Glory and Suffering Are Intertwined
First B Jackson
2023-02-28

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Hey, friends. Welcome to another Monday night. And a big thank you to Elsa and Karen and Cindy back there. Thanks so much, ladies, for it. And there's leftovers too?

So we've got leftover boxes back there. And if you would, please bring some home. That was awesome. I love walking tacos. It's one of my new favorites now.

And before I forget too, our friend Justice, this will be one of his last nights here. It's his last night here because his family... Right now, wife is in Oregon, but they're moving to Coeur D'Alene. And and I just wanna send you with a blessing, my friend. It...

And I wanna pray for you right now while I'm while I'm thinking that. Lord, I thank you for Justice and Anique and their little daughter, Nora and for the time that we have had them in Jackson. And, Lord, we love people as we get them, the best of our ability, and... But we never stand in the way. Lord, we know that you have a purpose and a plan for each person.

For some, it's a short stay here. For others, it's longer. But, thankful for the time. And, God, we we ask your blessing on that family as they go, God, that they would find a loving and nurturing church family and community. And, God, I thank you for the the the church, the capital c church, not just this little body right here, but the body worldwide, believers in Christ.

We're thankful. In Jesus' name, amen. Wanna stand and we'll sing together? And here's all the things he is. Comforter, counselor, prince of peace, author

and baker of everything, defender, deliverer, king of kings, he is. He is. Help room, healer, forever

This is a little comment. There really is light and there really is darkness. And Jesus says this, I'm the light of the world. And if you follow me, you don't have to walk in the darkness because you'll have the light that leads to eternal life. We don't have to walk in darkness.

We don't. He's there as the light of the world, lighting the way right in front of us.

Come, I found.

Lord, we sing it, but I also wanna pray it, lord, that here we are. Here's my heart. Take it. Seal it for thy courts are above. We we are prone to wander.

But, Lord, when we do, would you bring us back? God, your loving kindness is always drawing us to yourself. Jesus' name.

All your promises are and I will rest in your promises. My confidence

And you can have a seat here for for a bit. I'm excited to get into the word tonight. How how y'all doing on a Monday? Hanging in? How about on the...

On this scale right here? Like, yeah. We're in the gospel, Mark. This ought to cheer us up. This is really good.

Tonight, we're in chapter nine verse, one through 13. And this is the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountain where he's transformed and he radiates with God's glory. Alright. And what's interesting about this... Let's see if my clickity clicker's clicking.

What's interesting about this is how closely it parallels the Old Testament where God's glory is revealed to Moses and Elijah on Mount Sinai. In fact, these two appear with Jesus on the mountain as well, but here, God's glory is being revealed through Jesus. And and to me, this is just another confirmation because Mark is showing it again and again and again and again that Jesus really is the Messiah. He is the king that they are expecting, but in a very unexpected way. Another confirmation here, Jesus is the Messiah.

God's voice speaking from heaven going, this is my dearly loved son. Listen to him. That right there, that could be what... Our takeaway tonight, where we hear God saying, this is my dearly loved son. Church, listen to him.

And and the disciples, they're they're not always getting this. And and, sure, we can look back on this side of history and we'll go, yeah, disciples. Listen to him. But you know what? The story of Jesus' life and death and resurrection, it was still being written.

Still being written. They didn't fully understand. They were in the story. They're in the story. We have the chance to jump out of the story and

go, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

They're in the story. They don't get it. They don't get it quite yet. And for them, I just wanna share this again. They had their they had their own expectation of what g...

What what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah. That Jesus, in in their eyes, would be this victorious conquering king and overthrowing the Romans. And following Jesus meant, well, we're gonna be the greatest in the kingdom. Right, Jesus? Like, I'm gonna be at your right, and he...

Who's gonna be at your left, and we're gonna be up there and conquering hero. But what Messiah really meant, Messiah really meant, was that Jesus would be a suffering servant. Like, let's not forget this. And following him, this is... Catch this too.

