Matthew 17:1-9
“It is good for us to be here.” These were the words of Peter, recorded in today’s Gospel from St. Matthew, as he spoke on behalf of himself, James, and John, on the mount of transfiguration.
Of course, it could only be a good thing for them to be there, because the Lord had brought them there. Everything that the Lord does is good.
So, Jesus’ bringing these three disciples to this place, to participate in these events, had to be a good thing, to fulfill a good purpose. But why is it so, that “it is good for us to be here”? What was the purpose?
Peter thought that the reason why it was good for him and his friends to be there, was so that they could build tents, or temporary shelters, for Jesus and his two heavenly companions.
It was no doubt very windy on the top of that mountain, so it is understandable why Peter would think that this was something he could do, to make himself useful to God on this occasion. But he was mistaken in his thought that this is why it was good for him and the other two disciples to be there.
In the system of jurisprudence that God established through Moses for the Old Testament nation of Israel, guilt for a crime, or some other matter of legal importance, could be formally established only on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. We read in the book of Deuteronomy:
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”
It’s likely that Jesus had this general principle in mind when he, in today’s Gospel, asked three of his disciples to come along with him, so that they would be able to see and hear what was going to happen on that mountaintop.
There were other occasions, too – such as his raising of Jairus’s daughter, and his agony in Gethsemane – when Jesus did not necessarily want a large number of people to be present, but when he did bring three of his disciples to serve as witnesses of what was going on.
This was for the benefit of people who were not there, and for the benefit of the church throughout history. Having three reliable eyewitnesses meant that there would be legally-binding testimony that the event in question has actually happened. And that’s the way it was also with the transfiguration of our Lord.
The otherworldly glory that was a proper attribute of Jesus’ divine nature, was otherwise hidden from human sight during the time of his earthly ministry. Jesus knew what an overwhelming thing it would be for people, in their human weakness and sinful frailty, even to have a glimpse of this glory.
And so he spared the people with whom he interacted the fear and confusion that would result from such a revelation. Instead, he conducted his ministry during his time on earth according to the unthreatening “ordinariness” of his human nature, in the form of a servant.
But in the transfiguration, Peter, James, and John did get a glimpse of Jesus’ hidden side. Jesus’ divine majesty was revealed to them, even if for just a few minutes. And as we would expect, “they were terrified” – as St. Mark’s version of the story tells us.
Now, Jesus wanted the church of the future to know that this had happened. That’s why these three witnesses were there – even though it scared them to be there.
They did later report what they had experienced to others – likely including the Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who by divine inspiration then wrote down what they had reported.
Indeed, Jesus wants us to know that his suffering and death – which followed this occurrence – was something that he freely chose to endure. He wants us to know that as the almighty Son of God in human flesh, he was not compelled by the Romans or the Jewish Sanhedrin to do anything that he did not, ultimately, wish to do.
At the deepest level, Christ was not pushed to his cross, externally, by his executioners. He was drawn to his cross, internally, by his own divine love for us – by his own divine love for you.
So, it was good for Peter, James, and John to be there, as witnesses on your behalf, and for your benefit. Their testimony – coming as it does from three reliable witnesses, through the pages of the New Testament – is the Lord’s guarantee to you that this really happened.
It is the Lord’s guarantee that Jesus was more than a great man. He was, and is, your eternal, divine Savior from sin and condemnation.
But there’s more to it even than that. The three disciples in question thought that it was good for them to be there so that they could do something for Jesus and his heavenly companions – that is, Moses and Elijah.
That way of thinking is one of the instinctive reactions that fallen humanity often has, in its confused and misguided perceptions of God, and of humanity’s standing before God.
When children of Adam – like us – consider God’s righteousness, in comparison to our own lack of righteousness, a common reaction is that we try to do something to bridge that gap – perhaps some external religious exercise, or an assortment of good works.
We know that God’s law demands from us more than we have been giving. And so, our misguided conscience impels us to do more, and to try harder, to make ourselves acceptable to God.
The old sinful nature – which is not lacking in a natural knowledge of God’s existence – often tries to invent a religion of self-improvement, or to throw itself into acts of altruism and humanitarianism, that it supposes will somehow protect it from the judgment of a holy God.
Like an employee who wants to avoid getting fired by his demanding boss, we look for something to do to make ourselves seem useful and worth keeping around. And so we may often find ourselves thinking in a way similar to how Peter thought, and maybe saying something similar to what Peter said, when we understand ourselves to be in the presence of God, and under the scrutiny of God.
Perhaps when you are in church, listening to the Word of God, or perhaps even when you are approaching the Lord’s Table, you might be silently saying to Jesus in your own confused way: “It is good that we are here.” “Let us make something for you.” “Let us do something for you.”
No, dear friends. That is not the reason why it is good that you are here, in the Lord’s presence.
In the ministry of Word and Sacrament by which the divine-human Christ makes himself to be mystically present among us in this assembly, he is not here so that you can build anything for him, or do anything for him.
The works of love that the Holy Spirit prompts us to perform – imperfect though they may be – are for the benefit of our neighbor in need. They are not for the benefit of God.
God doesn’t need our righteous deeds, even if it were possible for us to offer such deeds to him. But of course, in our sinfulness that’s not even possible.
As Isaiah reminds us: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.”
The reason why it is good that we are here, is the same reason that was given to Peter by God the Father, in today’s text, when his booming and reverberating voice sounded forth from the cloud: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
Peter, James, and John were not on that mountaintop to build something for Jesus or to do something for Jesus, as they had originally thought. They were there to hear to Jesus. And it was good for them to be there, so that they could hear him.
Indeed, for the rest of the time of their Master’s earthly ministry, it was good for them to be seated at his feet, listening to his words: his words of rebuke and correction; his words of forgiveness and hope.
It was good for them to be there at the Last Supper – or what we might call the First Supper – to listen to the words of invitation and promise that Jesus spoke: “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you.” “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.”
It was good for them to be there on Easter evening, to listen to the resurrected Savior when he came to them and said, “Peace be to you.”
It was good for them to be there, on the day of Pentecost and on every day after that – for the rest of their earthly lives – when they were able to continue to listen in faith to the loving and life-giving voice of their Lord, within the fellowship of the church, in the preaching of the gospel and in the administration of the sacraments.
And it is good for you to be here, too, in the same way, and for the same reason. In his life, in his death, and in his resurrection, Jesus took your place, and acted in your place and for your benefit. He lived for you, he died for you, and he rose again for you.
Jesus comes to you now in the preaching of the message of the cross, to make himself known to you as your Redeemer. As humanity’s Savior and as your Savior, he does not come to demand and to condemn. He comes to give, and to save. We read in St. John’s Gospel:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
In the preaching of salvation by grace, by which sinners like you and me are forgiven our many failures and shortcomings, God does not demand perfect righteousness from us. He gives perfect righteousness to us: the perfect righteousness of his beloved Son.
And by God’s grace, we listen to this preaching. We listen when Jesus explains that “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
We listen when Jesus announces that “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
We listen, and we believe. And in this faith, we live.
In his Epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul writes that, just as “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law, no one will be justified.”
Since this is a place where the gospel of our justification in Christ is preached – through which Jesus abides with us and sustains us – it is good that we are here. Since this is a place where the Lord’s sacramental words bring his body and blood to his people under the form of bread and wine – for pardon and spiritual strength – it is good that we are here.
Jesus is indeed God’s own beloved Son. And therefore we joyfully, and thankfully, hear him. Amen.