Have you ever dreamed about becoming more than you are, or different? We like the idea of transforming whatever we don’t like about ourselves into something more attractive, more svelte, or more talented. 

 

Superhero movies feed the fantasy that seemingly ordinary people can quickly transform into more exciting personas. Clark Kent rips off his shirt to reveal a Superman logo. Diana Prince twirls around and becomes Wonder Woman. Bruce Banner gets really stressed and morphs into the Incredible Hulk—as likely to go on a rampage as to be helpful. 

 

We may transform in lesser ways, and not always in a good way. Facing enough stress, a normally calm person can suddenly act in ways that are totally out of character. But, a normally shy person may also reveal unexpected moxie and strength.

 

Our text describes a true story of transformation. Mark 9:2-8, like the parallel accounts in Matthew 17 and Luke 9, describes the fascination and frustration of Jesus’ three closest friends when they were granted a glimpse of his eternal identity.  

 

 

 

Sometime well into his ministry, Jesus led his disciples into the northernmost regions of Israel, not far from the new city of Caesarea-Philippi, a beautiful and fertile area near the foot of Mt. Hermon. 

 

The city boasted a temple dedicated to the worship of the Roman Emperor, and on its outskirts was a grotto devoted to worshiping various Roman gods, including goat-footed Pan. Jesus had brought the twelve on retreat to teach them more about his true identity as well as his mission. [DD] We can imagine that he also sought to strengthen his own resolve for what lay ahead, the hard road to the cross.

 

The twelve had been with Jesus for some time. They had heard him teach with authority, had seen him perform mighty works, had felt his heart-warming love, and had puzzled over his parables. Jesus may have wondered if they would ever really understand, but when he asked them “Who do you say that I am?” Peter spoke up with the correct response: “You are the Christ” (8:27, 29). [DD] 

 

Peter knew the answer, but he was like a four-year-old who can answer questions about the “plan of salvation” but who has no concept what salvation really means. He could identify Jesus as God’s messiah, but did not yet understand what kind of messiah Jesus intended to be. Like many others, the disciples appear to have expected a military leader who would restore a Jewish kingdom.

 

Jesus used that moment to explain that he expected to suffer and be executed before rising from the dead. Can you imagine what a shock that must have been? To help the disciples understand, Jesus took the three who were closest and most influential—Peter, James, and John—and led them higher up the mountain so they could go deeper in understanding.

 

 

 

As they settled down at a certain place, Jesus underwent a mind-blowing transformation the gospels struggle to describe. Both Matthew and Mark describe the change with the Greek word metamorphoō, the root of our word “metamorphosis.” Mark says that Jesus’ clothing became radiantly and dazzling white in a way no earthly launderer could accomplish. Luke adds us that “his face changed,” and Matthew says that “his face shone like the sun.” [DD]

 

It was as if Jesus, who had been disguised as a Galilean peasant, suddenly threw off his human form and reverted to a more heavenly, glorified appearance. Perhaps his clothes were so bright because his body, like his face, was shining through. [DD] [DD]

 

Jesus was transformed. A window opened between heaven and earth, allowing eternity to penetrate our world and time, granting the disciples a vision of the eternal Christ within the earthly Jesus.

 

The vision included two surprise visitors from Hebrew history: Moses and Elijah suddenly appeared, as if they had “beamed down” from heaven to have an encouraging conversation with Jesus (v. 4).

 

The two figures serve an important symbolic purpose. Moses represented the Law, and Elijah the Prophets, the twin traditions upholding Israel’s faith. Jewish traditions held that both Moses and Elijah would return to earth before the “Day of the Lord.” Now they were standing before the disciples, upholding Jesus and giving way to him. When Moses and Elijah departed, Jesus was left alone: the Law and the Prophets had found their fulfillment in the person of Christ.

 

All three synoptic gospels say that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah carried on a conversation for some time, but only Luke hints at the content of their discussion. He says they talked about what was yet to come for Jesus, his “departure” to be accomplished at Jerusalem. Perhaps it is significant that Luke used the Greek word “exodus” to describe it. 

 

In the first Exodus, God worked through Moses to set the people of Israel free from slavery in Egypt. In Jesus, God would work through the suffering and death of Jesus to free all people from spiritual bondage.

 

At some point in the conversation, Peter found his tongue. As if with embarrassment, he offered to cut down limbs from the trees and build temporary shelters for Jesus,Moses, and Elijah (v. 5).

 

It’s comical to think that after Moses and Elijah had blinked onto the scene in fiery, glorified bodies, they would have any use for a hillside lean-to. Mark was kind enough to add that Peter and the others didn’t know what to say, “for they were terrified” (v. 6). [DD]

 

As Peter was speaking, a cloud descended with surprising suddenness, no doubt contributing to the disciples’ fright. In the Old Testament, when Yahweh appeared, it was often in a cloud. A thick cloud had led the people of Israel in the wilderness and had settled over the tabernacle when it was consecrated as a place to meet God on earth. Now, a cloud had descended over Jesus, Moses, and Elijah—as well as Peter, James, and John. God was present. They could feel the difference. And they had to have been shaking in their sandals.

 

As if that were not enough, when the three disciples thought their senses couldn’t possibly get more overloaded, the voice of God sounded, and the disciples fell to their faces as God’s words reverberated through the mist: “This is my beloved Son: listen to him!” (v. 7).

 

And then the voice was still, and the cloud departed, and all was back to normal (v. 8). When the bedazzled disciples peeked through their fingers, there was Jesus, sitting alone on the grass, waiting for them. Had they been awake, or sleeping? Was it real, or a dream? Could they all have had the same dream? They chose to believe it was real; shockingly real.

 

Just as God’s voice had spoken at Jesus’ baptism, validating his call and his ministry, so now God’s voice had spoken again to impress the disciples with the truth that Jesus knew who he was and what he was doing, and that they had best give attention to his words. 

 

 

 

The awesome truth of this story is that Jesus’ transformation carries with it the promise of our own transformation, both internally and ultimately, if we will listen to him and follow him. It may be hard for us to believe that when we are surrounded by our homes and offices, newspapers and briefcases, tax forms and monthly bills. It’s hard to see beyond present realities to eternal hopes.

 

In this life, it is unlikely that we will see Jesus, Moses, and Elijah in the way that the three disciples saw them. But, as that astonishing vision reached out to them across space and time, it continues to call us beyond the centuries. When we listen to Jesus, he calls us to take up our crosses and follow him. When we listen to Jesus, He calls us to be transformed, to become new people who love and give and serve as he did. 

 

This does not happen immediately for us, but it can happen. We can experience God’s saving grace in a moment, but transformation as disciples is a life-long process. Paul understood that, and challenged believers to a lifetime of transforming growth, as in these words to the Christians in Corinth:

 

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (1 Cor. 3:18).

 

Just think about that:  all of us … being transformed … into the same image of Christ … from one degree of glory to another. 

 

It’s enough to leave us as speechless as three flabbergasted disciples. 

 

Consider trying this experiment in prayer. Begin by getting comfortable and closing your eyes. Using the power of your own imagination, transport yourself to that mountain in the mist. Crouch beneath the evergreens beside Peter, James, and John. Breathe deeply of the fresh, cool air. Look through the cloud and behold the shining radiance of Jesus’ face. Can you see him? Are you aware of what obstacles and temptations cloud your vision and make it difficult for you to draw close? Can you get them out of the way?

 

Listen, for God speaks. “This is my Son, the Beloved: listen to Him!”