Following him means denying self, dying to ourself, to our desires, and then picking up the cross and following him. That's what it meant to be a follower. That's what it still means to be a follower. So that's something very, very, very, very different than they expected. And even after seeing Jesus transfigured on the mountain, they're still confused how glory and suffering are intertwined.

And can I just say for today, glory and suffering are intertwined? The Bible project gives a good summary of this if... And if you go, okay, Carl, what is tonight about? Please sum it up for me here. It's this.

Mark makes an astounding claim that Jesus, God's son, is the physical embodiment of God's own radiant glory. That's what we see on the mountain. Through Jesus, the glorious God of Israel will become king by suffering and dying for the sins of his own people. So there's glory, but there's also suffering. It's a shocking claim that confuses and scares the disciples as they leave the mountain.

So if you're wondering, what is tonight's scripture about? It's... That... That's it. That's a little summary of it.

Now I'll go verse by verse, and I wanna share some comments along the way. And would you please take note of anything that strikes you, a verse, a word of encouragement, even some testimony, really, so that we can encourage each other with this? That's what it's... That's what we're here to do. So starting at chapter nine verse one, 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. That was the last verse from last week. I said, I wanna return to that one. I wanna return to that one because the transfiguration is a likely explanation for that disciples would not die before they see the kingdom of God arrive in great power, and then Mark immediately writes about this transfiguration. Peter, James, and John see Jesus glorified in great power.

Is that seeing the kingdom of God arriving in great power? It would seem so. I I I wouldn't arm wrestle over it. There are other things too, but it seems so. I don't know for sure.

But what I do know is this. What I do know is this. This is what we covered last week, that Jesus predicted his death and his resurrection. He told his disciples, listen. I'm gonna be handed over.

I'm... The the messiah, I'm gonna suffer. I'm gonna die. And then... And he explained what following him meant.

He said, guys, if you're gonna follow me, it means denying yourself, picking up your cross. And then he said, don't be ashamed. He says to his disciples. But he's saying that to us as well. He's saying, guys, don't be ashamed of Jesus and his message because...

Catch this, and this is a warning to us. He goes, or Jesus will be ashamed of them, us, the disciples, when he returns in glory. Yeah. That's serious business here. And here's what follows in verse verse two.

Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and he led them up a high mountain to be alone. So this is really interesting because the further that we read along here, who does who does Jesus in the garden when he's suffering, who does he call on? He calls on Peter, James, and Johnny goes, guys, would you pray with me? And they didn't. They fell asleep.

I think I would have been together that falls asleep. About 09:00, yeah, I turn into a pumpkin. So interesting here, though, that there in Gethsemane, they would see his suffering, but here, they see his glory. So, again, glory and suffering are intertwined. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed.

This has gotta be wild what this had to look like. You know, if if Moses came down the mountain and his face was glowing and people are like, where have you been? I mean, this had to be something else to watch. And Jesus' clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. And then on top of that, Elijah and Moses appeared, and they began talking with Jesus.

Three superheroes right here on the mountain and the disciples. I love this. But check this out. Here's the last time here's the last time that we heard about Elijah and Moses in the Old Testament. K?

The book of Malachi. This is four hundred years before Jesus. Remember to obey the law of Moses, my servant, all the decrees and regulations. And then verse five, look, I'm sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. Mark is assuming here that John the baptizer came in the form of Elijah.

But what's more important, this is what I want us to know, is that the Moses is associated with the law, and Elijah, the prophets, and Jesus came to fulfill both. This is about Jesus on that mount. This is about Jesus. Look at... And here...

Here's Jesus saying it very, very directly in Matthew. Don't think I've come to abolish the law or the prophets. Don't think I've come to abolish, Moses or Elijah. I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. And here, Jesus is doing that.

He's radiating on the prophets there. It's being fulfilled. This is just confirmation after confirmation after confirmation. The more I read Mark, I'm going, this guy is a brilliant storyteller, a brilliant writer about Jesus. Okay.

