Sermon Notes: Mark 9:2-13
Jon Palmer
Mark 9: 2-13
"And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;
And His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. Peter responded and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here, let’s make three tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” For he did not know how to reply; for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud: “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!” And suddenly they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He said to them, “Elijah does come first and he restores all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?” “But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written of him.” (NASB 2000 Version)
We have heard this over and over again that Mark’s main message that he wants his readers to know is that Jesus IS the Son of God; the suffering servant that was promised; not only to be a savior for Israel, but to the whole world….to anyone that believes in Him.
In the scripture this morning, Mark leaves zero doubt!
As it is every time, studying and writing this sermon was good for me….faith building. I have read about Jesus’s transfiguration numerous times and shamefully this is the first time that I have studied this pinnacle event in depth. I believe that was on purpose as Jesus had to teach me how to look at His Word through a supernatural lens rather than a natural one.
In this event, there are more things happening in the supernatural, than in the natural. The really cool part about this event is that Jesus, in His kindness, allows Peter, James, and John to visually see in the natural some supernatural things. We are going to dig into both as we look at each piece of this section of scripture. Let me add….there is a ton more than what I am going to share this morning that I hope you go and study. No way to cover it all in the short amount of time that we have this morning.
1. Time, Setting, and Witnesses
• We don’t get very far before asking ourselves the 1st question. Six days later from what?
• Looking back (Mark 8: 27-38), Mitch preached on this last Sunday, we see that Peter just made his confession that Jesus is the Christ….in which Jesus followed that up with teaching them that He was to be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes. He tells them that He will be killed and after 3 days, He will rise from the dead.
• Why is that important? Many reasons why that is important, but for Peter….Jesus is about to show him and 2 others visibly that the confession is true. And note Jesus’s follow up teaching about His suffering…store that away in your mind….we will get to that.
• Where were they physically? Mark 8: 27…in the villages of Caesarea Philippi. This is key to seeking out some things that Mark, and others, leave relatively hidden or obscure…making the reader to look beyond the words on the page. The main reason, I believe, it’s left obscure, is because Mark wants his readers to focus on the event rather than the location….although it was well known to his readers that divine events took place on high mountains.
Setting: “A high mountain”
• We are going to focus on the event as Mark wants us to, but if you would humor me for a few minutes….Here’s where we get to have a little fun….
• Which “high mountain” and what is the significance?
• There are 3 assumed sites….Mt. Tabor, Mt. Carmel, and Mt. Hermon. Traditionally it was assumed to be Mt. Tabor, but the majority of biblical scholars point to Mt Hermon being the more accepted location. Mt Carmel is just a plain “out there” assumption.
• Here’s why I agree with it being Mt. Hermon….
Geography…distance to where they were and height of the mountain.
- Map proof showing why I believe it was Mt Hermon (see map)
- Holman Bible Atlas – plug for Logos – members get access…email Mitch
Mt Hermon was not just a run of the mill location. It was the prime location for lots of pagan worship and Jewish traditional history making it a very fitting place for Jesus to show His glory and His identity, thus putting all the other “gods” in their place along with showing His power and victory over evil. Here is a quick list….
- The ancient Canaanite view of Mount Hermon was the cosmic mountain where heaven and earth met
- It was considered the dwelling place of Baal….with temples located all around Hermon….a cool link to Elijah (who shows up here in our scripture this morning) and the Baal prophets in 1 Kings 18: 20-40 where Elijah tested Baal’s 450 prophets and put them to shame….that happened at Mt Carmel so maybe that’s where the idea of Mt Carmel came from. Who knows? Came across that in my regular daily reading.
- Mount Hermon’s foot had been adopted and dedicated to the worship of Pan and Zues with temples built for both. Mitch mentioned Pan worship last Sunday being centered around Caesarea Phillipi, the foot of Mt Hermon.
- According to Jewish tradition, Mount Hermon was the location of Genesis 6 where the sons of God had offspring with human women. In Jewish theology, the Nephilim, ancestors of the Anakim and Rephaim, had spirits who were understood as being demonic. During our podcast, I noted this reference of Og King of Bashan, one of the remnant of Rephaim, ruled over Mt Hermon. See Joshua 12: 4-5
- Mount Hermon is situated in the region associated with Dan—from which the antichrist was expected to come.
The mountain’s name itself meant “sacred” or “set apart,”. Hermon, in Hebrew, comes from the root word cherem, which means something set apart or devoted to God.
• All coincidences…..I don’t think so. I think the transfiguration location of Mt Hermon is a Jesus mic drop. The great I AM is saying that He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
• We know the high mountain location doesn’t mean that our God resides only on the mountain…like the other small “g” gods…..We know that He is the King and ruler of the valleys as well…meaning He doesn’t reside in only one location….He’s omnipresent. Read the war with Aram in 1 Kings 20.
Witnesses: Peter, James, and John
• Why Peter, James, and John?
• These three disciples were in Jesus’s inner circle.
• We are not certain why Jesus chose Peter, James, and John to be His inner circle.
