Sermon Tone Analysis

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{{{"
*9:1 *And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
*2 *And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, *3 *and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
*4 *And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
*5 *And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
*6 *For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
*7 *And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
*8 *And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
*9 *And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
*10 *So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
*11 *And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” *12 *And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things.
And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
*13 *But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
}}}
The transfiguration of Jesus is one of the most colorful stories in the gospel accounts.
But it can be just as puzzling for us to understand today as it was for the three disciples who witnessed it.
We cannot understand the significance of the transfiguration of Jesus without paying close attention to the context in which we find it.
With Peter’s confession in Mark 8:29, we have come to an important place in the development of Mark’s account.
Peter, speaking on behalf of the disciples, responds to Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” with this: “You are the Messiah.”
In other words, the disciples understood Jesus to be the long-awaited promised king whom God would send to establish his eternal reign over all the earth.
They have good reason to believe this about Jesus, having observed his miraculous works and his authoritative words.
And Jesus does not deny this identification, though once more he commands them to keep silent about it (Mark 8:30).
But then, in the very next verse, Mark tells us that
{{{"
/He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
And he said this plainly (Mark 8:31-32)./
}}}
The idea that Messiah would suffer and be killed rather than triumph over his enemies simply made no sense to the disciples and would bring into question the validity of Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah.
But Jesus isn’t done.
He goes on to explain (Mark 8:34-38) that those who want to follow him as loyal subjects must themselves embrace a similar path of self-denial rather than self-exaltation.
So here we have Jesus, claiming to be the long-awaited king, but predicting his own demise and inviting those who want to be a part of his kingdom to follow him in death.
Why would anyone want to do that?
Where is the promise of victory and power that we expect from a king?
It is at this point that we find Mark 9:1, an enigmatic verse for sure.
Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
Does this verse belong at the end of chapter 8 or at the beginning of chapter 9?
It belongs with both.
It is a transitional verse, showing us that death does not invalidate the power of the kingdom that Messiah has come to inaugurate.
It is meant to encourage Jesus’ disciples—then as well as now—to continue after him, to seek the kingdom of God in spite of the call to die.
The transfiguration account that follows is to be viewed not as the fulfillment of the promise made in Mark 9:1 but as a brief glimpse at its ultimate fulfillment.
Therefore, we can understand the meaning of the transfiguration of Jesus by observing what it is telling us about this “kingdom of God” that comes with “power.”
In other words, the transfiguration of Jesus is intended to give us a glimpse of the kingdom, but we are also to learn about the essence of the kingdom and the prerequisites that must be accomplished before it comes.
!
A GLIMPSE OF THE KINGDOM
The story of the transfiguration of Jesus is full of interesting themes and symbols from the Old Testament.
It is possible the Old Testament allusions begin with the words “after six days.”
This is the most specific time description Mark has made to this point, so we might wonder why he bothered to tell us this, especially since Luke says the transfiguration happened “about eight days” later (Luke 9:28).
The differences between the two time periods is solved if we understand that the tradition probably was that about a week had transpired, which might be noted as anywhere between six to eight days.
But Mark may use “six days” in order to draw a parallel with Moses who waited six days on Mt.
Sinai before God spoke to him there (Exod 24:16); for the entire account is full of similarities to Moses’ Sinai sojourn.
!! The Kingdom Is Otherworldly
And as with Moses’ encounter with God on Mt.
Sinai, we see in this kingdom something much different from what we find on earth.
This kingdom is /otherworldly/.
!!! High Mountain
For example, we read that Jesus took them “up a high mountain.”
Mountains play an important role throughout the Gospels and indeed throughout all of Scripture.
Moses received God’s law on a mountain.
Elijah caught a glimpse of God as he passed by him on a mountain.
Jesus frequently ascended a mountain to pray or to teach his disciples.
In the Bible, a mountain is usually the place where God reveals himself to humanity.
!!! White Clothes
Indeed there on that mountain the disciples would hear from God, but the first thing Mark tells us is that Jesus “was transfigured before them.”
The word /transfigured/ simply indicates that Jesus’ outward appearance was transformed: “his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.”
Now Jesus would have been wearing normal clothing, so this kind of transformation is symbolic.
White clothing conveyed the idea of holiness, purity, and beauty.
In the Old Testament God himself was described as wearing clothes “white as snow” (Dan 7:9).
So this kind of transformation in Jesus’ appearance reflects an outward change to match his inner nature.
For just a few moments on this mountain, the disciples are allowed to catch a glimpse of the glory hidden in Jesus as he walked upon the earth in the form of a mere mortal.
!!! Elijah and Moses
Then we are told that two Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Moses, appeared on the mountain and were having a conversation with Jesus.
These two prophets stand out in the prophetic tradition, Moses as the great lawgiver, and Elijah for his ability to convince sinful Israel to repent and turn back to God.
The two are mentioned together in the closing verses of the Old Testament (Mal 4:4-6) and so appear here as representatives of the prophetic tradition which pointed toward Jesus as the final and most authoritative prophet.
They need no introduction to Jesus, and though Mark does not record any of the words they spoke to each other, Luke does give us the content of their conversation.
They “spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:31).
We cannot escape the clear implication that Jesus’ coming death of which he has begun to speak of so freely to his disciples is the heavenly plan he has been sent here to accomplish.
!! The Kingdom Is Overwhelming
We can only imagine what it would have been like to have seen Jesus’ appearance overtaken by a revealing of his inner nature, and to watch as he conversed with two Old Testament characters who had been dead for several hundred years.
If we can believe the Scriptures, then this glimpse at the kingdom of God would have also been overwhelming.
Peter responds to what he sees with these words: “Rabbi, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” (v. 5).
We might want to give Peter a pass for uttering such seemingly absurd words, especially since Mark tells us that “he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.”
It is understandable that Peter and his companions were fearful because of what they were seeing, but fear can also lead to misunderstandings, and that seems to be what has happened here.
Peter has not said something ridiculous so much as something wrong.
His fear has prevented him from understanding what he is seeing.
The word “tents” refers to temporary dwelling places and recalls the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles or “booths.”
During this annual feast, observers would construct temporary shelters in which to eat and sleep.
This feast eventually became associated with the anticipation of the Messiah and national independence.
So when Peter suggests constructing some dwelling places for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, he is wanting to celebrate the moment as the fulfillment of the kingdom.
And in spite of how much we might read his suggestion as a gesture of honor toward Jesus and these two prophets, it actually was dishonoring to Jesus.
Peter has given Jesus equal honor with Moses and Elijah, but that is not enough.
The transfiguration of Jesus is not intended to bring Jesus’ status up to the level of the great Old Testament prophets.
It is to show that his glory far surpasses that of all the Old Testament witnesses.
!
THE ESSENCE OF THE KINGDOM
So Peter is still struggling to understand what Jesus and this kingdom are all about.
His failure to grasp the essence of the kingdom is indicated by what happened next.
!! The Cloud and the Voice
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/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 anyone with them but Jesus only./
(v.
7)
}}}
Clouds are often used in Scripture to indicate the presence and glory of God.
If you think the disciples were terrified before, imagine how they felt now!
Similar words were uttered from heaven at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:11), but this time the words are directed toward the disciples.
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