Well, it is a tremendous privilege to be here with you in a Bible hour. This is my first time. I was busy elsewhere a couple of weeks, and our time here in St. Louis is just about ending. So it's a privilege to see you guys. Thank you, Pastor Jeff, for the privilege to take part of expositing the Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time that you've given us. We thank you that you are kind to us, Lord, that we can open your word, that we can glimpse at who you are. We praise you, Lord, for Christ and the cross. We praise you for the blood of Christ. And we pray, Lord, that you would open our eyes and teach us from this text of Matthew 17. Father, I pray this in the name of Christ. Amen. Could you please stand with me to read Matthew 17, chapter 17, verses 1 to 13. So if you may stand to read the word of God. I will read it. And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. He was still speaking, when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him. And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, Rise, and have no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. And the disciples asked him, then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? He answered, Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come. and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist." Christ is infinitely greater as it is revealed in scripture. We are Often our understanding of Christ and his identity is often incomplete. It can be incomplete. Our minds are limited to his human context. Though we understand that he is divine and God incarnate, his work on earth often rules our thoughts and our perspectives because we speak about what he has done on earth. He fulfilled the law that he is with us until the age, and we do encourage each other with the promises of God. We think of him as our savior who saves us from our sins, which is the truth, but the scriptures communicate the truthful identity of Christ without emphasizing one aspect or another. Do we consider Christ in his divine splendor? Do we think of him in those terms? We must behold Christ in a right view of his identity. The scriptures communicate about who he is in his glory and because of that what he has done on earth for the sake of his flock. The Puritan Stephen Charnock says, God is a spirit infinitely happy, therefore we must approach him with cheerfulness. He is a spirit of infinite majesty, therefore we must come before him with reverence. He is a spirit infinitely high, therefore we must offer up our sacrifices with the deepest humility. He is a Spirit infinitely holy, therefore we must address with purity. He is a Spirit infinitely glorious, we must therefore acknowledge His excellency in all that we do, and in our measures contribute to His glory, by having the highest aims in His worship. He is a Spirit infinitely provoked by us, therefore we must offer up our worship in the name of a pacifying mediator and intercessor. This is worthy consideration of who God is because it is built around the believer's knowledge of the divine identity of Christ. God is an infinitely happy, infinitely majestic, infinitely high, infinitely holy, infinitely glorious being. Much of Chernok's focus is surrounded around the idea of divine manifestation or divine glory. The transfiguration event in Matthew 17 is preceded by a sequence of events where Jesus' identity is defined and revealed in a progressive way. This sequence is revealed in the Gospel of Matthew where we see Jesus dialogue with the disciples about his identity in Matthew 16. And these are the verses between, what I'm talking about is verses 13 and 20. Peter's revelation of Christ happens in Philippi, at the northern border of Israel. Simon recognizes that Jesus, the Christ, is the Son of God. After this revelation, it is a grace that is extended to Simon. He receives a new name from the Lord. His name is Petrus, which in Greek it means rock or stone. The rock as a metaphor is used for divine communal stability. Jesus identifies Simon as a rock as a response to his recognition of the Christ in order to establish divine community. Clearly, there is a difference because the church in a Jewish community, the synagogue, was something else, whereas the true church has a divine identity. it will have all authority to bind and loosen. It is a spiritual authority. Jesus' revelation to Peter and his teaching on the church is based on divine realities which are to be private. The disciples are charged not to reveal these things to the crowds. The disciples are not to divulge Jesus' messianic identity. The sequence in the narrative changes after this, as in, chapter 16, Jesus transitions into a thematic statement on what the rest of the gospel contains. Jesus teaches his disciples that he will suffer many things at the hands of the opponents who seek his death and eventually will die at their hands but will be raised in Jerusalem. This is an interesting statement from the Lord as it goes directly against what the disciples would have believed. It was the disciples deep-seated Jewish