#37 The Greatest “Mountaintop Experience” Ever!
Series: Mark
Chuck Sligh
February 14, 2021
NOTE: A PowerPoint is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 9:1.
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – Most movies are throwaway entertainment. You watch them, and they’re either funny or just dumb, but when the movie’s over, you don’t think about it or ponder it except to quote some inane line in the movie.
But some movies are extremely moving or deeply disturbing in some way.
• You start to get a glimpse of its import when you watch a compelling preview and you think, I think I would like to find out what that’s about.
• So you go to the movie or stream it, and it’s awesome or emotionally wrenching or troubling in some way.
• Then afterwards you can’t get the movie off your mind. It may challenge long-held ideas you’ve so that you might feel jarred or even confused by it. You discuss it with your family or friends.
Such movies transcend mere entertainment and become a true experience.
Today we’re going to look at the mountain-top experience of all time: the transfiguration. Interestingly, Mark presents the story of the transfiguration like a thought-provoking movie.
• First, he gives a preview of what’s going to happen. – Jesus hints at something ahead for a handful of the disciples.
• Then the main event happens. – It’s spellbinding, dazzling and terrifying all at once.
• Then the witnesses of the event are so jarred by its implications that they discuss it afterwards with one another and with the star of the movie, Jesus Himself.
So let’s go to the movies this morning as we examine the transfiguration in Mark 9:1-13.
I. FIRST, IN VERSE 1 WE HAVE THE PREVIEW. – “And he said unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.’”
Jesus said there were some in their midst who would not die until they had seen the kingdom of God come with power. Several interpretations have been proposed what Jesus was talking about: such as that it’s a prophecy of the Second Coming; or that it points to Christ’s resurrection and ascension after his death; or that it’s talking about the Holy Spirit being given at Pentecost; or that it refers to the spread of Christianity in its early years.
The most obvious and most common view of Bible scholars is that Jesus was referring to the transfiguration which was to occur just six days later. I agree with that view: Seeing this verse as a “preview,” of the transfiguration best fits the context—it’s described in following verses—and the fact that Jesus said only some of the disciples would witness the kingdom in power is an important clue.
In chapter 8:31 Jesus had given the disciples shocking news: that He “must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and by the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Then He said that to follow Him meant suffering and cross-bearing for THEM too. This was really bad news for them, and they must have been very discouraged. They had signed up for following a conquering Messiah, but this suffering and death and resurrection stuff…not so much. So Jesus gave them good news that something really cool would happen to some of them.
II. IN VERSES 2-8 WE HAVE THE MAIN ATTRACTION.
Verses 2-3 say, “And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
The transfiguration was a singular event in history and has no counterpart in any religious literature in the world, Jewish or otherwise, although elements of it are found in Old Testament theophanies—times when God presented Himself to humans in tangible form, as in the burning bush or as a cloud or a human.
Jesus singled out Peter, James and John to witness the transfiguration, fulfilling the prophecy in verse 1 that only “some” would witness the kingdom of God in power before they died.
The Gospel writers say Jesus took them to a “high mountain,”—probably Mt. Hermon, which is around 9,200 feet high and is covered in snow all year long. God and humans often encountered one another on mountains in the Bible. It was on Mount Sinai that Moses witnessed a theophany of God as fire and smoke and a noise like a loud horn and an earthquake, and then the voice of God, which was to be followed by the Ten Commandments. It was on a mountain that Elijah received a vision of the glory of God and God spoke with him there.
The word “transfigured” in verse 2 is the Greek word, metamorphóo, from which we get our English word “metamorphosis.” It means “to be changed into another form or appearance,” indicating that Jesus not only looked different outwardly, but for a brief time, His body was glorified so that He appeared to Peter, James and John as He will appear when He returns again in power and glory to establish His kingdom on earth.
