"The Glory of Jesus" - words for the new year (Mark 9:1-13)

If anyone was in doubt as to who Jesus was, then this uncertainty was addressed this day on this high mountain. Jesus took his three closest confidants with him. Peter, of course, had just spoken the right words about the identity of Jesus … “You are the Messiah”, but had subsequently shown that he didn’t really comprehend and was far more interested with his own agenda than with the purposes of God.

The appearance of Elijah and Moses showed the continuity of God’s purposes from the earliest times of human functioning. Moses was the liberator of the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. Elijah was the great prophet who challenged people toward a pure allegiance to the one true God. Both Moses and Elijah had in their own lifetimes revelatory experiences on mountains and visions of God, seemingly qualifying them for their appearances here with Jesus the Son of God. [Also, as included in verses 11-13, the message of Elijah had already been relived by John the Baptist, acting as a forerunner to Jesus in calling the people to repentance.]

But it was Jesus who was central here, transfigured and seen as never before in all his divine splendour, dramatically dressed in dazzling white clothes. Peter, James and John would for certain have had to pull out their sunglasses. This would have been like the sun stunningly coming through the windscreen of our car, blinding the driver to anything else ahead.

No wonder the disciples present were terrified … how could you explain all this. In their terror (v.6), all they could come up with was some plans for camping out! But they weren’t left in their fear for too long, because God turned up; and from a cloud reiterated words that had already been spoken at Jesus’ baptism, that Jesus was God’s own Beloved Son. But this time the words of reassurance were not just for Jesus (as they were at the baptism scene), but rather for his disciples to hear – Peter, James and John.

These disciples should be in no doubt who Jesus is! [Interestingly, here the disciples were being overshadowed by God in the same way that Mary had been overshadowed by God’s Spirit at the time of her conceiving Jesus.] This was all intended to defeat fear and build faith in the loving-kindness and wisdom of God. The disciples had interpreted the news of Jesus’ impending death (from Jesus’ own lips) as defeat. However, the readers of this gospel should not despair that God is being thwarted by Jesus’ upcoming suffering … rather this is an ultimate expression of God’s grace. This is the extent to which God is prepared to go. We have to understand the length and depth of God’s love for humankind.

And because of this identification as God’s Son, God says that the disciples (and therefore we also) should “listen to him” (v.7). When Jesus says that he ‘must undergo great suffering, be rejected by the elders and others, be killed, and after three days rise again’, then the disciples must accept this (even if they can’t make sense of it). And we have already been told that the way to understanding is to focus on “divine things” ahead of “human things”.

Jesus’ glory was going to lead him down a path to a cross. Jesus’ glory was going to be seen, not just in dazzling white clothes, but also in his sacrifice. Jesus’ glory was also going to be seen in the victory he would have over death. And Jesus’ glory was going to be seen in the lives of all those transformed by these events. In connecting this divine glory of Jesus with his impending suffering and death, the heart of God is exposed for all to see. God will go to extraordinary lengths to reconnect with us.

But we can also see in this scene of transfiguration the ultimate resurrection of Jesus and sense the eternal nature of his mission. Jesus will be the centrepiece of the eternal kingdom of God – the gathering of all those who throughout the generations find faith through Jesus.

Can the glory of Jesus be seen in me? Can I even contemplate that possibility? As I live my life, and open my mouth, and make various life-style decisions, and pursue my various interests … can people see Jesus in me? Can they at least see something that has hope, purpose and peace attached to it? Can they?

I may need to take a little trip in my own mind up that high mountain and see Jesus crowned in beauty and honour, and allow myself to be “overshadowed” by God, and hear those words, “This is my Son, the Beloved – listen to him”.

I want to be consumed by the glory of Jesus, but life just gets in the way! When I am consumed not by Jesus, but rather by the issues of life (as the disciples were), then all the more I need to hear the call of the overshadowing God to “listen to [Jesus]”! Maybe some of us will have to take Mark 9:7 into the new year with us as our resolution!

This is why in January we’ll have a look at some areas where life can get in the way of experiencing the glory of Jesus … areas like worry, discouragement and bitterness. The disciples couldn’t get through some of their life issues to truly experience the glory of Jesus until after the resurrection (they continually struggled with stuff like status, personal expectations, lack of understanding and fear). We in the post-resurrection era still have ongoing problems that diminish our capacity to follow Jesus and feel in touch with God. I know I do!

The disciples time high up on the mountain concluded with seeing Jesus alone. Moses and Elijah were there no more, for they didn’t need to be. Now for all time it would be Jesus who would be the liberator and truth-teller for all people. Everything we might think or believe or trust in will be addressed by Jesus. Indeed a lot of what the world believes will (or should) be turned on its head by what Jesus has said. Let’s listen to Jesus!