influence that the Christ must be crowned in Jerusalem. Why? Because of the Jewish background. The suffering of Christ is a shocking prediction against all belief influenced by Jewish tradition. Well, after this, there is the warning of those who would be ashamed of Jesus and his words. The words of Christ are hard to understand, and this is reflected by Peter's words, by trying to shield the Lord from suffering and death. But the cross and its meaning is explained in Matthew 16 verses 24 to 28. It is a metaphor of self-denial. Losing one's life shows in a paradoxical metaphor of finding one's life in verse 26. Following Christ essentially means finding life while one must lose his life. This example is starkly countercultural. Yet it finds fulfillment in the coming judgment of the Son of Man. The precursor events, Peter's confession of Philippi, Jesus' request to keep his messianic identity a secret, his prediction of his suffering, death, and resurrection, and his warning that many will be ashamed at his words prior to the Transfiguration prove their place in the main theme of the gospel, which is the coming of the kingdom of God. So the transfiguration of Christ coherently adds up to the events leading up to it, and it is logical follow-up in the progression of these events. it is needed to be revealed in scripture in order to reveal the true identity of Christ. So, in Matthew 17, verses 1 to 13, there are three considerations of the divine glory of Christ that will help us understand the true identity of who the Son of God is. The first consideration is the deity of manifested of the Manifested Son, and the second consideration will be Deity of the Son Acknowledged. The third consideration will be Deity of the Son Rejected. So let's look at the first consideration, deity manifested in the sun, verses 1 to 3. In verse 1, the text reads, after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother. Well, the six days, which can be understood as eight days with Luke's gospel account, is the same event. The eight days separate two events, which is a sequence of events. Matthew refers to two particular events in the context. The one is Jesus's revelations to the disciples of his coming suffering. And the second one is a transfiguration. These sequential events indicate something more. For example, instruction. In Matthew 16, verses 13 to 28, the Christ has has been revealed to the disciples through Peter's confession to the Lord. The confirmation of Christ's Messiahship is an extraordinary revelation of the Father to Peter and even to the disciples. The acknowledgement of Jesus as Messiah, however, is toned down by the realities of Jesus' upcoming death and his coming suffering and what this means for the disciples. They clearly are discouraged to hear that their Lord is about to die whenever they are expecting essentially him to be coronated. The reality is the Messiah will suffer alone, the Son whose true nature is in divine glory. Together with the transfiguration, the last two events should be connected since they happened in a few days apart each other. So the Lord takes with Him to a secluded place Peter, James, and John. These three were very close to Him. James and John were the sons of Zebedee. Peter is known from the previous chapter. He assumes leadership. The three disciples would be basically the inner circle of the 12 disciples. In Mark 5, in chapter 5, it says, and he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John, the brother of James. These three would constantly be close to the Lord in some way or circumstance. The role of these three would underline the significance of their role in the beginning of the church. These three, with Jesus on the mountain, would have been the more reliable sources for the rest of the disciples to give them the message that Jesus is the Son of God throughout the Transfiguration. If all of these Disciples would have been with Jesus on the mountain with a possible crowd in their company. There could have been a possible widespread of a heavenly vision. But the Lord ensures that there would be some separation with the three. So there is a purpose in the fact that Jesus takes these three disciples separately from the twelve and from the crowds. The high mountain signifies something is about to happen. The mountain was thought of being located in Philippi. The point is proper separation and privacy with the Lord in order that he could manifest to them his deity. Remember, they already know who he is, at least they know through the Lord and his revelation to Peter in the previous chapter 16. But this is different. This is the physical revelation of a deity. This is about the revelation of the glory of the sun. It will be the revelation of glory from on high, a glory of pre-incarnation. The moment that follows is the miracle of transformation or the transfiguration of Jesus. So in Greek, it's a word called metamorpho, which means that it's a substance change. There is changing something into something. In verse 2, we see this transfiguration. It's a radical change, and it's from the inmost This is a complete transformation of form into something divine. So this is extraordinary. The form change results in Jesus' face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. The event is truly magnificent and majestic, supernatural event. His clothes shone white as light, which is a manifestation of divinity. His face shone like the sun. This imagery reflects absolute purity, majestic light, utter holiness, incomprehensible from a human reasoning, right? Nevertheless, it is revealed to the disciples who need to know the Son's real identity. Please open with me to Exodus 34, if you may. Exodus chapter 34. I will read it. It's verse 29 and verse 30. