Sermon - Mark 9 - Transfiguration - Littleby Baptist Church - July 14, 2019

Last week we looked at how Peter stepped out of the boat and briefly walked on water, until the wind and waves go the best of him. Even after we made the choice to follow Jesus we have times of doubt, fear, insecurity, and lostness. The wind and waves are distracting and can tempt us to take our focus off or our Lord and move it onto our problems. We need to keep our focus on Jesus who will bring the needed calm and lift us up and help us to walk as if we are on solid ground. The wind and waves will not disappear, but when we are walking with Jesus our courage, strength, peace, joy, and so much more comes from Him.

When going through the Gospels you see some repetition of what it tells us, the events themselves, but they are not exact copies. The differences could be due to who wrote the letter or who it was written to. Could have something to do with how the author remembered the events. Don’t get me wrong, all of Scripture is God breathed meaning that every word written was given by the Holy Spirit. In one way it shows how God uses our differences and still accomplishes His will.

We are going to start in Mark 9 but will also look at the books of Matthew and Luke to see how each one gives us something else to look at.

Mark 9:2a

“² After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves to be alone.”

Jesus and His inner circle slipped away. Mark and Matthew are not clear on exactly what the intended purpose of this alone time was for, but Luke gives us a little more information.

Luke 9:28-29

“²⁸ About eight days after this conversation, he took along Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Jesus and His inner circle where taking a break for the hustle and bustle and going on a short prayer retreat. Luke also adds a little more that is not found in either of the other Gospels.

Luke 9:32

“Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep, and when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who were standing with him.”

They went up the mountain to pray, then Peter, James, and John fell asleep.

Then a miracle happened.

Mark 9:2b-3

“He was transfigured in front of them, ³ and his clothes became dazzling—extremely white as no launderer on earth could whiten them.”

Matthew 17:2

“² He was transfigured in front of them, and his face shone like the sun; his clothes became as white as the light.”

Luke 9:29

“²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.”

Jesus was transfigured, with His clothes becoming extremely white, as white as the light and His face shining like the sun.

My mental picture of this happening goes from Jesus standing there in his usual tan colored coarse robe and all of a sudden, He is wearing a satin white robe with light emanating from within Him. As much as that would be an amazing site to see, it still falls short.

Peter, James, and John did not only see Jesus’ outward appearance change, they saw Jesus’ human body be transformed into His Glorified body… They witnessed His earthly body transfigured into what He will most likely look like when He returns to earth victoriously. These guys witnessed Jesus as the Glorified King of Kings.

Moses spent so much time in the Lord’s presence that he would glow. So, he wore a veil when he was around others. Even with being that close to the Father, in Exodus 33 Moses was told that he could not see the face of God and live.

Peter, James, and John witnessed something that no other human has seen. They saw Jesus in all His glory! If Moses would have died seeing the Father’s face, it is not surprising that these guys were terrified from seeing what they saw. As if that was not enough Moses and Elijah, in their glorified bodies, appeared out of nowhere.  

Mark 9:4-6

“⁴ Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good for us to be here. Let us set up three shelters: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶ because he did not know what to say, since they were terrified.”

With this suggestion, Peter shows that while the inner circle had more exposure to Jesus than anyone else, they still did not get it. In saying that they needed 3 shelters, he is saying that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were equals deserving the same level of honor. They still did not grasp who Jesus really is.

Matthew and Mark state that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah were talking, but Luke tells us what they were talking about.

Luke 9:31

“They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.”

They were talking about Jesus’ suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension. While the conversation took place, the real reason this happened was so that the His inner circle saw Jesus in His glorified body and then heard the Father’s response.

Matthew 17:5

“⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!”

Mark 9:7

“⁷ A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”

Luke 9:34-35

“³⁴ While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ Then a voice came from the cloud, saying: “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

While Peter was mid-sentence suggesting that they build three shelters, a cloud came over them and the Father spoke. He was telling Peter, James, John, and everyone who has heard about this night since then, that Jesus is the Father’s beloved son, whom He is well pleased with, the Chosen One, and that we need to ‘Listen to Him.’

If those guys had any doubt whatsoever that following Jesus and learning all they could from Him was the right thing to do, it should be gone. After seeing Jesus in His glorified body and hearing the voice of the Father saying that Jesus is His son and that they need to listen to Him, it should be obvious what they should be doing.

Matthew adds one more thing.

Matthew 17:7

“Jesus came up, touched them, and said, “Get up; don’t be afraid.”

After seeing Jesus in His glorified form, hearing the voice of the Father, and being terrified. Jesus back in His human form walks up to them, personally connects with them, and encourages them to get up and not to be afraid.

Shows how amazing and loving our Lord is. He has all this power at His fingertips, yet He humbles Himself and comes along side of His followers and encourages them. He is an Awesome God who does not need us but loves us more than we can imagine.

As we read these words, we need to remember that the inner circle witnessed this firsthand, but God had every word written down for each of us. What Peter, James, and John learned that day we need to learn as we read these words today.

Jesus is the beloved Son of God, the Chosen One, and we need to listen to Him. Jesus loves us so much that He is with us always, and we have no reason to be afraid.

Jesus the Son of God Loves You! Listen to Him and follow Him.


May the Lord's blessing be upon you!

Robert