.” When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
It’s an imposing scene, isn’t it? The backdrop, the skyline of this place is a little bit intimidating! A thick cloud covers this massive location for six straight days and then the glory of the Lord appears at the top of this peak like a raging fire, blazing in full fury. As well it should. Because this is the Mountain of the Lord, this is where he is, this is where he has come down to be with his people - and the sight is terrifying. Other parts of the book of Exodus even describe thunder and lightning crashing down around this mountain along with the heavenly trumpet blasts of God. But that isn’t even the most frightening thing about this stop. More alarming than the sights and the sounds is what happens when Moses goes up onto this mountain away from our view: because there in the clouds God gives him the law. God etches in stone what we are supposed to do, what we must do. The commands, the decrees, and the directives that are required of us are officially revealed in unequivocal terms on these rocky heights. And you know as well as I do: these laws are the beginning of the end. Because they reveal our inadequacies and hey expose our sins. There is a standard set on this mountain that we cannot keep; a bar that we cannot reach. These simple commands are our undoing because the penalty for failing to keep even one of these words of our Lord is eternal death.
And so this mountain is not only a mountain of power and impressiveness, it’s a mountain of guilt and reality. Because the reality is: we are guilty. There’s no hiding on this mountain. There’s no shade or tree cover that can mask what we do or even what we think. And there’s no excuse either. There’s nothing that will satisfy the one who gave us these commands in the first place. God is not lenient when it comes to his law. He is not tolerant of anyone who does anything against his commands. The fire and thunder and clouds and smoke should prove that he is serious about what he tells us to do.
We aren’t allowed, but I don’t think any of us would want to go up onto this mountain even if we were invited! But we can’t skip over it either. This is a necessary first visit. Because without this mountain and what happened up there, the other mountains would be meaningless, their beauty would be dulled, their majesty blurred. Mt. Sinai gives us a perspective as we move ahead to different peaks and enjoy clearer skies. And so with those dark clouds and demanding commands in mind, let’s gladly move on to the next rise in the distance: the Mount of Transfiguration.
MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION
There’s quite a bit of distance in between Mt. Sinai and the Mt. of Transfiguration. 1500 years in fact between the two. But as we arrive at the mountain on which Jesus pealed back some of his humanity to show his disciples a little bit of his glory, we can already see that it presents a far prettier view: there are no clouds here, there is no fire, and we aren’t afraid to go up to the top! Moses is here again, but not to receive the law this time; instead he’s here to talk about the gospel with the prophet Elijah and with Jesus himself. The glory of the Lord is here too, but shining in the face of Christ and radiating from his clothes. The Father speaks as well on this mountain, but not commands and directives, rather commendations and encouragements about his Son. There is a different feel to this stop: it’s vibrant and exciting as Jesus reminds us about who he really is under that normal looking skin and behind that average looking face. He is the Almighty God, powerful, pure, and true. And he has to be. Jesus has to be the perfect God on top of this mountain in order to keep all those decrees handed down from the mountain we just left. A mere human being can’t fully obey every one of those laws from Mt. Sinai; but a human being who is also the one and only God can. And on top of the Mount of Transfiguration we can actually see what this God-man Jesus is capable of doing.
Peter and James and John are up here too, of course. They experience this transfiguration - this physical transformation - of their Lord. They see Moses and Elijah. They hear God the Father’s voice. And they love it! They can’t get enough of it! They are basking in the presence of the glory of God and a couple of the saints who have gone before them! In fact, they don’t want to go back down. This is another “Mountain of the Lord” after all! This is where God has come to be with his people. They want to stay up here. And we do too! Because down at the bottom of this mountain is pain and trouble and difficulty. Up here on the peak we get a peek of divine magnificence that neither we nor the disciples will see again until heaven. It’s ironic that we didn’t want to go up on Mt. Sinai, but we don’t want to go down from here! It’s too good! It’s too thrilling!
But we have to go down. We can’t stay. We can walk slowly away from this scene if you want, that’s alright, but we must keep moving. Because another valley awaits. And another mountain. And although Christ’s perfection and brilliance on the Mount of Transfiguration is breath-taking, that isn’t really the reason why he came. He didn’t come for glory. Jesus came for the pain. In fact, Jesus makes the climb down with us and leads the way to the next destination: Mt. Calvary.
CALVARY
Calvary can hardly be considered a “mountain” in the technical sense of the word. It’s more like a foothill or an outcropping on the outskirts of Jerusalem. But there is a prominent rise to the landscape and a defined area on top of which we have a chance stand. Of course, this third “Mountain of the Lord” stands in stark contrast to the Mount of Transfiguration that is not too far behind us. Because Calvary is an uninviting place; it’s an ugly setting. There are no trees or rivers or lakes up here - and even if there were they would be overwhelmed by the sense of death hanging in the air. Jesus is again on top and at the center of this mountain, but not Moses or Elijah. They can’t be here; this is not their time; this is not their place, not even for a cameo appearance. This is the time and the place for Jesus to do what he came to do: to suffer severely and to die all alone. And even though it might be a little bit upsetting for us to watch this, we have to. We have to spend a few minutes here and see what happens to our Savior.
