Transfiguration Sunday

March 2, 2025

2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Epiphany Moments—

Glory is Hidden In Order to Be Revealed!

7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (NIV1984)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Would you ever look directly at the sun? Of course not! We’ve been taught from the time we were very young to never look directly at the sun. If we were to do this we would burn our retinas and have permanent blind spots. If we want to look directly at the sun— like when there is a solar eclipse— then we would have to use something like this: specially designed solar eclipse glasses. If we are wearing these specialized glasses then we could look directly at the sun— at least for a short period of time.

Would you like to look directly at God? In theory it sounds wonderful! And yet Scripture reveals to us that in reality it is impossible for us mortal sinful human beings to look directly at God— and live! God’s glory far outshines the glory of the sun. God’s holiness is so intense that if you or I were to suddenly find ourselves in His presence we would be overwhelmed by so much fear that we would literally die. Think back to when Moses asked to see God in all of His glory. God said to him, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence…But you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Do you remember what God did next? He put Moses in the cleft of a rock and covered him with His hand. After the Lord had passed by He removed His hand and allowed Moses to see His back. (See Exodus 34:18-23)

So, if we cannot see God how can we possibly know God? How can we draw near to Him without dying of terror? In our final Epiphany Moment God explains it to us. Today let’s see that like Moses in the cleft of that rock God’s Glory is Hidden in order to Be Revealed!

The apostle Paul— who himself was blinded when the glorified Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus (See Acts 22:6-11)— sets the table for us by comparing the majesty of the ministry of the Old Covenant which was given to God’s people through Moses, to the majesty of the ministry of the New Covenant which was given to us through Jesus Christ. Look at the opening portion of our text. Paul writes, “Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!”

Essentially, Paul’s argument here is from the lesser to the greater. The Old Covenant— which did indeed come with “glory”— brought death and condemnation to God’s people. In other words, the Old Covenant of the Law can only show us our sin and our need for a Savior. Striving to keep God’s Law will never bring us the perfection that God demands from us. Paul also reminds us that the Old Covenant was destined to “fade away”— just like the “fading glory” of Moses’ face. It was destined to come to an end and be replaced by the “surpassing glory” of the New Covenant!

This New Covenant is far more “glorious” in that it comes through the Holy Spirit and brings “righteousness”— the “righteousness” we need to stand in God’s presence and live! Pauls’ conclusion then is that the Old Covenant as glorious as it was, cannot compare to the “surpassing glory” of the New Covenant which will last forever!

“Therefore,” Paul continues, since the “glory” of the Old Covenant was intended to pass away while the “surpassing glory” of the New Covenant will last forever, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” The word that is translated here as “hope” very literally means “expectation.” This means that we could translate Paul’s words, “Therefore, having such a great expectation we are very bold.” With the “expectation” that comes from the “surpassing glory” of the New Covenant that will last into eternity, Paul was determined to boldly make the most of the “ministry that brings righteousness,” the “ministry of the Spirit.”

What does this mean? Paul goes on to explain what he means when he says, “We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is in taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.”

Did you notice how Paul focuses on the “veil” that Moses used to cover his face? Moses used this “veil” so that the people could not see that “the radiance was fading away.” Paul then uses the picture of that “veil” to emphasize that due to unbelief the minds of many of God’s people were made “dull” or “callous.” As a result the truths of God’s holy Word could not “sink in.” Since they could not see and understand the “surpassing glory” of the Gospel “hidden” in God’s Word— they rejected it.

At the same time this “veil” also covered their hearts. This refers to the “veil” of legalism. Whenever God’s Word was read they could not see the Promised Messiah “hidden” in those words. All the animal sacrifices which so graphically proclaimed the seriousness of sin, all the innocent blood which so clearly proclaimed how the Promised Messiah would offer Himself up as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), how the innocent suffering and death of the Promised Messiah would be accepted by the heavenly Father as the “atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2)— the “veil” that “dulled” their minds, the “veil” that covered their hearts deceived them into thinking that the Law which God gave to His people through Moses was like a religious “Rule Book.” As long as they at least tried to “follow the rules” they hoped that they would be “acceptable” to God.

