Mark 9:2-9
Today is the last Sunday after Epiphany, where we celebrate that Jesus came as a light to all the world, not just the Jews. In whose face (as Paul tells us in today’s magnificent NT reading) is the very light of the knowledge of the glory of God!
Today Mark’s gospel shows us exactly who this Jesus of Nazareth is. He is the Christ, the Son of God.
Our passage begins, “Six days later...” (v.2). So to put today’s gospel in context: six earlier, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus had asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They answered, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets.’
But Jesus was always teaching and training his disciples for the time they would enter into the work the Father has for them after Jesus’s return to the Father, so Jesus replies, ‘But who do you say that I am.’
The remarkable reply from Peter (as we spoke about last year for two weeks) is a pivot point in the gospel; Peter answers, ‘You are the Christ (Messiah).’
Jesus then tells them that the Son of Man must be killed, but will be raised on the third day. Six days after Peter Confesses Jesus as Christ and Lord, today’s gospel begins.
Jesus takes his three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, up to a mountain top so they can witness who Jesus really is. It will make no sense to them until the resurrection, and they won’t know what to do with it until Pentecost. But right here is the moment.
In the Scriptures, clouds often signify the presence of God. The voice of God here echoes what was said at Jesus baptism when he says out of the cloud ‘This is my beloved son, listen to him.’ This time there is no confusion as to whether the words are addressed to Jesus or to those watching—the audience of the three disciples are invited to listen to him.
Jesus is not simply one like Moses or Elijah (who both encountered God upon a mountain); he far transcends them as the Son of the Living God, the one in whom we encounter God’s own presence and glory.
Jesus was letting the disciples know this is what he really looks like. In any relationship, it takes time to understand and get to know someone, and even with people we know well, there are times when we gain particular insight into their character by something they do or say which gives us fresh insight into who they are.
This seems to be how the Transfiguration works for the three disciples and offers key insights into who Jesus is. As we come into the season of Lent, we are reminded that Jesus is the Son of God who came so that we may have abundant life in him.
I don’t think the story of the transfiguration is there to tell us we can all have a mountain top experience of God. I think it’s there to reveal to us, too, who Jesus really is. It feels like Jesus here lets Peter, James, and John peer behind the curtain to see spiritual reality and truth.
So let’s have a peep behind the curtain ourselves.
Jesus takes just Peter, James, and John to pray with him. Now in Luke’s account of the Transfiguration, they are, incredibly, they are heavy with sleep when they get to the top of the mountain.
Can you think of another occasion where Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to pray with him to a mountain top and they fall asleep? It made me straight away think of the garden of Gethsemane.
I think this shows something of the disciples’ inability to comprehend Jesus. On the mountain top, the divinity of Christ is revealed to them. After being literally petrified with fear, they are woken by the touch of Jesus, a touch from the King of kings.
The word used to describe Jesus’ dazzling appearance is the same as that used to describe lightning. The disciples are woken out of their ignorance, their spiritual sleeping, to see the light of Christ Jesus, Son of God.
Now shortly, in the garden of Gethsemane, it will be the full humanity of Jesus, Son of Man, that is also fully revealed to them. They are woken up by Jesus to see him going to his death.
The fact that they are asleep on both occasions speaks to me of the difficulty of really comprehending who Jesus is, who God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is – the deep Trinitarian mystery at the heart of our faith.
I once went to a Greek Orthodox service and spoke to the Orthodox priest afterwards and he was telling me about the iconostasis, which is the screen that is put up in front of the altar in Orthodox churches.
On occasions, the screen is opened up for people to see through. This only happens at certain times such as Easter week. It made me think about how we as Christians only see rare glimpses of God.
Much of the time we are either asleep, like the disciples, or experiencing hardship, rather than seeing the glory of God on the mountain top. Indeed if we were really to see God in all His glory we would be perplexed and terrified, just as Peter, James and John were. I’m not sure the experience they had was altogether comfortable!
So Peter, James and John are woken up from their sleep by this lightning flashing and discern that Jesus is speaking to the two great figures of Judaism – Moses and Elijah. These were men who were long-dead. What this does is point to the reality of the resurrection.
Peter decides he needs to do something. Don’t you just love Peter? I think if he were around today, he’d have tried to take a selfie. His response is to want to make tents for Jesus, Elijah and Moses. Perhaps he was trying to preserve what he could see – in the way we might take a photo now.
Perhaps he was trying to be religious, showing how he wanted to worship. What is interesting is that as soon as he suggests making these tents the cloud descends with the voice of God.
The cloud and voice intervene just as Peter is trying to give equal importance to Moses, Elijah and Jesus. But we know that Jesus is the very image of God, the firstborn over all creation (Colossians 1:15).
Jesus is not equal to Moses and Elijah, he is their God.
Moses represents for Jews the Law and Elijah represents the prophets. What happens on the mountain is a visual representation of what Jesus says in Matthew’s gospel; “‘do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them’” (Matthew 5:17).
Peter, James and John are given a revelation of who Jesus really is. We see quite clearly that Jesus is God himself. He’s not just a good teacher, he is God incarnate, Son of Man, Son of God.
So just before the contemplative and sometimes difficult season of Lent, we are given a glimpse of who Jesus really is, resurrected, ascended, glorified. This is the reality we keep in our minds as we journey towards Easter.
So be encouraged as we go into Lent. The resurrected Christ is with us throughout our journey of life, whether we are in darkness, or whether we are on top of a mountain. He journeys with us and is the only one we should listen to. Let me pray ...