Verse five. You can tell I'm excited about it. So verse five, Peter exclaimed, rabbi, it's wonderful for us to be here. Let's make three shelters as memorials. One for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

Six. He said this because he didn't know what else to say, for they were all terrified. I just... I find that so funny that he was like, I don't know what to do. How about we build something?

It's like... It just sounds like something a dude would say. Right? I... Dude, what should I do with my hands?

I'll build something. So verse seven. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the dark... From the cloud said, this is my dearly loved son. Listen to him clearly.

This is God the father's voice. And remember when God the father spoke earlier, Jesus' baptism, his inauguration into ministry, and here's another... Yet another confirmation. Hey. Jesus is king.

Jesus is messiah. This is my dearly loved son. Guys, disciples, people witnessing right now, he's going, listen to him. Listen to him. What he is saying is true.

And I think there's a sermon just right here right here for us. If you go, well, what did Carl talk about? I don't know. Something about listening to God's voice. Alright.

I'll... Let's go with that because that is what this is saying. Listen to him. When Jesus says, he must suffer and die and be raised again, God's... God the father is going, guys, listen to him.

When Jesus says, if you wanna be my disciples, you must deny yourself and pick up your cross and follow me. He's going, listen to Jesus. Verse eight. Suddenly, they looked around, and Moses and Elijah were gone. Who remains?

Jesus. Why? Because it's about 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. And so they kept it to themselves.

But they often asked each other, catch this, what he meant by raising from the dead. Again, a messiah that would suffer and die was not was not their expectation. It just wasn't. They're thinking war hero. Jesus is thinking suffering servant.

And, guys, if you're gonna follow me, you you gotta be willing to suffer too. And then they asked him in verse 11, why do the teachers of the religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes? That's a question they've been studying. We... They they read Malachi, that verse in Malachi about the law of Moses and Elijah.

And Jesus responded, Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet, why did the scriptures say that the son of man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him just as the scriptures predicted. So we're gonna end there for now, but, again, it is assumed here. Mark, as the writer, is assuming that his audience knows John the baptizer is Elijah.

And we know what happened to John in chapter six. Remember, he was imprisoned, and then he was killed. And so the message here is Elijah or John goes before the Messiah in the way of suffering and death. Again, this is not what the disciples expected. And this line from last week, this this rings true for me.

Jesus is the expected messiah in the most unexpected manner. Glory and suffering would intertwine. Jesus would suffer and die, but be raised in glory. That's God's plan of salvation. That's God's plan.

This is the the here and now. That's God's plan of salvation, to reconcile broken world to himself. Our sin separates us from God. Jesus brings us together. His death on that cross, it brings us back to God.

Oh, our job here... Our job is this right here. Our job is to believe it. You go, what's the personal application of all this, Carl? To believe it.

To believe it. This is the work that God wants from us, to believe in the one that he has sent. And you know what? Like the... Those disciples, we have doubts.

Do we not? Every day. Right? Doubts come up. Or we have false expectations, don't we?

God, are you kidding? Do I really have to go through this right now, whatever this is for you? And we think, I shouldn't have to suffer, but that's not the story of the Bible. Is there glory? Yes.

But is there also pain and trials and tribulation? Yes. There is. So what do I do with that? Well, here's another encouraging word right here from from Jesus.

He goes, I've told you all these things that you may have peace in me. Because he did tell his disciples, hey, there's gonna be some hard stuff that comes. But he says this, here on earth, you'll have many trials and sorrows. Yes, you will. But take heart.

Why? Because I have overcome the world. And because he has, we can, and we will. That's the story. That's the story of the Bible.

So that's the message tonight. And if if I could give just a little word of encouragement. Right? It's just something that you... I would love for each of us to just put in our back pocket and carry throughout the week.

It's to hear the father's voice from verse seven. Say to us, church, first b, those who are in this Monday night room right now, God the father is saying, this is my dearly loved son, Jesus. Listen to him. Hear what he is telling you. Hear what he's telling you.

So that's what hit home for me. Listen to him. He's overcome the world. Yes. There will be trials.

But as we trust him, we will also be raised in glory. We will overcome. We will overcome. So I wanna end with that. And, may I pray first?

