The Transfiguration of Jesus - Part 2

Audio on demand from Vision Christian Media. Well, we're studying the book of Mark. Today we're in the ninth chapter in the first ten verses. If you have a Bible, that will help a lot. You can follow right along as we go through the Scriptures.

This series is called In Search of the Savior. We are studying the last section of the book of Mark and the life of Jesus, which is so wonderfully told by Mark and Peter in this Gospel. So we'll get to our discussion of the transfiguration of Jesus in just a moment. Later this week we're going to talk about the unbelieving belief and who is the greatest. All of this from the Gospel of Mark.

Well today we're finishing up what we started on Friday as we conclude our discussion of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He did not cease to be God. He was God in the body. He was God taking flesh upon himself. The Bible says he tasted flesh, became a part of us. Through his whole earthly life, he never ever arbitrarily used his deity to his own advantage. The Bible says that he voluntarily limited himself from demonstrating that he was God.

He walked around as a man. He suffered the things you and I, and he never ever, in a moment when he was under pressure, almost said, I want you to see who I am, and then revealed himself. Only once did he do it, and it was on the Mount of Transfiguration, and on that day, a day never to be forgotten by those who were there, the Lord Jesus revealed himself to his disciples.

That was the first miracle, but if you read the story carefully, you'll discover that there was the miracle of Christ's appearance and the miracle of his associates. It says in verse 4, and Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. All of a sudden, in the light that surrounded Jesus, Peter, James, and John looked again, and Jesus was standing there with two other people. Elijah, who'd been gone for 900 years, and Moses, who'd been gone for 1400 years, are standing there having a conversation with Jesus in the light that surrounded him. We might ask, why Elijah and Moses? I want to think, why couldn't Jeremiah have gotten in on that?

That doesn't seem right. Why Elijah and Moses? Why were they chosen? Why not Abraham or Ezekiel?

Of course, only God knows the ultimate answer to that question, but here are some thoughts about it. First of all, both Moses and Elijah had already seen a little taste of the glory of God in the Old Testament on a mountain. Moses on Mount Sinai and Elijah on Mount Horeb, they had seen a little of the glory of God, so this was a kind of a reprise, if you will, for them. Both Moses and Elijah had made famous departures from this earth. The Bible says that when Moses died, God buried him and didn't tell anybody where the grave was. Somebody said God kissed him on Mount Pisgah, and nobody knows where he is to this day. Somebody said, well, why would God do that?

I don't know all the reasons, except he sure did shut down a concession stand in Israel, didn't he? Can you imagine going to Israel, and one day the tour takes you to the burial place of Moses? I don't know all the reasons for that, but the other side of it is that Elijah went to heaven in a chariot of fire. So, in essence, Moses illustrates what happens when you go to heaven by means of death, and Elijah illustrates what happens when you go to heaven by means of the rapture. Moses was the great lawgiver. Elijah was the great prophet. Oftentimes, when you read about the Old Testament in the scriptures, they talk about the law and the prophets in a general way. They talk about the law and the prophets in a general statement, and here are the two key figures from the law and the prophets. Moses was the founder of Israel's life, and Elijah was the restorer of Israel's life. Together, Moses and Elijah picture the continuity and the completeness of the Old Testament, and Moses and Elijah are standing together with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.

Peter, James, and John have just awakened. You see this incredible sight. Can you get into this? Can you see it in your mind's eye? Now, that brings us to the misunderstanding of the Transfiguration and one of the most strange and interesting moments in the Bible.

Let me just put it this way. If you were there, if you were Peter, James, and John, and you're on the mountain, and all of a sudden you see Jesus and his glory is revealed, and then you look again and you hear Moses and Elijah having a conversation with Jesus, and you're spellbound, wouldn't you think that would be a moment when you wouldn't know what to say and you would just be silent? Not Peter. Peter's got to say something.

The Bible says, listen to this, "'But Peter answered and said to Jesus, "'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'" Now, notice what it says, "'Because he did not know what to say.'" Do you know there are some people who talk because they have something to say, and there are others who talk because they have to say something.

Peter was the latter. Luke adds, "'He had not known what to say.'" I would just make a suggestion here that when you don't know what to say, keep your mouth shut. Let people think you're ignorant.

Don't open it and remove all doubt. Poor Peter. He could not help himself. What was he saying? He was saying, in essence, Lord, this is really great. It's good for us to be here.

I can't get over that. Yeah, I guess so. I mean, you're on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter. I guess it's good for us to be here. But what he was really saying, it's good for us to be here, and let's don't ever leave. Let's build us a little shrine for all three of you, and we'll just hang out up here for a long time. He didn't realize that the very purpose of the mountain was for them to leave the mountain and go to Jerusalem so that the sacrifice of the cross could take place. The Bible says, he said, Lord, it's good for us to be here. In essence, what he did without really thinking was he put Jesus on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Let's build three shrines for the three of you. So even though Peter has just seen the glory of the Lord in the Transfiguration, he's just witnessed the Lord demonstrating who he is.

