THE TRANSFIGURATION
Mark 9:1-13

INTRO:
Good morning. Our text for today is Mark 9:1-13. I know this is a long read but I for the purpose of today’s lesson I think it is important. Let us begin by reading these familiar verses. – “1. And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.'' 2. Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. 3. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah'' 6. because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. 7. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!'' 8. Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. 9. Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. 11. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?'' 12. Then He answered and told them, "Elijah does come first, and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13. "But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

Things were beginning to happen which would be difficult to understand against the background of many years of tradition and expectation. Not only were events beginning to transpire which created a difficult picture but Jesus himself was beginning to say things which were far from what was expected of the Messiah. It was becoming clear, painfully clear, to the little group of apostles that Jesus was beginning to encounter growing opposition and that He was no longer welcome in many places. Then, to confuse things for them even more Jesus tells the apostles that he must (not should or could ... but must) be killed at the wishes of the elders, chief priests and scribes.

It was to this, you will recall, that Peter reacted so strenuously denying that such a thing could ever happen to Jesus. Jesus had said “Get behind Me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23) against this background of events and words is this marvelous event we call the transfiguration. I wonder if it wasn’t significant at this time in His earthly ministry that this takes place. Is it because now things are beginning to be very confusing, difficult to understand against all of the expectations they had. Something needs to happen to both reassure and confirm that all the things Jesus has been preaching and teaching. That indeed He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Confirmation is needed.

I. THE KINGDOM OF GOD WOULD COME WITH POWER – Our text begins with the fact that Kingdom of God would come.
A. A definite affirmation to remove all doubt. It is going to happen. Yet the apostles and the people who have been listening to Jesus are hearing things which are not the sort of things they expect of the Messiah.
1. Jesus had said that He would be killed, He would be rejected. Everything that they had expected required a living, kingly, Messiah.
2. He is the Messiah, the anointed of God, the King, how could His kingdom then come if He were killed?
B. Yet, Jesus says the kingdom of God would come ... and it would come soon!
1. I wonder, had they forgotten when Jesus said, not all that long previously, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”? (Matthew 16:18) Even if I die, it is not going to keep God’s plan from being fulfilled.
2. Then there was this business about His being raised in three days. In Mark 8:31 that is what He says, He will be killed and after three days rise again. For some reason, perhaps it was experience; His resurrection was not being factored into their thinking. It was not being comprehended by the Apostles... they only heard Him speaking of His rejection and His death. That just did not compute. That was not part of the preconceived notion of the plan for God, but His death would not keep God’s plan from being fulfilled.
C. Did the kingdom come?
1. Well, we can answer that question. Let’s turn in our Bibles to Luke 24:49 We will look at several texts in scripture starting with this verse; “"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; (note those words, the promise of My Father) but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
2. Keep that in mind and turn with me to Acts 1:8. In Luke 24 Jesus was speaking to the Apostles and here we have Him speaking to the same group “But you shall receive power (What did He say in Luke 24:49? Power would come from on high in Jerusalem.) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Power is going to come upon the Apostles from on high. They will receive that power in Jerusalem. They will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
3. Let’s turn to Acts 2:4 “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” When the Holy Spirit came, in Jerusalem, on the Apostles, the power came. When the power came according to Mark 9:1 the Kingdom came.
4. Did the Kingdom of God come? Absolutely, yes ... Jesus confirmed in Mark 9:1 that it would. He also confirmed that not even His death could waylay God’s promise, His plan, from being fulfilled. God’s plan was fulfilled, historically according to scripture, on the day of Pentecost, following the resurrection of Jesus, in the city of Jerusalem, and it was on that Lords day, that the Kingdom was established.

