Slices
Prepare
Can you make Psalm 27:8 your prayer today? ‘My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek.’
Bible passage
The transfiguration
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!’
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what ‘rising from the dead’ meant.
11 And they asked him, ‘Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?’
12 Jesus replied, ‘To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.’
Explore
You may have climbed a mountain in low cloud, then, as the mist clears, enjoyed a wonderful panorama. Things that had always been real suddenly became visible. In this passage, Jesus’ closest disciples (see 5:37–43; 14:33) are invited to accompany him up a mountain, but it is when the cloud descends that they have a chance to see clearly.
Moses, Israel’s first liberator, and Elijah, whom Jews expected before the final coming of the kingdom of God (see v 11), join Jesus on the mountain. There are many echoes of Moses’ experience in Exodus 24 here, but Jesus is greater than Moses.
Unlike Moses, Jesus will liberate people through his death and resurrection (vs 9–13). Jesus is constantly trying to tell his disciples this (8:31,32; 9:30–32), but the cloud of ignorance still lingers. Even this experience leaves them confused. Fundamentally, they need to learn to be quiet and listen to Jesus (v 7). As he tries to point them towards his death (vs 9–13), they struggle to connect this with his glory. John, in his Gospel, makes it clear that only if Jesus is ‘lifted up’ on a cross will he be ‘lifted up’ in glory (John 12:32).
Respond
If our heart is not inclined to listen to Jesus, even the most impactful experience of his presence can leave us confused and ignorant. Is there something he’s trying to say that we avoid hearing?
Deeper Bible study
‘Thy blessed unction from above / is comfort, life and fire of love. / Enable with perpetual light / the dullness of our blinded sight.’1
I remember the transfiguration picture in my children’s illustrated Bible. Jesus was all-glorious in dazzling white, with Moses and Elijah shining beside him. My parents taught me that this was to display Jesus in his glory to the three chosen disciples, showing, through Moses and Elijah, that Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. This understanding of the transfiguration is very important, but over years of reading Mark and assisting Australian Indigenous translators, I have come to understand that Mark’s main purpose was quite different. Mark’s revealing point is that the disciples still failed to understand Jesus, despite the wonders they had witnessed. Peter had already been chastised for trying to stop Jesus from contemplating his suffering and death. Witnessing Jesus glorified, with two of the three ancients whom the Jews believed were alive with God,2 should have prepared the three disciples’ minds for the idea of resurrection, but it did not. Despite the voice from heaven urging them to listen to Jesus, they still walked down the mountain puzzled. The experience failed to give them exceptional insight or faithfulness. James and John will soon show themselves preoccupied with their own greatness. Only the cross and resurrection would open their minds.
Mark’s early readers were already experiencing persecution. Mark teaches us that spectacular miracles and glorious visions do not create faith.3 He wants us to understand that faith grasps a different reality. Christians, then and now, must put all their faith in the crucified Jesus, now risen and exalted with God. The risen Christ is present with us. Jesus’ path of faith and our path of faith are not defined by spectacular experiences but by suffering and pain. We must take up our crosses and follow him.
Jesus, Lord of our path, reveal yourself to us, not in dazzling light, but as our risen Lord. Forgive our dullness of mind. Show us yourself.
1 Latin, 9th century, tr John Cosin, 1594 – 1672, ‘Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire’ 2 Moses, Elijah and Enoch 3 Pheme Perkins, The Gospel of Mark, The New Interpreter’s Bible, Abingdon, 1995, p632
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 14,15; James 5
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for South East Regional Team Leader Josh Booth as he supports churches and Local Mission Partners as we head towards Christmas with all the opportunities it brings to share the Christmas story with children and young people.