And then I'd like to open it up for for conversation from what we've read tonight. What what caught your attention? A little word of encouragement, testimony. Lord, thank you for this good word to us tonight. Yes.

There are trials. Yes. There is suffering, but you have overcome the world. The disciples didn't see it at the time, but we get to step back from human... Step out of the story and see it from start to finish your death and resurrection.

And like the disciples, we don't understand everything all at once. We don't. But, Lord, help us to pay attention to the father's voice. This is my dearly loved son. Listen to him.

Lord, that we would listen to you because you say the closer we pay attention, the more understanding that we will be given, and we'll receive even more. So, God, that we would be paying attention, listen to what you say through your word, through the Holy Spirit, through the word proclaimed, through other believers in Christ, now that we would be listening to you because we wanna know you, and we want to understand you more and more. In Jesus' name, amen. Alright. Any thoughts on the the scripture tonight on Jesus' transfiguration on that mountain and Elijah and Moses and anything that we read, a verse, word of encouragement.

Have you got one, Kyle?

Yeah. I was just thinking I... Sorry about that. Even my deep voice didn't work. Can you hear me?

Yes, we can hear you.

Yes. So I just had this picture of this thought as you're talking about that we believe it and everything. And just this thought came in that when we believe something we act on that or we should. Like if I say I believe gravity I'm not going go walk off a cliff because I believe it so I'm not going to take those actions that would you know, say that I don't. Mhmm.

And so I also believe that each of us here have some room to grow in in our belief and and acting that out. And, yeah, I would just encourage each of you to find that spot where you have that weakness or that doubt or that something that's holding you back and work on it. So Amen. Amen.

You know what's really encouraging to me on that thought, Kyle, is next week, we get to see what happens as they come down the mountain. So they have a mountaintop experience. But as they come down the mountain, they immediately start to argue with the pharisees, and they can't cast out a demon. And Jesus says, hey. This can only be done in prayer, assuming that these disciples haven't been spending time in prayer because they were too busy arguing.

And you think, oh, man. You guys didn't get it. And then I go, oh, oh. I can't... Because I can point the finger back at me, can't I?

To go, you guys think you just had that experience on mountaintop and and yet I can point back to myself and go, well, yeah, I'm the I'm the dude that doesn't get it too. Right? So we got room to grow, Kyle. I agree with you, man. We do.

We do. And and the... Then the scriptures paint a beautiful picture of it. And they should encourage us, not beat us over the head with it, but encourage us to stay connected to the divine. No doubt about it.

Any other thoughts on the scripture tonight? Any Old Testament gurus here are like, oh, yeah. Elijah and Moses and Mount Sinai and glory. You know? Some people really get into that.

I like it too, but not not nearly as much as Jesus being glorified in this scene. Ray, have you got one?

I think from Old Testament Proverbs, trust in the Lord with all your heart. You kept saying listen to him. What does it mean to trust in God? Trust in his provision, and it's not all up to our actions and, you know, make room make room for God. But also, to trust in him means to listen to him.

Listen to the things that he has said. And so that's what stood out to me is listen to him. And also that second to last verse that you shared as well, that's up on the screen. Even if you do listen, even if you do trust, it doesn't mean you won't have trials and sorrows in this world. And I think that's up also a lot of our misunderstanding is you trust and you believe, yet you still get sick or you still have hard times or...

So I I like those two pieces, listening, trusting, but that doesn't mean that everything's gonna be peachy all the time.

That's right. That's a good word. Yeah. Hope. Take heart because I have overcome the world.

So since you asked Yeah. About the old testament stuff. Yes. So Moses leads people......

Scholar.

Oh, come on.

Yes.

Moses leads the people out, you know, to let my people go, let my people go. Pharaoh finally does. Parting the Red Sea, all that. They fall in for forty years. So...

But he's their leader, and there's no doubt. He is the one that's leading. And Aaron and Miriam are helpful, but he's the leader. And... But when you get to Deuteronomy, he can't go into the promised land.

