THREE
TABERNACLES
Mk.
9:1-13 The
transfiguration of Jesus with
Moses & Elijah.
He
took Peter, James & John on a high mountain.
Why
Peter, James & John?
Mk.
10:35-40 James
& John
misunderstood the
nature of the kingdom in seeking
for places of prominence at Jesus'
side.
Mk.
8:27-33 Peter
made the good confession,
then was rebuked by Jesus for
denying that He should be put to
death. This showed a
worldly
view
of
His kingdom.
Later,
in Paul's defense of the inspiration of the gospel as not from men,
he referred to these 3 men as "pillars"
of
truth in the church:
Gal.
2:9 "and
when James,
Cephas,
and John, who
seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace
that had been given to me, they gave me
and "Barnabas the right hand of fellowship,
that we
should go to the Gentiles and they
to the circumcised."
But
for now - these men needed to learn this valuable lesson.
JESUS'
GLORIOUS APPEARANCE
Jesus
was transfigured before them in brilliant
light.
Listen
to Paul's defense before King Agrippa - in his
recounting his encounter with the risen Christ while on the road to
Damascus:
Acts
26:13-14 "at
midday,
O king, along the road I
saw a light from heaven, brighter
than
the sun,
shining around me and
those who journeyed with me. (14)
And when we all had fallen to the
ground, I heard a voice
speaking to
me and saying in the Hebrew
language, 'Saul,
Saul, why are you
persecuting Me? It is hard for you to
kick against the goads.' "
He
is described as "the express image of" (the
Father) "the
Majesty on high"
Jesus
is described as being "God" and having "Divine
Authority."
Heb.
1:3-4 "Who
being the brightness of His glory
and the express image of His
person,
and upholding all things by the word of
His power, when He
had by Himself
purged our sins, sat down at the right
hand
of the Majesty on high, (4) having
become so much better
than the
angels, as He has by inheritance
obtained a more
excellent name than
they."
Express
Image = [charakter]
(eng. characteristic) "A stamp or impress, as on a coin or
a seal, in which case the seal or die which makes an impression
bears the image produced by it, and vice versa, all
the
features of the image corresponds respectively with those of
the instrument producing it." (Vines)
God
created us in His image
Gen.
1:26-27 "Then
God said, 'Let
us make man in
Our image,
according to Our likeness;
let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, over the
birds of the air,
and over the cattle, over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that
creeps on the earth.'
(27) So God
created man in
His own image; in the
image of God He created him;
male
and female He created them."
What
Peter, James & John saw was our future state in glory
when
we receive our "new
body"
that is conformed to His glorious body.
Phil.
3:20-21 "For
our citizenship is in heaven, from
which we also eagerly wait for
the
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, (21)
who
will transform our lowly body that
it may be conformed to
His glorious
body,
according to the working by
which He is able even to subdue
all
things to Himself."
Transform
- transfigure
[metamorphoo]
"To change into another form" (Same as in
Mk.
9:2)
1
Jn. 3:2-3 "Beloved,
now we are children of God;
and it has not yet been
revealed what
we shall be, but we know that when He
is
revealed,
we shall be like Him, for we
shall see Him as He is.
(3) And
everyone who has this hope in Him
purifies
himself, just as He is pure."
1
Cor. 15:35-ff Sown a physical body - raised a
spiritual body.
MOSES
& ELIJAH
Moses'
& Elijah's earthly departures were shrouded in mystery. Moses
died at Mt. Nebo on Mt Pisgah:
Deut.
34:1-6 "...no one knows his grave to this
day."
Elijah
was taken up alive in a chariot of fire: (as
he was separated from Elisha)
2
Kgs. 2:11 "Then
it happened, as they continued
on and talked, that suddenly a
chariot
of fire appeared with horses of fire,
and
separated the two of them; and
Elijah went up by a
whirlwind into
heaven."
50
sons of the prophets insisted on looking for Elijah against Elisha's
will:
2
Kgs. 2:17 "Therefore,
they sent fifty men, and
they searched for three days but
did
not find him.
Their
appearance showed them as being alive in the spirit. Demonstrated.
Listen
to Jesus' teaching of the Sadducees regarding the resurrection.
Mt.
22:23-32 "God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living."
Rom.
14:9 "For
to this end Christ died and rose and
lived again, that He might be
Lord of
both the dead and the living."
Why
Moses & Elijah?
Moses
led Israel out of bondage - was giver
of the law
- a type
of Christ
Hear
Stephen's address before the Jewish sanheidrin:
Acts
7:35-39 "...The
Lord your God will raise up for
you a
Prophet like me
from your
brethren, Him
you shall hear."