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses. And behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him." Moses experienced the glory of God real up close. Moses spent time in the presence of deity, so he reflected something of the glory of God. As a fallen human being, he reflected the glory of a divine being. But Jesus himself was transfigured. Notice, Jesus' transformation occurs on his own. He does not merely reflect the glory of God through the presence of the Father, the same way it happened with Moses. At the moment of transfiguration, the Father's direct presence is absent. Jesus transfigures on his own to reveal his divine nature. He transfigures on his own, which is a form of revelation that he himself is divine majesty. Well, MacArthur confirms this. And he says, here is the greatest confirmation of his deity yet in the life of Jesus. Jesus' deity is manifested on his own, by his own power. What Jesus reveals is the pre-incarnate glory of the Son. John talks about this in chapter 1, in the Gospel of John chapter 1, I'll read it to you. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. But this majestic revelation of deity of the Son proven by the transfiguration which he left behind in his incarnation did not change his equality with God. Something which is worthy of consideration. But what happened was he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant. And what do we know? That he was obedient to the death. The exaltation of divine glory of Christ is anticipated in 2 Peter chapter 1. verses 16 to 18, and is revealed in the book of Revelation for us, even though we wait until our glorification. We are waiting to face the reality of the glory of Christ in a tangible way. So follow me to Revelations, chapter 1. Please, if you could open with me the book to Revelations, chapter 1, verse 16. It says, in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face he was like the sun shining in full strength. The transfiguration of Christ reveals that Christ belongs to the divine reality with the Father. The seven stars imply the strength and the power which is omnipotence. This image is the expectation of the revelation of full divine majesty and glory to come. We would do well to nurture a right view of Christ, a complete view of Christ in his splendor and his majesty. The scripture is full of the glory of Christ and the revelation of Christ. Have you seen him as he ought to be seen? Have you known him as he is worthy to be known? Has he ever satisfied you with a glimpse of his glory? Have you sought him with unquenchable thirst? Do you behold him in his radiating of divine glory? Well, am I saying that we need to have supernatural experiences to understand the right identity of Christ? No. If our faith in any way depended on a supernatural manifestation of divine glory, as in a transfiguration of Christ, we would no longer uphold the power and the sufficiency of the scriptures. The scriptures proclaim the full identity of the Son in a narrative of the scripture. It would be difficult to miss the majesty and the divine kingship of the Son. Any sort of extra-biblical revelations would discredit and disregard the words of God, which are sufficient and we would no longer be able to call the word inerrant. The revelation of God in Christ is complete with the Old Testament and the New Testament. The inerrant and insufficient word of God conveys to us the whole counsel of God, and in it the glory of Christ is revealed. How would we otherwise know about the events of Jesus' transfiguration? Or the glory of God appearing in Mount Sinai in Exodus 19? Or the countless Old Testament examples of the manifestation of divine glory? These revelations and the divine glory of Christ is revealed for us in scriptures. We need not to look elsewhere. We must have the right view of the Son by beholding the revelation of His deity and His glory in the scriptures. We need to seek to know Him and grow in that very knowledge. This will be a right trajectory of hopeful expectation of seeing him face to face at the end of our time when we pass through the veil. In verse three, in the midst of divine magnificent revelation of Jesus, the ecstatic event intensifies. So follow with me in verse three. So now Moses and Elijah appear. Both Old Testament characters had eschological roles. Matthew places Moses first unlike in the Gospel of Mark. The