There is some blood… a lot of blood. There is some screaming… a lot of screaming. There is name calling, there is ridicule, there is crying - in hate from some and in mercy from others. There is a sizeable crowd here too: quite a few of them interested in the gruesome spectator sport of an execution, while others are disgusted by what it happening to their Lord. We should cringe a little bit too. It’s not pleasant watching the one we just saw transfigured a few moments ago, now disfigured by nails and whips and clubs and thorns. It’s a little bit unsettling. We almost want to look away. This mountain is certainly not the place where we feel like taking some pictures; it’s a bare hostile hill that we’d just as soon forget.
But we won’t be able to forget this scene, will we? How do you forget murder? How do you forget government-sanctioned torture of an innocent man? How do you forget the death of God? You can’t. And you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t forget what you see up here. Because what Jesus is doing on this mountain has everything to do with what happened on that first mountain! On Mt. Sinai the law of God was handed down to sinners. And the consequences of betraying that law? Here it is. The punishment of Sinai is Calvary. And Jesus is taking it for you. And not just death, but the final death in hell while he hangs on this cross, an eternity of horrors in a matter of minutes, a complete rejection from his Father and all of the agonies that come with it. And so no wonder the sky is turning black as Jesus undergoes this sentence! No wonder rocks are splitting open as Jesus dies! No wonder the Roman soldier at the foot of the cross is admitting that Jesus is truly the Son of God when he see these things! Because we can see it too! We have just seen the sacrifice! We have just witnessed Jesus stepping in to take upon himself everything that we had coming upon us!
But now it’s over because Jesus is being taken down from that cross as a corpse. And a couple men named Joseph and Nicodemus are carrying him off of this mountain and they will soon place him in a cave. We aren’t going to follow them to that tomb. We aren’t going to wait around for what we know is going to happen on Easter Sunday. But we do have to come down from this place they call “The Skull.” Because there is nothing left to see here. And there is certainly nothing left to do. The work has been done. And Jesus did it all. It’s now time for us to travel on towards that final site of our tour: Mt. Zion.
MT. ZION
It’s not a short walk in between these two peaks either. From Mt. Calvary to Mt. Zion there are quite a few ups and downs, twists and turns, smooth paths and gravelly slopes. But as we get closer to the end destination a glorious panorama of dramatic beauty comes into view. A mountain so tall and so majestic that there’s hardly a way to describe it. And as we look back where we have come from, we notice that Sinai is so far in the distance it’s nearly indiscernible, the Mount of Transfiguration is a fond memory but pales in comparison to what is now in front of us, and Calvary is still clearly visible but somehow it looks a little better from this angle. Looking back on it now from this side of the mountain it has a shine about it, a gleam, a majesty that it didn’t have from first glance. Because now we see that little hill in a different light. Which makes sense since the resurrection of Christ is reflecting off this side and his ascension adds to the wonderful hue. It’s good to look back. It’s good to remind ourselves about Calvary’s beautiful ugliness. But then it’s good to turn back towards Mt. Zion and look up.
Mt. Zion is a term that is used to describe the hill in the city of Jerusalem on which the Old Testament temple used to sit. And because of that, the term “Mt. Zion” is also used in the prophecies of Scripture to describe the New Testament Church at large as well as the final congregation of believers in heaven. Mt. Zion is the exact opposite of Mt. Sinai. Sinai is all law; Zion is all gospel. Sinai is fear; Zion is joy. Sinai convicts, Zion celebrates. Listen to what the writer of the New Testament book of Hebrews says about the differences between these two mountains: “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them… But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant (Hebrews 12: 18-19, 22-24).
This is the view at hand: Mt. Zion in all its glory. We are allowed up there, but not yet. We are invited, but not before it’s time. And so we’ll have to stay here at the foot of this mountain until the day the Lord decides. Take a good look; take as many pictures as you want; keep this scene in mind because you’ll be right up there at the top in the end. In fact, keep all of these mountains in mind. Sinai almost prevented us from ever seeing this place; the Mount of Transfiguration pointed us in the right direction; Calvary got us here. And now we wait to ascend Mt. Zion, the final “Mountain of the Lord.” And once we get up to the top of this mountain we will never have to come back down. It will be a peak upon which we will reign with our Lord. It will be a summit on which we will stay. And so as you continue your travels here on this earth, travel well. And know that one day soon we will all be gathering back at the top of this mountain never to leave again.
Amen.
“God, the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” - 1 Tim. 6:15-16
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