Now we're continuing in our series through the gospel of Mark this morning and we come to Mark chapter 9 verses 2 through 13. So please turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 9. Hear now the eternal living word of God. And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them. And his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, this is my beloved son, listen to him. And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. And they asked him, why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I tell you, that Elijah has come and they did to him whatever they pleased as it is written of him. This is the word of the Lord. Did you ever know someone that had a job or a position and you couldn't really fully picture them in this place? It could have been a family member or someone you grew up with or someone you just knew and thought, I can't really see him or her doing that. I once had a student who I heard went into the military and this was someone that I couldn't quite picture as a soldier. He was silly and immature. He didn't really seem like the military type. And so when I heard that he joined in the army, I questioned whether this was a good fit. And then one day he returned to the school and I saw him in his uniform and he looked grown. He looked like a man. He looked like a soldier. He had been transformed from this silly, immature teenage boy into a soldier in uniform. So last week, in our study of Mark's Gospel, we came to a pivotal moment when Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ. And Peter was the first person to do this. But then Jesus went on to explain that what the being the Christ would mean, namely that he would suffer, be rejected, die and rise from the dead. And in response to that, Peter rebuked him. Then Jesus taught him and all of his disciples, including you and I, that since he is the suffering Christ, following him means you will follow in his suffering. But suffering is not the end. It's actually the beginning. There is glory at the end of this journey. A glory that is beyond anything you can imagine. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all things. He's the fulfillment of the law, the prophets, and he came to free you in the new exodus and bring you in to glory. And the glory that awaits you in Christ far outweighs any suffering you may go through to get there. And so you should give your whole life over to him and listen to him. Our passage this morning, beginning in verse two says, and after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. Mark tells us that six days have passed since Jesus taught about this necessary suffering in death and about the suffering of discipleship. And this is rare for Mark, who usually doesn't tell us how much time has passed in between stories. So he must be doing so for a purpose. In this transfiguration story, Jesus leads these three disciples, Peter and James and John, up to the top of a high mountain. And these three are his inner circle. Sometimes Jesus would bring only Peter, James, and John with him. He did so when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. And it will be these three that he brings with him when he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he's doing so now. He's bringing his inner circle to the top of this mountain. Jesus was preparing them to lead his church once he ascended into heaven. It was a leadership training for these three men. And in this moment, when they get to the top of the mountain, Jesus is transformed into radiant glory. He's revealing and manifesting the glory of God in his human form. And Mark tells us this was six days after the last story because he's connecting this to the story of Moses on Mount Sinai. In Exodus 24, Moses goes to the top of Mount Sinai, a high mountain, on a six day journey. And notice that Mark mentions that Jesus led them up on a high mountain, just like Moses did. And there was a cloud on this mountain, just like there was when Moses was on Mount Sinai. and it was in the cloud that the glory of the Lord was present. What Mark's doing is giving us an understanding of what's actually happening in this moment when Jesus is transfigured. He says that Jesus was transfigured before them and his clothes became radiant, intensely white as no one on earth could bleach them. Jesus on top of this mountain is manifesting the same glory of the Lord that was present on Mount Sinai. Jesus is the Lord himself in human form. And he came to free his people once again. It's something that is concealed or hidden, usually in Jesus's human form. The people see just another human being, but in this moment, he is manifesting the glory of God for his disciples to see. And this is the same God who freed his people through Moses. And but this was the work of Moses, the work of God through Moses was just a shadow of what he is doing in Jesus. And so Jesus has completely flipped the view of his disciples on the Messiah. When Peter confessed that he believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, he didn't know what that meant. And Jesus revealed that Peter and his disciples and all the Jewish people didn't really understand this. And so Jesus taught them that he must suffer and die first before he comes in glory, and that they and all who follow him must suffer as he did. But now, by manifesting the glory of God right there in his physical person, he's revealing to them that although the road to glory must pass through suffering, the glory will come. and the glory that is to come is beyond their wildest imagination. See, they had their sights set on a human glory. They thought the Messiah was going to lead them to this thriving human kingdom, that he was going to defeat the Romans, that they would live in the pinnacle of human glory, like they did in the time of Solomon. During King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel was a massive, thriving, wealthy