Glory

The scriptures referred to are Exodus 24:12-18 and Matthew 16:13-28 and 17:1-9.

In last week's episode of All Creatures Great and Small, they showed the day Britain went to war with Germany in what will become the Second World War. And most of the men in the village, if not the whole of Britain, felt it was their duty to enlist. Their mothers and wives tried to understand but no amount of saying that someone will be all right was very reassuring. Because they knew that in what they called the Great War, 880,000 British forces died, 6% of the adult male population. Many more returned wounded, sick or injured, not including the victims of the 1918 Flu Pandemic which started on the battlefields. And since what we now call the First World War was only 2 decades before the Second, people must have felt a dreadful sense of deja vu.

Today's gospel takes place less than a week after a crucial event in Jesus' ministry. We find it in Matthew chapter 16. Jesus has been with his disciples for about 3 years. They have heard his teachings and they have seen him live them out daily. They have seen him feed multitudes, heal people, and raise the dead. Jesus has been reluctant to let the people he heals say out loud that he is the Messiah. (Mark 1:34) This is probably because of the popular idea that Messiah would be a holy warrior who would establish God's kingdom on earth by defeating the Romans. Jesus was not that kind of Messiah. If you read the history of Judah when it was ruled by descendants of David you know that the real enemy of the people has always been internal, not external. It's their sins. Saving them, and indeed the whole world, from their destructive and self-destructive thoughts, words and deeds is going to require someone different from the usual idea of a king shedding the blood of others.

So to see if they have put together the clues, Jesus first asks the Twelve, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” The term “Son of Man” is itself a clue. Jews would see it as a reference to the book of Daniel: “I was watching in the night visions, and with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him. To him was given ruling authority, honor and sovereignty. All peoples, nations and language groups were serving him. His authority is eternal and will not pass away. His kingdom will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14) Could people see this figure as Jesus though he never made any call to arms?

In reply to his question, the disciples say that some think he is John the Baptist returned from the dead. Some think he is Elijah, the great prophet who did not die but was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11) Elijah was expected to return to herald the coming of the Messiah. Even today at the Passover Jews pour a cup of wine for Elijah should he show up. Other frequent guesses by the people were Jeremiah and one of the other prophets.

Then Jesus asks, “But who do you say that I am?” Again there is nothing militaristic about Jesus. If anything, he is pacifistic. He says that as his followers we are to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. We are to turn the other cheek if struck. (Matthew 5:38-47) We are not to insult others. (Matthew 5:22) We are not to pass judgment on others. (Matthew 7:1-5) Jesus goes against the popular idea of being a second David who will kill the Romans as the first David killed the Philistines.

But Peter nevertheless says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) And Jesus commends him for seeing past the typical expectation of what the Messiah (Christ in Greek) is supposed to be.

What Jesus says next gives the Twelve psychological whiplash. Jesus tells them “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” (Matthew 16:21) It's such a reversal from the emotional high they were enjoying after Jesus blessed Peter for saying what they all thought. They were thinking: “We were right! He is the Messiah! And now he going to show up all those who oppose him by...dying? That doesn't make sense. What good is a dead Messiah?”

I want to use N.T. Wright's translation to tell what happens when Peter, the most outspoken of the Twelve, reacts to this. “Peter took him and began to tell him off. 'That's the last thing God would want, Master!' he said. 'That's never, ever going to happen to you!' Jesus turned on Peter. 'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You're trying to trip me up! You're not looking at things like God does! You're looking at things like a mere mortal!'” (Matthew 16:22-23, Kingdom New Testament)

It is ironic that just after Peter said that Jesus was God's Son, he is now saying that Jesus is wrong about what is going to happen to him. But as Jesus points out, by taking this adversarial stance (Satan in Hebrew literally means “adversary”) Peter is looking at things from a purely human perspective. From that viewpoint, Jesus' death is the worst thing that can happen to the Messiah. But God has a purpose here that is hard for mere mortals to perceive. God is going to take the worst that humans can do to his Son and turn it into the greatest good for mankind.

And as Jesus' followers, we are not exempt from pain and tragedy. Jesus says, “If anyone wants to come after me, they must disown themselves, take up their cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) We must give up all rights to ourselves, and be ready to die if necessary, following in Jesus' steps.

You can imagine how that struck the disciples. In a few minutes they went from “Yay! We are following the long awaited Messiah!” to “Wait! What's going to happen to him? And what could happen to us?” It's a major plot twist.