character of Moses shows an eschatological role of the prophet. Elijah, similarly, was supposed to be a forerunner. He was defending the law of God. These Old Testament figures both experience a vision of God's glory. Moses and Elijah both serve the purpose of giving testimony of Christ's divine glory. They represent the Old Testament law and the prophets. Their testimony of Jesus is confirming the Christ whom they represented and testified about in whose power they served and ministered. They give living testimony of the Christ who fulfills all the Old Testament prophecies. Moses and Elijah and their testimony of Christ also testifies of a plan, a future predetermined plan of Moses being delivered, or the Messiah being delivered. We read Luke chapter 9. You don't have to open with me. It says chapter 9 verse 30 and 31. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. The supernatural encounter for the three disciples is a divine encouragement and strengthening that their king will be indeed delivered up. But it is a preordained plan of the father for the son to be the savior of the world. The second consideration. of the Son acknowledged. If you follow with me to verse 4 in Matthew chapter 17 Peter's words interrupt the supernatural event where Christ showing his true divine form and this is what is called Christophane which means that something that Jesus changed into his real form, divine form. Peter speaks for the three disciples as he is the leader. This indicates his distinct role This was confirmed for him in Matthew 16, right? Mark describes the situation fuller in chapter 9, verse 6. The disciples were terrified in the moment of glory. Peter senses a greatness and, well, suggests to build a tabernacle. The word tabernacle in the Greek is the idea of a forerunner of the temple, but can also refer to a Jewish feast of tabernacles. This has an eschatological idea as well. It's probable that Peter's thinking may be to celebrate the coming deliverance of mankind from sin. But notice, he even seeks the Lord's approval by asking the Lord, if you wish. But his foolishness is followed with a rebuke. So now look with me to verse 5. It is not the first time Peter shows a faulty understanding of who the Christ is. In chapter 16 he confesses Christ yet rebukes him because he does not understand the Christ. In Matthew 17 verse 4 he repeats that mistake by compromising the Lord's identity. This is the time the father rebukes Peter in verse 5. Well notice the text reads, he was still speaking. In the middle of Peter's speech the cloud overshadowed them all. Matthew's intention is to draw attention on Peter's foolishness. But it is the terror of the Father that rebukes Peter's foolishness. It says, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Well, the cloud imagery is connected with Old Testament, and it's an intertestamental Judaism. It represents end times. Clouds, for instance, in Psalm 97, it says, clouds and thick darkness are all around him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne, the throne of the omnipotent, is an unapproachable throne because not everyone is called to be there. So in Zephaniah chapter 1, 15, it says, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. But there is a terror of the Lord, especially to those who are far from him, who are alienated from him. These are those who are not brought near by the blood of Christ. Notice the imagery of the cloud in the context of Christians. So if you Open with me to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, please. Verses 17 and 18. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 17 to 18. then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together within the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words." Matthew mentions that the cloud was bright, which is a remembrance of the Shekinah glory. Jesus indeed replaces Moses as an eschatological prophet. The kingdom of the Messiah is near and that is what it shows. The Messianic king and his coming kingdom is confirmed by the voice in the bright clouds saying, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. The whole narrative basically tops at this very part of the text. There is an almost identical text in Matthew 3.17 at the baptism of the Lord, which now, in the presence of Elijah and Moses, places the Son beyond them. The father's affirmation of his son is not only a declaration of his divine love for him, but it is the affirmation of the divinity of the son. The father shares the same truth with the son, which is basically a classic Trinitarianism. That's what we would believe. The son shares the same nature with the father. The affirmation of the Father's divine nature is in perfect accordance with the Son declared of Himself in John 8, verse 58, where the Son declares of Himself, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. The father is pleased to be the beloved because he acts according to the predetermined plan of redemption. The son acts and speaks in perfect accordance with the father. Listen to him can be also, let's