On Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Schools are closed, our church office is closed, some of you have the day off, all to commemorate the life work of Rev. Martin Luther King. The day before Rev. King was assassinated he delivered his final sermon in support of sanitation workers on strike in Memphis, Tennessee. When you read that sermon from April 3, 1968 you get the uncanny feeling that Rev. King knew that his death was drawing near. Listen to Rev. King’s words from the conclusion of his final sermon:
"I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the Lord" ("I’ve Been to the Mountaintop" preached on 4/3/68).
Rev. King had a mountaintop experience that showed him what was to come, and that mountaintop experience filled him with peace as he faced his future.
Mountaintop experiences are like that. In the ancient world, people believed that mountains were special places, places where heaven and earth intersected. The ancient Hebrews believed that mountains were places where godly people encountered God in a special way.
I’ve had a few mountaintop experiences myself. Many of my mountaintop experiences were at Men’s Retreats with our church in the mountains of Wrightwood. I remember sensing God’s direction for my life with a new clarity at one men’s retreat. At other mountaintop experiences I’ve sensed God’s affirmation in my life in a new way or received new insight into myself. At a staff retreat last year I remember sensing God speak to me about a unique need in of one of our staff members and how to best meet that need. There’s something about the smell of pine and brisk wind blowing through your hair, the sights and sounds of the forest, and the solitude of a mountain peak that opens your heart to God in a unique way.
But the problem with mountaintop experiences is that you eventually have to come down the hill. Rev. King had to come down from his mountaintop experience and face the reality of a bullet that would take his life. I remember sinking into a brief depression after some of my mountaintop experiences. You see, after the intensity of the mountaintop, we come back to the normal routine, and the two seem to collide. As one person once said about coming down from the mountaintop, "After the ecstasy comes the laundry." And it’s kind of hard to get excited about the routine things of life. Billy Graham once said, "Mountaintops are for view and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys."
Today we’re going to look at the ultimate mountaintop experience. We’re going to look at a mountaintop experience Jesus shared with three of his closest followers. Jesus Christ’s glory exploded on this mountaintop for his followers to see. And we’ll see in this mountaintop experience three realities about Jesus Christ’s glory that are important for our lives as well. And like our own mountaintop experiences, we’ll see that Jesus’ followers didn’t want to come down from the mountain of glory back to the realities of the valley.
1. A Hidden Glory (Mark 9:2-4)
Let’s look at how Jesus ended up on a mountaintop with his three friends. Christians call this event the transfiguration. To "transfigure" something is to "change" its appearance, and Christ’s appearance was radically altered in the full view of Peter, James and John. The way Mark describes this event, he wants us to know that this isn’t a vision, but that this is actually happening in the full view of Jesus’ inner circle.
Now the exact location where this event occurred in unknown. The traditional location is Mt. Tabor in Israel, though it could just as easily have been virtually any other tall mountain in the area.
In telling this story, Mark is deliberately echoing another mountaintop story. You see, thousands of years before Jesus, Moses had a very similar experience on the top another mountain, Mt. Sinai. That experience is recorded for us in the Bible in the Old Testament book of Exodus. Moses’ experience occurred right after Israel had been delivered from her slavery in Egypt but before Israel settled into the Promised Land of Palestine. Moses took three of his followers, along with 70 of Israel’s elders up to his mountain, just as Jesus took three of his followers (Exodus 24:1, 9).
Both Moses and Jesus shined with the brightness of amazing light on the mountaintop (Exodus 34:29). In fact, we know from the Old Testament that Moses’ face continued to shine even after he came down from the mountain. On both mountains, the presence of God appears in the form of a cloud, as we’ll see in a few minutes (Exodus 24:15, 16, 18). And in both cases, God spoke audibly on the mountaintop (Exodus 24:26). These parallels make it pretty clear that we’re supposed to see this event as being similar in some way to Moses’ experience on Mt. Sinai.
Mark tells us that Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus on the mountaintop, speaking to him. Moses and Elijah are ancient characters from thousands of years earlier in Hebrew history. Both Moses and Elijah were heroes of godliness and passion, both of them long since joining God in heaven. Yet here they reappear for a brief moment, speaking with Jesus on the mountain.
Now the traditional Christian explanation is that Moses represents the Old Testament law and Elijah represents the Old Testament prophets. The presence of Moses and Elijah is supposed to symbolize how Jesus Christ came to fulfill the law and the prophets of the Hebrew scriptures. That’s certainly true, though if that’s the point here, I wonder why Mark puts Elijah before Moses, since chronologically Moses came first. And I also wonder why it’s Elijah represents the prophets of the Bible since Elijah wasn’t a writing prophet. We have no book of Elijah in the Bible, because Elijah’s prophecies were all spoken, not written down.
