God's Son!

For Sunday, April 30, 2023:

Matthew 17:5 NLT, during the Transfiguration: “A bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him.’”

The bright cloud is the light of God’s glory, called the shekinah. From the cloud, God clearly identifies Jesus as his Son. What an honor for John, James and Peter to have been present that day and to hear the Lord speak! I’ll bet we all wish we could have been there that day!

Peter, acting impulsively, wanted to build tabernacles, holy shelters, for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. But in a way, God identifying his Son was a rebuke of the plan. The Son of God is far superior to the others and should be set apart in a higher place, both physically and in our thinking. With these words from heaven, God the Father clearly set Jesus above the Law and the Prophets. Jesus is not merely another or even a better lawgiver or prophet. Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, one-third of our triune God!

Spurgeon writes: “God did not make us his children because he needed sons, but because we needed a father.”

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus in the City Fellowship