Moses’ Face
His face
was glowing. The face of Moses, the man
of God, was actually glowing. But it
wasn’t just glowing; it was radiating a light that was so intense that when his
people saw him walking down from the mountain they ran away. They could not bear to look at a face that even
reflected the glory of the Lord. That’s
where Moses had been after all: he had been high up on Mt. Sinai in the
presence of the Lord himself. And the
Lord’s glory was so permeating and penetrating that when Moses came down from
the mountain his face shined with a brilliant light. And the only way he could keep the people
from running away from him was to put a veil over his face to shield their eyes
from the reflection of the glory of their God.
And so that’s what Moses did: every time he would go up onto the
mountain to talk to God, he would remove the veil; but every time he would come
back down to talk to the people, he would put the veil back in place. It was too much for the people to see the
reflection without a screen. But it was
also a healthy reminder about who their God was and what he could do.
Now jump
ahead 1500 years. It’s the time of the
apostle Paul and the era of the early Christian Church after Jesus ascended
into heaven. And although those
Christians were far removed from the events that happened to God’s Old
Testament people on Mt. Sinai, God’s servants were still reflecting his glory
for all to see: But “We are not like Moses,” Paul once wrote, “who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing
at it while the radiance was fading away… [Instead] we, who with unveiled faces
all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory.” Paul and
those believers with him were not covering themselves up; they were not hiding
the glory of the Lord from those around them.
Instead they were letting the brilliance and the majesty of the gospel
of Jesus Christ shine brightly wherever they went and whenever they had a chance
to share the Good News about their Savior with those who needed to hear
it. Those faithful Christians made sure that
there was no veil, no screen, no shroud that could possible conceal or even
obscure the radiant glory of the Lord that they wanted all people to know and
believe.
Our Face
“We are not like Moses,” Paul stressed. “We with unveiled faces all reflect the
Lord’s glory.” And my first thought is: Yeah,
well speak for yourself, Paul. That’s a
nice thought and I certainly want to “let my light shine” as Jesus tells me to
in the Bible (Matthew 5:16). But I think
I’m a little more like Moses than I am like Paul in that regard. Because a veil makes things easier, a screen provides
a buffer between what I believe and what others reject, a shroud allows me a
comfortable conversation or two with other people - at least for time.
Two of
the piano students Jessica has right now have been coming to our house for
lessons for a few years. About six
months or so after they started, their mother was talking to Jessica after a
lesson and in response to something that was brought up their mother said, “Oh,
I didn’t know your husband was a pastor!”
When I heard that I thought to myself, “She must be completely oblivious
to what is going on! What did she think
I was always dressed up for? What did
she think I was doing in my office at the house all the time? Is she really that unobservant that she
wouldn’t know I was a pastor?” Then
again, maybe it wasn’t her fault at all.
Maybe it was mine. Maybe I was
being too much like Moses and not enough like Paul. Maybe the veil needed to be taken down that I
didn’t even realize I was putting up.
Sometimes
I’m a terrible mirror. Sometimes when I
should be reflecting exactly what God says and exactly what God does and
exactly who God is (and exactly who God wants me to be), I shade it a little
bit. Because I don’t want to have that
kind of conversation right now or because I don’t want someone to automatically
tune me out or because I don’t want to make that person fell uncomfortable or
embarrassed that I am a Christian and that I stand on what Scripture clearly says. And so I shade instead of shine. I deflect instead of reflect.
But are
those really legitimate excuses? Are
those really God-pleasing reasons not to boldly demonstrate God’s glory to everyone
I see? If they don’t like what they see
they may run away; they may shield their eyes; they may even hate the light
that is being reflection. But not
reflecting the Lord’s glory in the first place so that others could at least
have a chance to see that light is an even greater sin because it affects far
more people.
Jesus’ Transfiguration
Ironically,
when Jesus was on this earth he had to be veiled. Jesus was true God after all and he could not
display his full glory to human beings without them being completely consumed by
his raw power. Just as the Lord had once
said to Moses up on the mountain: “You
cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Ex. 33:20). No one on this earth would have been able to
look into the face of Jesus and live if he were not veiled. And so he was veiled in human flesh and
covered in human skin. He was masked in
the body of man and shrouded in the form of a servant. And he lived his life on this earth behind
that unassuming screen - not so that people would never know who he was, but so
that he could live with all of us and be exactly like one of us, just like we
needed him to be.
But then
there was that day up on that mountain north of Galilee that we are celebrating
this morning. He was there with three of
his disciples, Peter, James, and John.
And while he was praying he peeled back that veil just a little
bit. The writer Luke says that “the appearance of his face changed, and
his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning” (Luke 9:29). Mark says that “his clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world
could bleach them” (Mark 9:3).
