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Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how it is written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."
- Mark 9:2-13
Yesterday, we read that Jesus and His disciples went to Caesarea-Philippi. On the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?" So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ." Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men." When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me, and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."
Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. My study bible tells us: "The transfigured radiance of Christ is His uncreated glory, a saving revelation at the heart of the Christian experience (2 Pet. 1:16-18). The Transfiguration assures the disciples that the Messiah, who is to suffer, is also Lord of Glory (see 1 Cor. 2:8). Only His third-day Resurrection is a greater sign of His divinity than is His Transfiguration." We recall that in yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus' last words speaking of "some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power." This can refer to many things (such as, for example, the events of Pentecost), and some commentators refer to this next chapter of the Transfiguration as a possible reference for these words.
And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid. My study bible says, "Although Christ is addressed as Rabbi, He has not passed through a rabbinical school, and His ministry has clearly gone beyond the established function of a rabbi, which was to teach. This title shows the Master-disciple relationship between Christ and the Twelve. Peter recognizes Moses and Elijah, representing the Law and the Prophets, who appear with Jesus. This is a glimpse of the glory that is to be revealed (Rom 8:18), where introductions will not be needed." In the Jewish spiritual tradition, an important feast day is Sukkot (also called the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles), which is the feast of the Coming Kingdom. During this festival is commemorated the events of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and living in tents or tabernacles (σκηνή or skenē in the Greek). So, Peter's "distracted" words at least have a reference we can connect with this overwhelming awe- and fear-provoking scene in which the Kingdom is clearly present in its glory and personages from Israel's history.
And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!" Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves. My study bible says here: "A cloud is sometimes the sign of a theophany, the presence of God the Father. This revelation is for the benefit of the disciples, that their faith should be firm. For they are called to believe not only in Christ but in what is to come, the eternal Kingdom. The Greek verb for hear is in the present imperative form, meaning 'listen always.'"
Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of man had risen from the dead. So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant. My study bible tells us that Christ's Resurrection is required for full disclosure of the messianic secret and for full understanding of messiahship. In recent readings, we've observed repeatedly how Christ takes great care to keep this secret guarded until He can reveal Himself and His true nature in accordance with the Father's will, in the proper ways for our understanding. He takes great care that this mission with which He is entrusted as Incarnate Lord reveals what it is meant to -- and not left simply to popular understanding and expectation. We note that this revelation is meant for the disciples as well, who have no idea about the Resurrection to which He refers until the time it happens, and afterward.
And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how it is written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him." My study bible says, "The return of Elijah, expected as a preparation for the Messiah, has already been fulfilled through John the Baptist."
A lot has been made of the various elements of God's presence. There are the signs of glory, of light. There is the cloud that overshadows them, similarly to the cloud that appeared on the mountain into which Moses entered. The person of the Lord is also referred to as the "face" of the Lord. But here, and elsewhere, we focus on another significant aspect of God's presence and revelation, and that is the voice of the Father. There another "famous" occasion on which we learn about the voice of the Father and that is at the time of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, in another revelation of God or Theophany. The verb for "hear" in the Greek means both listen and hear. It's the same word used in the imperative command we read in today's reading that comes from this voice from heaven: "Hear Him!" which means to listen to Him always. This is a command not simply for Peter and James and John but for all of us, always. The voice is an important word for us to understand; from this voice come all commands, and the words that form the teachings of the Law and the foundations of what we know, the voice that informs the prophets, the voice of the law written in our hearts, the words that the true spiritual "ears to hear" can heed. It is the voice that comes from the Word and gives us the word, and that spoke all things into existence. There's a further important reference to voice that we discussed in Wednesday's commentary, and that is found in John's Gospel. Jesus tells the religious leadership there, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." In another revelation about God and Messiah or Christ ("Anointed One"), He tells them, "I and My Father are one," the statement that will result in His crucifixion. So voice becomes a very important aspect of the presence of God, the ways by which we know God and the revelation of God as Trinity. His sheep are those that respond from the heart to this voice heard in the heart, with belonging and love and trust. Voice becomes the bridge by which He communicates that "He knows them," and by which "they follow Him" when they hear Him. So let us understand the prophet Isaiah's words better, as they are so often quoted by Jesus, when He says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Let us understand the importance of voice, and of listening always, God the Father's command to us to "Hear Him!"