human kingdom, but Jesus here is giving a glimpse of the glory of God that he will fully reveal upon his return. Yes, he will suffer. Yes, he will be rejected. Yes, he will die a humiliating death of a criminal, but he will rise from the dead and he will return. And when he does, he will bring the glory of the Lord in its fullness. And this is so far beyond human glory that they can't even picture it. And when Jesus displays this glory of Yahweh, this glory of the Lord, he isn't alone in this moment. He is joined by Moses and Elijah. And there's an interesting, this is an interesting moment because it's caused many to ask, why were Moses and Elijah there? These two great prophets are the summary of all that came before. Moses representing the law and Elijah representing the prophets. And all of this is to point to Christ, including these two men and all that they did, but also the whole of the law, the whole of the prophets points us to Jesus Christ and the glory of the Lord that is found in him. Jesus is a greater Moses who brings a greater Exodus. He is a greater Elijah. Moses and Elijah were both prophets and servants of God who spoke on behalf of God. But Jesus is God himself. He speaks in his own authority. He performs miracles in his own power. And so Peter didn't know what to do. First, he didn't recognize that it is good for us to be here. Being in the presence of God in the glory of the Lord is good. But then he asked Jesus if he should make three tents for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. He possibly was assuming the end was here, that this was going to be the fulfillment of the glory of the Lord, that the day of the Lord had come. And he didn't know what to say because all of them were terrified. Any person throughout scripture that comes into the presence of God is immediately scared. And if they weren't scared enough already, a cloud overshadows them, which has always represented the presence of God. And a voice came out of the cloud, this is my beloved son, listen to him. So God speaks from his cloud declaring that Jesus is his beloved son, and he commands them to listen to him. And the verb there in the Greek is in the present tense, which means a continuous, ongoing action. This means the command to listen to Jesus isn't simply listen this one time. It means to listen to him for the rest of your life. It means for you, what he says goes. The disciples have not fully listened yet, especially as far as the necessity of the suffering of Jesus as the Christ. But this command may change things, a command directly from the voice of God. And then Moses and Elijah simply disappear and leaving them only with Jesus. So this is the disciples physically seeing with their own eyes that Jesus is superior. to Moses and Elijah. He's superior to two of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament. He's superior to everyone. And this whole scene was to teach his disciples about who Jesus really is. to display a glimpse of the heavenly glory so that they may know that He is far above them, He's far above even the prophets. He is the fulfillment of the law and of all of what the prophets spoke about. And they must believe Him. They must follow Him. They must obey Him. They must trust Him. They must listen to Him in all things. And this is a call to everyone who would be his disciples. This is a call to you to listen to Jesus Christ with the whole of your life. And this means obeying him out of love. This is ultimately what it means to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, that you would obey him out of love. To be a disciple of Jesus is to have a loving relationship with him that manifests itself in obedience, that you would with the whole of your life follow, obey, trust, and listen to him. And this is often difficult. It's difficult to live the way Jesus commands. It's difficult to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. It's difficult to forgive those who have hurt you. It's difficult to deny yourself and take up your cross. This is why you and I need God's grace every day. You need his spirit to enable you to do this, and this is why you seek Christ daily. Draw near to him, studying his word, praying, being convicted by his spirit, and let go of yourself and follow him, which means love God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is ultimately what it means to listen to Christ, to follow his commandments and teachings, to live life the way not only that he taught, but modeled in his life. And it's through him that you are empowered to do this. No one can do this in their own strength. You are to deny yourself, sacrifice for Christ, and give yourself to him through his spirit. And he will make you into his image, enabling you to live life as he lived, to love as he loved. Now when Jesus and his disciples come down from the mountain, he charges them to tell no one what they had seen until he had risen from the dead. And so they keep it to themselves, but they were confused, it says, about the resurrection. They still don't understand what the mission of Jesus is or how he's going to carry it out. They're not fully blind anymore. They know that he is the Christ, he is the Messiah, but they still don't understand what it means that he is the Christ. They still don't understand that Jesus must suffer, die, and rise from the dead on the third day. And so they question him. Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come? Here, the disciples are referring to the prophecy from Malachi that mentions both Moses and Elijah. Malchi chapter 4 verses 4-6 says, Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and the rules that I commanded him and whored for all Israel. