Tag Archives: Elijah

It Had To Come Out

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IT HAD TO COME OUT!

“About eight days after saying this, He climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John and James along. While He was in prayer, the appearance of His face changed and His clothes became blazing white. At once two men were there talking with Him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah — and what a glorious appearance they made! They talked over His exodus, the one Jesus was about to complete in Jerusalem.” Luke 9:28-31 (The Message).

Exodus — a strange and unusual word to describe what Jesus was soon to accomplish in Jerusalem. This was obviously a reference to His death and resurrection, but why “exodus”? Luke is the only one of the gospel writers who used this word. Did he understand something the others hadn’t grasped?

This was a highly significant event. Why did it happen? Of what value would it have been had Jesus been alone on the mountain?

Let’s answer the second question first. Did Jesus need the affirmation of His Father? He had received the Father’s blessing at His baptism and, on the strength of that, He had launched into His public ministry, having passed the test of true son ship during His forty days in the wilderness. He had lived in close union with the Father and learned the lessons of obedience by obeying Him in every detail of His life. He knew He was loved and He lived out of that assurance. No, He did not need another affirmation of his identity as the Son.

It would seem that this was about the disciples; they needed this revelation of Jesus to cement two things in their minds, His identity and His mission. The appearance of Moses and Elijah and Peter’s reaction would help to put Him in perspective. Two of Israel’s most important and revered historical figures in company with Jesus?

It is clear that the disciples overheard the conversation — His exodus in Jerusalem. The exodus from Egypt, of course, was inseparably linked to Moses. Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into a covenant relationship with God. Elijah’s ministry was a powerful attempt to lead the people of the northern kingdom of Israel back to God out of slavery to idol-worship.

What was the meaning of Jesus’ exodus? Did it refer only to His departure from the world of humans back to the Father? The exodus from Egypt was a type of a greater deliverance — from slavery to sin and into a new covenant, sealed in His own blood, that was be a better covenant, based on better promises and sealed with a better sacrifice, guaranteeing a better hope.

This was an experience Peter and John never forgot and which helped to shape their conviction that Jesus was God’s Son and the promised Messiah. Peter wrote of this revelation: “For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. He received honour and glory from the Father when the voice came from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain.” 2 Peter 1:16-18 (NIV).

John’s testimony is similar: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (NIV).

It was imperative that these men, who were to testify to the world that Jesus was God’s Son, be so convinced in their hearts that they would be willing to give their lives for the truth they would proclaim. And they became eyewitnesses of something that no one else had ever seen.

We may not see the glory of Jesus in His visible form but with the eye of faith we have seen and believed. Have you?

He Understood

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HE UNDERSTOOD

“After John’s messengers left to make their report, Jesus said more about John to the crowd of people. ’What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly. What then? A sheik in silk pyjamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A messenger from God? That’s right, a messenger! Probably the greatest messenger you’ll ever hear. He is the messenger Malachi announced when he wrote, “I’m sending my messenger on ahead to make the road smooth for you.”‘ Luke 7:24-27 (The Message).

Why this vehement defence of John the Baptist?

John had just publicly revealed his vulnerability in his extreme circumstances. It was Jesus’ turn to set the record straight, not only to defend John but also to save his ministry.

He was God’s appointed forerunner of the Messiah, the one foretold by Malachi four hundred years before. He had come, as predicted, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to announce and prepare for the coming of the Messiah. People had flocked to hear him in the wilderness. They had received his message that the Messiah was on the brink of being revealed to them. Perhaps some had even been present when Jesus was baptised and had heard the Father’s affirmation of His Son.

Now John was wavering and who can blame him? The all-powerful Messiah had not lifted a finger to rescue him in his predicament. Perhaps John did not realise that his work was done, short though it had been, and it was time for him to step aside and allow Jesus to stand in the limelight for a season until He, too, stepped aside when His work was complete.

Jesus did not want the crowd to think that John was undoing all he had said and done by wavering in his conviction that He was the Messiah. Turning to the Scriptures, He demonstrated to John’s followers that He fulfilled everything the Scriptures had said about Him to that point. His own circumstances aside, John had to believe that Jesus was all that John had reported Him to be.

But Jesus was not only protecting John’s ministry, He was also protecting John himself. This temporary lapse in John’s conviction, this wobble in his faith, was not who John was. In his weakest moment, Jesus was there for him and quick to point out that he was no fly-by-night, self-appointed prophet. God had foretold his coming through His messenger centuries before just as surely as He had prophesied the coming of His Messiah.

In glowing terms Jesus began to correct any misgivings people the crowd might have had about John. John was no holiday maker or member of the idle rich, on public display for their entertainment. He was a messenger sent from God, whose arrival was foretold in the Scriptures as surely as that of the Messiah. The implication was that the people had better heed what John had preached. It was serious business and, even though John was shaky in his faith right then, his doubts did not cancel out who he was and what he had done before his incarceration.

Don’t you love Jesus for this little interlude? It reveals His heart once again. A lesser person might have criticised John for vacillating in his circumstances, but not Jesus. No matter how weak he was right then, his work remained and Jesus acknowledged that.

This should give us the courage to know that God is tender towards us in our struggles. He does not judge the process through which we have to go to reach our conclusions. How many times we have been where John was, only to emerge stronger and more secure in our confidence in God because God sees the whole picture and accompanies us to a place of greater strength.

So don’t give up. Jesus will never stab you in the back. He will walk with you through the valley until you reach the other side.