Peter Writes His Last Letter Remembering the TransfigurationBible World
9:4Mark 9:4
And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
On a lonely mountainside at night, while Jesus prayed for strength to endure His coming suffering, Moses, who had died and been raised with a glorified body, and Elijah, who had been taken to heaven without seeing death, appeared in glory talking with Him about His death at Jerusalem. The Father sent them as bearers of light, men who had known earthly trial and sorrow, to glorify His Son and strengthen Him for betrayal and the cross. Their presence fulfilled His promise that some would see the kingdom of God come with power, showing it in miniature, with Moses representing those raised from the dead at His return and Elijah representing those who will be living and translated without seeing death. The glory shining through His humanity was given to the three disciples to prove He is the promised Messiah and Son of God, so their faith would not fail when He was humiliated and crucified. Their standing with Him also showed that the law and the prophets agree with His gospel and are not abolished by it.
Night on the Mount
The setting is night on a lonely mountainside, reached by a toilsome evening ascent after a day spent in traveling and teaching. Jesus steps aside there to pray with strong crying and tears for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity, for a fresh hold upon Omnipotence as He contemplates the future, and for His disciples that their faith may not fail in the hour of the power of darkness. The weary disciples at first join Him in prayer and then fall asleep.
Only Peter, James, and John are brought to witness what follows, the same three who will witness His anguish in Gethsemane. Not even all the twelve can receive the revelation He desires to give, and these three are permitted it because they stand in the closest relationship with Christ. It is James with Peter and John who thus beholds Jesus glorified, and John is one of the three who witnesses Christ's glory on the mount.
The two who appear with Him are heavenly beings with distinct histories. Moses had died and was raised to immortal life with a resurrected, glorified body, and Elijah had been granted the rare privilege of being translated to heaven without seeing death. Moses had been greatly honored by God, privileged to speak with God on Sinai face to face as a man speaks with his friend, and God had revealed to him His excellent glory as He had never done to any other. Elijah is the one who had been translated, never experiencing death.
The Father sent them as bearers of light and glory to bring heaven's glory to the Son. Their errand is to talk with Him about the completion of His mission, especially the sufferings and death He will face at Jerusalem. They come to comfort and strengthen Him in His coming agony by bearing God's glory to Him.
God chose for this talk men who had lived as human beings and experienced earthly trials, sorrow, and suffering, so that they could sympathize with Jesus, rather than choosing angels. Elijah's prophetic work had in some degree represented Christ's, and Moses had led Israel in Christ's place, communing with Him and following His directions. Their own experience of human sorrow and suffering enabled them to sympathize with Him as they discussed the completion of His mission.
Strength Before Suffering
The appearing of Elias with Moses talking with Jesus was the answer to His prayer on the mountain, a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, given to glorify Him and to strengthen Him before His betrayal and crucifixion and to prepare Him for coming suffering. That glory lightened the gloom of the disciples with assurance that their faith had not been in vain and comforted them for His supreme agony with the knowledge that His shameful death was part of the plan of redemption. His kingdom was thus revealed to human eyes so that they were strengthened to behold it.
The scene gave the disciples a glimpse of Christ's future glory, His divine glory shining through His humanity as much as human beings could bear, to strengthen their faith for His humiliation and crucifixion. It was given to greatly strengthen faith and to give strong proof that He is the promised Messiah and of a surety the Son of God, confirmed by their presence together with God's declaration of Jesus as His Son and by Moses and Elijah appearing in heavenly glory and paying Him homage. So they would not lose confidence completely or entirely cast away faith as vain in bitter sorrow and disappointment when He was crucified, but would endure His humiliation and crucifixion. Their appearance also brought Him heaven's glory and comfort by discussing the completion of His mission, especially the suffering He would face at Jerusalem, helping them understand His death was necessary for His glory and the Father's glory and humanity's sharing in that glory. God chose men who had lived as human beings and experienced earthly trials, sorrow, and suffering so they could sympathize with Jesus, rather than choosing angels.
In a brief space Jesus was transfigured, His countenance changed and shining like the sun and His raiment white and glistening, displaying His excellent majesty and clothed with the glory of Heaven, honored by these favored servants and paying homage. His divine glory shone through His humanity and He conversed with the heavenly visitors while His disciples saw as much of that glory as human beings could bear, and God acknowledged His Son, exalting Him above humanity to commune with Him. The disciples beheld this with fear and astonishment under the overshadowing radiant cloud and heard God's voice in terrible majesty declaring Jesus His beloved Son and commanding them to hear Him. This proclaiming of Christ as His Son was one of two occasions before the cross when the Father's voice publicly witnessed to Christ, the other being His baptism.
The disciples did not understand that Jesus must suffer and die to complete the plan of salvation, mistaking Elijah's appearance as the fulfillment of prophecy for an earthly kingdom. Peter thought the heavenly visitors would protect Jesus from death and establish His rule on earth while they saw Him glorified and honored by these favored servants of God.