He still has this issue in his life. In fact, we won't get to this, but as you go down to the end of the section in chapter 9, it says that as the disciples were coming down off the mountain, they were talking about the resurrection, trying to figure out what it meant. Wow. The misunderstanding concerning the Transfiguration. But that brings us to the key thing that I want to share with you, and I'll do this quickly. That is, why do I think this is the most important event between the birth and the death of Christ? Let me just say quickly, it's the only time during his earthly life where Jesus ever manifested his glory in such a way.

And so the first thing that I take away from this is that the Transfiguration is a presentation of Christ's glory. In the Old Testament, a cloud was a sign of the glory of God. The Shekinah glory, we are told, was in a luminous cloud. It was this cloud that led the Israelites through the wilderness.

Remember a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. This was the cloud that centered down over the temple in Ezekiel. Whatever that cloud showed up, this was God.

This was the cloud at Mount Sinai. And on this day, the glory of the Lord came down to Mount Hermon. And looking back on this moment, it was John who said, We beheld his glory. According to Matthew, in that moment he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. Luke adds, The appearance of his face was altered, and his robe became white and glistening.

What the three Gospel writers express is not some light shining down on him, but a light that came from within him, a translucence of light that came from his inner being that was so bright that it came out of his body and caused his clothing to become white. It was a picture, really, of the Jesus who would come out of the tomb three days after his death. It was a picture of the Jesus who would come in the clouds in great glory to set up his kingdom on this earth. It was a picture of the future triumphant Christ. And Almighty God wanted these three men to see it. He wanted them to know that God had a great plan for their future. We see in our lives today many challenges and many obstacles, and if we do not cultivate the ability to look ahead with the faith we have in the word of God, we can become very discouraged, can we not? If this is all there is, no, no, God has a great plan for you if you know him.

It is a plan that will enable you to get through the difficulties you're facing in your life. Transfiguration was a presentation of Christ's glory. Secondly, it was a proof of his deity. While all this was happening, we are told in verse 7 of the ninth chapter that a cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. Now, that's reminiscent of what happened at the baptism of Jesus.

Do you remember? It's almost the same statement. Back in Mark chapter 1 in verse 11, we read, then a voice came from heaven saying to Jesus as he was being baptized, you are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. At the transfiguration, it's almost the same, but the words are changed a little bit. At the transfiguration, before Peter, James, and John, we read in verse 7, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son, hear him. In the first statement, it was made to encourage Jesus, you are my beloved son.

In this statement, it was made to encourage Peter, James, and John. It was as if God in heaven was saying, you three, I don't want you to have any doubt about what's going on here. This one who's just revealed himself to you, are you listening? This is my beloved son, hear him. The disciples have been so slow to learn, like the blurred vision of the blind man that Jesus healed.

They could only see a little bit. They believe that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one, the Messiah, but at this point, they still do not understand that Jesus Christ is God, an almighty God through the pillar of cloud, through the word from heaven, through the demonstration of the deity of Christ in their visual perception. They have to understand, this Jesus is the Son of God. This Jesus is God walking around in a body.

Of course, that makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? If the one you're being asked to follow is just a good man, just a great teacher, just a guy who can do some miracles, that's pretty good. But if the one you've been asked to follow and submit to and deny yourself for is the Son of God, there's a lot more motivation in that, isn't there? Matthew says that when the three heard the voice from heaven, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid, which is the normal response people have when they see a vision of God, and Jesus touched them and said, do not be afraid. The Transfiguration is a presentation of Christ's glory and a proof of his deity. Here's one you will never pick up by just reading the book of Mark, but I want to share it with you.

The Transfiguration is a preview of Christ's glory. Now look back with me at the fourth verse in the ninth chapter and notice that when the three disciples got to the mountain and Jesus is standing there, that Elijah appeared to them with Moses and they were talking with Jesus. We wonder, if you're like me, I wonder what they were talking about. What does a man who's been gone for 1400 years and a man who's been gone for 900 years have to say to the living Son of God who's down here walking around in a body from heaven? And Mark doesn't tell us, but Luke does. Luke says, and behold, two men talked with Jesus who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his decease, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.

Do you know what they were talking about? Moses, Elijah, and Jesus were talking about Jesus' impending death in Jerusalem. And we know that Peter, James, and John were listening and we remember that when Jesus tried to tell them what he was going to do, he was going to go and suffer and be killed and be risen again. They didn't like it and didn't believe it and Peter rebuked Jesus for saying it, saying, you can do that. That's not what a Messiah does. And now Peter, James, and John are standing on the mountain. If they don't get it now, there's no hope because Almighty God brought somebody back from 1400 years, another from 900 years, and had the Lord Jesus Christ show himself in his glory and they're having a discussion about the coming death of the Lord Jesus in Jerusalem. And you want to say, got it?