So perhaps there’s more to the appearance of these holy men of the past than the traditional view implies. Moses and Elijah had some things in common that help us get us closer to why they appeared on this mountain. Both Moses and Elijah were familiar with mountaintop experiences. On Mt. Sinai Moses encountered the presence of God in a unique way when he received the ten commandments. And on Mt. Carmel Elijah had a showdown with the pagan prophets of Baal, a showdown where God sent fire from heaven. So both encountered God in a special way in their own mountaintop experiences.
Both Moses and Elijah were leaders who were rejected at times by their own people. Even though Moses delivered the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt, they struggled to accept Moses as their leader. At times they even plotted his death. And of course Elijah had to go into hiding during his lifetime because many of the people in Israel didn’t like his message. So both were godly yet rejected leaders in ancient Hebrew history.
One of the most intriguing things Moses and Elijah have in common is that they’re both mentioned together in the very chapter of the very last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. In Malachi 4:4 God commands the people of Israel to listen to the commands of Moses, God’s servant (Mal 4:4). Then, in the very next two verses, God promises to send the prophet Elijah back to Israel before the final day of reckoning arrives (Mal 4:5-6). This is the only place in the entire Old Testament where Moses and Elijah are mentioned together, side by side, which suggests that this prophet serves as the background for what we read about here in Mark. But more about that a little later.
Christ’s transfiguration in the presence of Peter, James and John suggests that Christ’s glory is finally exploding. You see, Jesus wasn’t changed on the mountain. What’s been inside of him all the while finally came bursting out on the mountain. It’s an explosion of glory that’s been veiled and hidden so far in Jesus’ life.
Here we learn a reality about Christ’s glory. JESUS CHRIST’S GLORY WAS HIDDEN WITHIN HIS HUMANITY SO HE COULD LIVE AS A TRUE MAN.
Now the phrase "hidden glory" seems like a contradiction in terms. If a person’s glory is his or her greatness, it would seem like you’d want that glory to shine. Glory is a person’s majesty, a person’s splendor and brilliance shining forth like a light reflecting off a priceless diamond. Why would God hide his shining spender, his bright majesty of greatness?
I mean that’s the opposite of what we do. When we have a measure of glory as humans, we let it shine for everyone to see. When an NFL running back rushes for a touchdown, he jumps and hollers, spikes the ball and does a happy dance. When a producer produces a great movie, he goes to the Academy Awards in a limo, arrives with pomp and circumstance, wearing a thousand dollar suit. We let our own glory and greatness shine, sometimes making it appear brighter and better than it really is.
Why would God do the opposite and hide his glory? The answer is found in God’s decision to take on human form and become a real human being. When God made the decision to enter into our world, to add to his already divine nature a human nature, he made the decision to shroud his glory in the weakness of humanity. As the old Christmas carol puts it, Christ’s godhood was "veiled in flesh." God did this so he could experience the frailties and weakness of being a human being. He did it because he loves us, because he’s passionate about us, because he wanted to open the doors for us to know him in a way that would’ve been impossible had he not become a true human being.
Although Christ’s glory finally broke through here, for most of his life on this earth it was hidden from view.
2. An Affirmed Glory (Mark 9:5-10)
Let’s look at what happens next in vv. 5-10. The transfiguration must’ve been overwhelming to Peter, James and John. Most artistic renditions of the transfiguration picture Peter, James and John as cowering on the ground, covering their faces in panic and fear. They must’ve been totally overwhelmed by the majesty and glory of the event. When we sing songs asking to see God’s glory, I sometimes wonder what we’d do if it actually happened. I suspect we’d hit the floor, covering our faces in fear as well.
Peter’s afraid and doesn’t know what to say, so he blurts out the bit about building three shelters. Now in the Greek text, Mark literally writes, "Peter answered Jesus." The interesting part about that is Peter answered Jesus, but Jesus didn’t ask him anything. Peter felt like he had to say something, to say anything, to respond to this explosion of glory he was experiencing on this mountaintop. Why he suggests building three shelters, no one really knows. Perhaps he wanted to make the experience last longer. Perhaps he’s using the imagery of the Hebrew festival of tabernacles, where the people of Israel would build outdoor shelters to remember their wilderness wanderings so many years ago. Only Peter seemed to know what he meant, and the rest of us have to guess.
