Our Redeemer Lutheran Church
Quincy, IL
Rev. Larry D. Troxel
The Transfiguration of Our Lord
Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 3, 2008 at 8:00 & 10:15 a.m.
"We Heard God's Voice and We Have His Word."
(2 Peter 1:16-21)
In Jesus' name. Amen.
What questions will be asked most frequently on Monday? "Did you see a certain Super Bowl commercial?"
"Did you see that amazing play that changed the outcome of the game?" "Did you see how much so-and-so ate or drank during the game?"
When you have seen something extraordinary, you feel compelled to talk with others about what you saw.
Peter, James, and John saw something truly amazing. They saw Jesus, not looking as He usually did as they traveled
around in Galilee, but shining with a brilliance that outdid the sun, shining with the glory that belongs to Jesus because
He is true God as well as true man. And Peter said, "We were eyewitnesses of His glory."1
Sometime later, after Jesus' resurrection and ascension and after the events of Pentecost, Peter and John stood before
the very same ruling council that had condemned Jesus and boldly stated, "We cannot but speak of what we have seen
and heard."2
Today there are many who question, doubt, and deny that Holy Scripture is the Word of God and, therefore, the absolute truth.
The existence of so many man-made religions leads people to group the Gospel of Christ Jesus as just one more among
many myths, fables, and legends. Even within the ranks of Christianity, even within church bodies which like to call themselves
Lutheran, there are many who deny that Holy Scripture is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. While they will agree that Jesus
really lived, they deny that He is true God as well as true man. They deny that He rose from the dead. They think of Jesus only
as a great man, a great teacher, who died so tragically at the hands of his opponents.
When Peter wrote his second letter, he realized that he would not live much longer. He wanted to encourage the recipients
of this letter to remain faithful to their Savior and ours, Christ Jesus. He wanted them to uphold the Gospel in its truth and
purity. He said, "I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will
make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things."3
With the heart of a true pastor, Peter labored for the Christians who received this letter to remain faithful to Christ Jesus and to His Word.
So often we hear people saying that Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other religious people are all praying to the same god,
just in their own individual ways. Nothing could be further from the truth! Peter makes a clear distinction between the truth of
God's Word and all man-made religions. He said, "We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty."4
All man-made religions teach what human beings have thought up about the god they serve. Only the Christian faith
is based solidly in reality, reported by eyewitnesses, who saw and heard the very events and words they have recorded.
The one thing which separates the Christian Gospel from all man-made religions is the Gospel message itself,
that God has done all that is necessary for our reconciliation and salvation, that God gives saving faith as a free gift,
that God accomplishes this through what appear to be such ordinary means, through His Word that is read, preached,
and heard, through the water of Holy Baptism connected with His Word, through the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper
in which according to Christ's own Word the communicant receives the very body of Christ which was crucified for us
and the very blood of Christ which was shed for our redemption.
No man-made religion ever says, "God has done it all for you and gives it to you as a gracious gift." All man-made religions say,
"You must do thus and so," or "you must decide to believe," or "you have to ask Jesus to be your Savior and to come into your life, or
"you have to demonstrate that your faith and your repentance are real by doing certain things." All man-made religions point to you and say,
"You must do …" Only the true Christian Gospel says, "God has done it all for you." "In Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them."5 "By grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God."6
So Peter the eyewitness said, "We have something more sure, the prophetic word."7
In the midst of a world of uncertainties, fears, and doubts, there is one solid foundation, the Word of God, the Bible, the prophetic word.
The fact that Peter, James, and John were eyewitnesses does not make God's Word more certain or reliable. In and of itself, Holy Scripture
is altogether reliable. The Apostle Paul alluded to this when he wrote that we are "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone."8 The foundation of our salvation, of our faith and hope,
of the new life that we have received in Christ is the rock-solid foundation of the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God.
