Let us stop for a moment and consider just how ludicrous this sounds: if I could keep God's law to such an extent that I could make myself righteousness, then God would owe me. Say that again: God would owe me. Is that something that we truly believe could ever be true? That somehow, the Creator of the Universe, the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hillsides, the God who judges the hearts of all men . . . that somehow we could have that God over a barrel? That we could put Him in a position where we could rightly demand our just wages from Him?

Instead of something as inconceivable as that, is it not more truthful, more in line with reality, to acknowledge that we have nothing to offer God except the filth of our sin . . . and that those who do so are truly blessed, because God covers up that sin?

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When Jesus takes on flesh in His incarnation, He does so that He can stand in place of all humanity. When Jesus undertakes His earthly ministry, He does so that He can undo all the damage that sin has inflicted upon us. When Jesus enters into our flesh, He does so that He can succeed in all the places where we have failed.

This podcast can never be a substitute for in-person attendance at a local church. Click here to find a local church you can connect with! Find a Lutheran church near you!

Matthew has not chosen this story to simply wow us with Jesus' holy radiance. The Holy Spirit has not inspired the recording of this account so that we can marvel at Jesus' power. Because everything that happens on this mountaintop has a vital counterpoint in one, simple, humble truth: after going up this mountain, Jesus came back down. He came back down because He still had work to do. So in all that we see in the Transfiguration of Our Lord—and there is much for us to see and at which to marvel—the most stunning thing is that the Mount of Transfiguration is not the high point of Jesus' ministry. That privilege is reserved for something else. Something quite different.

This podcast can never be a substitute for in-person attendance at a local church. Click here to find a local church you can connect with! Find a Lutheran church near you!