II. WHAT PETER, JAMES AND JOHN SAW
A. According to Mark’s gospel Jesus took Peter, James and John to the “high mountain apart”. What was it the Apostles saw? What was the purpose of going there?
1. According to Luke’s account, Jesus went to pray. In Luke’s gospel of this same narrative we find this. Luke 9:28 – “And it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” Jesus leaves the crowd and on this occasion and does not go alone but He takes with Him Peter, James and John.
2. It was, of course, not unusual for Jesus to go apart to pray – and we recall another time just prior to the death of Jesus when He takes Peter, James and John (cf. Matthew 26:36-37 – “36. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there.'' 37. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.”)
3. There is indication then that Peter, James and John accompanied Jesus when He went aside for prayer.
4. Scholars say that the mountain to which they came was probably Mt. Hermon (9000+ feet in elevation). Someone wrote that Mt. Hermon could be seen on a clear day from as far away as the Dead Sea a distance of 120 miles. It is the highest mountain in what is now called Syria.
B. These three Apostles go with Him to what we call the mount of transfiguration and what do they see? Mark tells us Jesus was “transfigured before them”
1. The word “transfigured” simply means “transformed”.
2. The text indicates the nature of the transformation – “His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow,”.
3. His clothing became a shining unequaled white – such that we are told no one on earth could make them as white. Look also at this – “His face shown as the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.” Matthew 17:2 ... When I read these different accounts of the transfiguration the word “glory” comes to my mind. What majesty this event must have demonstrated to Peter, James, and John—the glory of the Lord. When I think of the glory of the Lord I think of a little verse over in Colossians chapter 3 at verse 4. Turn and read that with me. You know, we often think of the Glory of the Lord as belonging only to the Lord. Listen to the anticipation of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:4 – “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” The grandeur of the Lord, reflected to those who are faithful and arrive with Him at the end of time. We share, folks, we share in the glory of our Lord.
C. They saw not only Jesus transfigured before them but they also saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah.
1. Moses and Elijah, the two men represented dramatically the “law and the prophets”. It is fitting these two were talking to Christ; the Prophet, Priest and King. Matthew and Mark tell us they were talking.
2. I wonder, what were they talking about? Luke tells us the subject of their conversation. They were talking about His coming death. Luke 9:31 “who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” ... they talked about his “decease” as the King James puts it. The Greek word used here is “exodos”, which means departure.
3. We are not told beyond that what the conversation covered. We do not know how the conversation developed, we just know they were talking about what He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Jesus’ atoning death, the cross, these facts are central to the gospel message. Peter, James and John are present hearing this conversation. I strongly suspect that digesting what was being said, at this point in time at least, would have been unthinkable to the apostles. It would have been difficult for them to fathom all of this.

III. WHAT THEY HEARD
A. Peter responds in the manner we have come to expect. Here is something hard to understand, it may be that more will be said. So in Mark 9:5 – “Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah''”.
1. It is evident that Peter does not yet understand the nature of the mission of Jesus Christ. He does not yet understand the nature of the Kingdom of God.
2. Peter looks at this as three points of devotion: Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. We are so fortunate to have God’s word, the Bible, to put this before us.
3. In Luke 9:33, the verse ends “...not knowing what he said.” Luke indicates that Peter was speaking in ignorance. As I read this and thought about this point, I thought how often do we speak profoundly; pontificate if you will, before we have all the facts? Does that ever happen to any of you? I know it happens to me. There are times I have been embarrassed because the conclusion I leapt to was the wrong conclusion and when all the facts became apparent, I had a red face. We are often impatient to come to the point, the conclusion of something. Unwilling to let the consideration in front of us develop with the full facts.
B. As soon as Peter had said these words, there thunders out of this brilliant cloud, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”. I don’t know how Peter reacted to this. I would have looked down and my feet and kicked my toe on a rock in my embarrassment. I probably would have wished to disappear under a rock.
1. “hear him” they are told. This is obviously directed at the Apostles. This is from God - listen to Jesus!
2. “when the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.” Moses and Elijah are no longer present - a great object lesson for Peter, James and John. They had grown up under the Mosaic Covenant, and were familiar with the law and all the traditions that had grown around it. Now Moses and Elijah are gone and they are commanded to listen to Jesus! “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”. You are now to listen to Jesus.
3. Perhaps it was a great object lesson for these men but isn’t it also a great object lesson for you and me? We appreciate the old covenant and the lessons it teaches. The law and the prophets. You know there is so much that we can learn from them, but for all of that it is not the law by which we live. The prophecies that are found in the Old Testament are those which are, in the main, fulfilled with the coming of Christ, and the establishment of the church.
4. That brings to mind what we hear from some of the televangelists as they are called. You can hardly serf the channels without finding one. Though I don’t call it surfing, I call it looking for something decent to watch. Frequently, what you hear from some of these fellows is “Oh, this prophesy is yet to be fulfilled”. You hear things like “When Christ comes again and establish his kingdom in Jerusalem”... and so on and so forth. All of that is just absolutely not true. All of the prophesies to which they refer in Isaiah and Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, have been fulfilled.
5. The Law and the Prophets are gone and now we listen to the voice of Jesus. Hebrews 1:1-4 tells us “1. God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. 2. has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3. who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4. having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” - a fact the apostles had to learn. In Matthew 28:18 we are reminded by the risen Christ – “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

