sermon-02-14-2010

The Critical Moments of Our Lord Jesus

02/14/2010 Sermon by rev. Rong-Hu Lu, translation by Tingchi Hwang

Speaking of the transfiguration of Jesus, church calendar has recognized it as important as his birth, baptism, crucifixion, and resurrection, and has placed a memorial day for it. Today is a Sunday to remember Jesus’ transfiguration and appearance in glorious splendor on a mountain. Let me briefly introduce the enriched content of Luke, chapter 9. During this period of time, it was the fourth quarter of Jesus’ missionary career, a very busy time for him. If we read from verse 1 of this chapter, we would learn that he was not working alone at this point. He had given his apostles power and authority and then sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. We would also read that Herod the tetrarch became very nervous once he heard about what Jesus and his apostles had been doing. Herod was confused, because some were saying that Jesus was John who had been raised from death, and others saying that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. Having the possible identity of a prophet, with a significant number of followers, Jesus had become the primary target of the tyrant. We also read that Jesus had thousands of fans, who would forget about eating or working and just followed him, listening to his preaching. (Counting men alone, there were about five thousand.) This momentum of fame would not only make the leading character narcissistic, but also make outsiders jealous and listeners questioning. Without a doubt, Jesus knew this situation was coming. He ascertained the faith of his students as well as his identity as “the Christ of God.” Based on this, Jesus further spoke his future. He will not enter Jerusalem as a glorious king with victory. Instead, he must suffer many things and sacrifice himself to become the savior of all people. Then Jesus made his disciples understand that there is no shame in sacrificing and suffering. He assured them that whoever takes up his cross and follows him will gain life and glory, similar to how Jesus abided by his Father’s will and eventually came in the glory of the Father.

Although the transfiguration on the mountain does not serve merely for this purpose, it was a lifetime experience for the witnesses—Peter and John, and it later became an unshakable foundation of their faith. John once proclaimed, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … The true light that gives light to every man was coming in to the world.” (John 1:1, 9) When Peter was old, he constantly testified that God had verified Jesus as His beloved son. Peter emphasized that he himself heard this statement when he was with Jesus on the sacred mountain. Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain has been considered by churches as one of the crucial moments in his life, for it was God once again confirmed Jesus’ identity as his beloved son, and people should listen to him.

A while ago, when speaking of Jesus’ baptism, I stressed that it is like an ordination for Jesus. Through this baptism, Jesus received plans for his missions and responsibilities from his heavenly Father, and then fulfilled them truthfully. Now that his service had come to its final touch, he had to check with his Father to ensure that every step of future actions would match up to his Father’s will. It is Jesus’ selfless heart that honors his Father, because he sees his Father’s will as the most important among all things. To approve what Jesus did and he was prepared to do, Moses and Elijah—two representatives from the Old Testament—were sent to him to deliver the laws God had proclaimed through Moses and to fulfill the prophecy of salvation through the Messiah. God especially announced to people from heaven (Moses and Elijah) and earth (three apostles) that Jesus is His Son, whom he has chosen, and everyone should listen to him. After the check-up with his Father, Jesus disregarded any threat or suffering, truthfully completed the salvation on the cross. This meeting with his heavenly Father is indeed one crucial moment of Jesus’ life.

We may have considered Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration as crucial moments of his life because of those supernatural sights that occurred in the events. As a matter of fact, Jesus had many crucial moments and those are all the recorded moments that he was praying with all his heart. Let’s examine this notion in the book of Luke (where today’s scriptures are from.) In Chapter 3, Jesus prayed after his baptism because he is about to start his mission. In Chapter 6, Jesus spent a whole night praying to God, because he had to choose twelve apostles as successors for his mission. In Chapter 9, verse 18, he prayed so that his disciples would really know that he is the Christ of God. The prayer on the mountain (from today’s scriptures) was verification with his Father of the salvation on the cross, and it pleased God. In chapter 11, before teaching his disciples how to pray, Jesus prayed first to communicate with his Father and make sure the prayer is on the basis of God’s will. The Lord’s Prayer is the most frequently used prayer by Christians in the past two thousand years. There hasn’t been anything as important in the history of mankind. It is indeed one crucial moment for Jesus to teach this prayer.

There are other unobvious parts in Luke that mentioned Jesus’ prayer. I’d like to point them out and let you decide among yourselves if those are also Jesus’ crucial moments. In Chapter 22, verse 17, Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God and then set up the new covenant. Is this one of Jesus’ crucial moments? In verse 32 of the same chapter, Jesus prayed for Peter because this apostle who’s usually the most passionate and confident will deny knowing Jesus for three times. What do you think about this moment? In Chapter 23 verse 34, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Can you imagine what the consequence will be if God didn’t forgive those people who crucified Jesus? Isn’t this another crucial moment for Jesus? In verse 46 of the same chapter, at the last moment of his earthly life, he called out to his Father to accept his spirit. Is the last moment of a life his crucial moment? All the scriptures that mentioned Jesus’ prayers can be considered the crucial moments of Jesus’ life. But I am not saying that Jesus only prayed when something important came up. He simply prayed much more for important things, so that everything can be done according to God’s will. Jesus’ life ended with suffering and death, but he once had this momentum of fame that thousands of people admired and followed. A person who obeys God’s will may not have to suffer for his entire life or die miserably.

Today’s sermon is to present Jesus as an example. When things were going smoothly, everything seemed to be done properly, and he himself was in his prime, Jesus knew to calm down and check with his heavenly Father if everything is done accordingly. Brothers and sisters, was there any crucial moment in your life? Did you pray and then make a decision at that moment? Or did you basically depend on your own intelligence all the time? Has anyone haven’t encountered a crucial moment? Was it because that you didn’t pray? I believe that the moments we pray might become crucial moments in our lives. Maybe when praying, God will help us change our directions of life, or make a different decision, in order to see God’s glory, and to hear Him say, “You are my Son, whom I have chosen.”

Amen.