And man-oh-man, what that a show the three disciples saw! – Verse 3 says, “And his raiment became shining, exceedingly white as snow; whiter than any fuller on earth could whiter them.” Mark says His clothes were “shining.” The Greek word means “gleaming, glistening, radiant, shiny, flashing intensely.”
Mark says His clothes appeared whiter than any fuller on earth could whiten them. Fullers were people who whitened clothes by trampling them with their feet or pounding them in tubs of water with some type of alkaline chemical added. It was the only way Mark could describe Christ’s dazzling brilliance.
But apparently His clothes were radiant because Jesus Himself was radiant in His glorified body so that light emanated through His clothes. When God showed His Shekinah Glory to Moses, Exodus 34 tells us that He appeared in a bright luminous cloud and the skin of Moses’ face shone so brightly that for a while no one would go near him unless he covered his face. That was also the case with Jesus as well because in Matthew’s telling of the story, he says that Jesus’ face “shone like the sun” (Matthew 17:2) and Luke says, “the appearance of His face was altered” (Luke 8:29).
But like any good movie, there are always other characters in the story, so suddenly the disciples are shocked to see two heavenly personages in verse 4: “And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.”
Why Elijah and Moses?—Why not Abraham and David, or Isaiah and Jeremiah? These two notable Bible characters are mentioned together in only one place in the Old Testament, and this explains why they were with Jesus. In Malachi 4:4-6, there is this prophecy about the Messiah: “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, or else I will come and smite the earth with a curse.”
Moses was Israel’s great lawgiver and Elijah was the greatest of the prophets and both wrote prophecies about the Messiah. Their presence in the transfiguration revealed that Jesus was the culmination of the revelation of God’s redemption and restoration of God’s original plan for humanity and the earth.
Mark says that Moses, Elijah and Jesus, were talking together. Mark, Matthew and John do not tell us what they discussed, but Luke does. In Luke 9:31 he says, “they spoke of his decease (that is, His death) which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.” But Luke does not elaborate with any other details.
Imagine what a stunning display this scene presented to the disciples! It’s dark up on that lonely mountain and Jesus goes a little ahead of them. Suddenly they experience a dazzling display of Jesus in His Shekinah Glory. And then Moses and Elijah appear. Wow!—It was like the greatest fireworks show in history!
When I read this, I thought not only of the remarkable display they saw, but also of what Jesus must have seen in the reflected light of the disciples faces.
Illus. – When our kids were little, we’d go to July Fourth fireworks displays. I loved to look up and watch the spectacular show we would get every year. The kids would say excitedly, “Look Daddy, look at that one” or “That one’s AWESOME!” But I’ll tell you what I loved even more: I just loved seeing the faces of my sons, eyes big as silver dollars and full of expectancy, with their skin reflecting the changing hues of the fireworks display. None of the gospel writers indicate that Jesus took notice of the disciples’ faces at the transfiguration, but I can’t help but think that He did.
The three disciples are witnessing this stunning spectacle, and in true fashion, Peter sticks his foot in his mouth in verse 5-6: “And Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ 6 For he wist not (or “knew not”) what to say; for they were sore afraid.”
R. Kent Hughes says that Peter was “a man who always had something to say when there was nothing to be said.” The three disciples are awestruck, and maybe Peter just utters what comes to his mind in the moment.
But Bible scholars see something deeper. Recall that in chapter 8 Jesus had revealed to the disciples that God’s plan for Jesus must be the path of suffering, rejection, death and resurrection. This isn’t ANYTHING like what they had learned from the rabbis, and they just couldn’t wrap their heads around it. And then Jesus laid down the terms of discipleship THEY should expect: suffering for Jesus’ sake, cross-bearing, rejection by this world.
Tabernacles places where God would meet with mankind The Tabernacle was a meeting place with God; the Temple was a tabernacle of stone. But in Messiah’s Appearing in the Last Day, God will dwell with mankind on earth eternally. So here in the transfiguration, Peter was thinking, Hey, there’s Moses, and there’s Elijah, the forerunner of Messiah. Let’s forget this talk about suffering and death; let’s get to the good stuff—conquering Israel’s enemies, setting up the kingdom, making Jerusalem the capital of the world—NOW!