Elijah
was regarded among the Jews as one of the great prophets.
Elijah
was distinguished among the prophets by those who considered Jesus:
Mt.
16:13-14 "When
Jesus came into the region of
Ceasarea Philippi, He asked His
disciples, saying, 'Who
do men say
that I, the Son of Man, am?'
(14) So
they said, 'Some
say John the baptist,
some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.'
"
Moses
& Elijah: authority figures representing "the law and the
prophets"
Jesus
had declared His coming as a fulfillment
of the law & the prophets:
Mt.
5:17-18 (Jesus)
"Do
not think that I came to
destroy the Law or the
Prophets.
I did not come to
destroy but to fulfill. (18) For
assuredly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no
means pass from the law
till
all
is fulfilled."
The
authority o f the Law & the Prophets is seen in Jesus' account of
the rich man & Lazarus:
Lk.
16:27-ff "If they do not hear Moses and the
prophets, neither
will they be
persuaded though one rise from
the dead."
Moses
& Elijah were discussing Jesus' coming death
Jesus'
death was not a failure but a fulfillment of His mission according to
God's plan.
His
death was in fulfillment of the Law & the Prophets - the Law's
passing.
Gal.
3:19-25 "The law was our Tutor
to bring us
to Christ"
Eph.
2:14-ff The law is abolished in His flesh by
His death on the cross
- His
church
is
built
on foundation of the
apostles & prophets
Col.
2:14 "having
wiped out the handwriting of
requirements that was against us, which
was contrary to us. And He has taken it
out of the way,
having nailed it to the
cross. "
As
we already have seen, Peter & the others, needed to understand
this.
(Mk.
8:31-33)
Let
us build here 3 tabernacles
Tabernacle
= a tent
Were
they intended as a dwelling place so the 3 might remain there?
Lk.
9:33 "And
it happened, as
they were parting
from Him,
that Peter said to Jesus,
'Master,
it is good for us to be here; and let
us make three tabernacles: one
for You,
one for Moses, and one for Elijah' - not
knowing what he said."
Peter
was overwhelmed by the moment - irrational in his response. John
likewise responded to such a glorious moment irrationally:
Rev.
22:8-9 "Now
I John, saw and heard these
things. And when I heard and saw,
I
fell down to worship before the feet of
the angel who
showed me these
things. (9) Then he said to me, 'See
that you do not do that.
For I am your
fellow servant, and of your brethren the
prophets, and of those who keep the
words of this book.
Worship
God.'
"
Perhaps
Peter intended them rather as places of worship
1.
Why 3 separate
tents. They could have dwelled under one
tent so all
those present could have been together.
2.
They were high on a mountain, not likely a place for dwelling - but
a good place to go up to worship.
This
would have been a sign of carnality in following men & exalting
them to
the level of God (Christ)
1Cor.
3:1-4 Carnality in following (even
great
&
faithful)
men.
Denominations
exist today because men considered great men of faith
(?) were
followed rather than Christ: John
Calvin, Martin Luther, etc..
Do
we believe what we do because someone else proclaimed it- or do we believe
what we do because we learned & confirmed it by the word?
1
Cor. 3:5-13 No other foundation than Christ -
Take
heed how its built on.
Some
today say, "Let
us start a new church"
Heb.
8:1-6 Christ has all authority as "Minister of the true
tabernacle
(church) Built
according to the pattern.
Failure
to build according to the pattern is a failure to duplicate the
original.
Jesus
proclaimed His kingdom a spiritual one over which death has no power.
Mt.
16:18 (Jesus)
"And I also say to you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I
will
build My church, and the gates of
Hades shall not
prevail against
it."
The
voice of God speaks from the cloud
God's
reply: "This is My beloved Son. Hear
Him!"
Heb.
1:1-4 God has spoken to us in these last
days by His Son. Hear Him!
This
event impressed Peter who later commented on this event:
2
Pet. 1:16-21 The transfiguration gave
confirming evidence of that
which
the Law & the Prophets had
foretold regarding
Christ -
This
resulted in "the prophetic word made more sure" -
With
such proofs - we should heed
(give
due consideration to) those
prophetic words (represented
by Moses & Elijah)
as sure as
the "morning star" that announces the approach of day -
The
summation of the thought - all prophecy
(in Old & New testaments)
is dependable truth - God insured this by choosing "holy
men" (like
Moses & Elijah)
to speak by the Holy Spirit.
INVITATION
Heb.
2:1-4 Give heed - Don't neglect so great a
salvation.
