“From Glory To Glory: The Impact of The Transfiguration”

 The Book of Mark

Encountering The Miracles And Mission of Jesus Christ

Introduction:

Good morning Eastern Shore Baptist Church. I am so glad to be back and man…did I ever miss you guys last Sunday. I want to thank Josh Raybon for delivering a powerful message last week in my absence. Thanks brother.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

This morning, we are back in Mark’s Gospel. We are halfway through this series entitled “The Book of Mark: Encountering The Miracles and Mission of Jesus Christ”. I hope that you have found these messages encouraging and impactful. 

Friends, I have a question for you this morning? When is the last time you were amazed? When is the last time you were floored and flabbergasted? If we are being honest this morning, that feeling of awe and astonishment is not something that many of us experience. 

Maybe you are like me and remember seeing the ultrasound of your first child. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. Angela was less than 10 weeks along with Jay. We went to the doctor and she had an ultrasound. There I was sitting beside her, holding her hand, looking at that black and white screen. 

“Can you hear it” the nurse said as the fast flutter of Jay’s heartbeat pulsed from the speakers. 

“Can you see it” the nurse asked as she honed in on a tiny black spec on the middle of the screen. 

“There it is” she said. “That’s your baby”. 

In the immediacy of that moment, I was floored. The miracle of life lay before my very eyes. The beauty of conception. In that moment I remember thinking to myself the words of King David…

Psalm 139:13-17 NLT

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. [14] Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it. [15] You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. [16] You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. [17] How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!

Another time the feeling of awe washed over me was in 2012. I was on a mission trip to Drancy, France with a fantastic group of church members. Drancy lay just minutes away from Paris. We had a day to just explore and I will never forget walking into the famed Notre Dame Cathedral. As walked into the church, I was blown away by the sheer enormity, the size, and the scope of the building. I had never seen anything like it in all my life. I saw all the stain glassed windows. It seemed to me that the ceilings just went higher and higher, straight to heaven.

 Then I discovered that Notre Dame was 861 years old. The construction of the cathedral started in 1163 and finished 182 years later in 1345. It took 7 generations to build Notre Dame. That means that 7 generations of people, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, spent their entire working lives building what they called their “greatest act of sacrifice and worship to God”. 

I was awestruck. It was truly awesome. 

Think of the most amazing thing that you could possibly see. Do that right now. Ok, now hold that image, that place, or that person in your mind. Now, take that image and compare it to what it would be like to see God. 

To see God would mean that each and every person in this room would have to undergo a massive and marvelous transformation. We would have to become holy. Hebrews 12:!4 says that “without holiness, no on will see the Lord”. Thankfully, for those that are in Christ, for those that pass, that transformation into holiness occurs when we enter heaven. The most amazing thing we can look forward to in Heaven isn’t the streets of gold, the pearly gates, or even seeing our loved ones who have passed away. The best part will be meeting Jesus face-to-face. When we look into His eyes, we’ll see the One who created us and for whom we were created. We’ll see Him in the place He made just for us. Seeing God will be like seeing everything clearly for the first time.

Can you imagine that? Seeing Jesus’ divinity permeating our existence, His light shining through our sin and piercing our souls. Well brothers and sisters, we don’t really have to imagine it because Mark’s Gospel gives us an example of what it would be like to see Jesus, God, in glorified form. Mark reveals to us what it would be like to be in the very presence of our Maker, our Creator. He lets us know what we might say and what we would want to do. We call this moment in Mark’s Gospel, the transfiguration. Transfiguration means a complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state. In the moment of the transfiguration of Christ, the disciples were able to see Jesus clearly for who He really is. They finally saw Him as God in human form living among them. 

Today’s Message:                                        

“From Glory To Glory: The Impact of The Transfiguration”

Brothers and sisters, today’s message is entitled “From Glory To Glory: The Impact of The Transfiguration”. 

Do me a favor this morning and fill in the following blanks under “Today’s Thought”. 

Today’s Thought:

Jesus Left The Disciples Awestruck and Altered? What About You?