• This is what we know….
All 3 men had a close relationship with each other prior to following Jesus…remember they were all fishermen and worked together.
Each had their character strengths, in which, put together made for a strong team needed for the work after Jesus was no longer with them.
What else do we know about these 3?
Peter, James, and John were chosen by Jesus to be eyewitnesses to 3 major events.
- When Jesus raised Jarius’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5: 35-43)
- Jesus praying at the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14: 32-42)
- The Transfiguration (today’s scripture)
- So…these 3 men eye-witnessed Suffering, Resurrection, and Glory.
- Coincidence?….I don’t think so. Jesus knew how to prepare them for what was coming….and they had those events to look back on to help them when times got rough.
Why 3 witnesses? Jesus never deviates from the text (Deuteronomy 19:15)…”on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”
Peter testifies:
- 2 Peter 1:16 – 18 (specifically about the transfiguration)
- 1 Peter 5:1
- Acts 5: 32
John testifies:
- John 1:14 (specifically about the transfiguration)
- John 19:35
- John 21:24
- 1 John 1:1-4
James never wrote that he was an eyewitness, but there was a reason.
- James’s life was cut short. He was the 1st of the 12 apostles to be martyred. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:2). He was killed before being able to write about it. His act of believing leading to his death speaks for itself. He was an eyewitness.
- And if that’s not enough to believe that he was an eyewitness….both John and Peter testify that James was with them.
The transfiguration of Jesus
- Jesus was transfigured….this act is huge! This is a display of the Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
- The Greek word for transfigured is metamorphoō….meaning…a change of inmost nature that may be outwardly visible or invisible…obviously this was visible based on the eye witnesses and how Mark described what they saw.
- His garments became radiant and exceedingly white
No earthly launderer could whiten them this way
With this statement, Mark is defining that what they saw is in no way earthly….it’s supernatural….it’s something they have never seen before. Testimony that only God can make it that white.
The radiance is aligned with seeing a bright light
We know in John’s gospel account, he documents Jesus saying about Himself that He is the Light….something that John witnessed.
Mark does not document Jesus verbally saying this about Himself, but rather chooses to tell his readers about actions that prove the words.
Therefore, Jesus testifies about Himself through this action
- This also gave the 3 disciples and us a preview of believer’s heavenly bodies post resurrection.
Matthew 13:43 – Jesus said….quoting from Daniel 12:3
“Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father”
Paul also described resurrected bodies:
1 Corinthians 15: 42-49….The resurrected body is raised in glory and power as a spiritual body
Philippians 3: 20-21…”….transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body…”
And soooo many more references…
Heavenly figures appear
- Right when Jesus is transfigured, Elijah and Moses show up on the scene and they were talking with Jesus….not hidden, but visible and audible to the 3 disciples…and we know the disciples recognized them as we read Peter’s response, which we will dig into in a minute.
- Why Elijah and Why Moses?
- What does Elijah represent? He represents the prophets.
- What does Moses represent? Moses represents the law.
- What did Jesus come to fulfill? The law and the prophets!!
- Jesus is proclaiming that what He came to fulfill is here! Not just through His words, but also through His actions. Wow!!
- Jesus is visibly putting on display what He said. Again, Mark is choosing to focus his readers on Jesus’s actions, which is why we don’t find Mark documenting Jesus saying He came to fulfill the law and prophets.
- We find that in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. (Matthew 5: 17-18)(Luke 24:44). And we find in the gospel of John (John 5: 46-47), that everything Moses wrote about, was about Jesus.
• Genesis 3:15 (the promised seed)
• Exodus (the Passover lamb)
• Numbers (the bronze serpent)
• Leviticus (the tabernacle and sacrifices)
Speaking of the tabernacle, takes us to Peter’s response to what he saw and heard
- Peter suggested making three tabernacles
- In researching his response, I found 2 interpretations.
•One being his instinctive response to seeing God’s divine glory and wanting to protect the 3 disciples
Two being his recollection of Zechariah 14 with the alignment of fulfilling the Feasts of Booths through the coming of the messianic Kingdom.
What it is not….is Peter being confused about Jesus’s identity, which some get wrong by thinking that the thought of making a tabernacle for Elijah and Moses puts them in the same category as Jesus.
- Now, based on what we know about Peter and his initial instincts to act in protection….specifically remembering that Peter is the sword wielding ear lopper….I’m in the camp that Peter’s response was to protect.
- I think Peter spass’d out…
It says they were terrified. Why?
He was fearful for their lives at what he saw. He knew, through reading Moses, that seeing God face to face meant death.
He was looking for covering aka a tabernacle….which came with what?.....the veil….
Even though Elijah and Moses are not to be mistaken as having the same identity as Jesus, we can accept that their appearance was similar….radiant and shining!