Sadly, that same “veil” of legalism still “dulls” the minds and covers the hearts of so many people today. The Bible becomes a “Guidebook” on how to live a “good” life. Jesus becomes “the world’s most radical love activist,” Someone who “represented the ultimate good that humankind is capable of aspiring to,” Someone “whose life inspired a radical movement that is still impacting the world thousands of years later.” (Take from the website: hegetsus.com)

There is only one way for that “veil” to be taken away. Look at verses sixteen and seventeen. Paul writes, “But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” With these words Paul is focusing our attention on the work of God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the faith that enables us to “turn to the Lord” in repentance and trust. The Holy Spirit removes the “veil” of legalism from our mind and our heart. The Holy Spirit empowers us to see the “surpassing glory” of Christ— revealed in the message of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit opens our minds and opens our hearts so that we can see and understand and believe what God’s Word reveals concerning our eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit gives us “freedom”— “freedom” from that “veil” that covered our hearts ands our minds, “freedom” from the deception that there is something that we can do to earn our own way into heaven, “freedom” to see all the glorious things our God has done for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Pointing to the cross) Ultimately, the Holy Spirit gives us the “freedom” to experience the Transfiguration of our Lord on a very personal level. Look at what the Holy Spirit has Paul assure us in the closing verse of our text, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

The only reason Moses’ face became “radiant” is that after being in the presence of God Moses’ face “reflected” God’s glory! The same holds true for us, my friends. As we stand in the presence of God with “unveiled faces” we also “reflect the Lord’s glory.” How do we stand in the presence of God today? That is not a difficult question to answer! We stand in the presence of God every time we gather together here in His holy house. We stand in the presence of God every time we listen to someone who is faithfully proclaiming God’s Word to us. We stand in the presence of God every time we approach His altar to receive His holy Supper. We stand in the presence of God every time we approach His eternal throne of grace in prayer. The more we stand in God’s presence the more we will “reflect the Lord’s glory.”

Unlike Moses, however, we do not want to put a “veil” over our face so that other people are not able to see how we “reflect the Lord’s glory.” Our goal is to let everyone see God’s glory “reflected” in our lives. Since our goal is to make sure that we “reflect” God’s glory to the people around us, our goal also includes “being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory.” The word that is translated here as “being transformed” is the same word that the Holy Spirit had Matthew use when he described how Jesus took Peter, Jame and John up a high mountain and there He was “transfigured” before them. The difference between Jesus’ “transfiguration” and our “transfiguration” is that Jesus’ “transfiguration” was a completed action while our “transfiguration” is an ongoing action. Each and every day we “are being transformed/transfigured into his likeness (Pointing to the cross) with ever-increasing glory.” This is what is known as our life of sanctification.

This means two things. First, this means that as we continue to use God’s holy Word and as we continue to receive the Lord’s holy Supper we continue to be “transformed with ever-increasing glory”! The apostle Peter touched on this very same truth when he wrote, “Keep on growing”or “Keep on increasingin the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Second, as we “are being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory” this means that we will recognize and remove anything and everything that threatens our own personal “transfiguration.” Any hint of self-righteousness, any secret and shameful sins that we have hidden away in our hearts, any distortion and any dismissal of something that God has revealed to us in His Word needs to be removed! We don’t want anything harmful to come between us and our God. We don’t want anything harmful to negatively impact our ongoing process of being “transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory.”

There is just one more truth that needs to be highlighted here. Since we are involved in our life of sanctification, since we are involved in our own personal “transfiguration” there are going to be times when we stumble and fall. There are going to be times when we take three steps forward and one step back. Instead of listening to Satan who is always going to try and use the setbacks in our life of sanctification to convince us to just give up, we need to listen to our Savior. When we listen to our Savior we will hear Him say, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). While we do indeed want to make progress in “being transformed into his likeness with every-increasing glory,” we also need to remember that our life of sanctification will never be complete, our life of sanctification will never be perfect— until we are welcomed into our heavenly Father’s Home!

As we prepare to enter into the solemn season of Lent we are reminded once again that God’s Glory is Hidden in Order to be Revealed! God’s glory is hidden in Emmanuel, God with us. God’s glory is hidden in the agony of the cross. God’s glory is hidden in the grave in the garden. At the same time, through the power of God the Holy Spirit God’s glory is revealed! It is revealed to us in the words of the risen Christ, “Peace be with you!” It is revealed to us in the celebration of Holy Communion, “Take and eat this is My body…This is my blood…given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins.” It is revealed to us every time we join with our brothers and sisters in Christ, confess our sins and then hear God’s spokesman assure us of His forgiveness. (Pointing to the cross) It is revealed to us every time we read and study God’s holy inspired Word. And it will be revealed to us in the most magnificent way when our dear Lord and Savior returns to this earth in all of His power and in all of His majesty and in all of His glory! For this reason you and I joyfully say:

To God be the glory!

Amen