Mark 9:5, commentary and pictures

On a lonely mountainside at night Jesus steps apart to pray for strength to endure and for His disciples' faith, taking only Peter, James, and John, who first pray with Him and then fall asleep from weariness. Awakened to His transfiguration glory, Peter in amazement and joy says it is good to be there and proposes making three shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah so they may remain. He mistakenly thinks Elijah has come as foretold and Christ's earthly kingdom is about to be established with heavenly protection from death in Jerusalem, forgetting that suffering and death are necessary to complete redemption. The scene fulfills Christ's promise that some standing with Him would see the kingdom of God come with power, showing that kingdom in miniature near the close of His ministry. Jesus is revealed in heavenly glory with shining face and glistening garments while the Father's voice from the cloud proclaims Him the Son to be heard, and Moses the resurrected and Elijah the translated stand with Him as those to be raised and those to be changed alive at His coming, and as the law and the prophets in agreement with the gospel. They speak with Him of His coming death to comfort and strengthen Him, giving proof He is the Messiah whose shameful death is part of God's plan, to hold the disciples' faith through His humiliation and crucifixion.

Setting and Peter's Proposal

The saying takes place on a lonely mountainside at night after a day of traveling and teaching and a wearying climb as the light of the setting sun fades from hill and valley. Jesus leads only Peter, James, and John with Him, because not all even of the twelve can receive the revelation, because these three have been brought into the closest relationship with Him, and because they are to witness His anguish in Gethsemane. He steps a little aside from them to pray with strong crying and tears for strength to endure the test in behalf of humanity, for a fresh hold on Omnipotence in order to contemplate the future, and for His disciples that their faith may not fail in the hour of the power of darkness. His burden is that they may be given a manifestation of the glory He had with the Father before the world was, that His kingdom may be revealed to human eyes and His disciples strengthened to behold it, to lighten their grief by assurance that their faith has not been in vain and to comfort them in the hour of His supreme agony with the knowledge that He is of a surety the Son of God and that His shameful death is part of the plan of redemption. At first they unite their prayers with His in sincere devotion, then overcome with weariness they fall asleep even while trying to retain interest in the scene.

Overwhelmed, amazed, and overjoyed by the transfiguration glory, Peter says it is good to be there and proposes making three shelters, one each for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. His words show that he wants to remain in this glorious scene, which gives the disciples a glimpse of Christ's future glory to strengthen their faith for His humiliation and crucifixion. In that moment he recognizes the goodness of being in Christ's presence on the mount.

In his amazement he mistakenly thinks Elijah has come as prophecy foretold and that Christ's kingdom is about to be established on earth. He imagines the heavenly visitors may protect Jesus from the fate awaiting Him in Jerusalem and help establish His kingdom on earth and His earthly authority. In his excitement and joy he forgets that Jesus' suffering and death are necessary to complete the plan of salvation and redemption, and that salvation can be completed only through that suffering and death.

Kingdom Revealed in Miniature

The mountain scene fulfills the promise that some standing with Him would not see death till they saw the kingdom of God come with power, showing the kingdom of Christ in miniature near the close of His earthly ministry. Jesus is clothed with the glory of Heaven and proclaimed by the Father's voice to be the Son of God. The disciples behold His majesty and hear God declare Him His beloved Son and command them to hear Him.

His countenance is changed and shines like the sun and His clothing is white and glistening, revealed in excellent majesty as His divine glory normally veiled by His humanity shines through. The disciples see as much of that glory as human beings could bear, while God lifts Him above humanity to commune with Him. The Father's voice issues from the overshadowing cloud of radiant glory, in terrible yet excellent majesty declaring Jesus to be His beloved Son to be heard, beheld by the disciples in fear and astonishment. That honor and glory from God the Father is given on the holy mount as at His baptism, one of two occasions when God's voice proclaims Christ as His Son.

Moses and Elijah appear with Jesus as messengers from Heaven bearing God's glory. Moses, who was resurrected, represents those who will be raised from the dead at Christ's second coming, and Elijah, who was translated to Heaven without seeing death, represents those who will be living on earth at the second advent and be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye from mortal to immortal and be translated to Heaven without tasting death. Together they also represent the law and the prophets, showing that Old Testament teachings are not set aside by the gospel but agree with it and are embraced by the new dispensation. They are sent and chosen rather than angels because they have experience in earth's trials, to talk with Jesus about the sufferings and death He will face in Jerusalem and to comfort, strengthen, and bear God's glory to Him.

The manifestation gives strong proof that Jesus is the promised Messiah and truly the Son of God and a visible sign and symbol of His divinity and kingdom, with God's voice declaring Him His Son and Moses and Elijah honoring Him, to remove doubts about His Sonship. It assures that His shameful death is part of God's plan of redemption and points to the necessity of His death for His glory, the Father's glory, and humanity's sharing in that glory. The glory is given to lighten grief by assurance that faith has not been in vain and to strengthen the disciples' faith so they will not cast away confidence or lose faith entirely in bitter sorrow at His humiliation, betrayal, and crucifixion, and to strengthen Jesus Himself before His betrayal and crucifixion. In a brief space the mountain glory is followed by descent to meet the demon-distorted, afflicted child in agony and lift and restore him freed to his father, contrasting heavenly glory with suffering in need of healing.

Witness and Present Application

Peter was on the holy mount with Jesus as an eyewitness of His majesty, and there he saw and heard much that pertained to the kingdom of God. He saw Christ receive honor and glory from God the Father and heard the voice from the excellent glory declare Him the beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. That eyewitness experience qualifies him to speak of the purposes of God concerning the human race, and shows that his message about the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is not cunningly devised fables but truth. In Gethsemane the disciples remembered that transfiguration glory, recalling the glory around Jesus and God's voice from the cloud. That memory helped reassure them that God had taken Jesus in charge and that an angel was present to protect Him. Remembering that scene and the voice heard there strengthened their faith that Jesus was the Son of God and gave them hope during His trial that He would reveal His power and deliver Himself.

Peter with Christ on the mount of transfiguration recognized the goodness of being in Christ's presence, yet the mount experience is not an end in itself. Below the mount people are waiting to be freed through faith and prayer, and closeness to Christ is shown in self-sacrificing labor for their salvation. The mountain also serves as an image of ascent into a life of duty, toil, self-sacrifice, and devotion, a spiritual ascent marked by knowledge and love. On that mount Jesus was glorified by His Father before His betrayal and crucifixion, and this glory strengthened Him for the sufferings ahead. That same transfiguration glory points to the glory that will attend God's faithful people in their final conflict.