say, an allusion to Deuteronomy 18, 15, where the Lord says, is it to him you shall listen. Moses' role is rather typological, whereas Elijah's is eschatological. but the two are incomparable with the deity of the Son. The two, to the Christ, must the disciples listen, because Christ alone fulfills the law. The Old Testament prophets play a starkly supporting role, nothing else. The call of listening to the Son, who is the servant in the context, seems to be addressing Peter's foolishness of, as we remember Peter thought of the Lord, and he wanted to shield the Lord from suffering and death. The Father's affirmation of the deity of the Son and his instruction of listening to the Christ is what the disciples need to hear. The reaction of the disciples to the awesome words of the Father is, look with me, it says, they fell on their faces and were terrified in Matthew 17 verse 6. They fell on their faces and were terrified. The disciples' reaction to the Father's audible voice is appropriate. It is also not unusual. In Ezekiel 1, verse 28b, it says, Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord, and when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of the one speaking. In Revelations chapter 1 verse 17 John writes, when I saw him I fell at his feet as though dead. In Daniel chapter 10 verse 9 mentions, then I heard the sound of his words and as I heard the sound of his words I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. In the presence of the Father, brethren, there is awe and trembling. due to the presence of His Divine Majesty. Man's fallen nature cannot ever be compatible with the Divine, therefore it cannot appear in the presence of the Deity and the Holiness of God. The sovereignty of God is an awesome revelation to behold. The Father, as the Omnipotent One, speaks with an audible voice with the purpose of affirmation of His Son, whose voice must be hearkened. During the past events, through the Old Testament revelation of God, God always appeared in dark clouds with lightning and thunders. Truly a terrifying experience. In the New Testament, the cloud has an eschatological significance. It signals Jesus, who is the Messianic King, whose kingdom is downing. Thus, the Father is approachable through the propitiation of the Son. The scripture sufficiently and inherently informs us of God, of who God is, but also does produce the right effect, holiness and conformity to the image of God. But can it be that a glimpse of the majesty of Christ would cause no change in man? Can this be you? Yet, people claim to have been in God's presence, they claim to know Him, they have seen Him, yet their life is not reflecting His divine holiness. They are not transformed to the image of God in Christ. They claim that the Spirit of God thrown them on the floor on their backs or other extra-biblical revelations, but biblical truth proves they are in error. At best, I suggest, they not know the Scriptures. They are ignorant of the Scriptures and at worst they are delusional or they are lying. The Old Testament and New Testament revelations are closed. The canon is closed. There can be no need for new revelations or the such in Matthew 17. The terror and awe of God is equally being produced in the revelation of Scripture. Well, how? Through the truth of the life, work, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ represents the Father. The ones who have seen Christ have seen the Father also. To experience the awe and terror of the Lord happens first in our facing of our sin before a holy and pure God. We face the terror of sin and its consequence of eternal torment under holy wrath. And by God's mercy, we experience all by the face of Christ shining on us at the revelation of God's forgiveness. Thus, God extends us grace to believe and then the face of Christ to appropriate. God's awesome revelation of sovereignty must be experienced in the scriptures to understand His majesty. Look with me in verse 7. Notice Jesus comes to the disciples and touches them so they may stand. The gospel narratives often describe people coming to Jesus. In Matthew there are two instances where the opposite happens. Jesus comes to them. Matthew 28 verse 18, And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And the other is verse 9, what we're going to look at right now. By the touch of Jesus, strength enters into them and lifts them up on their feet. Grace, thus, is extended to them by the touch of Deity. In the Gospel narrative, the touch of Jesus is in a context of healing. In Matthew 8, verse 3, it says, And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I will be, I will be clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Or in Matthew 9, verse 6, But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He then said to the paralytic, Rise, pick up your bed, and go home. Or Matthew 8, verse 15, He touched her, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. These sequences point out for us that Jesus himself initiates as he himself heals. which is a manifestation of divine comfort. The point of these divine