The Greatest Truth of the Universe is Yours to Deliver

Mark 9:2-13 NLT  

  2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. 

  5  Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He said this because he didn’t really know what else to say, for they were all terrified. 

  7  Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus with them. 

  9 As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  10 So they kept it to themselves, but they often asked each other what he meant by “rising from the dead.”

  11 Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return before the Messiah comes?” 

  12  Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be treated with utter contempt? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures predicted.”

Jesus chose his three future leaders of the Church to witness his transfiguration-- when he would begin to retake his original form from Glory before his incarnation. They saw Jesus the Man and their Rabbi, as the Son of God, and glorified, right before their eyes. It shocked them. Shocked people often say silly things and such was Peter's problem with the idea of building 'shelters.' God wasn't even sidetracked by Peter's response and spoke immediately to their hearing-- "This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to Him." Sure Moses the law-giver was a great prophet, and leader. Sure Elijah was a great prophet. But Jesus was greater as He had been telling them for three years.

Their next challenge was two fold. First they were not to talk about what they had seen for it would only confuse the others and they did not need to hear about things they could not yet understand. Then they were to speak of it after his resurrection but that very statement confused them. True to form, they did not ask what could have been the most important question of their day. Probably because he had told them before and they did not want the teacher to think of them as bad learners.  So they just waited until later events would remind them of their question.  Instead they asked a superficial question about Ezekiel's prophesy of Elijah coming back in the end times.  Jesus points out to them that it has happened and the people mistreated him just like they had done to all of the ancient prophets. They then understood John the Baptist was the one sent in the 'spirit and power of Elijah.'

How clear it is that Jesus is God and that He came to be our redeemer. Since it is so very clear, why are you and I so silent about it. Why do we let anything make us sad or depressed? We have the greatest truth of the universe for all time in our heads and hands and we are given authority to share it with others so that it will also change their lives. With whom should you be sharing it today?

Your servant in Christ's love

Dan

drdanelliott@gmail.com