What is it about mountain tops that we find so attractive? I don’t mean just the mountain climber who climbs a mountain just because it’s there, but the rest of us. Most people I think have a special feeling for mountains. We talk about the "Mountain Top Experience" don’t we? But what is it that makes those experiences so special? Is it because we still have a cosmology that puts God up in heaven, so going up a mountain feels like we’re getting closer to God? Well, it might be, but it isn’t mere altitude that does it. I’ve been up in an aeroplane at 35,000 ft looking down on the Himalayas and haven’t felt that sense of being nearer to God. Is it perhaps the feeling of being separated from our normal world: of the ruggedness of the mountain and the wildness of the surrounds that reminds us of our place in a world made by God not by humans? Or is it perhaps that as we stand on the mountain top we can look down and see the world laid out before us and realise just how small our part of the world is by comparison with the larger reality? Well, whatever it is, the mountain top has always played an important part in human spirituality, whether it’s the Celtic mystics who built their standing stones on hill tops, or the Hindu holy man who sits alone on the hill and meditates day and night. And it’s certainly true in the Judaeo-Christian religious experience. The mountain top was the place where God showed Abraham the land of Canaan and promised him all he could see in every direction. It was the place where he was taken to test his faith with the sacrifice of Isaac. It was the place where Moses first encountered God and where, later, he was given the 10 Commandments. It was the place where Moses was given a glimpse of God, where Elijah was taken for reassurance that God was still with him, and here in this passage today we find Jesus going up a mountain to meet with God. (Mk 9:2)
Jesus takes his inner circle, Peter, James, and John, and leads them up a high mountain where they were all alone. While they’re there, - Luke tells us that it’s while Jesus is praying, - he’s transfigured before them. That is his face begins to shine and his clothes become dazzling white. The implication is that this is a manifestation of the glory of God in Jesus. The shining face is like the change that came over Moses when he’d been speaking to God in the Tabernacle during the Exodus. The bright clothes are a sign of purity and God’s glory, like the description given of the angels of God in various places. The three disciples are given a brief glimpse of a reality beyond their human experience, a hint of the true nature of this Jesus that they’ve only recently proclaimed to be the Messiah.
It’s significant, I think, that all three of the synoptic gospel writers place this event immediately after Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ and his subsequent explanation of his purpose for coming; that is, to die on the cross and rise again after three days. The disciples were distressed at the fact that Jesus would immediately begin to talk about his death. But they needed to realise that there was more to Jesus than they’d so far perceived. That their human perceptions were so far short of the mark that they needed to rethink them.
But perhaps Jesus also needed the reassurance that his understanding was correct. Here he was proclaiming the way of the cross, and those nearest to him were telling him he must be mistaken. Remember that Jesus was both human and divine. He had the divine insight into his future path, but he also had the human limitations of not knowing for certain what was ahead. So when his disciples started to question what he was thinking, perhaps he needed to be reassured. That’s certainly true of us isn’t it? That’s why it’s so important that we maintain constant fellowship with other Christians. Because otherwise the doubts and pressures of the world wear away at us. Otherwise those who doubt the truth of the gospel, some of whom you’ll even find within the Christian Church, begin to wear away at our faith. We need to be reminded constantly of the God who came and died for us, whose Lordship is shown by his victory over death. We need to be reminded that serving him is worth any price.
So too, perhaps, Jesus needed to be reassured and his resolve strengthened for the task that lay ahead. And so God sends Moses and Elijah to speak with him. Luke tells us that they were speaking about his departure, literally his exodus, which he would fulfill at Jerusalem. These two men are significant because of what they represent. Moses represents the Law, which Jesus has come to fulfill. But he’s also the forerunner of Jesus, the one who first brought his people out of slavery into freedom in the promised Land. It was under Moses that the people of Israel became a nation. So too, it was under Jesus that the people would be freed from slavery to sin and a new nation would be formed, though this time one based on faith in Jesus, rather than on obedience to the Law. Elijah, on the other hand, represented the prophets, those whom God had sent to call his people back to himself. Jesus had come to provide the true way that people could be brought back to God. Elijah’s coming again was to be the sign of the coming of God’s kingdom, which Jesus was now bringing in. As well as all this, both Moses and Elijah had made an unusual departure from this life. Moses just disappeared and Elijah was taken up alive to heaven. And so they were well qualified to minister to Jesus as he contemplated the suffering that lay before him. These two, more than any other, represented all the painstaking care and preparation of God for the fulfilment of his plan for his people.
I guess we can sympathise with Peter over his unthinking outburst. It’s all too much for him. He’s overwhelmed by the situation. So he says the first thing that comes into his head. Let’s put up three shelters for the three of you. Or is he perhaps thinking of three memorials? Some way, that is, to capture the moment and preserve it. It’s a natural response of the human heart to the religious and supernatural to want to tie it down to something solid and visible, something that we can come back to later, something that’ll help us relive the moment. But as we read the account we realise just how inadequate such a gesture would have been. How could any memorial capture the significance of what was happening here?
Oh, and in case we were in any doubt about the significance of this event, a cloud now comes down and envelopes them and a voice speaks from the cloud: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" Again we’re reminded of Moses on Mt Sinai, surrounded by cloud, with thunder and lightning and trumpet blasts sounding. Perhaps too, we’re reminded of the people of Israel going off to make a golden calf as a symbol of the God they were following, and of God’s response to that attempt. Well there aren’t the sounds of thunder and trumpets, but there is the voice of God, loud and clear; "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" This is the icing on the cake isn’t it. If we were in any doubt about the significance of all this, that doubt is removed by this word from God. Jesus isn’t just a healer. He isn’t just a great wonder worker or a great teacher, or even the greatest of the prophets. This is the very Son of God, come to bring salvation to all people and to be crowned King forever. And if you’ve got any sense, what will you do? You’ll listen to him.
