Peter, James and John – who were these men?
They were three of Jesus’ twelve primary disciples – members of the very first church of Christ. Out of all the twelve one was an unbeliever and not a true disciple, so lets ignore him this morning. That leaves us with 8 other men, including the brother Peter – the evangelist who brought Peter to Christ. According to Mark 3:18 the names of those brethren were: “Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus (also known as Lebbaeus), and Simon the Canaanite.” This may come as a surprise to you, but later this afternoon you can verify my research – Those 8 men, either as a group or as individuals, are mentioned in only one verse in the Book of Acts. That is in Acts 1:13 – and it’s a list of the members of the First Baptist Church. On the other hand, Peter, John and James his brother are mentioned just about seventy-five times in Acts.
Now think back to when I asked the question: “Why did Christ invite these three men to the top of Hermon?” As I suggested a few weeks ago, I’ll reemphasize now – the Lord knew exactly what He was doing. I won’t say that these were the best men in that company of Christ – the finest saints in the Lord’s church. They may have been, but that’s not necessarily true – and we have no way of knowing for sure. There may have been better preachers than these three; some more Heavenly-minded; some more healthy and energetic. I can’t positively say why the Lord made His invitation to these three. But I will say that the Lord had already selected these men for eminent positions in His church. Paul tells us in Ephesians that Christ is the Head and ruler of His church, “And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” I believe that I am the pastor of the Calvary Independent Baptist Church, because Christ has put me here. I was sure of it when I moved here 24 years ago, but at the time I didn’t expect to be here very long. I thought that I was on my way back to Canada – however that was not the Lord’s intention. He might remove me next week, or next year, but until He convinces both you and me, here I will stay. This church, like all of His churches, is ruled by Christ.
Most of us are familiar with the ministry of PETER – at least as far as it is outlined in the Bible. He was the voice of church on the day of Pentecost, and on several other important occasions later. He was selected by God to introduce the gospel to the Gentile world – contrary to all expectations. We find him popping up all over the Book of Acts, with his name mentioned in more than fifty verses. And then two of his letters became a part of the cannon of scriptures.
JOHN is often found with Peter, at least early on in the Book of Acts, and he is named about twenty-five times. Then of course he has three epistles and the Book of Revelation. John is not noted for his powerful preaching, but he IS well-known for his love of Christ and for the brethren. And perhaps his spirituality made him a fit receptacle for the Revelation at the end of our Bibles.
JAMES may be a bit more confused in most people’s minds. There were two James among the original twelve disciples – the son of Zebedee, John’s brother, and James the son of Alphaeus. This second James is sometimes called “the less” meaning perhaps “the smaller one.” Mark tells us that his mother was another “Mary,” and we are told the names of his brother and his sister. James, the brother of John was beheaded by Herod. James the son of Aphaeus seemed eventually to step into the first James’ shoes, and appears to be pastor of the church in Jerusalem.
Christ took Peter, John and James the sons of Zebedee to the top of Mr. Hermon. And why? Because these were the men chosen by Christ to become the leaders of His first church. If anyone needed to know the true nature of Christ, they were among them. But there was one additional characteristic which the Head of the Church demanded. The pastor of the Lord’s church may not be the man with the highest IQ of all the church members. He may not be the most eloquent, the best linguist, the most debonair, the most handsome. The Lord’s undershepherd, may not possess many of the good traits found in other members. But he must love the Lord his God “with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength.” Furthermore he must love his neighbor and fellow church members as himself. As Paul told Timothy – “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop (pastor, or elder), he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Among other things which men are wont add to that list of pastoral qualifications, there is one which is Biblical and extremely important. As he was talking about ministers and servants of Christ, Paul said in I Corinthians 4:2 – “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” Among other things contained in the word “faithful” is “obedience.”
This brings us back to our Lord’s descent from the mountain with Peter, John and his brother James. “And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.” I cannot tell you dogmatically, but I would suggest that if any of these men had disobeyed the Lord’s command, he would have become disqualified for his future position of church leadership. Disobedience disqualified Adam from leadership in Eden. Disobedience disqualified Moses from shepherding Israel into the Promised Land. Disobedience – often a form of rebellion – is a most destructive cancer. It clearly disqualifies a man from the ministry.
Christ Jesus forbade these men from telling the other disciples about the transfiguration. Why?
Here is an answer which we haven’t yet pursued – This revelation might have split the church. Churches are rather fragile things, for a number of reasons – primarily because their members are all human beings, with various degrees of sanctification and faith – and sin.
