Title: The Messiah is a Secret
Messiah is a secret
Matthew 17:1-9, Transfiguration Sunday, March 6, 2011
Today is the last Sunday of Epiphany in the church calendar and also the Sunday of the Transfiguration of Jesus on the Mount. Lent begins next week. It means that the Day of the Transfiguration on the Mount is included between Epiphany and Lent. Epiphany is a season to commemorate the fact that God has appeared to Jesus, and Lent is a season to commemorate the 40 days of suffering Jesus suffered before his resurrection. Here lies the foundation of the Christian faith. These are the epiphany, the Passion, and the Resurrection. In the middle is transformation. The transfiguration tradition points to the fact that in Jesus the transcendent divine divinity and immanent human form became one. Its contents are as follows:
Another new phenomenon occurs in Matthew 17:5. One of the disciples, Peter, who saw the transfigured Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah who appeared at the scene, came up with a bizarre proposal to build three tents. This is a Peter-like suggestion. It means you want to keep the ecstatic experience going. At that moment, suddenly a bright cloud covered them all. There was a sound in the clouds. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard the sound, they fell on their faces and were very afraid. Jesus told his disciples not to be afraid. When the disciples came to their senses, all phenomena had disappeared and only Jesus remained. What did they see? Did you go into a hallucination for a while and then get out?
Why is it a secret that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? Why should it be a secret? If you are the one who will save the world, wouldn't it be better to let everyone know? We cannot fully comprehend God's deep will now. Not just this issue, but others as well. We do not know now why the innocent suffer. We only know how to live for those who suffer. We do not know what kind of world the eternal kingdom of God will be. All I know is that the world is qualitatively different from the current provisional and contradictory world. We do not now know why the Messiah event must be a secret, but we do know that it is a secret.
Today we are those who know the mystery of the Messiah. What should I do? The answer can be found indirectly in Jesus' parable of the treasure hidden in the field (Matthew 13:44). We do not feel anxious or anxious because the world does not acknowledge the Messiah event. Rather, he rejoices that he knows the secret. And like selling all of his possessions to buy a field with treasure, he concentrates his soul on the Messiah event of Jesus. I eagerly await the moment when the salvation and life events that God accomplished through Jesus Christ will be fully revealed. The soul of such a person will be filled with hope.