The Transfiguration

Introduction

Last week we saw Jesus foretell his death and resurrection to the apostles. This is still a difficult concept for them to grasp because they have not separated the two comings of Jesus. In his second coming he will come in power and in might but that wasn’t the case in this coming. The death and resurrection that he is telling them will come is the means by which salvation is made possible.

After Jesus tells them this there is six days of instruction that leads to the passage that we are in tonight. In this passage we see Jesus reveal his complete glory to just a few of the apostles. This shows them the seriousness of what is happening to them and in it there is a command from God the Father. After all of this happens they begin to ask some good questions and Jesus is able to further instruct them.

As I read this I want you to imagine that you are there watching all of this go down, just try to picture it in your head. Lets read the passage now.

Mark 9:2–13 ESV

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, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 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.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 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 anyone with them but Jesus only. 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. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 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? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

What an image to behold. Jesus in all of his glory standing with some of the heroes of the Old Testament before these three apostles. Then the voice of God the Father reigns down. There are lots of moments I wish I could have seen in the Bible, some of which being Moses parting the Red Sea, David fighting Goliath, the Baptism of Jesus, and the day of Pentecost just to name a few but this moment here might stand at the top. Standing with the inner circle of apostles watching Jesus be transformed into his full glory and having a conversation with Moses and Elijah and then hearing the voice of God!

The main two things that I want to look at tonight are the transfiguration itself and the command from God. Both of these things are significant for the story of the gospel and through them we can better understand what is coming up in the story. Lets pray then we can begin by looking at the transfiguration.

pray

Transfiguration

Mark 9:2–4 ESV

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, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

This is where Jesus was transformed before three of the apostles. So what does transfiguration mean? It comes from the Greek word μεταμορφόω, what does this word sound like to you? Metamorphosis. You might have heard this word in school when you talk about caterpillars becoming butterfly's right. The word has retained some of the Greek meaning, in the original language this word just means to be changed or to be transformed. Some say youth don’t need this information but I know y'all are plenty smart enough to understand that.

So Jesus was transformed before them. the next question is what was he changed into? Jesus was transformed into his complete divine nature. He shed his human weakness and was seen in all of his glory as fully God. This is how he will be in the second coming, the resurrection. We see in the book of Exodus chapter 34 Moses gets to see the radiance of the glory of God and he reflects it to the people and it scares them, here Jesus is not reflecting the glory of God but he himself is radiating it.

This was an amazing sight to behold and three of the apostles got to see it. These three are often referred to as Jesus’s inner circle. We see that first Jesus had the large crowds then you can narrow it down to the disciples that truly followed him, going from there you have the 12 apostles and of them you have three that were the closest to Jesus. Peter, James, and John were those three. They were tasked with seeing this and passing it on at the chosen time. There was a time of silence that would be followed by a time of proclamation and they are still waiting on the completion of the work before they are to proclaim all that they have seen.

So so far we see that Jesus was transformed into his glorified self before his inner circle of followers, but there are also two other people present. Moses and Elijah. These were two of the great leaders of the Old Testament. Moses was used by God to free the people of Israel out of Egyptian captivity, Elijah was the great prophet that never died but rather was taken up to heaven by God. In verse 4 we see that they were talking to Jesus, there was a conversation going on between them.

Why did all this happen? Why all these specific details? This moment reveals the deity of Jesus. These men knew that Jesus was a man, he was standing right in front of them, but they did not have the full realization that he was fully God. The fact that Jesus is God is very important for us to grasp because without that fact he could not accomplish what he came to accomplish. He had to be God to do this and now these men know that he is God and now we can see that he is God. Jesus reveals all of himself to this select group so that they could know that he is God.

This moment also occurs so that they command from God the Father can be heard. So let’s look at that now.

The Command

Mark 9:7–8 ESV

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 anyone with them but Jesus only.

Have you ever had a moment where there was someone with a strong voice that you didn’t know was there tell you to do something? Maybe you thought your coach had left so you start to slow down your running and they were watching and hollered out to pick up the pace. That is what I imagine this moment as, God makes this statement and they are struck by it and can’t do anything except exactly what he says.

God tells them that Jesus is his beloved son, this gives us some insight into who Jesus is further. This is why Jesus is referred to as the Son of God. This gives him some prominence and you can know how they relate as father and son.

His command is to listen to him. This appoints a great deal of authority on Jesus. Throughout the first part of Mark we saw the authority of Jesus on display, this solidifies his authority and deepens it for the men that are there with him. This causes these men to be even more all in for Jesus and to listen to him even more. Listen to him when he says that he must die, listen to him when he says he will rise, listen to him when he tells you about the kingdom of God, listen to him when he tells you to go out and make disciples, listen to him when he says to repent and believe in the gospel.

This command echoes down through the ages, listen to Jesus. This holds great truth and power for these three men in the moment but at the same time it holds great truth and power for us here today.

Conclusion

This passage still holds relevance for us today, Jesus is God and we need to listen to him. The biggest significance of this is that Jesus came to die for our sins. It says in Philippians 2:5–11 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This is who Jesus is and what he has done for us. Because of this we need to listen to what he says to us, most of all when he says to repent and believe in the gospel. Because of our sin we need a savior and that is what Jesus emptied himself to be. It is through faith and repentance that we can accept the salvation that he offers.

This passage also gives those of us that have accepted Christ a glimpse into what is to come. Again it says in Philippians 3:20–21 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” We to will undergo this transformation, not that we will be God but that we will be free from our flawed bodies that we now have. What a beautiful picture of what is to come.

Jesus revealed himself in this way to these men and through his word to us so that we can see that he is fully God and has more than just authority to heal but has all the authority of God. Because of this we need to listen to what he says and know that it is through him and him alone that salvation is possible. If you have never put your faith in Jesus don’t wait any longer. If you have put your faith in Jesus realize the power that he had during his humanity and that he still has today and rest in that. See his power on display in this passage and know that you are on his side and carry that confidence with you as you take the gospel to the world around you.