And I need to tell you, not quite. Can you imagine the impact of this conversation on these three men, at least for a moment? Jesus and Moses and Elijah talking about the importance of the death of Christ to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament and provide redemption for all mankind.

What a moment that was. And then the transfiguration is also a picture of Christ exclusivity. After Peter made his obnoxious statement about the three tabernacles, the Bible says, suddenly, when the three looked around, they saw no one anymore but only Jesus with themselves.

As soon as the thought of any kind of equality between Jesus, Elijah, and Moses was raised to the surface, Elijah and Moses went back 1400 years and 900 years to where they started out. And Jesus is standing there all by himself. Remember the question Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? And some of them said you are Elijah and some say you're John the Baptist.

Some say you're a prophet, perhaps Moses from the Old Testament. And then Jesus said to Peter, who do you say I am? And he said, you are the Christ.

Here is an outflowing of that statement. Elijah and Moses are gone and Jesus is standing there by himself because in Jesus alone is salvation. And then Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. He didn't say, myself, Moses, and Elijah are the ways. He said, I am the way, the exclusivity of Jesus. And then one final note.

I cannot tell you the encouragement that this particular thought has given to me. The transfiguration is a promise of Christ's victory. I want to give you a little background to this mountain. Some of this I read in a book that someone gave me by a man named Robert Stearns, who is the president of World Vision.

And the book is called Unfinished. And out of nowhere this story just appeared. I'm getting ready to preach on this and it was almost too good to be true because normally I read those stories a week after I have preached.

And then I wished I'd have had them the week before. So I was really delighted to see this story. He writes that at the foot of Mount Hermon where Jesus was transfigured there is a place once called Panium where you can dip your feet into the headwaters of the Jordan River. At the base of the cliff there is an enormous gaping cave that tunnels deeply into the cliff wall and then downward and out of sight. It was in this cave in the classical world of Jesus that men believed this to be the entrance to the underworld.

They actually thought that this cave was where you ended up going to the underworld, to the gates of Hades. And it was on this very spot that Peter said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And though it's not in Mark, in Matthew we hear Jesus saying, Yes, Peter, on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

All this is happening right here on this spot. And in that very same spot, in the time of Jesus, a temple had been built, the Temple of Pan. It was a massive pagan temple built by Herod the Great and it stood imposingly over the entrance to this cave. And at the front of the column temple was an open altar perched at the very brink of this deep abyss and the pagan worshipers would come and offer animal and perhaps even human sacrifices on that altar and then they would cast their offerings into the abyss with the hope that the gods of the underworld would accept their sacrifices and respond by giving them a greater fertility and better harvests. And it was at this unholy place, this very spot, people believed the pagan gods to dwell, that the full divinity of Christ was first revealed. Jesus was transfigured in brilliant white light. God the Father spoke audibly and pronounced Jesus' true identity. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear him. In other words, the God of the universe knocked on the front door of the God of the underworld and revealed his true identity. And not long after this same Jesus marched into Jerusalem, went to the cross and stormed the gates of hell, it was D-Day.

And when I thought of that, I thought of all the problems you guys have, all the challenges I've had in my life, all the things we deal with every week that we don't know how to handle. And I was so filled with joy that the Jesus I preach is not just a good teacher, not just a miracle worker, he is the Son of God and he has declared war on the evil that is driving you crazy and one day he will win because he's already won it on the cross. And as I think back over the things we've studied, I'm reminded that this is the risen Son of God who stands in victory over disaster and stands in victory over disease and stands in victory over debt and stands in victory over despair and discouragement. This is the Jesus that we know. He's not just a good man, not one of the many teachers that postmodernism is glumping together for us all to believe in. He is the one and only Son of the living God who stands with his hands right up in the air in victory.

What Jesus demonstrated to the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration is what he is saying to us today. He's already won. Maybe it's time we start living like victors instead of like victims. We are on the winning team and there is victory ahead for all of us. Hallelujah. Amen.

Amen. Well, thank you for being with us today and for helping us get started in a new week of teaching from the book of Mark. Tomorrow here on Turning Point we're going to talk about unbelieving belief, how to believe when you're not believing. You won't believe what we learned.

Hope you'll join us then. I'm David Jeremiah. The message you just heard originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church where Dr. David Jeremiah serves as Senior Pastor.

Let us know how Turning Point keeps you spiritually strong. Write to us at Turning Point, Post Office Box 3838, San Diego, CA 92163 or visit our website at davidjeremiah.org forward slash radio. Ask for your copy of O. S. Hawkins' new book, The Bible Code, finding Jesus in every book in the Bible.

It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard Version, the New International Version, and the New King James Version, filled with hopeful notes and articles by Dr. Jeremiah. Visit davidjeremiah.org forward slash radio for details. I'm Gary Hooke Fleet. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series in search of the Saviour. That's here on Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah.