Scripture: Mark 9:2-9
Our Lord is an extremely personal God, and yet, how many people, throughout the ages, have ever understood what that means for them? Think about his disciples – it wasn’t until after his crucifixion and resurrection that they even began to come to grips with the divine relationship that he offered to them. For Israel in general, they thought that Jehovah demanded a righteous life and strict adherence to his Law, and that this would be their faith. Even the Church has struggled with this very issue – we have always known that Philippians 2:6-11 tells us that, by faith, we are to fully and truly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
But for many, this act can only be considered as truthful if our life can be seen as a witness to the words! The truth is that Justification, our acceptance of Jesus as Lord of our life, is only the first step, and Sanctification, our growth in faith and good works, only comes through and by our commitment and confession of who Jesus is for us personally!
The point is this – what is our relationship with Jesus based on? Is it in our proving our worthiness of his salvation, in the good works we perform and the good life that we live, in our acts of social justice, or is it in the faith and trust that we place in him, in our acceptance of the new life that God creates for us when we give our lives to Jesus?
What does his truth mean for each of us?
Read Mark 9:2-4
This passage begins with “After six days …”. A number of events in the gospels begin with a reference to something that happened previously. So what were these, as well as other days in a life with Christ, all about?
In Mark 8:27-30, we read that Jesus and his disciples had spent some time in the region of Caesarea Philippi. This was a pagan worship site, and it is the very place that Jesus chooses to get his followers to think about who he was. He asks them who “the people” say he is, and he hears that they believe that he may be the reincarnation of John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the other prophets. These are certainly high compliments, but they still fall far short of the truth of Christ.
He then asks who they say he is, and this is when Peter stands up and proclaims that Jesus is none other than the Christ. Messiah, for Israel, was the long awaited Savior, the one who Jehovah would sent to save the people from oppression and persecution by the people of earth.
But Peter, the proclaimer of who Jesus truly was for him, had his own ups and downs. He would be the one whose faith could only allow him to take a step or two on the water before he began to sink (
But Peter wasn’t the only one who struggled, and even vacillated, over who Jesus was for him. James and John would argue over who should sit next to Jesus at the supper – they were focused on their own honor and greatness, instead of giving their master the honor that he was due (Mark 10:35-40). They would be two of the ones who would fall asleep in the garden, even after the Lord had asked them to stay awake for him while he prayed. (Matthew 26:36-46)
None of them were completely certain of who Jesus was, or who he was for them, or how they should relate to him personally. But on this day, these three men would be given a glimpse into the true nature of Christ. He would be “transfigured” right before their eyes. His true character, the fullness of his identity, is being revealed to the closest of his followers. And who is he being shown to be?
The dazzling whiteness of his clothes indicate that his true nature is of heaven. They became whiter than anything of earth could ever be, implying a purity greater than earth could ever have. Jesus is shown to be clothed in glory.
Second, he is joined by the two greatest figures in all of Jewish history – Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the Law that God gave to the nation at Mount Sinai, and Elijah had always been seen as the greatest of the prophets. The appearance of these two figures from Israel’s past reinforced the divine identity that had been missing from Israel’s faith, and proved Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:17-20 – that he had not come to abolish either the Law or the Word of the prophets - that he had come to fulfill them both.
Read Mark 9:5-7
The three men were so overwhelmed by what they were seeing that they were blown away. And why not – put yourself in their place! They had never met either Moses or Elijah – after all there were no pictures or paintings in those days - but there was no doubt in Peter’s mind – or in the mind of the others – as to whose presence was surrounding them. How self-assured would any of us have been at that moment? How good a grasp would any of us have had on the reality of the situation? Probably about as good as these disciples had!
And the fact that the voice of God again speaks, proclaiming Jesus as his Son, doesn’t help the three either! Imagine – the vision, the cloud, the voice, and all that Jesus had taught them, even the strangest and most unbelievable things – all came together, in one moment, to make this event overwhelming in their minds and in their hearts.
They would know for certain that Jesus is Messiah. And in that truth, he would be greater than either Moses or Elijah! Their Master would be the Hope of Israel, the Anointed One of God, the Savior who they had waited for, the One who would rescue the people from their oppressors. They were standing, if, indeed they could still stand, in the presence of God and His Promise! Is it any wonder that Peter got a little confused over what day it was?
For the early Church, this story was certainly evidence that the coming of God’s kingdom was near – maybe even as near as in their lifetime. So much of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew and Luke was about the nearness of the kingdom, and the importance for the people to prepare their lives for its arrival. Messiah’s arrival would be an important part of the prophecy; Elijah’s coming had already been an important part of the kingdom message; and the coming together of the keeper of the Law, the proclaimer of the Word, and the promised Messiah made the kingdom a certainty.
Just another day in the spiritual influence and revelation of Jesus? Hardly – it was leaps and bounds greater than anything the men had ever seen before!
Read Mark 9:8-9
Remain on the mountain, basking in the memory of the most incredible experience of their life? No – there was still a lot of work to do. Share the truth of Jesus Christ with the other followers? With the children of Israel? With the people of earth? Not yet – the time for revealing the complete truth of Christ was still in the future. Remain close to the glory of the mountain top? No – people in the “valley” still needed to learn so much – they weren’t quite ready to receive the glory.
But the coming of God’s kingdom had been initiated, even while the kingdom of earth was still in place. The battle had now taken on a whole new urgency, though, there was an entirely new expectancy, and the people of earth were caught right in the middle of it. But soon, the Lord’s victory would be guaranteed, when, by his unselfish sacrifice and surrender to the needs of his created, Jesus would freely walk that long and arduous path to Calvary, where he would allow the forces of darkness to attack his mortality. Of course, they could never take control of his immortality – that would be reserved as a gift, to be given to all who would seek Jesus by faith.
What an incredible message of hope! Were they really supposed to keep it from the people of earth? What could be gained by their silence? For now, it must be kept in the hearts of these three disciples, but the time would soon come, to be signaled by the overpowering of death, by the defeat of sin, by the rending of that symbol of separation between humanity and Almighty God - the temple’s curtain. The preliminary work wasn’t complete – until Jesus would speak the words of completion from the cross – “It is finished.” (John 19:28-30) His work would then be complete, but that of the disciples, that of the Church, was just beginning.
Who do they say Jesus is? It doesn’t really matter, except that we must acknowledge that “they” are wrong.
What really matters is who you say Jesus is, and how you will proclaim his truth to the world! Jesus is Messiah, the Christ, come for the salvation of all who will seek him by faith. He is the hope and promise of eternal life. He is the power to defeat the condemnation of sin that rests upon us all. He is the Love of God Incarnate, the divine understanding of our human condition, the healer of our infirmities and the conqueror of our impending death. He is our purpose for today, and he is our promise for tomorrow.
And each of us has, or will have, our own personal experience with Christ, just as Peter, James and John did on the day that Jesus led them up to the top of that mountain. They would, one day, when the time had come, begin to share this experience and the fullness of their life in Jesus with all who would listen.
Are you sharing all that you have experienced in Christ with others? Your day has also come, you know. So if you haven’t begun testifying to the truth of Christ, what’s holding you back?