But Peter’s words do seem to put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah, since he suggests three shelters, one for each of them. So a cloud envelopes the mountain and the voice of God speaks from the cloud.
Now this is the second time God the Father has spoken in Mark’s story. The first time came at Jesus’ baptism, where God speaks to Jesus, saying, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). At Christ’s baptism the voice was directed to Jesus, not to the other disciples of Jesus. It was addressed from the God the Father to God the Son. But here the same divine voice addresses Jesus’ followers, Peter, James and John. "This is my Son, whom I love." And then an injunction to listen to Jesus, to obey what he says. Not a command to listen to Moses or to listen to Elijah. Moses and Elijah were never anything more than servants of God. Neither was ever called the beloved Son of God. So this affirmation sets Jesus apart as unique.
When they finally open their eyes, they see that the event is over. The cloud is gone, the shining brilliance within Jesus has faded, Moses and Elijah are gone. Jesus is left, the one now declared greater than Moses or Elijah.
And as they walk down the mountain back to the valley below, Jesus commands them to keep the experience to themselves for while. He says that people won’t understand their experience until after Jesus rises from the dead. And they keep it to themselves, but they wonder what he means by "rising from the dead."
Here we find another reality about Christ’s glory. Jesus Christ’s glory was affirmed by the Father so we would follow Him.
God the Father’s affirmation of Jesus placed Jesus on a higher level than even Moses and Elijah, two of the most honored people from Jewish history. If anything, this whole experience served to set Jesus apart from the holy men and women of the past, to place Jesus in a unique category all by himself. God orchestrated this whole event to demonstrate to Peter, James and John-and to us as well-that Christ is unique. So we should follow him, love him, listen to him, obey him.
When we bring glory to Jesus, we accomplish a similar goal, though in a much more imperfect way. To glorify someone is to enhance that person’s reputation with our words and our actions. We do this with our kids all the time: We brag about our children’s grades, their athleticism, their musical ability, their maturity. When we do this, we bolster their reputation, unless of course our bragging is a delusion of our own creation. When we brag about Jesus, we help people follow him. When we tell people what Jesus has accomplished in our lives, when he give him the credit for our life direction and our growth. When we freely and without embarrassment point to Jesus, that helps other people respond to Jesus.
I heard about a pastor who was greeting people after the worship service. Someone said, "That was a really great sermon you preached." Not knowing what else to say, the pastor said, "It was the Lord." The person said, "Well it wasn’t that good." The pastor was trying to give Jesus the credit for anything good that came out of his words that day.
We sing a lot about glorifying Jesus in our worship, but outside these church walls we’re sometimes tongue tied. But the real test to how we’re living those words comes when we’re out there, not in here.
The Father affirmed Christ so we would follow him.
3. The Glory of Suffering (Mark 9:11-13)
As they walk down the mountainside, they discuss the appearance of the prophet Elijah on the mountaintop. The theologians of the day--the teachers of the law--said that the prophet Elijah must come first, before the final day of the Lord would dawn. This view was based on the book of Malachi. Listen to Malachi’s words:
"See I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse" (Mal 4:5).
Based on this verse, the theologians said that before the day of the Lord could arrive-that final day of Israel’s deliverance and vindication-Elijah must come reappear in Israel. Jesus agrees with the theologians’ take on this, that Elijah does come to restore all things.
However, the theologians thought it would be the same person named Elijah from Old Testament times. But Jesus indicates that this isn’t a reincarnation of Elijah, but it’s a person who’s like Elijah, who functions in the same way Elijah did in the Old Testament. So it’s not a reincarnation of Elijah, but a person who fulfills Elijah’s role.
You see, Jesus remembered that Malachi’s prophecy came with a condition: "Or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." "Or else." That last phrase from Malachi suggests that Elijah’s coming might not succeed, that though his mission is to restore, that the people might not want to be restored. None of the theologians had thought about that possibility. But in Malachi that possibility exists, and should Elijah be rejected by the people, the land would be cursed.
Jesus says that if Elijah’s coming had to succeed, why then does the Bible predict that the Messiah would suffer? The answer to Jesus’ question of course is that the coming of Elijah was conditional upon the people’s response. "Or else I’ll strike the land with a curse." The Messiah would suffer because the Elijah figure would also suffer.
