It’s easy to give God the glory when we are hoisting the championship trophy, but what about when we are fighting for our lives against a deadly disease? In today’s passage, we follow Jesus from the mountain to the lowlands. Let’s see what we learn about him and about ourselves.
Context
Peter declared that Jesus was The Anointed One but followed with a rebuke when Jesus explained that the Messiah would have to die. Jesus explained that following him would involve denying oneself (knocking down the idols of self-centeredness) and taking up one’s cross (daily surrender). Then, Jesus encouraged his disciples by promising a glimpse of the power of his kingdom.
The Transfiguration: Mark 9:2-23
• The word transfigured is the Greek word metemorphōthē. It’s where we get the English word “metamorphosis.”
• Metemorphōthē—to change into another form not merely a change in outward appearance.
• For a brief time, Jesus’ human body was transformed (glorified), and the disciples saw his pre-existent form in all its glory.
• Transfiguration: The Divine Glory shone through Jesus’ human body.
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
2 Peter 1:16-19
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
• Why Moses and Elijah? Moses was the lawgiver, and Elijah represented the prophets (see Mal. 4:4-5 and Matt. 5:17).
• The Transfiguration is the most complete picture of Jesus - fully God and fully Man.
Mark 9:14-29
Our journey through life has both mountain-top experiences and real-life stuff. Right after Jesus and the three disciples came down from the mountain (they had been gone a day), there was a crowd to greet them with a need.
• The man’s faith had been diminished due to the disciple’s inability to heal his son.
• The man believed but needed Jesus to help him believe more. Can you relate?
• “Faith sets no limits on God’s power and submits itself to His will.”
-John Grassmick, Bible Knowledge Commentary, vol 2. 144-145
Today’s passage takes us from the mountain, where the glory of God burst through the body of Jesus, to the lowlands where a father identified with his son, mustered all the faith he had, and then asked Jesus for more. We have gone from Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah about his death to Jesus saving a boy from physical death by commanding an evil spirit come out of a boy and never enter him again. We have moved from a discussion with Moses and Elijah about the power of God to save all men and women from eternity in hell to a discussion with the disciples about why they couldn’t cast out a demon out of one young boy.
The mountains and the lowlands—that’s where we live our life. There are times when our faith couldn’t be stronger, our love deeper, our worship purer. And there are times when our world is shaken by unexpected valleys. We are like the disciples; we fail to depend on Jesus. And we are like the father who tried his best to believe in God’s power while his heart was bombarded by doubt. Faith and doubt fill our hearts at the same time.
But one thing is the same in the mountains and the lowlands—Jesus is the Lord. I love Luke’s account of these two events. First, there is the transfiguration and the three disciples saw firsthand the majesty of God. Then, the healing of the boy where Luke says:
Luke 9:43
And all were astonished at the majesty of God.
On the mountains where the glory of God is bursting through or in the lowlands filled with doubts and failure—Jesus is the Lord.
Additional Notes
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