Only a few short hours later the mountain glory contrasts with the descent to grief, where He stooped to lift the demon-tormented lunatic child wallowing on the ground with distorted countenance and restored him to his father freed from the demon's power. That contrast presents redemption as the Divine One stooping to save the lost, shown in divine glory and proclaimed the Son of God on the mountain and then descending to rescue the suffering boy. His servants must not only experience spiritual illumination but must leave it to work among those enslaved by Satan in the plain, who need faith and prayer to be set free.
What Peter saw and heard pertaining to the kingdom and God's purposes for the human race, as an eyewitness of Christ's majesty and of the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His receiving honor and glory from the Father in the holy mount when the voice came from heaven declaring Him the beloved Son, qualifies him to speak of those purposes and shows believers' hope is certainty and not fable. The disciples remembered that glory and voice from the cloud in Gethsemane as proof God was with Jesus, and when heavenly glory was revealed again there with the angel's presence it reassured them that God had taken Jesus in charge to protect Him from His foes.
Kingdom in Miniature
The appearing fulfills the promise that some standing with Him would not see death and would not taste death till they saw the kingdom of God come with power, by presenting the kingdom of Christ in miniature as a small-scale picture of Christ's kingdom and of the events of His return and second appearing. In that miniature Jesus is clothed with the glory of Heaven, His countenance changed and shining like the sun and His raiment white and glistening in excellent majesty, and He is proclaimed by the Father's voice from the overshadowing cloud to be the Son of God. The disciples beheld this with fear and astonishment, hearing God's voice in terrible majesty declaring Jesus His beloved Son and commanding them to hear Him.
Moses standing present with Jesus represents those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming and second advent and second appearing. Elijah, who was translated to Heaven without seeing death and taken without dying, represents those who will be living on earth at Christ's second appearing and second coming, who will be alive then and will be changed from mortal to immortal and translated to Heaven without seeing death. Together their talking with Him makes the transfiguration the heavenly glory witnessed by the disciples.
Their presence represents the law and the prophets and shows that the Old Testament teachings agree with Christ's gospel and are not abolished by it, with the new dispensation including the old. Moses, who had died and been raised to immortal life, stood there alongside Elijah, who had been translated, both sent as bearers of light and glory from the Father to the Son. His presence fulfilled his long-standing prayer to enter the inheritance, for he stood on the goodly mountain in the heritage of his people bearing witness to Christ in whom the promises to Israel centered. The Mount of Transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus is also an image of the demanding ascent appointed to women, a life of strength, endurance, work, self-sacrifice, and devotion to knowledge and love.
On a lonely mountainside at night, while Jesus prayed for strength to endure His coming suffering, Moses, who had died and been raised with a glorified body, and Elijah, who had been taken to heaven without seeing death, appeared in glory talking with Him about His death at Jerusalem. The Father sent them as bearers of light, men who had known earthly trial and sorrow, to glorify His Son and strengthen Him for betrayal and the cross. Their presence fulfilled His promise that some would see the kingdom of God come with power, showing it in miniature, with Moses representing those raised from the dead at His return and Elijah representing those who will be living and translated without seeing death. The glory shining through His humanity was given to the three disciples to prove He is the promised Messiah and Son of God, so their faith would not fail when He was humiliated and crucified. Their standing with Him also showed that the law and the prophets agree with His gospel and are not abolished by it.
Night on the Mount
The setting is night on a lonely mountainside, reached by a toilsome evening ascent after a day spent in traveling and teaching. Jesus steps aside there to pray with strong crying and tears for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity, for a fresh hold upon Omnipotence as He contemplates the future, and for His disciples that their faith may not fail in the hour of the power of darkness. The weary disciples at first join Him in prayer and then fall asleep.
Only Peter, James, and John are brought to witness what follows, the same three who will witness His anguish in Gethsemane. Not even all the twelve can receive the revelation He desires to give, and these three are permitted it because they stand in the closest relationship with Christ. It is James with Peter and John who thus beholds Jesus glorified, and John is one of the three who witnesses Christ's glory on the mount.
The two who appear with Him are heavenly beings with distinct histories. Moses had died and was raised to immortal life with a resurrected, glorified body, and Elijah had been granted the rare privilege of being translated to heaven without seeing death. Moses had been greatly honored by God, privileged to speak with God on Sinai face to face as a man speaks with his friend, and God had revealed to him His excellent glory as He had never done to any other. Elijah is the one who had been translated, never experiencing death.
The Father sent them as bearers of light and glory to bring heaven's glory to the Son. Their errand is to talk with Him about the completion of His mission, especially the sufferings and death He will face at Jerusalem. They come to comfort and strengthen Him in His coming agony by bearing God's glory to Him.
God chose for this talk men who had lived as human beings and experienced earthly trials, sorrow, and suffering, so that they could sympathize with Jesus, rather than choosing angels. Elijah's prophetic work had in some degree represented Christ's, and Moses had led Israel in Christ's place, communing with Him and following His directions. Their own experience of human sorrow and suffering enabled them to sympathize with Him as they discussed the completion of His mission.
