The morning after a polar vortex blew into our region, the land was covered with several inches of snow and I sat down near my windows ready to do my devotions. I looked out through the panes and saw a vast field of fog that merged the horizon with the sky and earth. The atmosphere was a bleak blue-gray and the air was filled with tiny shards of ice formed by the frigid and dangerous cold. The dawn was just occurring and the light was diffused across the fog. It seemed as if it would be another gloomy winter’s day. But as the sun rose and breached what I knew to be the horizon, I started to blink more often. I scanned the sky and discovered a perfectly round orb hanging in the fog. Ah, the sun at last! The fog did not lift or dissipate, but the field of vision grew brighter and brighter until it was a brilliant white. An effulgence of light overcame the misty power of the fog and I started to squint my eyes against its intensity. At one point I had to lift my hand to shield my eyes because it was so bright and I turned my head away to allow my eyes to recover from the strength of that light. I turned back into the brightness, with my hand up to protect from the brilliant sunlight, and could only see a vast screen of absolute brilliance. It was difficult to look into and absolutely radiant. I could still see the great orb of the sun still making its ceaseless rise in the fog-laden sky. I sat in wonder and awe at the complete immersion of light—no other object was visible but the sun.
I wonder if this is what it was like for Peter, James and John when their rabbi and friend was transfigured in their presence. Did their eyes blink rapidly and did they have to raise their hands to shield their faces? Did they have to turn away to protect their eyes? Daniel J. Harrington wrote: “The disciples are granted a glimpse of him in his glorious state, which is to be his eternal state after the death and resurrection.”[1] Let’s take some time to work this out.
Read Mark 9:2-13.
Mark was re-telling a significant and powerful scene which he himself did not experience. Three people very close to him did witness these things and it was a life-changing event. It made Mark reckon with the same things that we have to reckon with: Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to humanity. He is the Lord of Glory. He is in essence God. He is not less than God. He is not a subordinate to God. He is the third person of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit—three facets of the One, True, Living God. Anyone who denies this cannot call themselves Christian. This is terribly important as we look at this passage of Scripture.
Let’s explore two words right now: revelation and transformed. The first term, revelation, is described by the dictionary as an act of revealing or making known; an enlightening surprise; an act of revealing or communicating divine truth. This word indicates to me that the revelation is toward the person who does not know something. There may be a hidden part or motive which was indiscernible prior to the revelation. In the case of our passage today, although the disciples had begun to come to some terms with Jesus as the Messiah, they had not made the full connection between him and the omnipotent, eternal God. On this day on that mountain what they experienced was an alternate reality they had not known before. Nor had they been willing to accept the solemn words of his suffering and resurrection. This alternate reality included the absence of time, bodily decay and darkness. Not only did these disciples see and hear Moses and Elijah the prophets who had been long dead to this world, but they also experienced the symbolic presence and very voice of God the Father.
Peter, James and John had come off of fishing boats to follow Jesus. They were good Jewish boys who were familiar with the account of Moses coming down off of a mountain with a glowing face after visiting with God. (Exodus 34:29-35) They were also very familiar with the legacy of the great prophet Elijah and the traditions that he would re-emerge before the coming of the Messiah. Certainly, this was also a revelation of Moses and Elijah to the three disciples, or how else would they have known who they were? Commentators have many theories on why Moses and Elijah were present including that they both had no known burial site and that they represent the Law and the Prophets. But Mark does not venture further into those whys. He simply gives the account that was certainly awe-inspiring for those who had experienced this event and who heard it retold.
These three disciples were on a mountain with Jesus. Not only did they see and hear the legendary Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus, but they saw and heard something remarkable, wonderful and terrifying—Jesus transformed in his glory and the cloud, the ultimate Biblical symbol of the presence of God, and voice of God the Father! This is called a theophany – an encounter directly with God. William H. Malas, Jr., in the Illustrated Bible Life, describes the purposes for these events:
Biblical theophanies serve two primary purposes. First, when God appears, people see Him as He truly is: the wondrous and amazing (and even terrifying) God of the universe. He truly is the God who, through His mighty power, is able to do extraordinary things for His people.
