The Son of Man, Revealed

“The Son of Man, Revealed”
Luke 9:28-36
March 1, 2026

In Luke 14, Jesus offers two parables to explain the importance of considering the cost of believing in Him and following Him:  a builder who makes sure he has enough money to construct his tower and a king in battle who first determines if he has enough forces to defeat his foe.  And Jesus concludes:  “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all His own possessions” (Luke 14:33).  Jesus is compelling His listeners to consider the cost of following Him and whether they are willing to pay the cost.  

In Luke 9, Jesus has also been enticing His hearers to follow Him — and to be aware of and weigh the costs of following Him (and the danger of rejecting Him).  But He also entices them to follow Him by weighing the benefits of following Him.  There is benefit and value in every hardship endured for the sake of Christ —

• You will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (19:17)
• Your reward in Heaven will be great (Mt. 5:12)
• The Father will honor you (Jn. 12:26)
• You will experience incomparable glory (Rom. 8:18)
• Your perishable and mortal body will put on that which is imperishable and immortal (1 Cor. 15:54)
• You will know an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Cor. 4:17)
• You will have an eternal inheritance (Col. 3:24)
• You will receive the crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8)
• You will see the face of the (currently) unseeable God (1 Jn. 3:2)
• And you will experience the fullness of being in Christ’s kingdom (Lk. 9:28-36)

That last benefit is the focus of the transfiguration of Christ.  Jesus wants to give the disciples a taste of what life with Him in glory will be like.  This passage contains many themes and sub-themes:  the priority of prayer, the anticipation of Christ’s suffering, the superiority of Christ to Moses and the prophets, the witness to and of Christ, the fear of God, and more.  But the main theme and focus of this section is on the glory of Christ.  And because it follows the call of Christ to the crowd to lose their lives to follow Him (vv. 24-25), it affirms the benefit of following: 

Follow Christ (believe in Him) because He is glorious and supreme.

You will gain everything through Him.

Jesus gives the three disciples a taste of what His Kingdom will be like for those who follow Him and give up their lives to follow Him.  When you follow Christ, you get Christ in all His glory.  This passage provides four glimpses of Christ’s glory…

1. Christ’s Glory Revealed (vv. 28-29)
2. Christ’s Glory Explained (vv. 30-31)
3. Christ’s Glory Clarified (vv. 32-33)
4. Christ’s Glory Affirmed (vv. 34-36)

Download the rest of this sermon on Luke 9:28-36.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.

Mount Hermon, the most likely place of Christ’s transfiguration.