Title: Only Jesus/Mark 9:1-8
What anyone wants to experience while living a religious life must be a mysterious experience with a "miracle". Many people want such a mysterious experience because they have the expectation that the mysterious experience will solidify their faith and lead a wonderful life of faith. However, when I talk to many people I have met, especially those who do not believe in Jesus now, there are surprisingly many people who say they have experienced this kind of mystery in the past too. , someday..." You can see these lukewarm words.
1. Why did you climb Mt.
In other words, I think the Lord was thinking about how to make sure that Jesus told his disciples that I was the Christ, that is, to make sure they believed in his divinity.
Then, he took Peter, James, and John, two men, and went up the mountain to change into the original form of Jesus. When his divine appearance appears, his appearance changes to a radiant appearance that cannot be tasted in this world. At the same time, Moses and Elijah appear together and have a conversation. The Bible does not record what kind of conversation they had at this time, but only records the appearance to us. And the disciples who saw it were startled and did not know what to do.
Everyone, why did Jesus show this to his disciples today? As mentioned earlier, this is to instill confidence in the disciples. So, I think it was to make them stand firm in their faith when Jesus suffered and was abandoned.
Everyone, yes.
A miracle is a mystical experience when we are shaken when God reveals it to us. So what do we pray when our faith is weak? Do you not pray while saying, "God, show me that you live only once, and then I will live without betraying you for the rest of my life!" Then we can see that the Lord grants us graces to strengthen our faith in various ways, whether by showing His image or hearing His Word.
2. What did you show?
This is exactly what today's text is about. Jesus reveals to his disciples the form of Jesus himself, and his holy image to the disciples. It seems that the purpose of this event today is not for Jesus to have a conversation with Moses and Elijah. If so, it should have been in the Bible. However, you can see that the content of the conversation is not visible, only the images of the disciples looking at it are recorded.
Beloved, the Lord is well aware of our weakness. So, sometimes we show this glorious image to strengthen our weak faith.
But what can we think of as we look at the disciple who was looking at this incident today?
Peter says again. With that ecstatic heart, he speaks with excitement, perhaps drooling. “It is good that we are here, so that we make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Today, Peter did not want to miss this ecstatic moment. He didn't know what to do when he saw Moses and Elijah in his eyes. And the figure of Jesus who was with them might have looked proud. So he didn't want to leave, so he said, "Oh, let's build the house here."
I see a lot of people going up to the mountains to pray to receive grace. If you go to Korea, there is a place called Samgaksan in Seoul, and there is no one who has ever lived a prayer life. I also went there a lot. If you go up here, there are a lot of places like this. There are many people who put up tents here and there and live there praying. Then there are many who say that they have received grace and that they will prophesy or lay their hands on those who come up to the mountain to pray. There are images of people living with their backs on the world saying they received grace there. Today the Lord does not tell us such things. The reason He gives us grace is that He allows us to experience the mysteries of heaven, telling us to go down into the world and become the light and salt of the world with His grace as the mystery of the mystery.
Most of the people there are fascinated by something other than Jesus. It focuses on prophecies, tongues, laying on hands, healings, and visions.
Everyone, if we focus on something other than Jesus in our life of faith, problems will surely arise.
So, in today's text verses 7-8, a cloud came and covered them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, listen to him." more" Yes. We should not be interested in anything other than Jesus. Everything else will disappear. It is like a fog that will disappear after a while.
Except for Jesus, Moses and Elijah have disappeared. They are just shadows used to introduce Jesus. It's just a tool.
Dear friends, in our religious life, do we not focus on anything else even in Jesus' words?
We believe that we should look only at Jesus and focus only on Jesus.
dear ones
What can we think of in today's text?
All of you, in our faith, we believe that our life should be lived only for Jesus, looking only at Jesus, thinking only of Jesus. While we remember the Lord who made us look only at Jesus, God also sometimes remembers that if we keep attaching ourselves to something other than Jesus in our lives, then everything else will disappear. I pray that you will become gracious members of the Tokyo Woncheon Church.