invitations of healing is encouragement. And this encouragement is aimed at having a healthy fear of God, the Father, and of Christ. It is a reverent fear. The ecstatic event disappear in an instant as the text suggests in verse 9. A prelude is the visible divine splendor and now they only see Jesus. There is no terror of the presence of the Father and the vision of the two prophets anymore. This was a sudden event which passed in an instant. What remains for the disciples is the prophetic vision they took part of, Jesus and the Father's voice. This vision must stay with them before them as every believer in Christ. We must experience the voice of the Lord and the manifestation of Christ. The instruction of the Father in verse 7 is that these disciples must believe Jesus. I will read to you 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. and their privilege is to possess something of the glory of God and the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus. The Son is revealed in Scripture in His other deity, so He is not to be taken for granted, yes, by not understanding rightly of who He is. Brethren, Christ must be sought after, to be immersed in the realities of who He is, to love, to grow in the fear of the Lord. And the Son in His deity proves His love in full force of His divine faithfulness. In Luke 28, verse 20, it says, And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. His promise is what these disciples saw after the magnificent event they saw Jesus. He is our only hope, and if it is true, then we must see Him at all times. We must look for Him, we must behold Him. He seeks after us to save us from the wrath to come and then never leaves us as if we deserved His divine attention. In 1 John 21, verse 1, It says, My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Beholding Christ thus is the only hope for us as we face the terror of the Father's awesome presence. Only Christ himself can be a protection in this striking reality of the deity. Let's look at the third point, the third consideration. Deity of the sun rejected. And they were coming down the mountain, in verse 9. Notice the revelation has passed. They are walking down the hill in a sense of normalcy, though not for Christ. He belongs in the divine realm. He tells them to be silent about the vision. There is a similarity to Matthew 16, 20, where it says, then he strictly charged them, the disciples, to tell no one that he was the Christ. The vision can only be shared at the right time. The resurrection is the turning point in the events where it will be appropriate to tell of the magnificent vision. But the time is not yet. It is secret and secrecy is needed. The Christ is to avoid messianism which would spring up from the crowds. So in Romans chapter 1 verse 14 it says, And was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. The glimpses of revelation at the transfiguration to a privileged few cannot eventually be compared with the full revelation of the resurrection. The Son of Man cannot be prevented in his journey to death. In verse 10, in Matthew 17, the disciples' response in the conversation with Jesus at the first sun's out. They are coming down from the mountain after the magnificent revelation of the divinity of the sun, and they ask a question about Elijah. Remember, Moses coming down from Mount Sinai, how did it happen in Exodus 34? How was that? He was full of the glory of the Lord by being in the awesome presence of the Father, but the disciples ask a question about Elijah. And it is because they do not understand the divine and preordained plan of their father. Their understanding was from text like Malachi chapter 4 verse 5. So please open with me to Malachi chapter 4 verse 5. Malachi chapter 4 verse 5 says, Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." Elijah, brethren, was an eschatological figure whose role was to restore all things, including true worship and justice. So how can it be that Elijah must come first to restore all things? How could it be that the Messiah must suffer and die? They cannot comprehend this because of the teaching of the scribes and pharisees. Elijah must come and events will unfold in a timeline, but more than this, they cannot believe how the Messiah could die. In verses 11 and 12 in Matthew 17, the Lord now explains the confusion of the disciples. He is well aware of their thinking and about what the scripture were teaching. Jesus confirms to the the teaching of the scribes basically and he says he validates them and he says Elijah must come and restore all things he will indeed come in verse 6 of Malachi chapter 4 It says, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. Elijah was to set the spiritual climate ready for the Messiah, and he was to pronounce repentance. Elijah, however, was not to restore all things in the true sense of the word. That work remains for Christ. Jesus talks about Elijah both in the future tense and present tense in the Greek, and in Mark's account it's a bit more consistent in the grammar, but the point of this all is that Jesus