These appearances have a second purpose that is equally important. What these awesome encounters with the one and true God reveal is His purpose for the world and for those who desire to be His people. Biblical theophanies reveal a God who loves His creation and wants everyone to experience His salvation.[2]
For centuries people have demanded to hear God’s voice. Many people have said things like, “If God would just speak to me, I would be satisfied.” Be careful! You may hear that someday and know the awesome and magnificent authority of God. And then what would you do? I know that I would do exactly what those disciples did—fumble around trying to figure this out with my limited understanding of God. Peter wanted to hang on to the moment by building booths. Who would not want to stay on the mountain top with Jesus, God the Father, Moses and Elijah?! But there was more, so much more, than just this one event at play. Think about the theophany-like events with God’s emissary-angels: when Jesus was born the angels’ declared and sang at his birth (Luke 2:8-14) and at the resurrection the angels’ declarations that he was risen (Luke 24:4-7, Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-8, John 20:1-8). Donald Burdick wrote: “The transfiguration is therefore a focal point in the revelation of the Kingdom of God, for it looks back to the Old Testament and shows how Christ fulfills it, and it looks on to the great events of the cross, resurrection, ascension, and parousia [second coming and new creation]. Peter was wrong in trying to make the experience permanent. What was needed was the presence of Jesus alone and attention to His voice.”[3]
We need to hear and understand what God said. Read again and see if these words are terrifying or comforting: “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” God was speaking directly to these frail, frightened men and telling them who Jesus was. Jirair Tashjian wrote: “In effect, God was telling the disciples not to put the Son of God in the same camp as Moses and Elijah. As Hebrews 3:5-6 puts it, ‘Moses was faithful as a servant . . . But Christ is faithful as the Son.’”[4] Jesus was standing before them resplendent and utterly transfigured into his beautiful holiness. Carl Leth wrote: “Jesus was turning their whole conceptual world upside down.”[5] No other disciples had ever seen Jesus in this way before. In those incredible moments, an alternate and true reality was revealed to these disciples. We cannot really explain all of what happened on that mountain. But we can surely bask in the glory of the revealed God there.
It was on their way back down the mountain that the disciples tried to come to grips with some of what they had seen. Jesus asked them to keep it to themselves until later. Perhaps it would be too much for others to believe, or it would feed into the general fervor seeking a popular, political and civil savior, or as Carl Leth wrote, “While we are dazzled by the extraordinary vision of the transfiguration it is likely that the more incomprehensible revelation in this text was Jesus’ persistent description of His messianic mission in terms of suffering and death. That’s not how the Messiah was supposed to come. . . Following their experience of the transfiguration, you would think that, given the extraordinary scenes they had witnessed, the disciples would never question Jesus or His actions again. Of course, you would think that we should have witnessed and experienced enough of God’s presence and power to trust Him implicitly. But we persistently try to get God to fit into our understanding or sense of what’s good. So it should not be surprising that, despite witnessing the Transfiguration, the disciples are (still) confused and questioning.”[6]
One other thing that they learned was in direct opposition to what the religious leaders had been teaching. They had been taught that the Old Testament Elijah would come before the Messiah would come. Indeed, an additional alternate reality was presented! Jesus refuted the teaching of the elders by helping the disciples to understand that a type of Elijah had already come—and that was John the Baptist preparing the ears, eyes and hearts for the kind of Messiah they were definitely not looking for—a Suffering Servant who is also the Lord of Glory.
So much of who Jesus is goes against what we expect. He is not bound, thankfully, by what we expect. Rather he is the released revelation of God among us. The light and love of God was poured into perfect human flesh, willing to suffer on our behalf, so that we could see him and know him. Jesus is God transfigured for our benefit. Three disciples received what was revealed to them on that day on that mountain. Do you believe that Jesus is God transfigured, your Lord of Glory?
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
~Isaiah 60:1-2
Amen
M.R. Hyde
Copyright 2021
Study/Meditation Challenge
Read the theophanies found in the Bible and respond to the questions below.
Old Testament: Exod. 19, Isa. 6:1-8, 1 Kings 19:11-18, Ezek. 1; 10; 11:22-25; 43:1-5
New Testament: Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22
Question from the IBL
Why do you think God sometimes speaks to His people in ways that we describe as theophanies?
Why do you think God doesn’t always speak to His people in this way?
Questions from the Leader’s Guide
Have you ever experienced a meeting with God that you would describe as a theophany?
How can we welcome the mysterious presence of God into our lives?
What might hinder us from accepting anything mysterious or extraordinary
[1] The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1990, p. 615.
[2] Illustrated Bible Life, Winter Quarter 2021, The Foundry Press, Kansas City, MO, 2020.
[3] The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1990, p. 1292.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Faith Connections Bible Study Guide, Winter Quarter 2021, The Foundry Press, Kansas City, MO, 2020.
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