Verse 7 continues: “And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son; hear him.’”
Jesus doesn’t answer Peter; Peter’s being rude and talking during the movie. The show’s not even over yet and anyway, Peter doesn’t get the plot at all…so Jesus just ignores him and doesn’t even bother to reply to him.
Then suddenly a cloud overshadowed them. This recalls several instances in the Old Testament where, when God met with people, He did so in an overshadowing cloud.
As in these Old Testament instance, sure enough, God the Father shows up and says, “This is my beloved Son. Hear him” or more accurately “Listen to Him.”
Notice first, the Father unequivocally identifies Jesus as His beloved Son, establishing once-and-for-all the divinity of Jesus Christ. This isn’t the first time the Father did this. He said this about Jesus at His baptism; now He tells it to these 3 disciples. When the Father says, “Listen to Him,” He’s saying “You 3 aren’t listening. You think the path to the kingdom is one strewn with one victory after another, a glorious throne, a bejeweled crown, and national renewal. But listen to my Son. First there must be suffering and death.”
Then, just as suddenly as Moses and Elijah had appeared—POOF!—they disappear in verse 8 – “And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.”
Now only Jesus was left. There’s great significance in this seemingly insignificant statement. As William L. Lane put it “Jesus alone remained as the sole bearer of God’s new revelation to be disclosed in the cross and resurrection. Moses and Elijah had also followed the path of obedience, but having borne witness to Jesus’ character and mission, they can help him no more. The way to the cross demanded the submission of the Son and Jesus must set out upon it alone. The transfiguration, however, has disclosed a new aspect of God’s truth: Jesus is himself the new Tabernacle of divine glory. His word and deed transcend all past revelation. This was the truth with which the disciples were confronted when they realized they were once again alone in the presence of Jesus.”
III. VERSES 9-13 RECORD HOW THOUGHT-PROVOKING THEIR BIG SHOW WAS AND THE DISCUSSION THAT FOLLOWED IT.
Look at verse 9: “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.”
Why did Jesus tell them not to tell anyone until after His resurrection? – Because they still didn’t understand Jesus’ messianic mission—even after Jesus had told them the whole plan back in chapter 8. The transfiguration was a foretaste of future glory for just a moment here on earth. They got that part; all that would go on in between was what puzzled them. If they went telling all about the glories of Christ, they would prematurely present Jesus as the glorious, victorious Messiah, instead of the suffering Son of Man.
Verse 10: “And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.”
Jesus had just told the three disciples not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after the resurrection, which totally confused them. They believed from the Old Testament that there was a general resurrection as the climactic end of the Last Day. What baffled them was what the resurrection of the Son of Man could mean. It didn’t fit into anything they had been taught or understood from the scriptures.
Look next at verses 11-13 – “And they asked him, saying, ‘Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?’ 12 And he answered and told them, ‘Elijah verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. (which means ‘treated with contempt’). 13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.”
As we saw earlier, they understood from Malachi 4:4-6 that Elijah would precede the Messiah, and the scribes had actually gotten this right. So if Jesus was the Messiah, where was Elijah who was supposed to restore all things and prepare the way for Messiah? They had just seen Elijah in the Transfiguration, but he had just disappeared!
Jesus was going to answer that question, but first He introduces again His suffering and rejection and death in verse 9. He’s asking in essence, “What do you make of the scriptures that speak of the Messiah’s suffering and death? They’re there, but you’re beset by “confirmation bias.” You’re reading the parts that appeal to you, but there are scriptures that speak of Messiah suffering and being treated with contempt.”