Strength Before Suffering
The appearing of Elias with Moses talking with Jesus was the answer to His prayer on the mountain, a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, given to glorify Him and to strengthen Him before His betrayal and crucifixion and to prepare Him for coming suffering. That glory lightened the gloom of the disciples with assurance that their faith had not been in vain and comforted them for His supreme agony with the knowledge that His shameful death was part of the plan of redemption. His kingdom was thus revealed to human eyes so that they were strengthened to behold it.
The scene gave the disciples a glimpse of Christ's future glory, His divine glory shining through His humanity as much as human beings could bear, to strengthen their faith for His humiliation and crucifixion. It was given to greatly strengthen faith and to give strong proof that He is the promised Messiah and of a surety the Son of God, confirmed by their presence together with God's declaration of Jesus as His Son and by Moses and Elijah appearing in heavenly glory and paying Him homage. So they would not lose confidence completely or entirely cast away faith as vain in bitter sorrow and disappointment when He was crucified, but would endure His humiliation and crucifixion. Their appearance also brought Him heaven's glory and comfort by discussing the completion of His mission, especially the suffering He would face at Jerusalem, helping them understand His death was necessary for His glory and the Father's glory and humanity's sharing in that glory. God chose men who had lived as human beings and experienced earthly trials, sorrow, and suffering so they could sympathize with Jesus, rather than choosing angels.
In a brief space Jesus was transfigured, His countenance changed and shining like the sun and His raiment white and glistening, displaying His excellent majesty and clothed with the glory of Heaven, honored by these favored servants and paying homage. His divine glory shone through His humanity and He conversed with the heavenly visitors while His disciples saw as much of that glory as human beings could bear, and God acknowledged His Son, exalting Him above humanity to commune with Him. The disciples beheld this with fear and astonishment under the overshadowing radiant cloud and heard God's voice in terrible majesty declaring Jesus His beloved Son and commanding them to hear Him. This proclaiming of Christ as His Son was one of two occasions before the cross when the Father's voice publicly witnessed to Christ, the other being His baptism.
The disciples did not understand that Jesus must suffer and die to complete the plan of salvation, mistaking Elijah's appearance as the fulfillment of prophecy for an earthly kingdom. Peter thought the heavenly visitors would protect Jesus from death and establish His rule on earth while they saw Him glorified and honored by these favored servants of God.
Only a few short hours later the mountain glory contrasts with the descent to grief, where He stooped to lift the demon-tormented lunatic child wallowing on the ground with distorted countenance and restored him to his father freed from the demon's power. That contrast presents redemption as the Divine One stooping to save the lost, shown in divine glory and proclaimed the Son of God on the mountain and then descending to rescue the suffering boy. His servants must not only experience spiritual illumination but must leave it to work among those enslaved by Satan in the plain, who need faith and prayer to be set free.
What Peter saw and heard pertaining to the kingdom and God's purposes for the human race, as an eyewitness of Christ's majesty and of the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His receiving honor and glory from the Father in the holy mount when the voice came from heaven declaring Him the beloved Son, qualifies him to speak of those purposes and shows believers' hope is certainty and not fable. The disciples remembered that glory and voice from the cloud in Gethsemane as proof God was with Jesus, and when heavenly glory was revealed again there with the angel's presence it reassured them that God had taken Jesus in charge to protect Him from His foes.
Kingdom in Miniature
The appearing fulfills the promise that some standing with Him would not see death and would not taste death till they saw the kingdom of God come with power, by presenting the kingdom of Christ in miniature as a small-scale picture of Christ's kingdom and of the events of His return and second appearing. In that miniature Jesus is clothed with the glory of Heaven, His countenance changed and shining like the sun and His raiment white and glistening in excellent majesty, and He is proclaimed by the Father's voice from the overshadowing cloud to be the Son of God. The disciples beheld this with fear and astonishment, hearing God's voice in terrible majesty declaring Jesus His beloved Son and commanding them to hear Him.
Moses standing present with Jesus represents those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming and second advent and second appearing. Elijah, who was translated to Heaven without seeing death and taken without dying, represents those who will be living on earth at Christ's second appearing and second coming, who will be alive then and will be changed from mortal to immortal and translated to Heaven without seeing death. Together their talking with Him makes the transfiguration the heavenly glory witnessed by the disciples.
Their presence represents the law and the prophets and shows that the Old Testament teachings agree with Christ's gospel and are not abolished by it, with the new dispensation including the old. Moses, who had died and been raised to immortal life, stood there alongside Elijah, who had been translated, both sent as bearers of light and glory from the Father to the Son. His presence fulfilled his long-standing prayer to enter the inheritance, for he stood on the goodly mountain in the heritage of his people bearing witness to Christ in whom the promises to Israel centered. The Mount of Transfiguration where Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus is also an image of the demanding ascent appointed to women, a life of strength, endurance, work, self-sacrifice, and devotion to knowledge and love.