confirms the Old Testament prophecy of Malachi. The disciples are still unable to connect the dots until Jesus gives them light. But I tell you is a divine enlightening in verse 12. It is a divine privilege to involve them with the understanding of Malachi's prophetic words. Without the Lord, they would not be able to comprehend. But now Jesus opens their understanding. Elijah was starkly missed by the scribes, but he was missed by the peoples as well. The Lord discredits the knowledge of the scribes. They did not understand the scripture, although their interpretation proved right. They did not recognize him. Jesus said of them in Matthew 23 and verse 24, you blind guides, straining out a net and swallowing the camel. Elijah was before their eyes, before the eyes of the scribes, in close vicinity, but their understanding was hardened. In verse 12c, Jesus comments on the scribes in a repetition of the prophecy regarding the Messiah. In Matthew 16 verses 21-23 it says, But they did not give to him whatever they pleased, so also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands. Elijah, thus, was executed at the hands of the scribes. John the Baptist succeeded the fate of the Old Testament prophets by his death, as he was persecuted and put to death. And Matthew records this event in chapter 14, verses 8 to 12. Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter. And the king was sorry, but because of his oath and his guests, he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in a prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it. And they went and told Jesus. Yet a worse persecution is awaiting the Lord. The Son of Man will likewise suffer at the hands of the scribes and the Pharisees. The blindness of the Pharisees was not just an indifference towards the truth. They suppressed the truth and they were against it. They knowingly undermined the Messiah and his work. Thus, they were to receive harsher judgment because they knew the truth, yet they would reject it and persecute the truth. Matthew 23, chapter 23, verse 13 says, but woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces, for you neither enter yourself nor allow those who would enter to go in." The scribes and the Pharisees receive a stark judgment, a stark warning from the Lord because of their rejection of the truth. Jesus' narrative clears up for the disciples about Elijah eventually in Matthew 17 chapter verse 13. He was indeed John the Baptist. The transfiguration event informs the disciples of even more of the truth. The Son must suffer as Elijah did by the hands of the Jewish leaders. The Son must be put to death. The deity of the Son must be dishonored. It must be hated, otherwise there will be no atonement. The majesty of God must be shielded from them. The scribes and the Pharisees who persecuted and succeeded in the murder of the Son suffered the eternal consequences of their rejection of Deity. Christ the humble, the obedient, the meek, the lowly, showed his divine majesty by the miracles and extraordinary events, yet of no avail. The rejection of the majesty of Christ serves us believers because there was a propitiation on our behalf. The cross has a meaning for us who belong to him. God the Father himself turns the gruesome suffering and death of the Son, the rejection of the Son, into something precious. The object of our faith becomes the sufferings of Christ. Do not miss the revelation of the deity of the Lord Jesus. Do not treat it as neutral or as mere objective truth. Pray that it would make sense to you if you have not understood Christ as He is. Recognize His splendor and delight in His divine attention towards you who are in Him. The transfiguration event gives us a glimpse into Christ's divine nature. His deity is mesmerizing. It creates in us believers even thirst to know him. He must be known in his true identity. Now, if it does all not make sense to you, if you are an outsider of the kingdom of God and do not know him, it is a direct call to you. Do not trample underfoot the glory of Christ by even ignoring him, but recognize his majesty and find him who can be found. If you haven't yet bowed down to Him, you are not late. There is a window of grace open to you. The window of grace hasn't been shut yet. Enter in the door, which is Christ Himself. Bow down to His Divine Majesty and repent of your sins. You will not be rejected." To conclude, Deity was manifested in the Son. He was publicly acknowledged by the Father. The deity of the son was rejected in the divine plan of the father. It was preordained that he would suffer and die to then be exalted as king on his rightful throne. Well, Thomas Boston said this, it is certain that Christ fought and overcame all his enemies. He gave them the last blow upon the cross. He seized on the spoil at his resurrection and led them in triumph at his ascension into heaven. And by his peaceable possession of his throne, his subjects enjoyed benefit of all. The king of his majesty is coronated and worshipped. that the subjects of him would truly see him for who he is. Amen.