Remember when Moses came face to face with God on Mt. Sinai….when he came down from the mountain his face was illuminating and the Israelites were afraid….to the point Moses veiled his face. (Exodus 34: 29-35)
- Which leads us to Mark’s next key point that he shows through what they saw and heard…..
o Without the tabernacle (the tent/the covering) and without the physical veil, the cloud formed and overshadowed them. Remembering that God shows up in the cloud….remember Exodus…..and He spoke to them audibly.
· God’s voice came from the cloud
· “This is My beloved Son; listen to Him!”
o This again is huge!!
o Mark doesn’t say this out right, but through this action we gather the following….
· God was showing that He no longer has a need for a tabernacle (tent) for Him and His glory to be present and shown. It was present and shown through Jesus….who is the real tabernacle….who, through His shed blood (which is coming), entered the Holy of Holies once for all time having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9)
1. Peter didn’t realize that what Jesus was showing them is that through His death…the final sacrifice, which is coming….the veil would be torn.
o God testifies about Jesus’s identity.
· So we have Peter’s testimony, Jesus’s testimony, and now the Father’s testimony. Again, three testimonies.
o And suddenly they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone. Elijah and Moses disappears.
· They didn’t need to see anything but Jesus and Him alone
2. Jesus’ command and resurrection reference
o They were not to tell anyone what they had seen or heard
o They were to wait until the Son of Man rose from the dead
o As Mitch pointed out last week, this was a common command from Jesus to His disciples. There would be a time coming that they could tell all, but it was to be in God’s timing, not man’s.
o Jesus’s full glory presented in the transfiguration was a preview to what was coming after His crucifixion and resurrection. Until those events happened, all was not yet fulfilled….therefore, don’t tell anyone because the preview can only be fully understood through Jesus’s pending actions.
o This lack of full understanding is shown through the disciples discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant as they walked down the mountain.
· They still had not grasped everything they heard and saw
· Even after Jesus plainly taught them the sequence of what was to come of Him in Mark 8:31
· Only the events themselves would solidify the understanding.
3. Question about Elijah
o As they were trying to figure everything out, the disciples asked Jesus why Elijah must come first….I mean…they just saw him, so the question makes sense that Elijah was top of mind.
o The disciples were familiar with Malachi’s prophecy. (Malachi 4: 5-6)
o Jesus said Elijah does comes first and restores all things, thus confirming the prophecy of Malachi is true.
o The disciples have yet to put together that John the Baptist was Elijah and the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy.
4. The suffering of the Son of Man and Elijah’s fulfillment
o “The Son of Man will suffer many things and be treated with contempt”
o Jesus goes on then to align His own suffering with the suffering of Elijah
o “Elijah has indeed come”….Matthew 11:14…John the Baptist was Elijah
o “They did to Elijah whatever they wanted”….John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod Antipas
o Thus, Jesus aligned His coming suffering with that of John the Baptist
o Quote by unknown source….not my quote. “By connecting John’s fate to his own, Jesus establishes a pattern: the forerunner suffered, so the Messiah must suffer too. The fate of John the Baptist, as Elijah, parallels Jesus’ fate as the Son of Man”
Look back at Mark 9:1…Jesus said “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God when it has come with power.”
Directly after that statement and Peter’s confession, Jesus led His 3 disciples (Peter, James, and John) up on a high mountain…not just any mountain….a cosmic mountain with supernatural depth…..
- Transfigured Himself into His heavenly glory; testifying about His identity
- Confirmed that He is the fulfillment of both the Law and the Prophets, through appearing with Moses and Elijah
- God confirming, through His presence in the cloud, that Jesus is the true tabernacle, not made by human hands, but by God Himself
- God, through His own voice, testifying that Jesus is His Son and to listen to Him
- With the exit of the other 2, Jesus affirms that the focus is on Him and Him alone.
- Jesus parallels His coming suffering with that of John the Baptist, which affirms that suffering comes before glory.
Those 3 disciples saw the Kingdom of God and all the power on display, thus confirming what Jesus said in Mark 9:1.
The overall message is that the transfiguration reveals the Kingdom of God in power, but that kingdom glory comes through the path of suffering, death, and resurrection all fulfilled through the life, death, burial, resurrection, and accension of Jesus.
Application
1. Dig with unfiltered eyes
- Proverbs 25:2 – “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”
- Since we were not eyewitnesses, it requires us to remove our natural eyes so that we can see the supernatural. Even the ones who saw it had trouble.
- Paul said it best in my favorite bible verse….2 Corinthians 4:18
- “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
2. Hear, See, and Believe.
- Mark has left us with zero doubt of who Jesus is and what He came to do.
- If you do not believe, you have heard enough testimony this morning of who Jesus is….down to eyewitnesses of His glory. Believe and be saved today. Today is the day of salvation.
3. Expect suffering
- Jesus said to take up your cross and follow Him. The cross signifies suffering. Suffering comes before glory. We may or may not experience physical suffering….it may come in the form of mental or emotional. But we can expect it, until that day when we are resurrected into glory with Him.
4. Worship
- How, after hearing what we have heard today, could you not?
- He is worthy of our praise and worship!
Lord’s Prayer