Today’s passage, Mark 9:1-8, you will also find a parallel passage in Matthew 17, and also in Luke chapter 9. So if I appear to say something which is not in your text as you look down at it, then that is probably because the reference that I’m making is either to the Matthew passage or to the Luke passage.
John, in the prologue to his gospel, makes at least a tangential reference to this event when, in the course of his statement concerning Jesus, he says of him in John 1:14, “we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth..” And one of the ways in which the glory of Jesus was seen was in this particular event that we’re considering now.
Peter writes of it in 2 Peter 1:16 saying “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased"-- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” So Peter, in writing his letter, references this event which the Gospel writers record for us and which we are considering this morning.
For Peter, the experience of the recent days has been a roller coaster ride of spiritual highs and lows. One minute he says that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, and the next minute Jesus is saying to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You don’t have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” You know, some people suggest that in the Christian life, once you get up to a certain altitude, then it’s just smooth sailing from that point on. I’ve never been too convinced of that. I don’t find that expressed in the Bible, and it’s certainly not the experience of my own Christian life. No, I think I’d have to say that the Christian life is a series of highs and lows. One minute you feel as though you have ascended to the mountaintop, and the next minute you’re down in the valley of the shadow of death. Well, we find that Peter was perpetually riding the highs and lows of the Christian experience, and we see another incidence of that in this passage.
Some commentators think that vs 1 should really be the last verse of chapter 8. But I think it belongs just where it is, as an introduction to the transfiguration. Vs 1, “And Jesus was saying to them, ‘Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.’”
There are a lot of possible interpretations of this verse, but I think it is a reference to some of the disciples witnessing the transfiguration. “Some of you who are standing here are not going to die before you see the kingdom of God coming with power.” And six days later, he took James and John up on the mountainside, and guess what happened? They saw the kingdom of God come with power.
So if that’s the context, we continue from verse 2: “Six days later, Jesus *took with Him Peter and James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves.” We don’t know what happened during those six days, but we can assume that Jesus continued teaching the disciples about the same subject matter that He talks about in the last of chapter 8, and now vs 1. And then the six days of teaching are over, and now it’s time for a theological field trip. A field trip is supposed to be a physical representation in the real world of what you have been learning in the classroom. The disciples have been in class for the last week or so, learning about the kingdom of God and how Jesus will accomplish His ministry as the Messiah. But now they get an opportunity to go see a personal glimpse into that spiritual reality.
And by extension, we are going to participate in that same field trip via the written account that is given to us by Mark. So let’s look first of all at the description that is provided for us in verses 2–4. “And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.”
We have here the description of a scene which in some sense is almost indescribable. That should become apparent. Look at what we’re told. What do we learn from this? Well, we learn that there were three individuals involved, plus Jesus. We’re told that they were up on this “high mountain” and “they were all alone,” that there was no one with them. We’re also told in Luke 9 that Jesus had gone up onto this high mountain in order to pray. And as they were praying, “he was transfigured before them.”
“His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” and Matthew says “his face shone like the sun.” He was transfigured before them. The word that is translated “transfigured” is the Greek word metamorphoo, from which we get our English word metamorphosis. It is used here and in Matthew 17; it is used in Romans 12:2 when Paul talks about being “transformed by the renewing of your mind;” and it is also used in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where Paul says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” Those are the only occasions in the New Testament where this particular verb is used.
Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of God’s nature,. So the glory of God is veiled in Jesus' humanity. What we have in His transfiguration then is a temporary pulling back of the veil that we might see His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
But if you think about it, even this exhibition is inevitably incomplete. Because it can only be given to us under symbols—symbols which are then adapted to our capacity with language, our capacity of comprehension, so that the whole of the Bible is actually an accommodation to us. The other day I was reading from Psalm 91. And I was reading the verses which said “He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge;” What is David saying? God has wings and feathers? No. It is an accommodation. It is the use of language in order to connote something, to describe something, which we in our humanity can then process.
And that’s really what we have in this description—a shining face and dazzling clothes. God was making it possible for Peter, James, and John to get a taste of what they could not fully comprehend—to get a glimpse of what they fully couldn’t understand.
