Insights

Rev Gav

Why do we need to listen to Jesus?

Matthew 17

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became bright as light. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will set up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they raised their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” And the disciples asked him, “Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” He replied, “Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things, but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but they did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man is about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has epilepsy and suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they were greatly distressed.

When they reached Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the temple tax?” He said, “Yes, he does.” And when he came home, Jesus spoke of it first, asking, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their children or from others?” When Peter said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the children are free. However, so that we do not give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook; take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a coin; take that and give it to them for you and me.”

Reflect

Here is Rev Gav’s talk, recorded live from St. Mark’s, Bermuda.

When I was a kid I had this big storybook called ‘Heroes of the Bible’. With each story was a full-page illustration of the Bible character, and I distinctly remember a formidable, stern-looking Moses with his staff, standing before a parting Red Sea, and a mysterious-looking, wizard-esque Elijah calling fire down from heaven. To a first-century Jewish child they would have been the super-heroes of the day and their wonderful adventures are still being told at bedtime, by candlelight, today.

Moses and Elijah are the two great pillars of the Jewish faith representing the law and the prophets; two people called by God to draw humanity back to God.

Elijah appeared some 400 years after Moses and about 800 years before Christ, and Elijah embodied and exhibited many of the characteristics of Moses. It wasn’t that Elijah was Moses literally returning with a different name, or Moses being reborn or reincarnated, but there is this third category of someone coming again and it’s called redivivus. It is where someone, through their words or actions, echoes the heart of someone who has previously lived. Elijah was a Moses redivivus in the same way that John the Baptist was an Elijah redivivus.

For example, Moses and Elijah both had mentees in Joshua and Elisha, they both performed miracles such as parting waters, they both battled ruthless enemies demonstrating God’s power, they both left this world without a grave – being bodily taken into heaven, and, importantly, they both had mountain top experiences where they came face-to-face with God.

Jesus was himself a Moses and Elijah redivivus but a whole lot more. Jesus didn’t part waters but walked on them. His enemy wasn’t just a ruthless king, nor was it an oppressive empire, but evil itself. Like Moses and Elijah, Jesus also had no grave but was resurrected, and as we will discover, Jesus too had a mountaintop experience but took it to the next level.

In the gospels is a scene where Jesus took three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John up a mountain. There, Jesus was transfigured or transformed before them, becoming dazzlingly bright and he was joined by Moses and Elijah. Reminiscient of the way that Moses and Elijah had to cover their eyes in the presence of God, a cloud descended and the voice of God spoke, “This my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.”

Before we go on, let us rewind a little for I left out a bit of the story. When Moses and Elijah appeared we read that the disciples were pleased to be there and Peter suggested they set about making shelters for them and for Jesus. I imagine Jesus rolling his eyes and facepalming. Here they were, being given the most incredible mountain top experience, and Peter is doing the equivalent of ordering takeout and asking what pizza toppings they all want. I love this injection of humanity into the story, and it reminds us how we, like Peter, can be so focused on the needs of the present that we miss the big picture.

This theophany, or manifestation of God, was not a display for its own sake but took place for the three disciples. In the same way that Moses commissioned Joshua, and Elijah literally passed on the mantle on to Elisha, these three disciples of Jesus were being instructed in understanding the awesome authority of Jesus, and told directly by God to listen to him.

In our lives, like those three disciples, there are times when we do not know what to do or say and we can be frozen by fear or terrified by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. It is in those times we must remember the voice spoken on that mountain top, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

And what did Jesus say? Thank God we have his words to us written down and recorded. Perhaps we need to hear Jesus say, “Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Perhaps we need to hear Jesus say, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Perhaps we need to hear Jesus say, “Know that I am always with you, even to the end of time.”

Today, if like me, you have a tendency to wander from the path, find yourself with tangled thoughts and emotions, and feel lost or alone, listen to Jesus. He will lead you to that place of calm, peace, assurance, and security for which your soul longs.

Amen.