Jesus left the disciples awestruck and altered. What about you? 

Oh seeing that ultrasound was memorable. Walking into the sanctuary of a nearly 900 year old church was something that I will never forget. Sadly, in both experiences, I was still the same old Stuart Ryan Davidson. I possessed the same character flaws, the same failures, the same foibles. My life was not radically changed. However, encountering Jesus left me a different man, a new person, an altered creation. That’s one of the many impacts of the transfiguration. The disciples left the experience changed men. 

One of the early church fathers was a man by the name of John Chrysostom. Listen to what he says about the transfiguration of Christ in his work entitled “Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew”.

Today’s Quote:

“The transfiguration was the manifested glory of the divinity of Christ. It was as if His divinity shone through His humanity, and the disciples were given a glimpse of the glory that was always present in Christ, but veiled during His earthly ministry.”

John Chrysostom From “Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew” 

      

“The transfiguration was the manifested glory of the divinity of Christ. It was as if His divinity shone through His humanity, and the disciples were given a glimpse of the glory that was always present in Christ, but veiled during His earthly ministry.”

Background and Context:

This morning we will be reading from Mark 9:2-13. Before we jump into the text, I want to set up the scene and provide for you the context of the Scripture. 

Before the Transfiguration in Mark 9:2-13, Jesus and His disciples have been through some significant events. In Mark 8, Jesus feeds 4,000 people with a few loaves and fish, showing His miraculous power.

Then, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks His disciples who they think He is. Peter declares, “You are the Messiah.” This is a huge moment of recognition.

However, Jesus starts teaching them that He must suffer, be rejected, killed, and rise again. This is tough for the disciples to understand, especially Peter, who tries to correct Jesus but is sharply rebuked.  “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Jesus wants them to understand that His path includes suffering and sacrifice, which is a hard lesson for the disciples.

Jesus also teaches about the cost of discipleship, telling them that following Him means self-denial and carrying their own crosses.

So, leading up to the Transfiguration, the disciples are grappling with Jesus’ true identity and the challenging path of following Him. While the Bible doesn’t explicitly say this, I wonder if some of the disciples wrestling with the true nature of Jesus. Is Jesus just a man setting Himself against Rome or is He something more? I have to think that none of them are ready for what’s about to happen. None of them are prepared to see their ancient heroes in glorified form. None of them are prepared to see their Rabbi Master in His heavenly authority. They are not ready to hear the audible voice of God. All of these events leading to Mark 9:2-13 sets the stage for the incredible revelation they are about to witness on the mountain.

Now, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, and they are about to experience a powerful revelation that will further open their eyes to His divine nature. 

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Today’s Scripture:

Mark 9:2-13 ESV

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, [3] and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. [4] And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. [5] 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." [6] For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. [7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." [8] And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. [9] 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. [10] So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. [11] And they asked him, "Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" [12] 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? [13] But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him."

Pastor: “This is the Word of the Lord.”

Congregation: “Praise His Name, Praise His Holy Name”

3 Transformative Teachings From The Transfiguration?

Teaching One: The Anticipation of Future Glory vs. 3

This morning, I want to provide for you 3 transformative teachings from the transfiguration. So, let’s start with our first teaching, teaching number one, the anticipation of future glory. Let’s reread verse three once more. 

Mark 9:3 ESV

and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.

I have said numerous times behind this very pulpit that I was fortunate to grow up in a loving home. I grew up with a loving father, a doting mother, and an abusive horrible detestable big brother that my parents often told me that they loved me more. 

Just kidding. Just kidding. My brother was not abusive. 

I have also told you how fortunate I was to grow up in the time that I grew up. That’s right, the 1980’s. The greatest decade known to mankind. I am a child of the 1980’s. One of the great benefits of being a child of the 80’s were the toys! The 80’s had some great toys. Ok, we are going to play a short game. I am going to list off a few toys from the 1980’s and if you grew up like me, I want you raise your hands if you played with any of these toys. 

Ok! Are you ready?

Some of my older friends are wondering, where is the spiritual connection to this story. Don’t worry it is coming I promise. 