IV. TWO MORE TOPICS OF CONCERN TO THEM. That leaves us with two things that are in the text we read which grew out of this incident.
A. Let’s go back for a moment and I’ll read from Mark 9. Part of the confusion as we read these things is because there are unanswered questions. Some the Apostles will ask... and some they won’t.
1. Verse 9 – “Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”
2. Verse 10 says – “So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.” That then is the first question. What could “rising from the dead” mean? This they kept among themselves.
B. Then they did ask a question verse 11 – “And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” This is the second question and it was one they asked.
1. Now the first question they kept among themselves perhaps because it was such a confusing concept. The Apostles just were not prepared for Jesus to die.
2. Everything they had been taught from childhood, everything they had believed and perhaps even taught their own families, expected the Messiah to be a living, kingly person.
3. Jesus is saying things that are not conforming to that expectation. He had begun talking openly about His being rejected, and killed. Not by brigands but by the elders, the chief priest and the scribes. The religious leaders of the day.
4. This idea of the resurrection, what can it possibly mean? You will recall that it is not until after his resurrection that the Apostles remember that He had kept telling them that on the third day He would be raised from the dead.
5. He also tells them; don’t tell anyone about the things that you have seen. We have one definite illustration of the fact that this was ultimately told. Look with me at 2 Peter 1:16-18 – “16. For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'' 18. And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.” Peter was there and now years later Peter recalls the importance, the significance of this event.
6. Here is something the Apostles needed to learn, something in which they needed to have confidence. God in times past had spoken through the prophets and the fathers, but in these last time has spoken through His Son. We read that earlier in Hebrews 1:1-4. We also read Matthew 28:18 -“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” That authority is exercised by the risen Christ. It is exercised by the Jesus of whom Peter spoke saying; “we heard God say that he is My Son.”
C. Now the other question, the one they did ask. What about the coming of Elijah? Let’s look in Mark 9 and see what it is that Jesus answers them. Mark 9:12-13 – “12. Then He answered and told them, "Elijah does come first, and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13. "But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”
1. The expectation of that day was that there would be a bodily form of Elijah that would arrive on the scene before the coming of the Messiah. That prophesy is found in Malachi 4:5.
2. Jesus tells them that Elijah did come. They ask; “why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” - and Jesus says “he did come”, and they killed him. Let’s look at this a bit.
3. I will start with Luke 1:17 these are the words of the angel which appeared to Zacharias concerning the coming of his son. – “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Of whom was the angel speaking? John the Baptist.
4. Now look at Matthew 11:11-14 and read along with me - “11. "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13. "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14. "And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.” Of whom then did Jesus speak? John the Baptist.
5. Malachi 4:5 – “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
i. The Jews generally understood this to mean that Elijah the Tishbite would be the one who returned. There was a strong tradition among the Jews that continues to the present day, to the effect that the literal, self-same Elijah the Tishbite, would in time return.
ii. This error led them to ask John in John 1:21 “And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?'' He said, "I am not...” In their question they were referring to Elijah the Tishbite.
iii. In Luke 1:13, 17 - “13. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. Then in verse 17. "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.''”
6. Jesus says that this Elijah, this John the Baptist was killed. In Mark 9:12 Jesus says the same thing that happened to him, his being rejected and set at naught is going to happen to the Son of man.
7. The same thing that happened to the “Elijah” which came is going to happen to the Messiah who comes. He will be killed just as John was killed by Herod.
8. He continues to teach them concerning His death. He had to teach them some things about His death and resurrection so when it occurred they would come to understanding. He says in effect - if they killed John the Baptist then you should not be too surprised that they will kill the Messiah.
9. The first thirteen verses of chapter 9 are full of needed teaching! Not just for the three Apostles that Jesus took with Him to the mount of Transfiguration but for all of us.

CONCLUSION: The law and prophets accomplished that which God’s purpose intended. But the law and the prophets were only until the coming of the Messiah and the gospel. The law, Moses—the prophets, Elijah—are gone, and we are to hear Jesus. Slain? Yes. Risen? Absolutely! All this is done for our benefit. The atoning death of Jesus, raised from the dead, confirmed by witnesses that saw Him, ascending into heaven, exalted at the right hand of God. The transfiguration scenes make clear that the law and prophets were never intended to be permanent ... they served until the coming of the Messiah and the gospel. Now, listen to Jesus.

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We learn from the New Testament how to be saved. We need to hear the word; believe in Jesus; repent of our sins; we must confess our belief that Jesus is the Son of God; and be baptized for the remission of our sins... If we follow these steps, the Lord adds us to His church.

Perhaps there is someone in the assembly today with the need to be buried with Christ in baptism. If you have never done these things, we urge you to do so today. If anyone has this need or desires the prayers of faithful Christians on their behalf, we encourage them to come forward while we stand and sing.

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Reference sermon - Cecil A. Hutson
18 November 2007