Thinking Through Luke 9:28-36
by Clarke Dixon
Vladimir Putin has said that he is a Christian. But is he listening to the voice of Jesus these days? Are we?
Reading through the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we often read of Jesus doing extraordinary things, but usually in ordinary circumstances and among ordinary people. There is an event that leaps out as being different:
About eight days later Jesus took Peter, John, and James up on a mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. They were glorious to see. And they were speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.
Peter and the others had fallen asleep. When they woke up, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with him.
Luke 9:28-32 (NLT)
The presence of Moses and Elijah was extraordinary as both had been gone for centuries! But we should not be surprised, for an extraordinary fact, which this story relates, calls for an extraordinary event.
Moses and Elijah were not just long gone heroes of the faith, they symbolized the law and the prophets. Jesus spoke to them about “his exodus” a hint that just as God had revealed something about himself when he rescued a people in an exodus from Egypt, God was revealing himself again in Jesus.
The extraordinary continues:
As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them.
Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.” When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone.Luke 9:32-36 (NLT emphasis added)
God did not say “listen to Moses,” representing the law, nor did he say “listen to Elijah,” representing the prophets, but rather “listen to Jesus.” And to put an exclamation mark on that point, Jesus was there alone. Though God had revealed himself through the law and through the prophets, God was revealing himself more fully and more thoroughly through Jesus.
You could be forgiven for meeting Jesus, for seeing the extraordinary things he did among ordinary people and thinking he was just a great miracle worker. But the event on the mountain with Moses and Elijah pointed out that Jesus was no ordinary miracle worker. This event pointed to a fact the disciples, and many more would become convinced of following Jesus’ resurrection, namely that Jesus was in fact “God with us.” If Moses represented the law and Elijah represented the prophets, Jesus represented God!
The writer of Hebrews captured this when he wrote:
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
Hebrews 1:1-3 (NRSV emphasis added)
This understanding of the extraordinary identity of Jesus led to a huge change in thinking. While the law and the prophets could be useful, as the apostle Paul said in one of his letters, Jesus is how one relates to God.
Peter became convinced of this when he had a vision where he was told to eat unclean foods. The law said he should not! God said he should!
Paul and a complete rethinking of his knowledge of God based on his experience of Jesus. Though he was a Pharisee, devoted to keeping the law with great attention to detail, what Jesus said became more important to Paul than what the law said. So thorough was Paul’s rethinking that we read in his letter to the Galatians his warning that Christians from a non-Jewish background should not become circumcised. The law said they should!
Peter, Paul, and all the other disciples came to know that in Jesus, God had revealed himself more fully than ever before, and that now we relate to God through a new covenant. Now we listen to him.
This event on the mountain with Moses and Elijah might seem different and strange compared to the usual stories of the miracles and teaching of Jesus, but it happened for an important purpose. It was the greatest glimpse up to that point, that Peter, James, and John would have of Jesus’ identity, and of God’s. Knowing who Jesus was, and is, changed everything. Peter, James, John, Paul, and so many others devoted their lives to listening to Jesus.
Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son…
Hebrews 1:1 (NRSV)
Are you listening to Jesus?
There are some things that can help us hear the voice of Jesus, like our own conscience, for example. Our gut feelings can be a Holy Spirit thing, a conscience that is getting sharpened as our relationship with God is deepening. Or our gut may lead us astray. We need prayerful wisdom in knowing when our conscience is helping us hear the voice of Jesus, and when it is not.
Mediation and thoughtful reflection can help us hear the voice of Jesus. There is a long tradition within Christianity of deep thought. Thinking can help us hear the voice of God. It can also lead us astray. We need prayerful wisdom in discerning the voice of Jesus in all our mediation.
The voices of others can help us discern truth and hear the voice of Jesus. Christian friends, Christian authors, and yes, Christian pastors, like me, can help. And we can also lead you astray. We need prayerful wisdom in discerning the voice of Jesus in the voice of others.
Christian traditions can help us learn truth and hear the voice of Jesus, whether the reformed tradition, the charismatic tradition, or some other. But they can also lead us astray. To give an example, many traditions in the past had elements of anti-semitism in their interpretations of Scripture. We need prayerful wisdom in discerning the voice of Jesus within traditions and expressions of Christian faith.
The Bible can be our biggest help when it comes to listening to Jesus. But it can also hinder us from hearing the voice of Jesus. How?!
The Bible can hinder our hearing the voice of Jesus when we try to apply Bible passages to our lives without recognizing the context in which they were written. For example, my wife and I are currently both reading through Leviticus. There is so much in Leviticus that we could not put into practice in our lives today. Even if we could, I reckon we would sometimes feel rather “unChristian,” even sinful if we tried. However, we are not called to keep all those laws we read in Leviticus. We are not under the old covenant, that is not how we relate to God today. We are under the new covenant, we relate to God through Jesus.
The words of the Bible should not be given a higher place in our lives than the voice of Jesus. Let us remember that Moses and Elijah represented the law and the prophets, which was code for the writings that made up the Bible before the writing of the New Testament. Yet God said “This is my son, my chosen, listen to him.” Let us remember that we are Christians, not “Biblians.” We might assume that Jesus helps us read the Bible, but actually, the Bible helps us hear Jesus.
Let us dive deeper into why this is important with an example. If we just focus on the old covenant, we will not murder because doing so would lead to our own death. Listening to the law, we might avoid murder merely out of self-interest. But if we listen to Jesus, we will focus on growing in our character, a character that reflects the goodness of God, a character which reflects the fruit of the Spirit. When we do so we will not murder, not out of self-interest, but out of love for the other. Trying too hard to be “Biblical” can result in our missing of the target of being Christlike. A focus on the letter of the law can result in missing opportunities to reflect the love of God.
As we read the Bible, we need prayerful wisdom in discerning the voice of Jesus.
In Conclusion
So back to the original question on whether or not Vladimir Putin is listening to Jesus. I tend to think that any world leader listening to the voice of Jesus would hear the call to be a shepherd and would focus on taking care of people. Those who are not listening tend to become rulers who focus on building empires.
Sadly, many world leaders over the centuries, even those who have called themselves Christians, even those who have quoted the Bible, have shown no evidence of listening to Jesus.
Do we?
Watch the sermon on which this is devotional is based at this link. Clarke Dixon is a Canadian pastor and appears here most Thursdays we’ve found his writings are a perfect fit for C201. Click the header above Clarke’s name to read things at his site.
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