2-15-2026

                                                          “LISTEN TO JESUS!”

Text: Matthew 17:1-9

Sunday February 15, 2026 – Transfiguration

Trinity – Creston

       Grace, mercy, and peace is yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

       Our text for this Transfiguration Sunday is the Gospel lesson from Matthew 17 that was just proclaimed.

Let Us Pray: Dearest Jesus, send your Holy Spirit to remind us that we listen to you. The Transfiguration is yet another powerful reminder that you alone are the focus, our God, Our Savior.  Amen.

Dear Fellow Redeemed in Christ:

A wise father knows that when he gives his child an instruction and the child asks, “Why do I have to do that, Dad?” it’s seldom best simply to say, “Because I said so.”

Occasionally, it comes to that, but a wise and patient father usually has better reasons, and depending on what the child is able to understand at that point, the father usually wants to explain. Saying “Do what I said!” or just “Listen to me!” isn’t very helpful for a child.

Perhaps even worse might be for the father to say, “Just listen to your older brother. Do whatever he says—just because he says so.”

Yet that’s what the all-wise heavenly Father says on the Mount of Transfiguration. With all the lights flashing and an audience that includes two of the greatest figures from the Old Testament, the Father speaks in what was surely a fatherly(!) voice, “This Jesus is my beloved Son! Listen to him!”

That’s all we hear in our text. However, in Scripture as a whole, and in the events soon to follow, God the Father and Christ our Brother patiently give us very good reason to

Listen to Jesus as Our Very Savior.

  I.   Our Father and Brother do give us clear reasons to listen to Jesus.

A.    Remember the story of the transfiguration.

1.     Jesus, with Peter, James, and John; a high mountain; suddenly “transfigured”—shining, brilliant white light (vv 1–2).

2.     Moses and Elijah; Peter’s idea; the cloud (vv 3–5a).

3.     Then the Father’s voice: “Listen to him” (v 5b).

B.    There on the mountain, we see and hear ample reasons to listen to Jesus.

1.     The radiant glory: This Jesus the disciples had seen looking quite ordinary is no ordinary man!

2.     The lawgiver Moses and great prophet Elijah: Jesus is the fulfiller of the entire Old Testament.

3.     The voice: This should be plenty convincing (v 6; Ex 20:19)!

C.    Then, in the events to follow the transfiguration, we see the greatest reasons to listen to Jesus.

1.     From here, Jesus goes to the cross. He predicted his death multiple times and then accomplished it, dying to pay for all sins.

2.     Jesus affirmed his identity as the Son of God in power by rising again (Rom 1:1–4). By his resurrection, we know all his words are true, and we can trust his promises, especially of eternal life.

  II.  But what about when sinful voices challenge our Father’s Word? “Why do I have to listen to Jesus?” Let’s look at voices that try to lead us astray from his Word.

A.    Voices speak to our heads: The world tells us Jesus’ specific claims of truth are outdated or even silly.

1.     Many people leave the Christian faith because they believe the lie that all religions are just the same ethical system, to love one another.

2.     That’s not what Jesus says. His death and resurrection are not acts of us loving one another. Only in the Christian religion did God love us by dying to pay for our sins. So only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life eternal.

B.    Voices speak to our hands: The world tells us we can measure the truth of a thing by what “works.”

1.     Many Christians are attracted to false churches when they see the large, growing organizations and are pulled away from the means of grace.

2.     But Christ tells us instead, “This is my body” and “This is my blood” for life and salvation.

C.    Voices speak to our hearts: It is particularly popular in America to say things like “Listen to your heart” or “Do what makes you happy.”

1.     Cheryl Crow’s song “If It Makes You Happy” is a good example.

2.     But we know that our hearts will lead us astray (Mt 15:19). Only Christ’s Word and the power of the Holy Spirit in the means of grace lead us to eternal life and cause us to love as he did.

  III. So we listen to Jesus, even when it’s hard.

A.    Jesus speaks a hard saying, as when he says we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him (Mt 16:24–25). (Give examples.) Yet we do that since following Christ is the only way to eternal life.

B.    Therefore, we also trust his Word when it’s contrary to the many voices that would lead us astray.

Conclusion: If any father can wisely say, “Do it just because I said so,” it would be our heavenly Father. And sometimes, for our good, in his perfect wisdom and our limited understanding, he does just that.

But when he says, “Listen to Jesus; hear him when he tells you that he goes to the cross and will rise again,” he gives us ample reason. Above all, that is how he is our Savior. Amen.

Amen.

Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.