So from a human perspective, the divinity of Jesus was concealed under the veil of his humanity. His divinity was concealed under the veil of his humanity, so that you read Isaiah 53: He had “no form [or] comeliness.” There was “no beauty” about him that we would be attracted to him. He was one from whom men hid their faces. He was “despised,” and we esteemed him not. Jesus walked down the street, and people didn’t notice anything. He was lost in the crowd. The people would have said, “Which one is Jesus of Nazareth?” unless he was teaching or unless he was doing a miracle. You would never expect that God was there in the midst of the crowd in the Jerusalem markets—that in the midst of all of that, there is divinity. Surely, He would have some dramatic way of identifying himself. Surely, He would be accompanied by angels. Surely, He would have people walk in front of him and come behind Him. Surely, when he finally made his great declaration of His kingship in the streets of Jerusalem, He would have marshaled all the forces of heaven to accompany Him, riding on chariots of fire. But no! He rides in on a donkey, on the colt of a donkey.
He became what he was not—namely, man—without ever ceasing to be what he was—namely, God. And here in this moment, in this temporary exhibition, these individuals are given a preview of that which will then be manifested after the resurrection, and that which will finally come to its fulfillment when history as we know it is wrapped up and we live in a new heaven and in a new earth.
Now, not only is Jesus transfigured, but suddenly the four become six. And in verse 4, two key characters from the Old Testament are talking with Jesus. The disciples became completely terrified on the basis of this. Elijah, the prophet, and Moses, the lawgiver, are talking with Jesus.
When the saints of old spoke of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, they spoke of the Law and the Prophets. Here we see the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, Moses and Elijah, signifying the unity of scripture in testifying of the kingdom of God. You see by this the wonderful way in which the Bible is one unified book—that the Old Testament and the New Testament are not set in opposition to one another. Someone has well said, that the New is, in the Old, concealed; and the Old is, in the New, revealed. That the significance of Moses as the lawgiver and Elijah the prophet finally finds its fulfillment in Jesus, for He is the one who hasn’t come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.
Luke says they were talking about the departure of Jesus. That’s an interesting thing to be talking about! You’ve only just come, and you’re talking about leaving. What’s that about? No, the word that is used here is the word for exodus. They were talking about the exodus of Jesus. And that would be the exodus whereby people, through faith in Jesus, being placed underneath the sign of his shed blood, as was true for Moses and the people in Egypt, that they also would be set free, and the exodus of Jesus, the departure of Jesus, in and through Jerusalem is a reference to that where, by his death and his resurrection and his ascension, He delivers His people from the captivity and condemnation of sin.
So, we move from the looking part to the listening part. And there is a discussion which ensues. Mark tells us that Peter “didn’t know what to say” because he and his two friends “were so frightened.” Actually, the fact that he didn’t know what to say hadn’t ever stopped Peter before, and it doesn’t stop him now. Luke actually tells us that Peter “didn’t know what he was saying.”
“Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”’ I can imagine Peter and the other disciples thinking this is really great, you know. This type of spectacle is what is needed to really get the church going. If Jesus could just bottle this up and display it for the multitudes then the whole world will be streaming to see Jesus and would believe in Him. After all, the Pharisees had just been complaining that Jesus would not show them a sign that He was from God. But if they saw Moses and Elijah and saw Jesus transfigured then they would believe. So this is good. This is going to be a great ministry tool to bring people to the Lord.
And suddenly a dark cloud envelops them on the mountain, and voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” I find myself unable to adequately expound upon God’s statement. It’s perfect in it’s simplicity. In this statement God the Father expresses His complete agreement with Christ, and tells us to listen to Him as the full expression of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, who dwelt among us. His words are the word of God. His word is truth, they are life, they are the way. He is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Listen to Him that you might receive life, that you might gain entrance into the kingdom of God. And suddenly with those words, Elijah and Moses are gone, and only Jesus and the disciples are there alone. The light emanating from Jesus fades awy, and the veil of Jesus’ humanity is replaced.
There were many things to be learned from the transfiguration. One is the reality of spiritual life. Moses and Elijah were alive, speaking to Jesus. Talking about His ministry. They learned, as Jesus would say on another occasion, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. The disciples not only got to see behind the veil of Jesus’ humanity, but they got to see behind the veil of the physical world into the realm of the spirit. They learned from this event the superiority of Jesus as the Christ, that He is, according to the Father’s statement, His only begotten Son, and in Him is all power and authority given in heaven and in earth. And they should have learned from this event of His eternal nature, which supersedes His humanity.
Then vs 9 says, “As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead.“ Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” That seems to include the fellow disciples, the other nine that were not present with them on this occasion. That’s quite a tall order, I think you would agree, to have been exposed to something as spectacular as this, something as life-changing as this; you would want immediately to hurry down the mountainside and let everybody know what you had experienced.
But Jesus said don’t tell anyone about it. There will be time enough for them to tell the story to others once they themselves have understood it. But since they as yet do not yet fully comprehend what happened, it is quite understandable that Jesus gives the order that He does. They’re not going to be able to make sense of this until after the resurrection.