According to John 20, after Christ’s resurrection the disciples were all huddled in an upper room in Jerusalem. They had all been told about what the women had found at Joseph’s tomb – nothing at all. Then they heard the testimony of John and Peter who investigated the empty tomb – including the burial clothes, which had been mysteriously emptied from the inside out. And finally they had all been informed of Mary Madgalene’s conversation with the risen Saviour. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.” How many of the eleven disciples were convinced of Jesus’ resurrection? I don’t know, but I do know that it was not unanimous. “The disciples … said unto (Thomas Didymus), We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Apparently, Thomas was of an incredulous, disbelieving nature. What would his reaction have been, if the three witnesses had told him about the transfiguration? No one knows the answer to that question. It might have been anger, or unbelief; possibly even incredulity leading to desertion. On the same day that these disciples were commanded not to talk about the transfiguration, the other disciples are going to be upbraided for their unbelief – Matthew 17:20. That unbelief might have been applied to the transfiguration. Only the Lord knows what effects that might have had on the church. Some disciples would have believed the account of the glorification of Christ, and others would have not.
And then let’s add another corrosive ingredient to the mix – jealousy. This is a potential problem even in the best of circles. We have some members whose musical abilities far outshine yours and mine. And we may wish that we could sing or play and instrument as well as they do. But perhaps jealousy is not be the proper word to use to describe our feeling towards the more gifted. There are some who can only drop a few mites in the offering box, while others can write hefty checks. You may long to be able to give more to the Lord’s work, but you aren’t really jealous of those who can. Such differences between church members should not be the least bit trouble-causing. However, what if the pastor secretly invited everyone in the church to participate in some special function, but he left you out? Maybe it was to dine with one of our favorite missionaries or something like that. Would you be hurt or jealous when you discovered that you had been omitted? What if it was intentional? I might have had a good reason, but no amount of reasoning would take away the sting you feel, when someone reveals the secret. What if the Lord made an appointment to physically meet with the church on a Saturday night, and I informed everyone except you? Might you be inclined to find another church to join?
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them.” For whatever reason – and perhaps I haven’t even come close to understanding what it was. For some reason Christ took these three to the top of the mountain, leaving the others down below. Depending on HOW the words were spoken, the non-invited disciples might have been filled with jealousy or even rage at not being given the same privilege – especially after they heard what had happened. Blundering Peter might have merely stated the bare facts, but being somewhat tactless, who knows what harm he might have caused among the others. “And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.”
But once again, why shouldn’t this vision be shared with those who still needed the Saviour?
Among other reasons, Christ has already told the unbelieving world that there would be no more visions. “The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.”
Is there a difference between “unbelievers” and “disbelievers?“ Is there a difference between those who do not believe and those who refuse to believe something? If there is, then the majority of the Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees and Jewish priests were among the disbelievers. They had more than enough evidence, proving that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, but they refused to accept that evidence. Finally, the Saviour said, “there will be no more evidence given to you people, except for my resurrection.” It wasn’t evidence that those people lacked, it was credulity and the ability to believe.
For the sake of argument, let’s permit these disciples to share what they saw in the transfiguration. They saw Christ in His eternal glory – that which he had before the foundation of the world. They saw their Master – Jesus – in the form of the true and living God. So off they go, telling the world what had been revealed to them. Is that really what those wicked men really needed?
Let’s say that you have come to the house of God today with a miserable cold. You are coughing, wheezing, sniffling and you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest. And here I come offering you a bright white piece of paper and a sharp pencil. What has a pencil got to do with feeling miserable with a chest cold? I reply, What is wrong with a nice piece of 24lb, bright white, above average piece of 8½ x 11 paper?
The transfiguration is a revelation of the glorious King of Kings – the eternal Son of God. The Pharisees of Matthew 16, as well as the common man in Israel in that day and the common man in America today, we all need a Saviour, not another King. We need a revelation of Christ upon the cross, not Christ upon His throne. We need to see the saving blood of Christ the Saviour, not the glory of Christ the Son of God. To tell the unbeliever about the transfiguration would not have been a lie, but it might have been a mistake. That revelation was given to these disciples as a sign that what Christ said about Calvary was true. But what the rest of the world needed was Mount Calvary, not Mount Hermon.
I am not ashamed to preach a dozen messages about the transfiguration. But you may not need to hear that message as much as you need to hear that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for sin. You will bow your knee some day before the glorified Son of God, but today you need to bow your knee before the Lamb of God, giving His life as a ransom for many. If Christ is not your Saviour, then you can forget about Christ the King for the moment. You need to repent before this Christ – confessing your worthlessness, your sinfulness and your spiritual helplessness. Before you can look up to Christ the King, you need to put your faith and trust in Christ and His shed blood. Before the transfigured Christ, you need to see the sacrificed Christ. Please, I urge you, repent before God and trust Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, sacrificed for your sin.