Hear and Heed Jesus, God’s Beloved Son

“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.” -Matthew 17:5 (ESV).

Jesus had taken three of his disciples, Peter, James and John, to a mountain and there the Transfiguration occurred. The event was a marvelous confirmation of Jesus as the Son of God, with Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the prophet, appearing, and the voice of Almighty God pronouncing: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”

Jesus knew that his death as a sacrifice for sin was immanent. Scholars believe that the transfiguration occurred in the summer before his death and resurrection the next spring. Some denominations observe “Transfiguration Sunday” in August. Matthew 17:5 is reminiscent of Isaiah’s word in Isaiah 42:1 when he wrote, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.”

Jesus wanted the disciples to know that he must suffer, die and rise again, and so He had taken three of them apart to be in on an affirmation from God of who His Son is. This was in God’s plan for His Son as he fulfilled His mission on earth. It was important that the “inner circle” of disciples, Peter, James and John, know and understand this truth, because they had been expecting the earthly Messiah to set up His kingdom and deliver them from Roman oppression. Going down the mountain from the Transfiguration, Jesus charged the three not to tell of the transfiguration and what occurred on the mountain until after His resurrection. God’s command given at the Transfiguration added an important phrase to what the voice of God had said at Christ’s baptism by John the Baptist: “Listen to Him.”

That command and its accompanying reason for us to listen echoes from the Mount of Transfiguration and from the pages of God’s Word which we now have to study and follow: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.”

Peter testifies in his letter about being an eyewitness to the “Majestic Glory” of God the Son that he had observed on the Mount of Transfiguration. This experience was extremely important to Peter, beloved disciple, preacher on the Day of Pentecost, missionary and writer: “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:16-21).

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that we have the Word from You, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Thank you that even today we can hear and heed Jesus, God’s Son. Amen. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 03.12.2017

Qualities of a Christian’s Character

"For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours, and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”-2 Peter 1:6-11 (ESV).

     Writing about 67 A. D. from prison in Rome, Peter, facing imminent death as a martyr to the faith, wanted again to write to the churches in Asia Minor to encourage them in their own persecution and to give them strong pointers on living an effective Christian life. He encourages Christians to remember how they were called into God’s own “excellence and glory,” (v. 3) and that their lives should reflect qualities of the divine nature.

     I like to think that the qualities of Christian Character Peter advocates are like giant steps upward to a life of effectiveness for the Christian while at the same time providing an example to be emulated by those who are weaker in the faith. Imagine the qualities as steps upward to godliness. Here are the qualities for which each believer should strive: Faith (the foundation); virtue (growing in grace); knowledge (really loving to study and practice the Word, the Bible); self-control (as the Christian learns scriptural truths, he puts them into practice in his life and is able to really live as a devoted Christian; steadfastness (another term is faithfulness); godliness (putting on Christ-like characteristics of humility, understanding and service); brotherly affection (loving one another, caring for one another); and finally, reaching the step of love (unconditional and God-inspired).

The graphic is hard for me to draw here, but draw a set of steps and write these eight qualities of Christian Character on the steps as a reminder that we are always striving to emulate the character of Jesus in our daily life and walk. And the striving is always upward.

     These characteristics are akin to the fruit of the Holy Spirit Paul admonished Christians to seek after and practice in their daily lives. From Ephesians 5: 22-23 we learn: “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

     Knowing Christ and following Him makes a vast difference in our own life and in how we relate to others around us. If we have made “our calling and election sure” as Peter writes in 2 Peter 1: 10, then it follows that we should be changed and become active in helping others to know Christ so that they, too, may begin that glorious climb upward in attaining a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord Christ and exemplified by virtuous living. - Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.13.2016