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. His prophecy foretells of Elijah coming back to call the people back to the law of Moses before the great and awesome day of the Lord. And this day of the Lord is a day of judgment and a day of restoration. Elijah will come and call the people to repent and he will begin the restoration of all things. The disciples in asking this are still defiantly not listening to Jesus. They are questioning Jesus. Not in a genuine curiosity, but to point out that if the prophets claim that if Elijah was to come first to restore all things, then it implies there's no need for this suffering Christ. They're assuming that Elijah will come and restore all things, then the great and awesome day of the Lord will be here. So hopefully, Jesus, you can just move on from all this suffering and death stuff. There's a stubborn resistance built into their questioning. And so Jesus responds by first affirming that they're correct. Elijah will coming first to restore all things. But then he asks this rhetorical question. And how is it written of the son of man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? Jesus sees the heart of the disciples here. If Elijah is to come first, then how come you're saying you have to suffer and be rejected and killed? And his answer is, but I tell you, that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him." Jesus is saying, you are right about Elijah coming first, and he has come, and he suffered too. Jesus is referring to the suffering and the death of John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the prophet sent to make way the path of the Lord, and he suffered as Jesus himself will suffer. John showed the suffering that will take place for those who follow Christ. John is the Elijah who comes before the cross, modeling the path of suffering for all the disciples after the cross. But the cross must take place. This isn't optional. There's no way out of it for Jesus or his disciples. In order for all things to be restored, Jesus must suffer and die, then rise from the dead. road to glory must pass through the valley of suffering. In order for Jesus to be raised in glory, he must first die. And so John the Baptist comes and restores all things before the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus. And so Jesus is equating John with this Elijah. And it means that this day of the Lord is coming. In the day of the Lord, Jesus will judge those who have rejected John and himself. So there's this judgment upon those that have rejected him now, the leaders of Israel, the temple, those who have chosen to put Jesus to death rather than receive the gift of life he offers. And then when Jesus returns, he will do so for a final judgment, when all who reject him will be judged. But in this there is restoration and glory as well. Judgment on his enemies and glory for his people come together for Christ. The transfiguration of Jesus just gives you a glimpse of the glory that is to come. Jesus is the glory of the Lord in human form. He has come to fulfill God's plan of salvation, to redeem his people and to free you from sin and death. He comes to fulfill the law and to fulfill the prophets and he will return in glory. And so for you, the suffering of this world is real. The sacrifice you've been called to in Christ is real. You're called to a life of denying yourself and suffering and following Christ, but you should remember the glory that awaits you in Christ is real. Jesus gave a glimpse to his disciples of the glory of which he will return and he gives this glimpse to you The one who was transformed into the glory of the Lord is the one who has called you to deny yourself and suffer and follow him So you should listen to him the glory that is to come is real and it awaits you Jesus is the creator of all things. He is the wisdom of God, the word of God incarnate. You are to listen to him. So he's called you to follow him and to go wherever he leads. He's called you to give up your own glory and to live for his glory. And when you do that, the suffering becomes worth it. The burden of this world becomes light and you can be encouraged in this. The Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians to encourage them. He said, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient. temporary. But the things that are unseen are eternal. The things of this world, all of them, will pass away. And the glory that you can attain in this life will be gone one day, not too far away. And so in your suffering of this world that is inevitable, everyone suffers. Your body, the body of everyone you love and know, is wasting away This is only a moment. The world is passing by, it's fleeting. We are only here for a moment, and this is not our home. Through faith in Jesus Christ, you have an unseen home, and the glory that awaits you there is beyond all comparison, and it's eternal. And so as you suffer in this world, know that the glory that awaits you in Christ is an eternal glory that is greater than anything this world has to offer. So you can give your life to Him, knowing that you're receiving eternal life from Him. Anything you go through now can't even be compared to the glory that awaits you in eternity with Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you, Lord, knowing that we have empty hands before you, that we have nothing to give, but only we have sinned. But you, Lord, love us so much. You sent your son to suffer and die, an innocent, righteous man, on behalf of us sinners. And Lord, you call us to follow you, and you give us the strength to do so. Lord, we ask that your spirit will help make us content in our circumstances, that will give us the strength and the power to serve you and love the way you have called us to love and to hold on to the future hope that is the eternal glory that you have waiting for us in Jesus Christ. the future of resurrection when we will be in glorified physical bodies and we will enjoy the blessings of being with you as you are our God and we are your people in a glorious praise for the rest of eternity. And we do so in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.