Mark 9:2-13 — Transfigured

Mark 9:2-13 

Mt Hermon in Northern Israel, 
one possible site of the Transfiguration

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.”

Comments:

Transfiguration by Titian,
c1560 San Salvador

Jesus was transfigured before them. This passage tells about how Peter, James, and John were allowed to see Jesus in a new light…literally. 

Apart from all the distractions of the world and apart from the crowd, they were allowed to see a special revelation of the Shekinah glory of God upon their master Jesus. I can't imagine their amazement...and their fear!

The prophets Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus and were talking with him. They are most likely representative of the entire Old Testament revelation in the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) which teaches of Christ. Have you ever wondered what they talked about? Well, Luke's account tells us. Jesus was facing the cross where he would soon fulfill the Law and the Prophets. That is what they spoke about, "...who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem" (Luke 9:31). But this was not just a vision, it was Moses and Elijah who had been supernaturally sent to talk to Jesus at this moment.

 

The scene ends with God's seal of approval upon Jesus as the well-pleasing Son and as his messenger to the world. This is very similar to the episode at Jesus' baptism. Just as this affirmation carried Jesus through the temptation in the wilderness, I sense that the Father's loving affirmation here carried Jesus through the turmoil in the Garden of Gethsemane and beyond.

The disciples needed to learn that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were not meeting as three equals, but now there remained "only Jesus" (v.8). Jesus was not merely a prophet or a great leader. He was the Son of God! The disciples were commanded to “listen to him!”

As much as Jesus' likeness was changed, I'm not sure that the greatest transfiguration wasn’t in the minds of the disciples who were forced to see Jesus in a whole new way. They had a peek at the veiled glory of the King, which is the humble power of the kingdom.

How do I need to see Jesus in a new light this during this season? Where do I see his image and glimpses of the kingdom in others? 

Am I available to the Lord enough that he might be transfigured in me? He truly is God incarnate, and as such is Immanuel, God with us— not just at Christmastime but all year long. 

A profound thought if we stop to consider it.