And then, as quickly as it happened, it’s all over. The cloud lifts and they’re on their own. Only Jesus is standing there. Have they dreamt it? It all seemed very real, but was it? How would they know? Well, the truth is they won’t, until after the resurrection, when they see the evidence before their very eyes that this wasn’t a dream. That it was true. That God was giving them a taste before the event of what they would discover in the resurrection of Jesus. And so Jesus tells them to tell no-one about what they’ve seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. They of course don’t understand what he’s talking about. They wonder, in fact if perhaps he’s referring to Elijah rising from the dead to prepare the way for the Christ. A natural leap, having just seen Elijah on the mountain. But no, he explains, Elijah has in fact returned already. John the Baptist was Elijah and he’s experienced exactly what was foretold for him. He’s been rejected and put to death, just as the Messiah will be. //
Well, I wonder how the 3 disciples felt as they came down the mountain. Were they exhilarated by the events that they’d just witnessed? Events that hadn’t been seen in Israel for 2000 odd years. Were they perplexed once again by Jesus cryptic answers? Were they aware of the privilege they’d enjoyed of being present when Jesus’ glory was revealed in this way?
What about Jesus? Was he encouraged and strengthened by this encounter? Did he come down the mountain with a renewed energy and enthusiasm for the task that lay ahead? That’s how we so often come back from our mountain top experiences isn’t it? From a weekend conference, a Belgrave Heights convention or a CMS Summer School. We come back excited and keen, with a new enthusiasm for doing God’s work, for being his witnesses back in the real world.
But so often we’re back for such a short time before reality hits. There’s some crisis at home, or someone immediately challenges our faith, or someone says something that makes us wonder whether it was all real. Well that’s what happens here.
They’ve no sooner come down the mountain and found the other disciples than they come across a public disturbance centred on those disciples. There’s a large crowd, the teachers of the law are there arguing with the disciples, it’s mayhem all around. Then the people look up and see Jesus, and we’re told they’re overwhelmed with wonder. We can only assume that his face was still shining, the way Moses’ face used to continue shining after he’d come out of the tabernacle. Anyway, they run over to him and Jesus asks what’s going on. A man answers that his son is mute because of a spirit that continually throws him into a fit. He’d asked the disciples to heal him but they couldn’t.
Now remember that just back in chapter 6 Jesus has sent his disciples out 2 by 2 and they’ve been able to drive out many demons and have anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. But this time they couldn’t do it. Jesus’ response may express his frustration with his disciples or it may be a sign that the reality of the real world has hit him sooner than he might have liked. It’s all very well to be on the mountain top, meeting with God, but the reality down below is far from perfect. / The unbelief of the crowd is also evident, because when he drives out the demon and the boy is left lying on the ground, many of the crowd conclude that he must be dead. But it isn’t their faith that’s important here. That’s made plain by the conversation that now takes place. The man says to Jesus "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." The failure of the disciples to heal the boy hasn’t helped the man’s faith. But Jesus needs to know just how much faith the man has. He says "If you can? Everything is possible to those who believe." Jesus has just been up on the mountain where he’s met with Moses and Elijah, and discussed the completion of his mission on earth. From that perspective anything is possible. If Jesus can overcome the power of sin and death, if he can rise from the dead, then he can certainly heal a boy who’s possessed by an evil spirit.
But his statement isn’t directed at the man’s faith. It isn’t the degree of faith of the man that’s important. That’s made clear by the man’s reply. "He immediately replies "I do believe; help my unbelief!" Isn’t that a great answer. Who of us can say, in the face of long term disease, "we believe God will heal this person." None of us can say that with any assurance. But we can say I do believe in a God of love. I do believe in the power of Jesus Christ over all evil in this world. I am willing to put my trust in Jesus that he’ll look after me, and the person I’m praying for.
And do you see, that’s all Jesus needs. Immediately he’s able to heal the boy. What was needed was the Father’s trust in Jesus. It doesn’t depend on the degree or quality or the quantity of faith that the man has. It depends on the relationship he has with Jesus. The man’s faith serves to link him with the ministry of Jesus. It’s the power of the master with whom we are joined by faith that matters, and of course within that relationship, there’s room for our faith to grow. The truth of all this is reinforced by Jesus’ explanation to his disciples. This type can come out only by prayer. Perhaps the disciples had already begun to rely on their own ability to heal, on their own faith. But the only thing that would budge a spirit like this was the power of God.
How do you cope with the realities of life that you come up against? Do you try to do it in your own strength like the disciples? Or do you rely on the power of God. Mountain top experiences are great things, but the test of them is when we come back to the real world, to a broken and hurting world where the glory of God is sometimes hidden. Then the test for us is whether we remember and trust what we’ve discovered on the mountain top. That everything is possible for those who believe in Jesus, because Jesus is far more powerful than anything we could ever imagine. That was the lesson the disciples needed to take with them from the mountain of transfiguration. It’s the lesson we need to continually remind ourselves of. This Jesus that they were following transcends any categories they may have had for him. He was the Son of God and no other. Everything was possible for him, and everything is possible for those who are joined to him through faith, because the name he has is far above every other name, it’s the name of the Son of God.
"Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." (Eph 3:20-21 NRSV)
