The Transfiguration
TRANSLATION
(1) And he said to them, “Truly I tell you that there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come with power.”
(2) After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and brought them to a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, (3) and his garments 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 shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” (6) for he did not know what to say, for they were quite frightened. (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 alone.
(9) As they were coming down the mountain, he admonished them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. (10) So they kept the matter to themselves, wondering what rising from the dead should mean. (11) And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah must come first?” (12) And he said to them, “Elijah indeed comes 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 have done to him whatever they pleased, as it was written of him.”
OBSERVATIONS
This chapter, which marks the midpoint of Mark’s Gospel, contains a remarkable narrative in which Jesus manifested his glory as at no other time until after his resurrection. Repetitions in these verses included “Moses” and “Elijah” (vss. 4 & 5) as well as “risen/rising from the dead” (vss. 9 & 10).
Why did the Transfiguration take place at this moment in Jesus’ earthly ministry? What was accomplished by the revelation of his identity as God’s uniquely beloved Son by means of the glorious radiance, the presence of Moses and Elijah, and by the declaration of the Father’s voice? At least one answer comes to mind. With this disclosure of his deity, the three who witnessed the event and the other disciples with whom they would subsequently share their experience would be more convinced than ever of his Messianic glory and thus be better prepared to testify regarding the true nature of the incarnation once Jesus had risen from the dead.
OUTLINE
I. Jesus prophesied that some would soon see a manifestation of the Kingdom’s glory. (1)
II. Peter, James, and John witnessed the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration and the appearance of Moses and Elijah on the mount. (2-8)
III. On the way down the mountain, Jesus gave a command and the three asked a question. (9-13)
IDEA STATEMENT
The more we understand about the person of the God/man the better prepared we will be to bear testimony regarding the work he came to accomplish.
APPLICATION
Jesus’ identity as the God/man has been one of the most hotly contested issues in church history. Theologians in the three centuries following Jesus’ death and resurrection were sharply divided regarding his person. Among the early church fathers were those who claimed that Jesus was only a created being although the most exalted who ever lived (first Ebionites and then later Arians). Others claimed that he was a manifestation of God that only appeared to be human (Docetists). Still others held that Jesus possessed two natures, one human and the other divine, and that these two natures remained entirely separate (Nestorians) instead of being fused into one person whom we call the God/man (the view of the orthodox majority).
It took many years and several church councils for the faithful to come to a consensus, an agreed-upon declaration of who Jesus truly is. In brief, this orthodox position affirms that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is one person with two natures, one fully human, one fully divine, joined together at his incarnation when the eternal Word forever took upon himself human flesh. Theologians use the term, “hypostatic union,” to refer to this. One of the most complete statements regarding this doctrine was issued by Leo the Great who served as Bishop of Rome from AD 440-461. “Without detriment therefore to the properties of either substance which then came together in one person, majesty took on humility, strength weakness, eternity mortality, and for the paying off of the debt belonging to our condition, inviolable nature was united with passable nature, and true God and true man were combined to form one Lord, so that, as suits the needs of our case, one and the same Mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, could both die with the one and rise again with the other.”
If we struggle to grasp the meaning of words like these, it is comforting to know that Christians over the centuries have wrestled long and hard with these same issues and have come away with the realization that fully understanding the unique person of our Lord Jesus Christ remains beyond us, shrouded in mystery which we will never completely clear up until we have been transformed into his likeness.