Mark 9:2-9 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Last Sunday After the Epiphany: The Transfiguration of Our Lord Sunday, February 14, 2021 “Get to Know Jesus in His Heavenly Glory”
“Come here; you’ve got to see this.” I’ve probably said that at times when I was amazed by the sunrise or the sunset in the window and thought someone else would appreciate it. I’ve maybe whispered something like that when I saw a snake or a coyote or some other wildlife that someone else might want to see. I can imagine saying it, and perhaps you can too, about all sorts of surprising, amazing, beautiful, or maybe just extremely unusual sights. Today, I am saying it about what we see in God’s Word in Mark’s Gospel. You have to see this. That’s pretty much what Jesus must have said to his three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Mark records that Jesus took them with him and led them up the mountain. No, it doesn’t sound like he gave them a warning that they were going to see something amazing, but he wanted them there to see it. And see it they did. They saw Jesus change. We use the word “transfiguration” to describe what happened, but that’s a word that we don’t use anywhere else, so it maybe doesn’t tell us a whole lot. The Greek that Mark and other Gospel writers use to describe it says that there was a metamorphosis, a definite and distinct change. Matthew and Luke both talk about the face of Jesus shining, and Mark says that “His clothes became radiant, dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them.” Come and see along with those disciples what happened to Jesus. They went up the mountain by themselves and at the top, Jesus began to shine with a bright and blinding light. He showed forth this bright, heavenly glory. Today in our sermon we are gazing along with those chosen disciples on the heavenly glory of Jesus. We get to know Jesus even better as we see this heavenly glory. The glory shows us who he really is, and it shows us who we really are. We have been getting to know Jesus for a number of weeks in our worship services. Well, that’s our theme for these several weeks, even though we get to know Jesus better in all of our worship services. And a lot of what we have learned about Jesus reminds us that he often seems different than he really is. Most people who saw Jesus would have said that he looked just like any ordinary human being. Sure, he taught with authority, he had people who followed him to learn from him, but there was nothing obvious that suggested he was anything more than a human being just like they were. And, of course, Jesus was a true human being just like they were, but he was also much more. He was and still is—in fact, he always was and he always will be—true God. The Father’s voice said as much on the occasion of his baptism. The same voice said the same thing again on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured. And for a few shining moments on that mountain, Jesus showed who he really was, that he was more than just an ordinary human being. He showed that he is and was true God as he allowed his heavenly glory to shine forth. This wasn’t a trick. It wasn’t a reflection of the sun or even a reflection of heavenly glory shining on Jesus. It was his glory shining forth. He is God. He is the eternal and almighty God clothed in human flesh and bones and blood. He is God himself and a human being just like us. And it is important for us to know Jesus this way. It is important for us to realize that he is more than a selfhelp guru whose books we can read and whose advice we can take to make our lives better. He is more than a great teacher who opens our eyes to new knowledge and understanding. He is even more than a prophet who speaks God’s Word, though he certainly does that. He is God himself come into or world to save us. He is God keeping the promise that he made to people to send a serpent-crusher, to send a chosen one, to send a servant who would suffer and die for the world’s sin. That bright light that shone from Jesus indicated that there was much more to him than what was usually seen, that there was a truth that almost always remained hidden during his earthly ministry. It showed the disciples, and it shows us, that he had a heavenly purpose. Our lives are so obviously connected to the physical world around us. We need food and sunshine and fresh air and all of these wonderful things that God gives us, but we can also focus on those things so exclusively that we forget that God has made us to be in a relationship with him, that God has a spiritual purpose in mind for us, that God has a heavenly goal for us. That light of the heavenly glory of Jesus reminds us that God has more in store for us than this life and this world with all its
troubles and trials and cares. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t care about how our earthly lives go, he most certainly does. But the heavenly glory of Jesus is his true glory. Seeing even a glimpse of who Jesus really is reminds us that he is even more concerned with our eternal lives. And that is why we also need to use that shining glory of Jesus to look at who we really are. Peter was on the mountain, and even in that unusual setting, he was still the one to speak up. He said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” That sounds good. What could be better than to see the heavenly glory of Jesus and to be witnesses of a conversation between him and those Old Testament heroes of faith? Why wouldn’t the disciples want to stay there on the mountain? The question sounds fine until we also read the note that Mark makes: Peter didn’t know what to say because he and James and John were terrified. What would you think if you saw God shining in his heavenly glory? How would you react as your whole world was upended by that moment? What would you think if you saw and recognized Moses and Elijah standing there alive in front of you? I don’t know what you would say or what I would say, but I have a feeling that we would be terrified. The disciples already knew that Jesus was different; they knew that he was special. They had devoted their lives to following him. But the heavenly light of Jesus’ glory shone on them on the mountaintop in a way that they couldn’t avoid. They couldn’t help but notice how unworthy they were to see the sight. They couldn’t help but be struck by the contrast between that bright light and the darkness of their sins. People love to think or suppose that they can approach God on their own, that they can understand him and that they can have a relationship with him. But to the core of their being they know it is not true. Their consciences cry out that they are sinners. Their sufferings and uncertainties gnaw at them to look for a certainty and a relief from outside of themselves. And God’s own Word reinforces what people naturally know: God is holy and we are not. We never have been. And we are terrified. If we have not been terrified, then we have not really seen or considered the glory and power of God. But God terrifies us so that he can comfort us. He does not leave us in our terror, in our fear, or in our sins. The voice from heaven proclaimed again about Jesus, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” And when the disciples looked up, they were once again alone with Jesus. There he was, not to terrify in his heavenly glory, but to befriend them and comfort them and ultimately to die for them. This is God’s own beloved Son hiding his glory so that he can do the work of saving the world. And we ought to listen to him and to trust him. The true heavenly glory of Jesus Christ remains hidden…for now. The bright light stopped shining on the mountain, and when Jesus and his disciples returned to the plains below, Jesus looked like any other human being and like nothing more. He even told his disciples that they should keep quiet what they had witnessed on the mountain, at least for a while. What was coming next was going to look very different. It would seem as far from glory as possible to those witnessing it. Jesus was headed to suffering and he was headed toward death. But what did he tell his disciples? He said, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until I have risen from the dead.” What could be more glorious than that? What could be more glorious than completing the work of salvation and rising to life in triumph? So, here’s the pattern, not just for Jesus, but also for those who follow him: the glory is real. It is there. It is his, and he shares it with those he has called to be his own. But it is hidden. Not everyone notices. Our lives as Christians may not always seem much different than those of the unbelievers around us. We get sick. We suffer. We lose loved ones. We struggle with questions and fears and uncertainties. The glory that is ours as forgiven children of God is hidden, and it will remain hidden to some degree until the very end. When we are in haven with Jesus, we will shine with the glory that he has given to us. Thanks be to God that he gives us little glimpses of that glory, like this one at the top of the mountain of Christ’s transfiguration. He lets us know the truth: that he looks at us as he beloved children whose sins are forgiven. He lets us peer into the heavenly glory so that we will continue to say to ourselves and to others: “Come here, into God’s Word, you have got to see this.” And one day he will grant that we will see the fullness of his heavenly glory.
The Text: Mark 9:2–9 (EHV) 2After
six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain where they were alone by themselves. There he was transfigured in front of them. 3His clothes became radiant, dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. 4And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5Peter
said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6He did not know what to say because they were terrified. 7A
cloud appeared and overshadowed them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him.” 8Suddenly, 9As
when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.
they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.