Matthew says that “he was
transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun” (Matt. 17:2). For a split second Jesus unveiled
himself. Not revealing his full glory,
but it was glorious nonetheless; not all of his brilliance, but it was brilliant
nonetheless; not every ounce of his majesty as the almighty, all-knowing,
all-powerful God, but it was majestic nonetheless.
And
you’ll notice that when you read through any one of these three accounts about
Jesus’ transfiguration that the disciples were not scared; they did not run
away like the Israelites had when they saw the face of Moses reflecting the
glory of the Lord; these three disciples did not shield their eyes from this
overwhelming sight. They were certainly
frightened when the Father’s voice thundered from heaven, but not when they
caught a glimpse of the glory of the Lord in the face of Christ. Because this was the face of their
Savior. This was a demonstration of
power and authority from their loving Lord.
And Peter was so thrilled to be a part of it that he wanted to put up
three shelters - one for the Lord and two more for Moses and Elijah who were
standing there with their God. Because
no one had ever seen Jesus like this before!
No one had ever witnessed such an amazing unveiling on this earth! And no one else would. Because soon enough Jesus put that veil back
over his face. And the glory was
gone. The brilliance and the majesty
vanished. And whereas Moses had once
gone down the mountain with a face glowing with the glory of God, Jesus came
down the mountain no different than before.
Because it wasn’t yet time to display his glory for all to see. It was time for him to be displayed on the
cross for all to see.
Jesus
wasn’t here to unleash his power. He was
here to die in weakness. He was here to
suffer like a criminal and to be tortured like an enemy and to be crucified
like a murderer. And so he came down
that mountain plain and bland and human because that’s what we needed him to be:
human. Our forgiveness, our salvation,
and our eternal life was riding on Jesus’ humanity. And he was not about to give us up to
punishment for a few more moments of sublime splendor on top of a mountain 100
miles from Jerusalem. And so he put that
veil back on and he walked back down and he traveled to the capital city and he
made his way up a hill called Calvary with a cross on his back. And there he bled and there he writhed in pain
and there he died. But it was there, it
was there at that place where Jesus underwent about the most undignified death
there could be, it was there where we
gained the glory. We weren’t going to gain
the glory with Jesus radiating up there on top of the mountain; we were only
going gain the glory with Jesus bleeding out on the hill. And he bled.
So we are gloried. And not only
gloried, but transfigured.
Our
Transfiguration
Listen
again to what Paul wrote: “We, who with
unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
likeness with ever-increasing glory.”
The word “transformed” here is the exact same word used by Matthew and
Mark to describe Jesus’ transfiguration.
The exact same thing that Jesus showed his disciples on that mountain will
happen to us. We will be transfigured:
our bodies will be the same bodies as we have on this earth, but they will be
changed, they will be stripped of their sinful exteriors, they will be purged
of their corrupted interiors, and they will shine, they will radiate, they will
be transformed in heaven.
In fact,
Paul says that we are being transformed, we are being transfigured, right
now! The process has already begun! He has taken us from his enemies and
transformed us into his children! He has
taken us from abject unbelief and transformed us into his disciples! He has taken us from weak Christians and
ignorant Christians and immature Christians and is transforming us into solid,
unshakeable Christians right now through the power of his Word. The transformation is in progress! And although we won’t be completely
transfigured until the Lord brings us home to heaven, you can already see a few
minor improvements in that direction from time to time. As the Lord works on you through the gospel,
he is reworking your mind, your heart, your emotions, your intellect, and your
soul to be more like the new person instead of the old, controlled by the
Spirit of God instead of the spirit of sin.
And it’s an exciting process to go through, isn’t it? It’s exciting to know that the Lord is
building us up and it’s an exciting thing to look forward to the ultimate
fulfillment of that process in in the glories of heaven.
Right
now we just reflect that glory, of course.
And even though we might be a dim image of God’s glory now and a
sometimes a sorry semblance of something greater, that will not prevent the
Lord from transfiguring us in the end. He
isn’t going to transfigure us because we reflect his glory so well right now! None of us would be transfigured if that were
the case. No, he will transfigure us
because of his love and mercy and compassion.
And when that day comes we will not only be changed, but we will see
Jesus in all of his glory for the very first time. Not just a hint of glory, not just a glimpse,
not even Jesus transfigured like he was up on that mountain. But we will see Jesus as God in full splendor
with nothing held back. And if you
thought Moses’ glowing face or Jesus’ earthly transfiguration was a sight to
see, Jesus in heaven will be a sight to see!
And you will see it because that’s God’s promise to you. And it will be something we can look on for
the rest of eternity.
Amen.
“May the name of
our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” - 2 Thess. 1:12
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