To this Word, Peter said, "You will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place." So much clamors for our attention -
television, email, the Internet, radio, family, friends, relatives, work, school, special events, and the list goes on and on. In the midst
of all that clamors for our attention, the Good News about Jesus still shines as a bright, welcoming light that dispels the murkiness
that is so much a part of the events of daily life.
The light of Christ which shines through His Word reminds us that there is much more to life than the here and now.
The great Day of our Lord's return is closer every day. And until He comes we have work to do in His name so that as
many people as possible may hear His Gospel while the time of grace and the day of salvation still are here.
That is what makes the expansion of the ministry of this congregation so important, so urgent. We must do a better
job of meeting the needs of our own members as well as reaching out into our community and world to others.
As we do so, we always will seek to remain faithful to the Word of God in what we do and in how we do it. We will be seeking
to call an additional pastor who will be faithful to God's Word.
Peter emphasized the importance of this when he said, "…, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture
comes from someone's own interpretation."9 We want people always to hear what God says,
not what we as human beings have to say. Commenting on these verses Martin Luther said, "Now every preacher should be
so sure of having and preaching God's Word that he would even stake his life on this, since it is a matter of life for us."10
"The whole purpose of my preaching is to make your conscience sure and to give your heart a firm footing from which
it should not let itself be torn, in order that you and I may be certain that we have God's Word. For the Gospel is
serious business."11 "Pay no regard to the intelligence of people who teach something else,
no matter how impressive they pretend that it is. Where you are not aware of God's Word, do not doubt that
this is sheer darkness."12
So often I have heard people say, "Well, pastor, that is just your interpretation." Peter has the perfect reply which squelches
such a comment. "No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced
by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."13
When God's Word has spoken, all debate comes to an end. Because we have been redeemed by Christ, we are not free
to just say whatever comes into our minds. We are not free to follow the lead of public opinion. We are not free to preach
and to teach only what people want to hear. St. Paul warned against people-centered preaching and teaching. He said,
"The time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from the truth."14
Always and only we desire, even demand, to hear the Word of God, a Word of Gospel which brings the rich comfort of divine
forgiveness and peace with God to the person troubled by his or her sin, and a Word of Law which troubles and leads to
repentance the person who has grown comfortable with his or her sin. For that is the work of God the Holy Spirit. He so guided
the men who wrote Holy Scripture that while they used their own vocabularies and their own styles of writing what they wrote was
and still is the very Word of God.
At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John saw something truly amazing. They saw the human nature of Jesus shining
in His glory because He also is true God. They saw and heard Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus about what He would
accomplish for all people through the events that soon would happen at Jerusalem — His suffering, death, burial,
resurrection, and ascension.15 And a short while later, Peter, James, John and Jesus' other
disciples saw it all take place. And having seen Jesus, risen and ascended, the only thing they could do for the rest of their lives
was to tell others of what they had seen and heard, the great salvation that Jesus has accomplished for all.
Here today we hear the voice of God. He speaks to us through the Word which we read, through the word that we sing,
through the word that is preached. We see Him in a very real and personal way in the Lord's Supper, as we feast upon
His body and blood. We continue to repeat the words which Peter spoke: "Lord, it is good that we are here."16
But our Lord does not permit us to remain here. Instead, He leads us back out into the mission field where we live every day of our lives.
And there, in our daily lives, like Peter and the others, "we can only speak of what we have seen and heard." Amen.
1. 2 Peter 1:16
2. Acts 4:20
3. 2 Peter 1:14-15
4. 2 Peter 1:16
5. 2 Corinthians 5:19
6. Ephesians 2:8
7. 2 Peter 1:19
8. Ephesians 2:20
9 2 Peter 1:20
10. Martin Luther, "Sermons on the Second Epistle of St. Peter," Luther's Works, vol.30,
translated by Martin H. Bertram, (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1967), p. 163.
11. Luther, p. 164
12. Luther, p. 165
13. 2 Peter 1:20–21
14. 2 Timothy 4:3–4
15. Luke 9:30–31
16. Matthew 17:4
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