Not Distant, Not Relative, Not Hidden

Not Distant, Not Relative, Not Hidden

The Transfiguration of the Lord – 1/25/2026

2 Peter 1:16-21

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Epistle lesson from the Second Epistle of St. Peter in the first chapter with special emphasis on verse sixteen which reads as follows:

“ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Transfiguration of our Lord confronts us with a basic and unavoidable question: Can God actually be known? Not speculated about, not felt toward, not vaguely sensed, but known.

Much of present-day spirituality answers that question with hesitation. God, we are told, is ultimately mysterious, perhaps even unknowable. Truth is said to be relative, especially about God and religious things. Religious claims are treated as personal expressions of opinion rather than statements about reality. God, if He exists at all, is distant, certainly not the sort of God who speaks clearly or acts decisively in history or Who is present with His people.

The Transfiguration stands directly against that spirit. On the holy mountain, Jesus does not become less accessible or more abstract. He becomes clearer. Brighter. More definite. And the Apostle Peter insists that this was not a subjective religious experience, but a real event, witnessed, heard, and testified.

That is why he writes: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths … but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” The Transfiguration reveals that Christ is knowable, objective, and present.

Christ Is Knowable

Peter begins by grounding Christian faith in revelation, not imagination. “We were eyewitnesses,” he says. Christianity does not begin with human religious longing, but with God speaking and acting. This is what revelation is; it is God revealing Himself to us who are not able to rise to Him. Our first problem is the spiritual cement that weighs us down: our sin. But besides this, even if we were not sinners, we are by nature finite, limited beings. We cannot fly off into God’s own heaven. We do not have the ability to cross the boundary of this universe to the realm of God on our own power. Thus, if we know anything real and true about God it must be because God Himself has revealed this to us. And if God has shown us Himself, then it cannot be said that God is unknowable.

On the mountain, Christ is revealed in glory. The voice of the Father speaks audibly: “This is My beloved Son.” This is not mystical vagueness. It is specific communication. God the Father identifies Himself and names His Son. The Light of Christ dispels shadows of doubt and the Word clearly spoken by the Father clearly proclaims the identity of the Son.

And Peter draws a straight line from that moment to the written Word of Holy Scripture: “We have something more sure, the prophetic word.” The same God who spoke on the mountain speaks through the prophets and apostles. Christ is knowable because He makes Himself known. And He does not make Himself known only through the miraculous events of His time teaching and healing in Galilee in the first century AD. No, this God, this Christ also has been spoken of by prophets through the whole history of the Old and New Testaments.

This is why the Church confesses that the Scriptures are inspired, trustworthy, understandable, and without error. Or, as we say in more academic circles, inspired, infallible, and inerrant. This confession is not about winning arguments or defending a book. It is about this central claim: God can be known, and God wants to be known. He is not silent. He is not hidden behind endless layers of ambiguity or subject to human guesswork. He speaks clearly, truthfully, and authoritatively.

To deny the clarity and reliability of Scripture is not humility. It is despair. For if God cannot communicate clearly, then He cannot be known at all. But Christ is knowable, because He speaks to us. Our Lord takes the initiative to let Himself be known to the human race. This is not our doing.

Christ Is Objective

Peter also insists that Christ is not merely his experience of God. The Transfiguration was not true “for Peter” and different for someone else. It was, and remains, objectively, universally true. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Jesus who shone in glory on the mountain is the same Jesus who walked the roads of Galilee, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, who was crucified, raised, and ascended. He is not reshaped by cultures, revised by centuries, or redefined by personal preference.

This matters deeply. If Christ were subjective, true or real only insofar as He resonates with us, then He would have no authority to save or judge. He would be reduced to a symbol, a patchwork of human ambition and ideals. But Peter will not allow that. Christianity rests on historical facts: real events, real witnesses, real promises, real truth.

The Transfiguration anchors our faith in God in reality. Christ does not change with time, and His Word does not bend to the spirit of the age. What was true on the mountain is true in the Church today.

Christ Is Present

Yet Christ is not only knowable and objective; if this were so, He might still be distant from us. No, Christ giving us Himself in truth is to reveal that He is also present.

Peter does not describe the Transfiguration as a nostalgic memory or a past religious high point. He uses it to direct the Church now to the living Word of Christ. The glory revealed then continues to shine today through the Scriptures, the preaching of the saving Gospel, and the certainty of the Sacraments. Just as the light of Christ during His Transfiguration illumined the mountaintop, so does His light given now illumine the soul.

Christ is not absent. He has not withdrawn into heaven and left us to fend for ourselves. He remains with His Church, speaking forgiveness, bestowing life, strengthening faith. And this promise is not only for those who feel a certain way or who are outwardly a certain degree of good and Christian. No, this promise is for all of you who know Christ as your Savior, even those whose faith is weak and whose sin seems too great.

This presence of Christ meets us precisely where our need remains. Sin still clings to us. Doubt still troubles us. Death still confronts us. Christ does not wait for these needs to disappear. He comes into them. The glorious Lord of the Transfiguration is the same Lord who comes humbly to sinners with mercy through His Word.

The Spirit of Our Times

This stands in sharp contrast to the dominant spirit of our age. We are told that God is mysterious in a way that forbids clarity, relative in a way that denies truth, and distant in a way that excuses unbelief. Mystery is used to silence doctrine; God being beyond us is leveraged to mean that God is not really, truly known at all. Relativity is used to erode confession; imprecision is held up as faithfulness while thorough study and confession of the Word of God is seen as unloving. Distance is used to justify spiritual apathy; after all, if God is not near us, then what need do we have of being serious about these things? The language of this false theology is common in our age. It appeals to us as the great center and judge of truth. Things like, “Who is God to you?” or “What does this passage mean to you?” are not invitations into deeper contact with God or His Word. Instead, they are appeals to the spirit of the age and its inherent rejection of the objective truth, knowability, and nearness of God. This way of thinking invites doubt, uncertainty, and even unbelief.

But this confession is not of the God revealed on the mountain. The Father speaks. The Son is revealed. The apostles bear witness. God does not retreat into obscurity; He comes near in Christ. And this means that our hands are bound to a certain life, our hearts to a certain true faith, and our minds to a true confession of His truth.

The Consolation of a Knowable, Objective, and Present Christ

And this central distinction, revealed by the Transfiguration of the Lord, is of utmost importance for your Gospel comfort: your faith does not rest on feelings, sincerity, or inner experiences. It rests on Christ who is knowable through His Word, objective and universal in His truth, and present with His saving gifts. To know Christ is not to pass a theological litmus test, but to realize that He is the Savior of the spiritually dead, the Comforter of the doubting heart, and the Great Physician who heals in body and soul unto eternity.

When consciences are burdened, Christ does not become uncertain. When the world shifts, Christ does not change. When faith feels weak, Christ remains faithful. The Transfiguration assures us that the Jesus who goes to the cross is truly the Son of God and that the Jesus who forgives sins today is no less glorious, no less divine, no less present, no less real.

Conclusion

The Transfiguration lifts the veil of mystery around God, not to confuse us, but to strengthen us. It shows us who Christ truly is, so that when we walk down from the mountain into suffering, temptation, and death in this world, we know whom we are following. Christ is knowable. Christ is objective. Christ is present. And therefore, He can be trusted to deliver on His promise of life and salvation for you who are in need now and unto eternity. This is the Christ who has revealed Himself to you, who stands objectively for you, and who is present with you now for your forgiveness, your life, and your salvation.

In the Holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The Peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] 2 Peter 1:16 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Holy Scriptures are from the ESV.