Jesus's Transfiguration Reveals His Glorious True Identify and Deity

Introduction

This week we get to go through Mark 9:1-13.

As you are turning there in your Bible’s I want to share with you a little about what some of the words we are going to use today.

See in this passage will see what people call “transfiguration”. The Greek word translated “transfigured” gives us the English word “metamorphosis,” which means a change on the outside that comes from the inside. When Jesus began to shine, it was not because the angels in heaven had turned a powerful spotlight on him. It was because his divine nature was radiating through his body and his raiment. Jesus revealed his divine nature in its glory.

Now this is important because it opens us up to the truth; Jesus’s transfiguration reveals His glorious true identity and deity.

We will see this throughout Mark 9:1-13. So let us read it together.

(Read it)

Alright, so let us start in verse 1.

Mark 9:1-4

Mark 9:1–4 “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.” 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.”

Jesus’ call to discipleship is not an easy one. This calling has a high cost. Yet it is also filled with encouragement and confirmation. Jesus’s first statement in verse 1 shows that. He says, “… there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

See Jesus was not talking about Pentecost in Acts 2, nor was He refereeing towards the destruction of Jerusalem to come in 70 AD. Rather He is referring to the transfiguration that we discussed earlier.

See there are a few aspects that we get to see when we look at Jesus’s transfiguration. The first aspect is to look at the glory of the Son of God. There are two lessons we must learn when we look at the glory of God.

First being that Jesus was God incognito. Incognito means to be not named or identified by name. So Jesus was God but He was not known to be that yet.

So as we see Jesus takes the inner circle of Peter, James, and John, up to a high mountain by themselves. This mountain was more than likely Mount Hermon, which 9,000 ft above sea level.

On this mountain we see that Jesus is transfigured in front of them. So the change took place in front of these 3. They now get to see the true identity of Jesus as God. Jesus’s clothes became more white than anything we would be able to do. Psalm 104:1 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty.” In this moment, Jesus’s identity was shown to Peter, James, and John. They get to see this amazing sight. This is the Christ that will ride in on the white horse for His second coming.

The second lesson we must take away from looking at Jesus’s glory is that He is the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets.

In this moment we see that Jesus is glory is on full display and Elijah and Moses appear to talk with Jesus about His coming death. Luke 9:31 says, “who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” They speak of the departure of Jesus. This refers to the death that must come.

Now Jesus was sent to lead the people of God out of the bondage of sin in a new exodus through His death and resurrection, and He would constitute a new people call the church.

Elijah and Moses represented the Law and Prophets. They were both great deliverers. Together they represented the prophetic tradition that points towards the Messiah.

Malachi 4:4–6 ““Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. “Behold, I will 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, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.””

Their appearance signalled that the Law and Prophets are being fulfilled with Jesus.

This is not Mount Sinai all over again. Meaning that this is not a law mountain, where the people are going to get the Law. No, this is a Gospel mountain. This is where the Law of God and the grace of God meet and converge in the One who is God in human flesh and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promised.

So those are the two lessons we must learn from when we look at the glory of God.

Next we will see another aspect in verse 5-8.

Mark 9:5-8

Mark 9:5–8 “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.”

This second aspect of Jesus’s transfiguration is to listen to the voice of the Father.

There are two people to speak here in these verses. Who are they?

Peter and God the Father. Jesus does not say a word. He doesn’t need to. Peter’s words come from a place of fear. But the Father’s words are very important.

These words mark some more lessons we must hear. The first lesson is our human perspective is usually foolish.

Peter in fear suggests that they should build 3 tents for Jesus and the honored guests from the past, Elijah and Moses. This poses the question is Peter placing Jesus on equal standing with Elijah and Moses? Is the mountain where God wishes for His workers to be, in isolation? Hm. Not likely. Peter was more than likely so excited and scared that nervously he said something.

See Peter did not know what needed to happen with the cross and resurrection since they had not happened yet. The same goes for us if we were in that situation. See without the cross we have nothing, there is no atonement. Without the resurrection there is no victory over sin. See Jesus did not stay on the top of that mountain away from the payment that was coming due. Jesus willingly embraced the cross, climbed Calvary’s hill and took our place on that cross to face God’s wrath.

The second lesson is that we much have a divine perspective. You may ask yourself what does that mean?

A divine perspective means that we should be focused on what God is doing and His redemptive plan. We do not need man-made objects, but we do need the presence of the living God. See God has a plan for our lives and His plan for us is how we will be used for the Kingdom of God.

Those are our two lessons we must learn from listening to the Father’s voice.

Our final aspect of Jesus’s transfiguration comes from verse 9-13.

Mark 9:9-13

Mark 9:9–13 “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.””

The third and final aspect of Jesus’s transfiguration is learning from the suffering of God’s servants.

Now there are a couple questions that come up, like; Might the transfiguration mean that Jesus could conquer without the cross? Who says the cross must come before the crown? Jesus does. In this moment Jesus’s conviction to go towards the cross has not weakened but was made stronger.

There are two lesson’s we must take from this aspect as well. The first is that is that while Jesus, God’s Son, was crucified but rose from the dead.

Again we see a command to not tell no one of this “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.” This is the last time the Lord commands silence and the only one the had a time limit on it. The could speak about is after the resurrection.

Jesus is the coming Lord that will inherit that everlasting kingdom. But first He will suffer and die.

The second lesson is John the Baptist completed his mission regardless of treatment.

Elijah was present during this moment to help share the message before. Elijah foretold of John the Baptist. See some people believe that John was an reincarnation of Elijah,. That is not the case. See John the Baptist ministers “in the spirit of Elijah.” Meaning that when Elijah was to come and share about Jesus. John the Baptist was the person who was taking that place. In this moment it seems that Jesus is telling His disciples that John the Baptist will be rejected and die.

John the Baptist still completed the mission God sent him on. They rejected his message and killed him, They will do the same to Jesus.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Jesus’s transfiguration reveals His glorious true identity and deity by looking at the glory of the Son of God, listening to the voice of the Father, and learning from the suffering of God’s servants.

We must take this information and share the Gospel. Tonight we are going to have an opportunity to do just that. See Jesus died for our sins and was the only person who could have accomplished that. So the question I am going to leave you with today, is are you going to trust Him and your Lord and Savior?

Lord’s Supper:

1 Corinthians 11:26–29 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

1 Corinthians 11:23–25 “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.””

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