CWC- Epistle Lesson - Transfiguration Sunday -– Kieth Bernard Kuschel
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
IA1 Why did Peter want to build three shelters on the Mt of Transfiguration? Peter had just seen obvious evidence that Jesus is God. He wanted a permanent reference point to go back to in order to be reminded that Jesus really is true God. He wanted to be able to go back there every time some doubts about Jesus would arise in his life.
2 What? Peter needed a permanent reference point to remind him that Jesus really was God? He had a lot more proof than we have. He heard Jesus. He watched Jesus. He saw the miracles of Jesus. He saw the transfiguration. What is wrong with him? We don’t have any of what he had. If we only had what Peter had, it would be so much easier for us to believe in Jesus.
B1 Are we saying that God hasn’t ever done anything miraculous in our life that matches the Mt of Transfiguration? Are we having a self-pity party because we don’t think we have received the same privileges that Peter and the other apostles received when they were physically and personally with Jesus?
2 Paul’s comment in the verses before us today is: {6}“God said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” God created all things. With the power of His almighty word He said, “Let there be light.” The result? Light shined out of darkness. That is the same God who allowed the light of His glory to become bright and obvious on the Mt of Transfiguration to the three apostles. Same God. Same power. Same Light of the world.
3 He says to us, “God has done the same thing in each of your hearts.” {6}“God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts. Same God. Same power. Same Light of the world. We don’t have to feel sorry for ourselves. Peter didn’t have any advantage over us. God did the same miracle in our hearts that He did on the Mt of Transfiguration and at the creation. He caused His light to shine.
C1 What is the result of God’s use of His power to shine into our hearts? {6b}“To give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God .” We know God isn’t some impersonal, unapproachable force who is not interested in us. We know He is not a vicious judge who wants to punish people for not following impossible demands. We know He deserves our praise because He wants us to be with Him forever. This knowledge is ours only because God has exercised His creative almighty power and has shined into our hearts.
2 This knowledge about God is ours{6b} “in the face of Christ.” It is in the face of Jesus looking at us that we see the forgiveness of sins which Jesus won for us by dying on the cross. It is in the face of Jesus turned toward us that we see the holiness lived by Jesus with which He covers us. It is in the face of Jesus shining at us that we see the eternal life earned by Jesus when He rose from the dead.
3 It doesn’t matter if we were on the Mt of Transfiguration or not. Because we weren’t there, it is true - we didn’t see the physical light, bright as a flash of lightning. But God has shined His almighty power into our souls. His light has shined.
IIA1 “Even if our Gospel is veiled.” (Vs 3). The good news that Jesus lived and died and rose to give the world forgiveness, holiness and eternal life sometimes gets put under something so that it can’t shine appropriately.
2 It can’t shine appropriately when people bury it under the veil of human reason. Human beings on our own would say that the message about Jesus the Savior is foolishness. Human beings on our own reject God’s truth. Paul’s comment is, {3}“it is veiled to those who are perishing.”
3 Human beings get reinforced in their thinking by the devil. {4}The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” On my own I don’t agree with God’s truth. The devil says to me, “You are right in the way you think. Stick with it.” So we do.
4 Human beings on our own think the Gospel is foolish. How can Jesus of Nazareth, a real human being, also be true God? That is foolish. That is how people responded to Jesus Himself. He did miracles. Instead of confessing that obviously Jesus is God, they said He was using the power of the devil. If those people had been on the Mt of Transfiguration with Peter, James and John, they would have come up with an alternate explanation as to why the light was shining.
B1 We shouldn’t miss one important little word in this verse. {3}Even if our Gospel is veiled Paul was writing. The good news about Jesus had become his. God had shined it into his life. It had become part of him. Now he was shining it into the lives of others.
2 The same is true for us. God has shined the Gospel into our lives. It has become ours. It should be shining from us to others. At Christmas time do we say this baby Jesus is God and our Savior? Or do we put a veil over that Biblical truth because we are embarrassed by this illogical teaching? When a natural disaster occurs, do we say that God is in control? Or do we put a veil over that Biblical teaching when we don’t have a good answer to the “Why” question? On Ash Wednesday would we be willing to wear a cross of ashes on our forehead to indicate we are Christians who acknowledge our sinfulness? Or do we put a veil over that because sin is not a politically correct concept in our world. On Good Friday do we say that this person who died was God? Or do we put a veil over that because that makes no sense at all? On Easter do we say that Jesus rose from the dead? Or do we put a veil over that because nobody has ever seen any body else rise from the dead?
