UP AND DOWN

Matthew 17

Double your pleasure,

Double your fun!

Better still – double your insight. Add the next story to the one in your quarterly, just as I think Matthew intended. First, the transfiguration; second, epilepsy and a demon!

People often seek spiritual highs! We love it when a worship service, a retreat, or an experience leaves us feeling thrilled and joyful. Real mountaintop experiences! But it hath also been said, “It's not how high you jump, it's how straight you walk when you hit the ground!” Christians need fresh experiences with God. We need the mountaintop now and then. But that encounter with the Living Lord should equip us, empower us, and energize us for service.

Now let's look at today's lesson. Backing up for a running start, in Chapter 14, John the Baptist loses his head and Herod gloats. Jesus immediately launches a major preaching campaign Along the way He asks the Twelve who they think He is and find they are catching on that He is the Messiah. Next he feeds 5000, then 4000, stills a storm, and walks on water.

Jesus built quiet times into his schedule. Again and again we see Him slipping off for prayer and meditation – or trying to. This time, after a whirlwind of events, He goes of for this retreat, leaves most of His men at the foot of the hill and takes his inner circle with Him to the top. There, the Scripture says He was transfigured before them. What does that mean? There was light, brilliant light. His clothes shone with a whiter light than Chlorox can turn them. And two more shining figures appeared with Him. The two were Moses and Elijah, perhaps representing the Law and the Prophets.

Side note: At that point in time, the Jews easily accepted the Pentateuch as sacred Scripture. They also accepted “the Prophets” - most of the parts of the Hebrew Bible we call major and minor prophets PLUS the histories: Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings. The third section, which the Jews term “the Writings” were beginning to be used in the synagogues, but were not yet universally accepted.

Thus we can see two things going on here. Moses was like the George Washington of Israel, the Founding Father, and Elijah was the prophet par excellence. So Jesus was drawing strength from the wise men of old. He was also symbolically being surrounded and enfolded by Scripture, the Law and the Prophets.

If retreat, communing with God, and Scripture gave Jesus support, we fail to practice quiet times at our peril.

The three men saw this, and they got blown away! Peter, who had no idea what to say, said it anyway: “Oh wow, Lord! This is fantastic, like Jacob's ladder! Can we stay here? We can build shrines: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for you! Oh wow!” Before Peter finished, God interrupted him with a bright cloud and a clear voice. This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” This voice from the cloud totally terrified Peter, James, and John, and they fell on their faces in fear, awe, and perhaps worship. (Well, wouldn't you?) Jesus came over and tapped them on their shoulders, and when they looked up, no one else was there.

Then Jesus led them back to the valley, where they found a totally different situation. From exultation, they descended into frustration. They found the guys who had stayed in the valley had found a boy they could not heal. Remember back in Chapter 10 Jesus had sent the 12 out to preach, teach, heal, and cast out demons. And they had done exactly that! So why couldn't they throw out this boy's demon? It seemed particularly obstreperous!

But Jesus expected His followers to be able to heal this lad. In fact, He was so upset He berated them for their lack of faith. Later they asked for more understanding, and He told them they had so little faith! Only a tiny amount of faith – comparable to a mustard seed was all it took. Although in Mark 9 Jesus adds the comment, “This kind doesn't come out except by prayer.” In other words, your prayer life is too week.

The boy's father said the demon threw the kid all over the place – he'd fall in the fire or water and was in real danger of being killed. Jesus cast the demon out of the boy. And Mark gives another interesting detail Jesus interviews the man's father who describes the problem and ends by saying, “If you can do something...” Jesus echos him: “IF you can? All things are possible if you believe.”

So catch those two extremely strong teachings of Jesus.

Faith as a grain of mustard seed can move mountains!

All things are possible to the one who believes!

Couple those with Hebrews 4:16: Let us come boldly to the throne of grace!

Do you pray boldly? Live boldly? I'm convinced we often pray carefully, asking for no more than we think might happen anyway. Where's the faith in that. Let us with our mustard-see faith believe that God loves enough to answer BOLD prayers.

I've often been asked throughout my ministry about demons. I believe in demons, but I don't believe everything someone calls a demon today IS one. Back in 1974 that Exorcist movie came out that scared the living daylights out of a bunch of people. I told folks I had a major problem here. Why would a demon inhabit an innocent 13 year old kid? There are plenty of adults strutting around who appear to be demon possessed. We can start with Kim Un in Korea, wonder about people like Putin, and the whole ISIS movement. Surely that viciousness is demonic.

Today, we would diagnose the boy with seizures as some sort of epileptic. We still can't cure it, though we can ameliorate it to varying degrees. Some people say demons were myths. Well, so is epilepsy. If we objectively describe the behavior, we can say the boy does this and that and then passes out and falls down. Whether demon or seizure, the behavior is still the same. And we still are like the nine disciples. We can't cure it.

We CAN pray for its victims. We can pray boldly and in faith the the Lord will make a difference. And sometimes He will send us to be part of that difference. Where will He send you next?