Verse 10: “They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.” In other words, they had a question about what Jesus meant when he said they weren’t to tell anyone until they had seen “the Son of Man … risen from the dead.” That raised a question in their minds, which they chose not to ask but decided to discuss with each other.
The Jewish people believed in the resurrection at the last day. And the disciples clearly believed in that theology. In John 11, which speaks of the death of Lazarus, you will remember that Martha says to Jesus. “If you had been here,” she says in John 11:21, “my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” John 11:23: “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’” And that was a reference to the Jewish conception of resurrection. The resurrection at the last day would usher in the final judgment.
But they had no concept of a personal resurrection on the part of the Messiah which preceded this general resurrection at the last day. And so, consequently, it was a matter of confusion to them for Jesus to say, “You need to keep this quiet until the Son of Man has been raised,” and they must have said to one another, “Do we have to wait until we get to the very end of the age? Do we have to wait until the new age is ushered in? What does he mean by this?” But they don’t ask Jesus that question. However the question they don’t ask, is replaced by another question, which is really just trying to understand the time frame that they are looking at, in light of the prophecies which they are aware of.
So the question they ask is ‘Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’”Malachi says in chapter 4 verse 5, the final two verses of his prophecy, “Behold, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” So, the prophet Elijah is going to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. “He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” So, not only did the Jewish people anticipate a resurrection at the last day, but they anticipated the appearance of Elijah before the appearing of the Messiah.
You see, they have already come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah. So they’re really stuck now: “If you are the Messiah and you have come, what’s this stuff about Elijah coming before the Messiah? Because you’re already here!”
Jesus answers them in verse 12. And He said to them, "Elijah does first come and restore all things. And [yet] how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.” And therein is the problem: How do we put the suffering and rejection in line with the triumph and the glory? Where does it all fit?
We can get a little more clarity on that answer from Matthew 17 and to the account of the transfiguration as Matthew records it for us. Matthew 17:10: “[Then] the disciples asked him, ‘Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’ Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’” Verse 13: “Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist,” In other words, that those statements concerning the prophet Elijah find their fulfillment in the ministry of John the Baptist.
But the ministry of John the Baptist was not the ministry that they had hoped for. Because they hoped that the restoration which they anticipated in the prophetic role of Elijah would be the restoration of all of their supremacy as Jewish people—the triumph over the Roman authorities, the reestablishment of the temple, the restoration of all things that would establish Israel as dominant in the world. But when John the Baptist comes, what does he speak to them about? He speaks to them about repentance. He speaks to them about the need for forgiveness. He speaks to them about the need of them being baptized as an outward sign of the fact that they know their hearts are sinful and need to be renewed. They need to be restored not in a geopolitical way or a national way like they had hoped for, but by the spiritual rebirth which is brought about by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s a spiritual kingdom which must come before any physical kingdom comes.
“And so,” says Jesus, “John the Baptist, fulfilling the prophetic role of Elijah, suffered death at the hands of those to whom he preached, and in that respect, he is a forerunner of the Son of Man. Because, I tell you, Elijah has come, and they’ve done to him everything they wished, just as is written about him, and He says by implication, that is what is going to happen to the Son of Man. They didn’t recognize John, or the parts that they recognized they didn’t like, and they don’t recognize Jesus, and the parts that they do recognize they don’t like either. And so as John suffered and died for his message, so his death points forward to the suffering and death of the Messiah.”
You remember the healing of the blind man that we looked at a couple of weeks ago? Remember that Jesus spit on the man’s eyes and he saw men walking like trees, and then Jesus touched him again and he began to see clearly? Remember how I told you then that was an illustration of the way that the disciples were being given spiritual discernment? I think that healing illustrates this incident in which their knowledge and understanding of Jesus is taken to a second stage in their spiritual development. They begin to see more clearly that not only is Jesus the Messiah, the King who ushers in the kingdom of God, but He is also the Savior of the world, who dies for the sins of the world so that man might be given life in the kingdom of God.
The gospel of the kingdom of God must first of all be spiritually discerned. Citizenship in the kingdom of God must be spiritually obtained through faith in Jesus Christ. There will come a time, at the last day, when the faith shall be sighted, and the Lord shall return, and we will be changed, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and the heavens and the earth will be burned up and then all things made new. But there is more to see here than simply a physical application. There is more to the gospel than a social gospel, or a prosperity gospel. There is more to the Christian life than living your best life now. The kingdom of God is first of all a spiritual kingdom, and then at the last day, the physical kingdom will be established in a new heaven and a new earth.
So as Jesus said in chapter 8:34-38 "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
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