Ok! Ready? Here we go…

By the way, these are in no particular order of greatness…

Barbie! Any Barbie fans? By the way, Barbie has been around for a long long time. Maybe you played with Barbie before the 1980’s. You can raise your hands. Go ahead. 

What about the NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System. The OG of gaming consoles? Ok, a bunch of you. 

What about G.I. Joe? Again, G.I. Joe has been around a long time. How many of you remember watching the 4 o’clock block of daily cartoons with G.I. Joe and a few other popular toy lines? Boy I do. 

Teenage Ninja Turtles? Ok. A bunch of you. 

Care Bears? Some of you want to do the Care Bear Stare right now I bet. 

Ok, a biggie for me! What about Masters of the Universe? You can also throw She-Ra in there as well. How many of you had the power? 

What about My Little Pony? Ok, several of you. Good deal. 

What about Cabbage Patch Kids? Wow, a bunch of you. 

Lastly one! How many of you had Transformers? Awesome. 

To me Transformers were the absolute best. I had dozens and dozens of Transformers. Do you remember the tag line for the toy? “Transformers, there is more than meets the eye”. That’s right. Transformers were humanoid robots or androids that could transform themselves into objects and vehicles. As a child, I was fascinated by transformers. 

You know friends, I think that that toy, the transformers, captured something inside of me that I always wanted for myself. I didn’t understand it at the time, but there was something in me, something in my spirit, that was looking for transformation. Obviously as a child, I couldn’t put words to that thing that was broken inside of me. I couldn’t pinpoint that part of my soul and spirit that needed fixing but that toy illustrated something powerful to me. I wanted to be different. I wanted to be changed. I wanted to be new. 

When the disciples went up on that mountain, they were holistically unprepared and overwhelmed by what they experienced. 

Ok, ok, let’s back up for a second. Remember, that Jesus and the disciples had been bouncing between Caesarea Philippi and Bethsadia in chapter 8 of Mark’s Gospel. Jesus had been doing some real work. He spent hours feeding thousands of people. He had locked horns with the Pharisees. He had been out on the sea heading to Bethsadia where He heals a blind beggar. Now the disciples find themselves back in Caesarea Philippi. This entire experience between chapters 8 and 9 took 6 days. All of this back and forth was about 55 miles. Remember this was done on foot and by boat. There is some debate as to what mountain is the real Mountain of Transfiguration. Some scholars say Hebron while others say Tabor. Most people concede that Mount Tabor is the actual place of the transfiguration. Mount Tabor is shaped like an inverted soup bowl and summits at roughly 2000 feet. It would take men in good shape with proper hiking gear about 2 hours to reach the top of a 2000 foot mountain. You can probably add an hour to Jesus, Peter, James and John. They were wearing robes and sandals. 

Why am I telling you all of this?

Imagine how dirty these guys must have been. Remember all the work that they had performed. Recall the distance they have traveled. Think about how dusty, how grimy, how gross they must have been. No showers. No washing basins. 6 days of walking and sailing. 

Peter, James and John would have not been leading Jesus. Scripture even tells us that Jesus took these men. They were following Him. They would have clearly seen the state of His garments. Jesus was dirty. 

When they reached the top of the mountain, Jesus transformed. 

“and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.” 

All the dirt, the grime, the mess on Jesus’ clothes were brilliantly bleached out by the holiness of the moment. Gone were the stains. Gone were the blemishes. 

Friends, make no mistake, this moment is a foretaste of heaven and the disciples were swept into the moment with the Master. Taken up by His glory and caught up in His greatness. No longer did they see Jesus as the carpenter’s son. No! They saw Him for who He really is, God’s Son. 

Oh brothers and sisters, this is what we can look forward to ourselves. One day, for those of us who are in Christ, we will share in our own transfiguration moment. We will share in our own transformation moment. Gone will be the stains. Gone will be the blemishes. Gone will be the sin that sticks to us in our lives, bleached away by God’s power and cleansed by the reality of His holiness. We will be new creations. We will dispense with these frail earthly tents in favor of new glorified bodies. Oh friends, this is something to truly be excited about and look forward to. Jesus just gives us a picture of this moment and the disciples are dumbfounded and awestruck. Their Master has just transformed into the Son of Glory! How can this be? 

