Napier Baptist

Sorry I've been a bit slow on posting the sermon text for this week. What struck me initially with this passage is Peter wanting to build 3 dwellings for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Peter, like most of us, prefers to think of the glorified Jesus than the crucified Jesus. When Peter sees Jesus in all his glory he wants to capture Jesus in this glorified state forever. Jesus has just finished telling him that his Messiahship is one of suffering and death (9:18-27), but Peter doesn't want his view of glory tarnished by suffering and shame, he wants to keep Jesus as dazzling white. As Barbara Brown Taylor says here, "when they saw that shining face bloodied and spat upon, those dazzling clothes torn into souvenir rags -- I’ll bet they had to rethink what that glory was all about." Jesus' journey to glory must go through Jerusalem (9:51) and it's this same Jerusalem journey that Jesus calls his disciples to walk. Jesus won't be held to this dazzling white untouchability because he knows the journey of discipleship is simply not like that. A friend recently said to me that we often prefer to take the path of least resistance than to go through the hard things in life. It reminded me of a quote from John Madden, the famous NFL coach: "The road to easy street goes through the sewer." For Jesus, the road to glory goes through Jerusalem.