February 15, 2026
"Jesus Is More than just a Man"
Matthew 17:1-9
This is the last Sunday before Lent begins. On this Sunday each year, we focus on Jesus’ transfiguration. This is when Jesus changed His appearance before three of His disciples: Peter, James, and John. The reason Jesus did this was to assure His disciples that He was truly God. They weren’t following an ordinary man who would come to nothing. So, every year on this Sunday we take note of this special event.
Matthew, who recorded this event, did so to assure the readers of his gospel that Jesus was no ordinary human being. Jesus was more than that. He was and is the Son of God. In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ transfiguration, the three disciples heard a voice from the cloud say, “This is my Son whom I love; with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!” These same words came from heaven at Jesus’ baptism. Matthew wanted to convince his readers that Jesus is truly God and is to be believed. He is God because He is God’s Son.
I hope this isn’t something we have never heard before. I have been teaching this the last twenty years. If we have been paying attention all that time, we should already know that Jesus is God in the fullest sense. What might be hard for us to understand is if God the Father and God the Son both are God, how can we say they are one God? They aren’t two Gods but one God. This is certainly difficult for us to wrap our minds around. But this is what the Bible teaches. Our God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not three Gods but one God.
But back to my point that Jesus is God shouldn’t be new to us. I’m sure you were taught that Jesus was God long before I arrived here at Zion. I am thankful that Zion has been blessed with faithful pastors over Zion’s 165-year history. Those pastors have taught the truth about Jesus. My prayer is that continues for another 165 years.
Jesus’ transfiguration confirmed the truth that Jesus was more than just an ordinary human being. He was and is God.
Now, as I said before, we may already know this. But do we know why it is important to know this? If Jesus weren’t God, our faith in Jesus would be for nothing. He would be a human being like the rest of us. And how can an ordinary human being save us from our sins? He can’t. Ordinary human beings are sinful. And, how can an ordinary person raise himself from the dead? He can’t. And if he can’t, what is the point of believing in him? There is no point.
So, it is important for us to know that Jesus was more than an ordinary human being. He is and was God. And that is why we put our faith in Him. He can forgive us and save us.
Isn’t it important for us to know that a medical doctor is a medical doctor? If he is just an ordinary person, are we going to see him for medical treatment? Probably not. We want to know who he is before we entrust our body to him. We aren’t going to see just any person for our medical needs, are we? No, we aren’t.
If we don’t know who Jesus is, are we going to entrust our life to Him? Probably not. If we don’t know that He is God, we aren’t going to put our trust in Him. We aren’t going to turn to Him for salvation.
But the event of Jesus’ transfiguration gives us more information about who Jesus is. He is God. For this reason, we believe in God for the forgiveness of our sins and life eternal.
At Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared. They talked with Jesus. For some, these two figures were a mystery. Their bodies had disappeared after they had left this life. If we remember, God had buried Moses, and no one knew where God had buried him. Where did Moses go? Elijah had been carried into heaven. Some of the prophets went to search for his body. But they came back empty-handed. Where did Elijah go? The simple answer is that they went to be with the Lord in heaven. It turned out that they were still alive. And here they are alive with Jesus!
Does this have any meaning for us? It certainly does. We too are going to be with the Lord in heaven. We too will be transformed into glorified beings. The comfort here is that we won’t simply disappear after we die. We will continue to exist but in a different state. We will be conscious of who we are. Moses and Elijah were aware of who they were when they were with Jesus. That will be our experience as well. We won’t cease to exist.
This is what the Lord has in store for us. The transfiguration of Jesus gives us a glimpse into our future. It shows us what is in store for us. God has a plan for us after we leave this life.
Isn’t it comforting to know that the Lord is thinking of us? He cares about our destiny. That’s why He will transform those who believe in Him into glorious beings. What should ease our soul as we go through life is that the Lord is thinking about us and has a grand plan for us.
How many of us appreciated getting something for Christmas a couple of months ago? Probably most of us. I think what most of us appreciated was not necessarily having gotten something. The things we got were nice, I’m sure, but what we valued most was that someone cared about us. They wanted to show that they care about us by giving us something. We value the care more than the thing we received. Someone cares about us.
We value the care God shows us. He shows His care for us in many ways. But what matters to us is that He cares for us. This is seen in the transfiguration. He cares enough for us that He won’t let us fade into oblivion but will change us into glorious beings. This is what we see in Jesus’ transfiguration.
Some may argue that Jesus’ transfiguration was just for the three disciples. Yes, Jesus transfigured Himself before just these three, but the implications of Jesus’ transfiguration go beyond just those three. If it were intended only for those three, they would have kept it to themselves. But Matthew, Mark, and Luke write about it, as does Peter who was present at Jesus’ transfiguration. This suggests that Jesus intended for this event to reach a wider group of people. And we are those people. So, Jesus’ transfiguration is for us as well.
I think we often ask ourselves what events from the Bible mean for us. They happened so long ago in an age and world so different from ours. How could they possibly have anything to do with us?
We forget that God’s word has all people in mind. Sure, there are promises that God made to specific individuals in the Bible. There is no arguing that point. But God had us in mind when He made those promises to those people. They were recorded for our learning. They help us understand God’s faithfulness and intent to keep those promises, that God can be trusted.
And again, the implications of those promises to individuals have a wider scope. For example, God promised Abraham that He would have a son. He didn’t make that promise directly to us, but it pertains to us. You see, the Savior of the world would come from Abraham’s descendants. He would go through Abraham’s son, Isaac. The promise of a son was made to Abraham, not to us. But the Savior of the world who would come through Abraham’s son and later descendants would save us. So, do we see how this promise to Abraham pertains to us?
Back to the transfiguration of Jesus. Peter, James, and John witnessed it. But Jesus didn’t intend for them to keep it to themselves. They were to tell others about it after Jesus had been raised from the dead. This event, then, is meant for all of us.
The main point of Jesus’ transfiguration is His revealing His heavenly glory. Jesus intended to convince all of us that He is more than just a human being; He is God Almighty. And because He is, we can believe and put our trust in Him.
We are also given a glimpse into what is in store for us. Once we die, God will not forget us. We will be changed as Jesus was.
This is why we set aside a Sunday each year which focuses on Jesus’ transfiguration. I hope we will focus our lives on what Jesus has in store for us.