And so he... Deuteronomy actually means a second telling of the law. So you've got Genesis, Nexus, and Leviticus, Numbers, and all that. You got Deuteronomy. It is on the edge of the promised land.

Moses is looking into the promised land and saying, this is what you need to know, and he's restating the law for him. And when he gets to... When we get to chapter 18, I love this and I think it's really helpful. And since he's up on the mountain with Jesus, I always wonder how they knew that they wear name tags. Like, it's like Jesus and then there's two old dudes up there with him or were they old?

I don't know. But how do you know it's Moses and Elijah? They just knew. But Moses says in Deuteronomy when he's given this last kinda, charge form, right, before they go in and Joshua's gonna be the guy who leads them in, He says, listen, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen and to him, shall listen. So it echoes that right there.

Listen to him. And I usually don't read any further than that, but I'm a read the next little while here, down to verse 19. So this is Deuteronomy eighteen fifteen. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, to him you shall listen. This is in accordance with everything that you ask for the Lord your God...

From the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly saying, do not let me hear the voice of the Lord God again, and do not let me see his great fire anymore or I will die. The people themselves were saying, he is too holy for us. You're too much for us. But they needed somebody to connect them to him. And the Lord said to me, they have spoken well.

They're right. I am too holy. God said that straight up. You're right. I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, Moses, and I will put my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.

And it shall be... It shall come about that whoever does not listen to my words, which he speaks in my name, I will require... I myself will require it of him. You have to answer for whether or not you listen to the one that God has sent. And all of these verses point back to that.

So that's all I got.

That... That's... The old testament history is so rich and understanding that it gives us a better understanding of this right here. Barb, you've got a comment.

So I think that over and over and over in the Bible and especially here where he says listen to him. I just think about he's our heavenly father. And even as an earthly father, how many times do you tell your kids, listen. You need to listen. You gotta listen.

You know? And he tells us the same thing over and over and over. You gotta listen. Come on, guys. Listen.

Hear me, kids. Listen. There's gonna be consequences. Would you please just listen? And I think that that's what comes to me when I hear this over and over and over again.

Just listen.

Amen. That's a good word. That's a good word. Yeah. And it's not just for our kids.

Right? It... It's it's it's us. Linda. Listen.

So

I just wanna say that John sixteen thirty three, it's like so much right there. I've told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart because I have overcome the world. It is so powerful because, you know, God delivered him. He raised him up from the dead.

It's all... I mean, there's so much power in that. And for... And I say this all the time. I bring up the fact that we're human, and it was just so hard for us just to, you know, to see with our eyes and hear with our ears.

It's right in front of us, and we still fight it and struggle with it. But it's just powerful words, and it's just it's just makes you feel really overwhelmed to know the truth that, you know, he did rise and, you know, God delivered him. And how could we think anything else but the truth? So...

Amen. Amen. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is the power that lives in us. And I love right here that he said peace, and that means God's gift of wholeness to make us whole and complete. That's what peace is.

And it's not a peace like the world has. Like, we experience peace in a, you know, I I I have something that's temporary, and I like it for a bit, and then it's and and then it's gone. And this kind of piece, this is a lasting piece that that passes understanding. You know, you can't buy it. There...

There's there's there's it's not for sale, but it is free if you want it. If we want it. If we want it, it's there. Elsa?

I just I just have a story to tell. I remember once I was looking on YouTube and I was looking at pick... People that had that seen Jesus. And so I was like, man, it would be so cool if

if, you know, if we got that chance to see Jesus... If I if I got that chance to see Jesus. So I just... I I told Jesus, like,

it would be so cool if I could just see you.

And, you know, sometimes he answers right away and sometimes he doesn't.

But for whatever reason, it was, like, in the morning. It was, like, five in the morning, and I had woken up. I knew I was awake already. And... But my eyes were closed.

And and I see Jesus. And and when I saw him I remember that I... When I saw him, it was like, when you know it's him, you know it's him. It was him. It would...

There was no question. He was huge. And when you saw him, it was like it was... You could see every particle of him, and he was, like, in this this... There's no way to describe it.

