Four Weeks of Love: The Power of a Great Affection

Scripture: Matthew 17.1-9

Jesus takes Peter and James and John with him to the top of the mountain. These three companions were not chosen randomly. Jesus did nothing random. Whimsically, yes. Without purpose – no. He took these three because they were closest to him, in his heart and in theirs. They were soul friends.

Why did he take them up on this mountain? Well, they saw things there, no doubt about it. Things to remember for a lifetime. They saw visions of Moses and Elijah. But the most spectacular thing that the three friends saw was their friend, Jesus, blaze forth like the sun. In the Old Testament it says that Moses glowed on the mountain, and his glowing was like the rays of the sun shining. Jesus on the mountain was the sun itself come down to earth. Moses was mankind gone up to meet God. Jesus was God come down to meet his friends.

Why did Jesus take his friends up the mountain? Did He do it to impress them to great faith? I don’t think so. In chapter sixteen we read that it is, “an evil and adulterous generation that asks for a sign, but no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah,” that is the sign of death and resurrection. I don’t think Jesus brought Peter, James, and John up to impress them with the show. I think he brought them along because he wanted his friends there with him. He brought them along because he loved them. He wanted them to share in this moment of transfiguration when heaven’s light shined through him clearly and boldly, no buffer, no curtain, no disguise. He wanted them to be encouraged because there were dark days ahead for the four of them; days when they would need all the light or memory of light they could get.

The trip was a moment in time, one to be remembered but never explained. In fact Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about this until after I’m gone.” It was a display of His power yes, but it was more a display of His love. The three friends felt it too. Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here.”

Brennan Manning writes in The Ragamuffin Gospel that in the Deep South of a hundred years ago, the phrase born again that is so common in Christian culture today was seldom or never used. Rather, the phrase used to describe the breakthrough into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ was, “I was seized by the power of a great affection.”
I believe that on the mountain top Peter, James, and John ( whose nickname for himself, by the way was, “the one whom Jesus loved”) were seized by the power of a great affection for Jesus.

And in fact that’s how we all must be saved. I could explain to you in eloquent sermons. . .well, someone could explain to you in eloquent sermons, how truthful and reasonable and right it is to believe in Jesus and trust in God. But no amount of explanation will really do unless you too are seized by this affection that has the power to save your soul. This is what John Wesley experienced at Aldersgate Street. Previously, he understood the Gospel and could and did explain it to others. Heck, he preached it daily. Yet, it was in one moment that Wesley finally, “did trust in Christ and know that He loved me. . .” “I felt my heart strangely warmed,” he famously remarked.

John Wesley was seized by the power of a great affection, that is, the love of Jesus Christ.

In Philippians the Apostle Paul tells us that one day everyone will recognize the authority and power of Jesus Christ. Every knee will bow in acknowledgement of the Lord Jesus as Creator, Redeemer, and Judge. King or slave, rich man or poor single mother, privileged daughter or orphaned boy, corporate executive, politician, salesman, real estate agent, doctor, lawyer, college professor, homeless man - all will say without reservation, “Jesus, truly you are Lord. You are God.”

All will recognize the power of his authority. But what some may never do is repond to the power of his love. And that is the power that can and must save us. I wish people to respond to the love and not wait for the judgment.

Just the other morning my wife, Jennifer, called me at my office. My secretary put her through and my wife greeted me with. . .well. . .it was romantic talk that would make you blush a little perhaps. It did me. I said to her, “Hey! The speakerphone might be on, Judy might hear you.” To which Jennifer said, “So, you’re my husband. I may talk to you that way.” And she was right. Why be ashamed of this power of love and affection? Too often we are so preoccupied with saying and believing all the right things about God that we have forgotten to be in love with Him.

People talk about meeting their soul mate in life. Well, if anyone is the mate of your soul, isn’t it the One who loves your soul the most?

I wish you all not only to meet the One who loves you most, but to be completely seized by and swept off your feet by the power of His love. When I met Jesus I was a child growing up in the church, listening to the stories about Him. And then, along the way, the power of His Spirit filled me and I didn’t just know about His love, I experienced it firsthand. It was like somebody put the power of the sun inside me for a few minutes. I love Him for his patience, his mercy, his wisdom. I love Jesus who, when I am faithless, remains my faithful friend.


Knowing Jesus will not make you wealthy, successful, or problem-free. In a sense, Jesus “ruins you” (to borrow Mike Yaconelli’s phrase) for anything or anyone else in life. But that’s the point. There is nothing better. You don’t need a reward to love Jesus. Like Yann Martel says in Life of Pi, “The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” I wish that every morning that you get up you get up with Jesus and every day you spend with Him you can’t help but say, “Lord, it’s good for us to be here.”