I’m reminded of Paul’s words to the Church of Philippi. 

Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV) 

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

3 Transformative Teachings From The Transfiguration?

Teaching One: The Anticipation of Future Glory vs. 3

Teaching Two: The Confirmation of God’s Plan vs. 4

So our first point this morning is the anticipation of future glory. Heaven! Transformation! Cleansing! 

Our second teaching, teaching two is the confirmation of God’s plan. We see this illustrated powerfully in verse 4. 

Mark 9:4 ESV

And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

So let’s just sit here in this point for a second. How is Jesus being with Elijah and Moses a confirmation of God’s plan?

For one, Moses and Elijah are not just great heroes of old, they are powerful representatives of the law and the prophets. Moses is the great lawgiver. Moses, with God’s instruction, gave the people the 10 commandments. When you think of Moses, you think of the law. 

Elijah on the other hand is one if not the greatest of all the prophets. He performed miracles, stood against false gods, called people to repentance and restoration, and quite literally was God’s voice to His people. When you think of prophets, you think of Elijah first and foremost. 

When these two guys show up on the mountain, you basically have the entire Old Testament there and what are Moses and Elijah doing? They are standing there pointing at Jesus saying “this is Him, the Alpha, the Omega, the firstborn from among th dead, the Son of the Living God, The Great I AM, the Tetragrammaton in human form.” It is as if the Old Testament is there saying “everything that I was talking about points to Jesus”. 

Next, by appearing with Jesus, Elijah and Moses are endorsing the mission of Christ. They are saying to Peter, James, and John, “this Jesus, this Jesus who is your Master is also your Maker come to save all mankind”. Moses and Elijah are without so many words saying that Jesus is more than a prophet, more than a Rabbi, more than a good guy, a great communicator, a miracle maker. No. He is more. He is God. 

You know something, when you stop to think about the transfiguration, this is not just a new chapter in a long book, not by a long shot. It is the climax of a story that started long ago. God’s plan had been unfolding for generations and this plan has finally met its end in the person of Jesus Christ. 

I wonder sometimes what Peter, James and John must have been thinking when they saw the Old Testament being wrapped in the New Testament. They had to think that all the stories that they had heard from boyhood were true. It was real. What a confirmation this experience must have been for them. 

I do know one thing. The three men were scared. Terrified in fact. Their reality has been torn to shreds. The spiritual had just stepped into the physical. The souls of their greatest childhood heroes were standing before them. One two in reality and one toe dipped into the metaphysical. They were witnessing the glory of Jesus and the confirmation of God’s plan. 

Friends this should encourage all of us today. These men got to experience 2000 years ago what we will one day experience for ourselves. Except, when we experience it, we won’t have to leave. We can stay. Now, remember, the challenges were not over for the disciples. They would still face hardship in the days to come. But don’t you think that in those dark moments, those dark days, that Peter, James and John thought about this moment. They summoned it from their memory in moments of discouragement and depression. This memory had to encourage them. 

“It’s ok, I saw heaven. I heard God’s voice. Jesus really is not just my friend, my Master, He is also my God. No matter was happens to me, I know that there is more”, they had to have thought. 

God’s plan is sure and His promises are true. Listen to the words captured in Hebrews 1:1-2. 

Hebrews 1:1-2 (ESV) 

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

3 Transformative Teachings From The Transfiguration?

Teaching One: The Anticipation of Future Glory vs. 3

Teaching Two: The Confirmation of God’s Plan vs. 4

Teaching Three: The Revelation of Christ’s Divinity vs. 9

So, we have learned about the anticipation of future glory. One day, as Christ was transformed, we too will be transformed. Teaching Two, we learn about the confirmation of God’s plan. Moses and Elijah were there to testify to the reality of Jesus was and still is today. Now, teaching three. Teaching three reminds us about the revelation of Christ’s divinity. Let’s reread verse 9 this morning. 