But when I saw him, I saw him very fast, and then I I couldn't. I had to turn away because I was dirty. I was covered in sin. I was dirty. I couldn't see him very long.

But in that moment that I saw him, he was very big, and he was he was looking over. And when he was he... When he was looking over, it was... There was this river. And this river, you knew this river went on for eternity.

There there was no ending to this river. And so then I opened my eyes because I'm like, oh, wow. I saw Jesus. That's beautiful. So then I closed my eyes, and when I closed my eyes again, I could see him.

So then that's when I was like, okay. It's not a dream. And so I just I probably closed my eyes for... I don't even know how long. I wasn't even...

There was no time within that moment. I was just... I I just saw him. And I remember seeing his hair. His hair was beautiful.

Every particle of his being was just absolutely amazing. And, like, it reminded me of when when pastor Ray was talking about how... In in the in the Bible when he was reading the verse where it says that he's holy, he he is. And so there... It just there's no comparison.

And when I saw him, it was just, it... He was just so absolutely beautiful and holy. And I knew that I was dirty. I couldn't see him. I couldn't see him.

And when it says that every knee shall bow, immediately, immediately, I was on my knees. I couldn't... Like, there was there was so much power within it. But... And, honestly, I wasn't even gonna share this, but Mike got past me.

So I'm like, okay. Yes. I'll share it. But, yes, it it was it was absolutely beautiful. And then when it says in the Bible, when when you know that it's him, there will be no question, and there was no question.

I knew who he was, and he knew who I was. And, yeah. So that was just that was just a little story.

Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Monique.

Think what said, stands out to me in this passage is verse nine and ten, and just how Jesus instructs them, like, not to tell anyone until he rises from the dead. And then, yeah, just their response that that they kept the word to themselves, but then they questioned what the rising from the dead meant. And like when I read that, I just I just... Like sometimes, like the apostles' response, it just seems like they're focusing on the wrong thing, you know, in the moment. And I I feel that too.

And so, like, I read that in my prayers, like, Lord, let me focus on the right thing at the right moment, you know, like, instead of jumping to the... Wait. What does that mean? And, like, going, like, you know, is it left brain or the other side of the brain instead of just being in the moment and being, like, maybe like Ilsa was when she saw Jesus just, like, in awe and, like, in the moment experiencing it instead of jumping to, like, okay, what's my part or how am I supposed to understand or... So yeah, that's just what struck me and then my prayer like, Lord, let me...

Holy Spirit help me focus on the right thing at the right moment and not get distracted by our human bent. Right?

Amen. I agree with that prayer.

That's cool. I think there's some... The fact that he asked Peter, James, and John, but not everybody else. And that he said to them, listen, hold on to this for a while. I think that that's really helpful too because we have some individual experiences that we may not yet understand that will come into play down the road.

And it's not for everybody. It's not for everybody at that time. So just be ready when, you know, if he's given you something like that. Be ready for the time when it will come back up. I mean, he says to Paul that, you know, you're gonna stand before governors and kings, but don't worry about what you're gonna say because I'll give you the words right then.

And he tells his disciples, I'll give you the words right then. Just trust him.

I'm excited about next week because it is it is so that. It's... I I believe that Jesus is telling them in the moment. Once they come down on the... Once they come down from that moment, the mountain...

And they're arguing with the pharisees, and they're, you know, doing what they do. Right? Not casting out demons. Really, was meant to... Guys, I I need you to pay attention to to me.

I believe that Jesus is saying that to disciples. Like, please, just continue to follow me. I I I've got you here. I've got you. So, should we sing one more song?

Would you stand when we will sing? Thrive. To know you, to make

you known.

I wanna leave you with this from from Mark four. And I think it's... This this is God's word to us here. He's added, pay close attention to what you hear. The closer that we listen, the more understanding we will be given, and we'll be...

We'll we'll receive even more. And so, lord, would you help us throughout this this week to keep our our eyes on you, to pay it... To pay attention to your voice, to listen to what you're saying to us. In Jesus' name, amen.