C1 Many of us here have been Christians from little on. There was not a time in our lives that we can remember when we did not believe that Jesus lived and died and rose to give us forgiveness, holiness, and eternal life. It is very easy for us to get upset and even angry when people reject the good news about Jesus. We need to be reminded over and over again. Christians are the exception. Unbelievers are the norm.
2 The combined effort of the devil and our self oriented humanity put up such a good barrier to the Light of the world that the gospel often remains veiled in the lives of many people. That darkness is all around us. Don’t let the epiphany light, shined into our hearts just as clearly as it was for Peter on Transfiguration, get veiled. It if does, think of all the darkness that won’t get resolved.
IIIA1 What would be a normal human response when the Gospel is veiled to many and Satan blinds many? Frustration. Do you know where frustration comes from? Self-focus. For St Paul that would have sounded like this: “ Many people aren’t accepting the Gospel. I am supposed to be a transmitter of the Gospel. I look bad when people don’t believe the Gospel. I want to be viewed as a success. I don’t like to be viewed as a failure.” What would be a pretty standard next step after thinking like that? Stop doing what makes you look like a failure.
2 Paul didn’t decide to stop. Why not? Because he knew none of this was about him. If Paul had been preaching his own philosophy and it wasn’t working, it would have meant Paul was a failure at producing spiritual philosophy and he should have tried something else. But he wasn’t preaching his own spiritual philosophy. He preached the gospel, the powerful truth of God. If Paul had been presenting himself as the solution to people’s spiritual problems and nobody was accepting the message, it would have meant Paul was a failure at marketing and he should have quit. But he didn’t present himself as a spiritual solution for people. He pointed them to Jesus.
3 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” {5} Jesus had served Paul by living and dying and rising to give him forgiveness and holiness and eternal life. Paul wanted to serve other people by giving them the same blessings from Jesus. The result would be a bigger family for Jesus. Rejection of Paul’s message meant rejection of Jesus. It was not a personal reflection on the success or failure of Paul. So, he didn’t quit.
B1 Frustration. It is a challenge we have to face as we attempt to direct people to Jesus. Imagine being in a country like Japan as a Christian missionary. Ten years, twenty years. Few people have become Christians. Huge amounts of time and resources have been expended. The questions would swirl in your head, wouldn’t they? Is it me? Maybe I should quit. Maybe somebody else should try. The questions would swirl in the meetings of the committee responsible for the work. Should we keep expending resources with so few results? Should we stop trying there and expend the resources and use people in some other part of the world? Or should we just quit altogether.
2 We offer the community worship opportunities every week. Not many visitors come. We send personalized invitations to people who move into the community. Few come. We invite people to come to musical presentations about Jesus. Few come. We invite people to come to study about Jesus in Bible Classes. Few come. We participate in parades to make people aware of our presence. Few seem to be. We build a beautiful, functional worship facility to make worshiping Jesus easily accessible. Few come to check it out. The questions swirl in our head, don’t they? Should we just quit doing these things
3 You talk to your friend about Jesus. You talk to your friend about eternal life when the topic of death comes up. You talk about sin when some crime in the community is under discussion. You are open about worshiping Jesus every week. . You invite your friend to worship Jesus with you. You invite your friend to low-key spiritual events at our church. No acceptances. No obvious changes in attitude toward Jesus. The questions swirl in your head, don’t they? Is it me? Maybe I should quit. Maybe somebody else should try.
4 We need to remember Paul’s words. {5} “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” This is not about you. This is not about whether you are a success or failure. This is all about Jesus. People need Jesus even if they don’t admit they need Jesus. The light needs to keep on shining. There is nothing wrong with the message. How do you know that? Look at what God accomplished with it in your life. The light has shined. It should shine no matter what.