Mark 9:2-9

God's Powerpoint - The Transfiguration

In the fast forward world of the Gospel of Mark (especially the first eight chapters), we fast forward during this week's Gospel lesson to the Transfiguration. Perhaps Mark 9:1 is a bit of a sneak preview of what a few of the disciples -- Peter, James, and John -- are about to witness. Mark 9:1 says, "And he said to them, 'Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.'"

What could be more powerful from the kingdom perspective that a front row seat to an embodiment of the Law, the Prophets, and the Messiah? Six days pass between verse 1 and verse 2, and at that time three disciples watched as Jesus took them "up a high mountain apart" and was transfigured before them. The word "transfigured" can mean, according to the Oxford Dictionary, to be transformed into something more elevated or luminous.

In hindsight, we know that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. He was and is the exalted Son of God, sent to redeem all creation. But not everyone knew that, just as not everyone knows that now. So, God uses this luminous -- literally, "light-giving" -- moment as sort of a first-century Powerpoint. The three disciples were able to discern the answer to this fill-in-the blank Powerpoint-type illustration now standing before them. It's as if God through the presence of Jesus and His transfiguration was saying something like this: "OK, we have three really important aspects of faith that you have known since your childhood: the Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Messiah. Here we have Moses. What does he represent? The law! Here we have Elijah. What was he? The greatest of the prophets! Now, who is at the center?"

They knew it was Jesus, and they also knew that the answer in this context had to be, "The Messiah!" That is the power of the Transfiguration. It illuminates in a clear presentation, despite the lack of Powerpoint technology, that this One around whom they sleep and with whom they eat every day is indeed the anointed One sent by God to redeem all creation: Jesus the Messiah.

In Mark 9:11, they pause for a brief theological clarification. They had just seen a transfigured vision of Elijah, but wasn't he supposed to come before the Messiah? Jesus answers their question, which may have flowed as much out of shock as out of deep theological inquiry: "But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written about him," Jesus says.

Before that, though, two of Mark's key devices, speed and mystery, enter into the actual transfiguration event. In verse 8, "suddenly" (one of Mark's favorite words) they look around and see only Jesus. The Law and Prophets indeed come together in the Messiah, whom they now recognize as Jesus. In 9:9, Jesus orders them not to tell anyone until "after the Son of Man has risen from the dead." This likely creates more questions, all of which are answered in due time. For now, they have seen Jesus. They have heard the voice of the Father acknowledging Him (9:7). They, like we, are now faced with the question of how we are going to live in response to that.