Luke 9 – a High-Level View

TRANSFORMATION, GLORIFICATION

Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better.Richard Hooker (1554-1600), English theologian.

KEEP LOOKING DOWN!

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Isaiah 55:8

• My Word will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

We Can Know!

One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone.

Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”

“A great prophet…” ?

THE GREAT DIVIDE (LUKE 9:18-20)

THE GREAT DIVIDE (LUKE 9:18-20)

Jesus

Joshua

God’s Rescue

Christ

Messiah

King

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” Luke 9:20

Look! Your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey — riding on a donkey’s colt. Zechariah 9:9

THE GREAT DIVIDE (LUKE 9:18-20)

Jesus

Joshua

God’s Rescue

Christ

Messiah

King

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!” Luke 9:20

“Who do you say I am?”

The King!

A Good Man

A Prophet

Bad News (Luke 9:21-22)

Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was.

“The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”

Really Bad News (Luke 9:23-24)

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

The King is Here!

So He can die!

So you can die!

“KEEP LOOKING DOWN” (LUKE 9:26)“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

1. “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?”

2. “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

3. “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

“…until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” Matt. 16:28

REVELATION

About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain to pray.

And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

Then two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see.

And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem. Luke 9:30-31

REVELATION

Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.

As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

NOT REVELATION Jesus

Moses

Elijah

“It’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s

make three memorials…”

NOT REVELATION Jesus

Moses

Elijah

“It’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s

make three memorials…”

The Lord says, "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? Isaiah 66:1

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

NOT REVELATION

Is it God?

“The Sublime”

“A sense of holiness hung thick in the air, my steps echoed as I walked forward. Flecks of every color caught my eye. They hung like colorful stars on the towering columns. My gaze drifted from the floor slowly upward, my neck craning. There before me was Jesus, shining in all His stained glass glory.”

In an extraordinary move, the Vatican has reversed the closure of 13 churches in the Diocese of Cleveland…Lennon closed 50 churches, citing changes in demographics and shortages of priests and cash

What to do with these empty cathedrals?

“Lennon can…within 60 days, appeal to the Apostolic

Signatura, the Vatican's supreme court.”

“The bishop could also stall, saying he doesn't have

enough priests or money to reconstitute the parishes…”

But even as he was saying this, a cloud came over them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.

Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him!”

REVELATIONThe end of

the Law

“What the Law could

not do, Jesus did…might

be fulfilled in us” Rom. 8:4

The end of the prophets

“In these last days

has spoken through His

Son.” Heb. 1:2

WHAT IS THIS TRANSFORMATION?

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

…his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Matthew 17:2

WHAT IS THIS TRANSFORMATION?

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Jesus as God?

He “emptied Himself” of His divine

attributes (Phil. 2:10)

“Unapproachable light…”

(1 Tim. 6:15-16)

WHAT IS THIS TRANSFORMATION?

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Jesus as God?

He “emptied Himself” of His divine attributes

(Phil. 2:10)

“Unapproachable light…”

(1 Tim. 6:15-16)

Jesus as Human

“You will see the Son of Man

coming in His kingdom.”

Matt.16:28

Moses and Elijah,

appeared… They were

glorious to see.

THIS IS YOUR TRANSFORMATION

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Our Lost Identity

Created for glory• Heb. 2

Glory is our future• Col. 3:4

Glory is NOW! Col

3:1-3

But one has testified somewhere, saying, “What is man, that You remember him? Or the son of man, that you are concerned about him? You have made him for a little while lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and have appointed him over the works of Your hands; Hebrews 2:6-7

THIS IS YOUR TRANSFORMATION

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Our Lost Identity

Created for glory• Heb. 2

Glory is our future• Col. 3:4

Glory is NOW! Col

3:1-3

When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Colossians 3:4 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where

Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-4

THIS IS YOUR TRANSFORMATION

“…the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Jesus is the King

• “God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him.” Heb. 2:8

No doubts!

• “We ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” 2 Peter 1:18

It affects you & I

• God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. Heb. 2:10

Transformed Mind1. No sacred space

• Peter: “I didn’t know what to say…”

• God: “Listen to My Son!”

How can you play mind games with God?

• O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. Psalm 139:1-4

AUTHENTICITY

• Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

Transformed Mind1. No sacred space

2. Keep Looking Down!• And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come

after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Luke 9:23

• It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

See as He Sees:

Transformed Mind1. No sacred space

2. Keep Looking Down!

3. Follow Jesus, Not Experience

And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:18

My Life

Corpse

Royalty"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. "For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? Luke 9:24-25

Transformed Mind1. No sacred space

2. Keep Looking Down!

3. Follow Jesus, Not Experience• On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a

large crowd met Him. Luke 9:37

• Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame… Hebrews 12:2

Why Did Jesus Come Down From the Mountain?

Transformed MindFor who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20

THIS IS YOUR TRANSFORMATION

• Poisoned by the Principle of Self-Will

• “In Adam, all die…”

Adam #1 Blew It

• “Son of Man” lived His humanity to its fullest.

• “In Christ, made alive!”

Adam #2 was

undefeatedRomans 5, whatever we lost in

Adam, MUCH MORE we gained in Christ:!

Jesus overcame death.Jesus was resurrected.

“Death” is not God’s design for our lives.