Sermon Tone Analysis

The Glory that FollowsTHE GLORY THAT FOLLOWS

by Ray C. Stedman

 

 

 

Today we come to one of the most dramatic events in Scripture -- ranking perhaps only after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord -- the transfiguration of Jesus.

This event follows his announcement of the cross, and of the way of discipleship -- both what it would cost those who are to be his disciples, and what the blessings would be as well.

It is evident from Mark's text that Jesus knew the transfiguration was coming.

He announced it at least six full days before it happened.

He had led the disciples, all twelve of them, to the foot of Mount Hermon in order that they might prepare for this event.

I believe that the transfiguration took place on Mount Hermon, that beautiful snow-covered mountain north of the Sea of Galilee which, at present, is the scene of much conflict between Palestinian and Israeli armies.

The account begins in the closing verse of Chapter 8 and continues through the first thirteen verses in Chapter 9.

This is another of the mental lapses that the man who divided the biblical text into chapters evidently suffered.

Something interesting which strikes us right at the beginning is the fact that our Lord tells the reason for this event before it ever happened.

In the first verse of Chapter 9 we read,

/And he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who/

/will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."/

{Mark 9:1 RSV}

Some liberal commentators have misunderstood this passage, have felt that Jesus was predicting the time of his second coming -- predicting that it would come within the lifetime of people who were alive at that moment.

Many have been troubled by this interpretation, because obviously his second coming did not take place then.

Some have even gone so far as to say that Jesus was mistaken as to the time of his second coming.

But if you link this statement with what immediately follows, it is clear what Jesus is saying.

He is referring to the transfiguration, saying that some who were there at that moment would not taste death until they saw this manifestation of the kingdom of God, of his coming, and of the glory of his reign in power.

This then provides a clue as to what the event meant.

It is a preview that Jesus gives of the coming glory.

He states that it will be a manifestation of his coming into his kingdom with power.

On subsequent occasions, as he is teaching the disciples on the Mount of Olives and other places, he speaks of that coming with power: "You shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with all his mighty angels," {cf, Matt 24:30}.

Notice that he has just referred to this at the close of Chapter 8:

/For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful/

/generation, of him will the Son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the/

/glory of his Father with the holy angels./

{Mark 8:38 RSV}

That is the event they are to preview.

The fact that this is the case is made very clear to us by Peter himself.

Our Lord chose Peter and James and John to be with him on the mountain top.

Of the three, only Peter later refers explicitly to this event in his writings, but he does so, clearly and carefully, in Second

Peter, Chapter 1, Verses 16-18:

/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 eye witnesses of his majesty.

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain./

{2 Pet 1:16-18 RSV}

Thus Peter confirms that our Lord is here giving a foreview of what it will be like when he comes again in glory, with all his holy angels.

Also -- and this is very important -- implied in Jesus' words is the fact that this event is what awaits the believer at death.

Notice that he says, "There are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

The implication is that ordinarily it is by tasting death that the believer sees the kingdom of God come with power.

Other passages confirm very clearly that when a believer dies, the event which meets his eyes, and into which he steps as he leaves time and enters eternity, is this coming of the Lord with his angels.

This is why in the epistle of Jude it is recorded "that Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, 'Behold!

He cometh with ten thousands of his holy ones,'" {cf, Jude 1:14}.

This is the event that awaits the believer at death.

A dear friend of ours went to be with the Lord just this Friday.

I have no doubt that the event which greeted her, as she slipped out of time into eternity, was that she too saw the Lord coming with ten thousands of his holy ones and, through death, tasted of the kingdom of God come with power.

But here our Lord says that some who were then present would see this before death.

It is clear, then, that the reason the transfiguration happened was to encourage the disciples.

He had just announced the way of the cross, and his coming death in Jerusalem.

So he gives them this incident to strengthen their faith, to encourage them that it was not going to end in darkness and disaster, but that it would end in triumph and victory and glory.

And it is intended to encourage us when, in our life, we too must take up our cross.

We can be assured it is not going to end in disaster; it is going to end in glory.

Now let us look at the event itself, beginning at Verse2:

/After six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a/

/high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and/

/his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could/

/bleach them.

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were/

/talking to Jesus.

And Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is well that we are/

/here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for/

/Elijah."

For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid./

/And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my/

/beloved Son; listen to him."

And suddenly looking around they no longer saw/

/any one with them but Jesus only.

/

{Mark 9:2-8 RSV}

A remarkable event!

There are four dramatic occurrences in this account that immediately rivet our attention:

First, there is the glorious change in the person of the Lord himself.

Suddenly, as they were with Jesus there on that mountain, his countenance altered, Matthew tells us.

His face began to shine, his garments became white, and his whole being radiated glory.

It is interesting to read how some of the critical commentators treat this incident.

One says that Jesus was praying on the mountain top when suddenly the sun broke through the clouds and shone upon him, and in that brilliant sunlight he appeared to the disciples to be supernaturally changed.

Well, that is all very well in accounting for his change, but it does not explain Moses and Elijah, nor the other events that happened.

It is clear from this account (and from Matthew's and Luke's, also) -- Mark is careful to point out -- that this is a supernatural change.

No fuller on earth could produce this.

This even exceeds the claims of the soap and detergent ads of our day.

There is no whiteness like this whiteness, and the writers are very careful to make that plain.

Well, what happened to Jesus?

We can only understand this when we see that what he did was to slip back into eternity, in a sense, back into his pre-human glory, which he refers to later in his great prayer recorded in John 17.

He prayed, "Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made," {John 17:5 RSV}.

This is the glory which now is suddenly revealed to these three disciples.

It is evident therefore that our Lord did not have to die.

That is one of the meanings of the transfiguration.

It makes clear that he had no reason to pass through death.

He could step back across the boundary of time into eternity without passing through death.

We must die; he did not need to.

He could step back into glory at any time, and here he did so.

I am sure this is what John is referring to in his Gospel when, though he does not give us an account of the transfiguration, he does say, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, ... we have beheld his glory," {John 1:14 RSV}.

Though he does not tell us where, it was undoubtedly this moment on the mountain that he remembered.

The second thing that grips us is the account of the heavenly visitors, Moses and Elijah, who appeared and were talking with Jesus.

Is it not interesting that the disciples seem to have no difficulty at all in recognizing instantly who these men were?

Jesus did not say, "Now, Peter, James, and John, I'd like to have you meet Moses and Elijah."

No, they knew instantly who they were.

There will be no need for introductions in glory; we will know immediately who people are.

So this account gives us something of a preview of what heaven will be like.

Now, why Moses and Elijah?