Mark 9:9 ESV

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.

I tell you what, let’s go back and read a couple of other verses as well. Let’s go back and reread verses 3, 7 and 9 once more. 

Mark 9:3,7,9 ESV

and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. 

[7] And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son; listen to him." 

[9] 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.

As I stated early in the sermon, I wonder if the disciples were struggling with doubt. Maybe Peter, James and John themselves were wrestling with doubt about the identity of Jesus. The reason that I possess these questions is because of what Mark writes about the transfiguration. It is like Mark is trying to prove to these disciples to reality of Jesus’ divinity. Maybe the disciples were not struggling at all. Maybe Mark had enough foreknowledge to know that millions of people would question Jesus’ nature. Maybe he was writing these insights for them. Either way, these verses explicitly reveal the divine nature of Jesus Bar Joseph of Nazareth, born of Mary in Bethlehem. 

In verse three, Jesus clothes become dazzling white-whiter than anything on earth. This isn’t some magic trick or some illusion. This is the literal shekinah glory of God piercing through Jesus’ human body and exterior clothing, bathing the disciples in the holiness of God. Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” What the disciples saw was the divine nature of Jesus, His true glory as the Son of God.

While Jesus is shining with divine glory, a cloud envelops them, and God’s voice is heard, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!” (Mark 9:7). This is God the Father affirming Jesus’ divine sonship. Remember at Jesus’ baptism, God’s voice said something similar: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). These divine affirmations bookend the earthly ministry of Jesus, putting the spotlight of the disciples on Jesus’ divine nature.

Then there is verse 9. The event has concluded and now the disciples and Jesus are heading down the mountain. You can hear their conversation. They were reeling from the massive impacts of the event. Then Jesus drops a nuclear bomb on them. 

“Fellas, you cannot tell anyone about this until I am raised from the dead on the third day.”

Say what?

Come again?

What is the only thing that could trump what just happened?

Resurrection.

What is the only thing, the only event, that would seal the deal for declaring the truth of Jesus being God incarnate?

Resurrection. 

Im sure that the disciples stopped in their tracks. “Jesus, did you just say that you were going to die and be resurrected?”

Friends, pull in real close here. We are about to finish. I want to tell you something really important. While the transfiguration is a tremendous, an amazing, an awe inspiring story, it is meaningless trash without the resurrection. 

Without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the transfiguration is absolutely meaningless dross meant for the dung heap of history. “If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that He said; if He didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what He said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like His teaching but whether or not He rose from the dead.”

Adrian Rogers, famed pastor says this about the resurrection of Christ…

“The resurrection is not merely important to the historic Christian faith; without it, there would be no Christianity. It is the singular doctrine that elevates Christianity above all other world religions.”

As we reflect on the incredible moment of the Transfiguration, let’s remember that it wasn’t just a dramatic event—it was a revelation of Jesus’ divine glory and a confirmation of His mission. In that moment, Peter, James, and John saw Jesus for who He truly is: the Son of God, full of glory and grace.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The same glory that shone on the mountain is the glory that came down to earth in Jesus Christ. He lived among us, died for our sins, and rose again to give us eternal life.

Today, I invite you to see Jesus not just as a historical figure or a great teacher, but as the glorious Son of God who loves you deeply and has a wonderful plan for your life. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to accept Him as your Savior, believe in Him, and trust Him with your eternity.

Jesus is the fulfillment of all God’s promises, and His glory shines brightly, offering hope and salvation to all who come to Him. Open your heart to Him today, and let His light transform your life. After all, He’s not just the King of Kings, He’s My King. He’s Your King. He is King forever. 

Let’s pray together:

Heavenly Father, we thank You for revealing Your glory through Jesus Christ. We are in awe of His majesty and humbled by His love. Help us to accept Him fully, believe in His name, and trust Him with our lives and our eternity. May we live in the light of His glory, sharing His grace and truth with those around us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

That’s My King!