Without coming right out and saying it, Jesus is linking the coming of Elijah in Malachi with his cousin John the Baptist. Clearly that’s what Jesus means when he says, "Elijah has come." But instead of restoring all things, the people have rejected this Elijah-figure, doing to him whatever they wanted. The curse in Malachi, I believe, was the destruction of the Jewish temple and the exile of the people of Israel in the years following Israel’s rejection of Jesus. Jesus seems to link the coming Jewish wars with Rome and the Jewish defeat at the hands of Roman soldiers as God’s judgment against Israel.
Just as Elijah of old was rejected by King Ahab, so also this new Elijah was also rejected, again by a king, though this time king Herod. A suffering Elijah prepared the way for a suffering Messiah.
Here we find our final reality about Christ’s glory. JESUS CHRIST’S GLORY WAS REVEALED IN HIS SUFFERING SO WE COULD SEE WHAT TRUE GREATNESS WAS.
You see, Jesus’ glory wasn’t revealed most clearly on the mountain but on the cross. Jesus forever redefined glory when he willingly endured the shame of the cross for us. In fact, the gospel of John in the Bible regularly calls Jesus’ crucifixion his glorification. An odd way to describe a man’s execution by the government. But what the rest of the world mocked as shameful and humiliating, Jesus saw as his finest hour, his glorification.
There are some fascinating contrasts between the mountain of transfiguration and the cross. The glory of the transfiguration was a private glory, a glory revealed to a select few. But the glory of the cross was a public spectacle, a public crucifixion while the world watched. On the mountain Jesus was surrounded by two of the holiest men of Hebrew history, Moses and Elijah; but on the cross he was surrounded by two common criminals. On the mountain Jesus’ clothing shined brightly, but on the cross, Jesus was stripped of his clothing so the Roman executioners could gamble for it. On the mountain a divine voice declares Jesus to be God’s Son, but on the cross it’s a Roman soldier who ironically blurts out, "Surely this man was God’s Son." On the mountain Elijah appears, but on the cross people expect Elijah to appear, though he doesn’t.
Can you see the contrasts?
To live consistently with the glory on the mountain, Jesus must endure the glory of the cross. And in that decision Jesus forever redefined glory. In the first century, the cross was a symbol of defeat, shame and humiliation. It was the place failed revolutionaries and false Messiahs ended up. Wealthy Roman citizens considered it inappropriate to even talk about crucifixion. Yet here we are 2000 years later with a cross in our church. What people viewed as a symbol of defeat was transformed into a symbol of victory. Why? Because that was Christ’s finest hour, the place of his glorification, the place where paid the price and took upon himself all our failures.
Glory came through the cross, through the suffering. And of course that’s true for us as well, that the path to our own glory as God’s sons and daughters is the path of suffering. That’s why Jesus told us to take up our cross when we follow him, to walk the path of abandonment to God’s will that he walked. It’s only as we walk along the painful path of life, with it’s disappointments and heartache, that we ultimately find our finest hour as well. And it’s a pathway of agony at times, a path of pain and fear, a path where we feel alone and like giving up. Just this weekend a man in our church lost his adult son in a terrible automobile accident. Others of you have faced the suffering of an illness, the heartache of failed marriages, the disappointment of children who take the wrong path in life. Life can be painful at times, excruciatingly painful.
Yet we persevere on the path because the Bible tells us that if we share in Christ’s sufferings we will also share in his glory (Romans 8:17b). We’re reminded that "our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" one day (Romans 8:18).
Perhaps you’re here today and you feel like giving up on the Christian path you’ve been walking. Following Jesus hasn’t turned out the way you’d hoped it would. Following Jesus has taken you down some dark valleys, valleys of disappointment and pain, valleys of heartache and doubt. And you wonder if you should turn back, if you made a mistake embarking on this journey. Today I want you to know that this journey through the valley will lead to the mountain of the glory, that this is how life works.
It was that way for Jesus, and it’s that way for us. In God’s plan, there is no glory without suffering.
Conclusion
On the mountain of transfiguration Christ’s glory exploded. But it was on the cross that Christ’s glory was fully revealed. The glory of Jesus Christ was hidden in his humanity, affirmed by the Father, and revealed fully in the cross.
During the 2002 winter Olympic games, the theme in Utah was "revealing the light within." But as Christians we believe the true light of glory doesn’t come from within, but from our Creator. Christ is the true light of glory, the brightness that burns with splendor and brilliance. He’s the light that shines the majesty of God. And like Olympic torch bearers, we’ve been given a share of that glory to carry in our lives. So we descend the mountain, carrying our torches of glory to share with those in our community that desperately need it.