Then He answers their question about Elijah directly: He says, “Guess what. Elijah HAS come, and they did with him whatever they pleased.” In 1 Kings 18 we’re told that Elijah’s work in his day was to prepare the way for Elisha who would have a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Well, there was someone who had already in the same way as Elijah to prepare the way for Jesus, and his name was JOHN, and Jesus said that they did what they wanted him: they chopped off his head. How do we know that Jesus is referring to John the Baptist here? – In Luke 1 an angel appeared to John’s father Zachariah and said in verse 17 that John would, “go before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah.” In other words Malachi’s prophecy had already been fulfilled in John the Baptist. The Messiah was here NOW, and JESUS was the Son of God: BUT He would suffer and be rejected and be put to death and rise again from the dead.
Jesus couldn’t be clearer, but they forgot it all until after the resurrection. When the women came to the tomb of Jesus to prepare His body for burial on the third day after His death, Luke tells us that they saw the stone rolled away and two angels in shining garments. In Luke 24:5 they said to the women, “…Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7 saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ Now listen to verses 8-9, “AND THEY REMEMBERED HIS WORDS. 9 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.”
CONCLUSION
Wow, what a great show! Did you enjoy it? Every time I get up to preach, my job is to answer three questions: First, what does the Scripture text SAY? Second, what does it MEAN? and finally, What does it mean to US? We’ve covered the first two questions; now let’s see what this Scripture text means to us:
1) First, I have a personal application for you if you have not come to faith in Jesus yet.
In the transfiguration, God the Father identifies Jesus as the Son of God. This is a title meant to convey that He was God, the second person in the Trinity. You may not know all about the Trinity, but here’s what God wants you to know now: In the transfiguration Jesus is saying that if you give your life to Jesus, it may mean some suffering and rejection…but it also means that there is glory ahead for any sinner who trusts Him. Blessing will come, but first is a cross.
Jesus came to die on a cross to bear the curse for sin so we can be blessed by God, and He provided it before we even knew we needed it.
Illus. – In his book, Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado talks of the time the bank sent him an overdraft notice on of his daughter’s checking account. He didn’t know whether he should send her an angry letter or just transfer the money from his account because he knew she was broke.
He finally decided to go ahead and deposit enough to cover the overdraft, plus the bounced check fee, plus a little more, all without her knowledge. When he told her of the overdraft, she apologized profusely, yet she still didn’t have the money to make a deposit to cover the overdraft.
She said, “Daddy, could you…” and he interrupted, “Honey, I already deposited the money for the overdraft and some more money besides.” He met her need before she even knew she had one.
And so it is with our heavenly Father. Long before we knew we needed grace, He made an ample deposit. Before we knew we needed a Savior, we had one. And when we ask Him for mercy, He says, “My child, I’ve already given it.” That’s what the cross was all about: God paying our sin-debt before we even know we were in trouble.
2) If already a believer, the transfiguration is a glimpse of glory for each of us.
Following in the footsteps of Jesus is not easy, but it is well worth it. When we’re resurrected at the Last Day, we’ll trade these rickety old bodies in for a new model and it will be a glorified one much like the one Jesus has in glory.
1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and what we shall be has not yet been revealed: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
How will it happen?—Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:50-52, “Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
THAT’S the glorified body we’ll have: one that will never sin, never get sick, never get old and frail, or experience grief, and best of all—never die. Then we’ll say, “It was worth it all. Every evil thing said or done against me for Jesus sake was worth it all.”
One last application is this: Having experiences do not equal spiritual maturity.
A lot of people are seeking a deep mountaintop experience, or a great miracle. But the disciples had the most awesome display of God’s power in history, yet on the mountaintop, they were ignorant of its true significance, and after they came off the mountain, they were just as ignorant as when they went up! They didn’t need an experience; they just needed to listen to Jesus’ words!
And so it is with us. Those who claim to have amazing experiences often are spiritually stunted, going from one experience to the other, when the thing that will change us is the Bible; the thing that is powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword is the Word of God. The Bible is all we need to grow in faith and in our relationship with Christ. So get into God’s Word to grow and thrive in the Christian life.
