Mark 9 Commentary
Verse 1. Which event is the LORD Jesus referring to, the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, or the day of Pentecost? Could the placement of this statement just before the Transfiguration suggest that the human author thinks of the Transfiguration as the coming of the Kingdom?
Whichever one, the three events come with sufficient power and awe to fit the description.
Who is Jesus? Like everyone else, the Pharisees and scribes included, the disciples have struggled with the identity of Jesus. For sure, He is not what they think he is. He is not Moses. He is not Elijah. The appearance of Moses and Elijah confirms it. Anyone else but not Moses or Elijah.
Both Moses and Elijah talk to Jesus. Note the location – the mountain. Only two characters are known to have spoken to God in their physical state: Moses and Elijah. Play the video again and see that this is Mount Sinai and we have Moses talking to Jesus, JESUS, the LORD Jesus Christ, or LORD God Almighty. Forget Peter’s assessment and his confession. See the real identity of Jesus.
This is Mount Horeb (Sinai) that Elijah mounts after a trip lasting 40 days and 40 nights. And on this occasion, the LORD God isn’t in the wind or the fire. He is in a small, gentle voice – probably the gentle voice of the man Jesus Christ.
Both greats talk with Jesus. The details aren’t for our ears. The scriptures at this time are generally referred to as the “Law and the prophets”, hence Moses (the Law) and Elijah (the prophets). The scriptures find fulfillment in this one most important reality. We could apply the thought that both threads of history converge on Jesus. There is a handshake, they talk; there is agreement.
The disciples should see the varied versions, instances, references, or depictions of this personality in the scripture as one story told from all sorts of angles.
Truly, this is “kingdom come”! See how Peter reacts! It is a place to be. He has seen glory! And the LORD Jesus doesn’t rebuke him. At the right time, he and his friends must bear witness to these events. This is the right version for the market! The product can now be sold!
A cloud appears and covers them. And the same voice as the “baptism voice” thunders again: “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to him!” Is there still doubt? We doubt.
On Mount Sinai, the LORD spoke, and Moses listened. On Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19), the LORD spoke, and Elijah listened. The same LORD is speaking; let the disciples listen. Let them listen, and they will live; they won’t die. Moses and Elijah are not known to have died at all. They live on. The mountain experience brings life. Jesus (JESUS), the LORD Jesus, brings life.
“Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Mark 4 verse 41. Do they still have the same question?
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