Only Jesus...

“And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” 

—Matthew 17:8

When I was in college, I had the opportunity to witness to a criminal psychologist on a train to Chicago. It was the weekend and it was early in the morning with just the two of us on the train. We talked at length about life, our families, and our backgrounds. But more than anything else, I talked about Jesus. He stopped in the middle of our conversation and said, “I can except everything about Christianity. I really like it all, except one thing: Jesus Christ.” I had to say that I was stupefied. I've had many people give me numerous excuses as to why they don’t believe. Usually it's because of Christians not practicing what they preached, but never had I heard that a person could accept everything about Christianity, except Christ! You can’t have Christianity without Christ! He is THE reason for our hope. It all centers on Him.

Our passage for today is found right after the Transfiguration, when Jesus was transformed before Peter, James, and John, and His garments became a startling white. The three disciples had just seen Jesus talking with two Bible legends, Moses and Elijah, and then heard the voice of God as a white cloud surrounded them. They fell down on their faces in sheer terror, crying aloud. In the midst of their fear, Jesus comes and touches them. They look up to discover that everything else is gone. The cloud, the voice, and the legends have all left, and only one remains. Jesus.

Everything on the mountain that day was pointing to Jesus. The voice from heaven? Pointed to Jesus. Two of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament? Who were they focusing on? Jesus.

Jesus IS the Christian life. HE is the fulfillment of prophecy and the promises of God. HE was born of a virgin. HE lived a sinless life. HE came to die on our behalf. HE is the one who died on the cross. HE is the one who paid the price we cannot. HE is the one who rose from the dead. HE is the one who ascended back into heaven. HE is the one who intercedes for us before the Father. HE is the one who is coming again to judge. HE is the one whom we worship. It’s all about HIM. Without Jesus, there is no church. Without Jesus, there is no victory. And without Jesus, there is no hope.

In Jesus, the subjects of love, sin, wrath, mercy, righteousness, justice, and peace find their fullest meaning. Jesus is the sole reason for a Christian’s existence. He is our Creator, our Sustainer, Lord, Savior, brother, and friend. Jesus is our life. We need to make sure that we, just like the disciples after the Transfiguration, when everything is said and done, just see Jesus. It’s all about Him. Amen.