A Glimpse of the Glory!
A Glimpse of Glory: The Transfiguration of Jesus
MARK 9:1–13
Main Idea: The transfiguration reveals the glorious true identity and deity of Jesus Christ.
I. Look at the Glory of the Son of God (9:1–4).
A. He was God incognito (9:1–3).
B. He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (9:4).
II. Listen to the Voice of God the Father (9:5–8).
A. Our human perspectives are often foolish (9:5–6).
B. The divine perspective is what we need (9:7–8).
III. Learn from the Suffering of God’s Servants (9:9–13).
A. God’s Son Jesus was crucified but rose from the dead (9:9–10).
B. God’s servant John was mistreated but completed his assignment (9:11–13).
Things are not always as they seem.” “Looks can be deceiving.” Never was this more true than when the Son of God left heaven and came to earth, when “the Word became flesh and took up residence among us” (John 1:14), when the fullness of deity came and dwelt in a body (Col 2:9), when the essence of God “did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead, He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6–7). The transfiguration of Jesus confirms that, despite having the outward appearance of a mere mortal man, Jesus of Nazareth is in His nature and essence God—deity dressed in a body.
Although He is not the kind of Messiah Savior the nation of Israel was expecting, He is exactly the Messiah Savior they needed. He looks defeated, but He is actually victorious. He dies and is buried by men, but He will be raised and exalted by God. He looks like a regular dude, but in actuality He is deity!
The transfiguration is something of “a preview of coming attractions.” It follows Peter’s great confession (Mark 8:27–30), Jesus’ prediction of His death (8:31–33), His call to radical discipleship (8:34–38), and His promise that some standing with Him will see the kingdom (9:1). These events are related.
What happened to Moses in the early stages of redemptive history prefigured a greater Moses, a greater exodus, and a greater salvation. Note the following (adapted from Garland, Mark, 342):
MOSES
JESUS
Moses goes with three named persons plus 70 elders up the mountain (Exod 24:1, 9).
Jesus takes three disciples up the mountain (Mark 9:2).
Moses’ skin shines when he descends from the mountain (Exod 34:29).
Jesus is transfigured and His clothes become radiantly white (Mark 9:2–3).
God appears in veiled form in an overshadowing cloud (Exod 23:15–16, 18).
God appears in veiled form in an overshadowing cloud (Mark 9:7).
A voice speaks from the cloud (Exod 24:16).
A voice speaks from the cloud (Mark 9:7).
The people are afraid to come near Moses after he descends from the mountain (Exod 35:30).
The people are astonished when they see Jesus after He descends from the mountain (Mark 9:15).
A new and greater Moses has arrived, the long-awaited prophet He had promised (Deut 18:15–20). Yes, Jesus is God’s eschatological prophet. He is also God’s much-loved Son.
Look at the Glory of the Son of God
MARK 9:1–4
The call to follow Jesus in discipleship is not easy. It is a costly calling. It is also filled with encouragement and confirmation. Jesus provides just that when He says, “I assure you [Gk amen]: There are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”
Jesus was not in error. He was not talking about the climactic arrival of the kingdom. He was not talking, at least exclusively, about the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2). He was not talking about the fall and destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70). He was talking about the transfiguration, which immediately follows, and His glorious resurrection. Jesus’ use of amen gives personal authority to His words. He says it. That settles it!
He Was God Incognito (Mark 9:1–3)
Jesus takes the inner circle of Peter, James, and John (cf. 1:16–20; 3:16–17; 5:37–43) up to a high mountain by themselves. Tradition says it was Mount Tabor, but Mount Hermon (9,000 ft.) in the far north of Galilee is more likely.
“He was transformed in front of them.” “Transformed” means “changed,” and here it speaks of a radical transfiguration that reveals His true essence in an outward visible manifestation. Even “His clothes became dazzling.” Psalm 104:1 says, “My soul, praise Yahweh! LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with majesty and splendor.” For a brief moment our Lord’s true identity is allowed to shine forth in all its glory. Here is the Christ they will see when He triumphantly comes the second time, to establish His universal kingdom (Rev 19:11–16).
He Is the Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Mark 9:4)
While His glory is being displayed in brilliant light, Elijah and Moses appear, talking to Jesus. Luke says in Luke 9:31 they “were speaking of His death.” The word for “death” in the Greek text is “exodus”! Jesus would lead the people of God out of the bondage of sin in a new exodus through His death (a new Passover) and resurrection, and He would constitute a new people called the church.
Elijah and Moses represent the Law and the Prophets. They were both great deliverers. Together they represent the prophetic tradition that points to the Messiah. Their appearance draws from Malachi 4:4–6:
Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.
With their appearing, the Law and Prophets are signaled as being fulfilled in the coming of Messiah who has brought the kingdom of God near (cf. Mark 1:15).
This is not Mount Sinai all over again. No, this is a gospel mountain, not a law mountain. Here the law of God and the grace of God converge in the One who is God incarnate and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promised. Look at Him and believe His gospel.
The presence of Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration, references to resurrection from the dead, and the recognition that Jesus is the Messiah would constitute a compelling argument that the end of the age is near. It prompts a question in the disciples’ mind: “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Jesus makes a surprising connection. “ ‘Elijah does come first and restores everything,’ He replied. ‘How then is it written about the Son of Man that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?’ ” Wow! They did not see that one coming! The same divine Scriptures that predicted the coming of Elijah prior to the Day of the Lord also predicted a suffering Messiah. How did they miss Psalms 16; 22; 110; Isaiah 52:13–53:12? Read the whole of the Old Testament in light of Genesis 3:15, and all of it unfolds from there. The Son of Man will suffer, be treated with contempt, be killed, and then rise from the dead.
As for Elijah, he has come in the person of John the Baptist (see Matt 17:12–13). They rejected his message and killed him. They will do the same with Jesus. John fulfilled the assignment given to him by God, and so would our Lord. God would faithfully see them through their suffering and greatest hours of trial! Might we not be able to trust Him to do the same for us?!
Conclusion
Why was Jesus gloriously transfigured? Why did the God who came incognito momentarily yet unmistakably reveal His true identity and nature?
• It was to reveal Jesus as God incarnate.
• It was to strengthen Christ as He began His march to the cross.
• It was to fortify the disciples in obeying the call to radical discipleship.
• It was to demonstrate that Messiah Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) as God’s final, complete, and climactic revelation.
• It was a confirmation of Peter’s confession (8:29).
• It was to teach that the Messiah who was crucified is the same Messiah who will reign over His kingdom in glory.
• It was to encourage the disciples in light of Jesus’ prediction of His passion (8:31–32).
• It fulfilled, at least in part, the promise of Mark 9:1.
• It reaffirmed the Father’s love and delight in His Son (cf. 1:11).
• It calls us to trust and follow the One and only Son who is “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15) and the “radiance of God’s glory” (Heb 1:3). In Jesus and Jesus alone we can behold the glory and greatness of God and live!
The British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The Son of God became man that the children of men might become children of God” (God the Father, 265). Jesus Christ is the hero of the Bible—God in a body, the Savior of sinners, the final sacrifice, and the glory of God made flesh. He took the three disciples up a mountain for a glimpse of glory. He wants to take you and me up to heaven to glory forever. Will you follow Him? Will you trust Him? You become what you behold! May we all behold Jesus now and forever.