CHAPTER 9
JUST GIVE THEM TIME!
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. Mark 9:2-8
Why only Peter, James and John? What impact did this event have on these three disciples that affected them for the rest of their lives?
Jesus must have taken them up the mountain because He knew what was about to happen. Was this a part of what He referred to six days before – the kingdom of God coming in power, or was He referring to His death on the cross? John was the only one of these three who encountered this same Jesus in His glory, before he, John, died – on the island of Patmos. He referred to this experience in his gospel (1:14).
Peter also testified to the same experience in his second letter (1:16-18). He writes of this event with a deep sense of awe. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, all these things came together into a complete whole which finally made sense to him and he could write with deep conviction about his confidence in the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. When we watch and listen to Peter’s reactions, we realise that it was quite okay not to understand until the picture was complete. Although Jesus was exasperated with His disciples at times, He was also gentle with them because He knew that they would finally get it when they had the full revelation.
The fact that they stuck with Him through thick and thin, even when they didn’t understand, when they were offended by Him or even hurt by His rebukes, meant that they were aware of something about Him that held them in spite of their soulish reactions. It was moments like these that validated their loyalty and perseverance.
Luke tells us that Jesus was transfigured while He was praying. Why is this significant? Moses’ face glowed with the glory of God when he spent extended time with God in prayer. Jesus lived His entire life in the awareness of God’s presence. This doesn’t just happen. The glow of God’s glory increases with the consciousness of His nearness.