Jesus does end on an uplifting note. “I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his glory.” (Matthew 16:28) But they can't take it in. They are stuck on the idea of Jesus dying. So much so that they are not hearing the part about him being raised. Or perhaps they just thought he was talking about the general resurrection of all people on the last day.

But for us, this talk of some of them not dying before they see Jesus in his glory is mystifying. All the Twelve and everyone from that time are dead and Jesus has not yet returned. Was Jesus wrong?

N.T. Wright points out that we know what happened to the disciples of other so-called Messiahs after their leaders were executed. Those that escaped crucifixion themselves either slunk back to their old lives and kept quiet, no doubt saying to themselves “What was I thinking?” Or else they joined up with the next Messiah-wannabe. Jesus had to know that, too. Telling his disciples that everything will be all right is not enough. He needs to give them something to hold onto during the days immediately after his crucifixion and death.

So he does indeed let some of those standing there with him see him in his undeniable glory. And that's what the transfiguration is about.

Jesus leads his lieutenants, Peter, James and John, up a high mountain. Because visual stimuli make such a large impact on humans, everything that happens there is impressive and symbolic. Jesus' glory is made literal as his clothes become dazzling white and his face shines like the sun. He meets with Moses, the great lawgiver, and Elijah, the premier prophet. Peter starts to babble, perhaps thinking they will reside there from now on. Then a bright cloud envelopes them, like the cloud that covered Moses on another mountain millennia ago. And a voice from the cloud says, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

I can't help but think this command is directed at the doubts about Jesus' upcoming ordeal and death which Peter expressed as spokesman for the others. But now they know that this is God's plan. Jesus knows what he's doing. They have their marching orders.

I don't imagine they were happy, though. When they receive word that Lazarus is sick and Jesus wants to go to Judea, they are worried, knowing the religious leaders there want to kill him. (John 11: 8) And when Jesus is arrested Peter still draws his sword and tries to stop it. (John 18:10) Once again Jesus has to undo what Peter in his rashness has done. He heals the man whom Peter injured. (Luke 22:51) But then he goes to his death, which, as it turns out, is his true glory.

Just before his last earthly Passover, Jesus says, “'The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain. The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life....Now my soul is greatly distressed. And what should I say? 'Father, deliver me from this hour'? No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.' Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.'” Jesus goes on to say, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” And the gospel of John says, “(Now he said this to indicate clearly what kind of death he was going to die.)” (John 12: 23-25, 27-28, 31-33)

At the transfiguration on the mountain, Jesus shows his disciples what they would instantly recognize as glorification. But he knew his true glorification would happen on the cross, as he takes upon himself the burden of the whole world's sins. He does this not just for his followers, nor just for his fellow Jews, but for all the people of the world, including those in the process of executing him. (Luke 23:34) It is this demonstration of the self-sacrificial love of God for his rebellious creatures that is truly glorious.

We often confuse what is glorious in Jesus. Some people are still looking for a great warrior who will kill evildoers. When the military dictatorship that was the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, we start to see church art in which Jesus depicted as a great stern king on a throne. Such a picture is called Christ Pantokrator; that is, Christ Almighty or Christ Ruler of All. This is the way kings like to think of Christ, not as a dying person on the cross nor even as the good shepherd carrying home the lost sheep, but as a conqueror. And of course the emperor or king was seen as God's regent on earth, basking in his reflected glory and given the power of life and death over others who should serve him. Contrast that with Jesus who said, “For even the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

It isn't so much that Jesus isn't the rightful king of all the earth but that an over-emphasis on this aspect and a neglect of what he did for us on the cross distorts the gospel. If we focus exclusively on the conventional concept of glory and ignore Jesus' unique view of it, we can end up rubber-stamping the world's standard methodology in dealing with evil: crush those we see as the cause of disorder and wickedness.

Commander Oliver Hazard Perry famously said in his report of a Revolutionary War battle, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” Jesus would agree instead with the assessment of the comic strip possum Pogo: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” As you can see from the state of the world, humans are their own worst enemy. If we want the world to be better, we need to start with ourselves and our own flaws. Until we remove the 2x4s in our own eyes, we will not be able to take care of the speck in the eyes of others. (Matthew 7:3-5) But we cannot do this ourselves. We have tried and failed again and again. We need to turn to Jesus, trust him and let his Spirit rule in our lives.

Jesus didn't say that to follow him we must cling to our rights, pick up our sword and banner and go on crusade. He said we must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. The road to glory goes through Golgotha. One day we shall see the glory of Jesus, dazzling like the sun, but not until we can see the glory in him hanging from the cross, on the day the sun refused to shine.