The Transfiguration - Mark 9:2-9 @ Christ Church 19 February 2012

Reading – Mark 9:2-9

The Transfiguration

Introduction

This talk will be in the form of a quiz, loosely based on Who wants to be a millionaire. The main difference being there is no million pound prize. Indeed no prize of any sort. Also the only qualification for taking part is volunteering. So I'd like four volunteers first please.

…

The rules are quite simple. I'll give you a minute to think and then ask you to show the letter in response to the question.

If you're not sure there's phone a friend and ask the audience, but no 50-50.

I'll explain those if we get to them.

After each answer I'll say a few words about what we have read.

[organise volunteers]

1. Complete the sentence “Jesus went up the mountain …”
   A) to find the lost sheep
   B) with his best friendsC) to be alone with God
   D) to build a shelter
   Jesus was with Peter James and John. They were the three men who were closest to him – his best friends. They would all play important roles in the development of the Christian faith, but for now Jesus was teaching them about God and helping them get to know Him better.
   It's important to remember that Jesus, Peter, James and John are all Jews. They have all grown up with the books of our Old Testament being read to them, probably every day.
2. What happened to Jesus on the mountain?
   A) metamorphosis
   B) transmutation
   C) transmogrification
   D) conversion
   The word in the reading is not in the list of choices. So what does transfiguration really mean.
   [Harry Potter Slide]
   Well J K Rowling got it wrong in Harry Potter.
   Lets look at the other words and see the real meanings of each.
   Transmutation is a description of the work of the alchemists – those ancient scientists trying to turn lead into gold. They were trying to alter the essential substance of a material from one type to another. That is not what happened to Jesus.
   [Cat Slide]
   Transmogrification is closer. It means to change into a different shape or form, one that is bizarre or fantastical. It doesn't have to be a cat!
   Conversion also means changing one thing to another, but is a general term and is not specific enough to describe the events in today's reading.
   Metamorphosis is the biological process by which caterpillars turn into butterflies. It means that the form of the creature changes, but the substance (the 'stuff' that it's made of) stays the same.
   That's what happened to Jesus. His appearance changed. You could say that God began to show through.
3. Who joined them on the Mountain?
   A) the other disciples
   B) Paul & Timothy
   C) Moses and Elijah
   D) The centurion
   Moses and Elijah.
   [Who were Moses and Elijah?]
   Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets. Do you remember that I said Jesus, Peter, James and John would have known the old testament well. Two important parts of the old testament are the Law and the prophets.
   The Law, mostly in the first five books was given to Moses by God, - do you remember the story of the 10 commandments?
   The prophets were men and women who spoke God's words to the people of Israel. They were often murdered for telling unpopular truths.
   Jesus said in Matthew 5v17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
   And in Luke 24:44 after His resurrection “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
   These things would help the Leaders of the Church understand how to develop their beliefs within the Jewish faith.
4. While Jesus was shining the disciples were
   A) preparing to leave
   B) arguing
   C) building a house
   D) very frightened
   Imagine it! - well try to imagine it. It's almost impossible.
   [Transfiguration picture]
   

   The picture is an inadequate representation of the event. Matthew 17:2 says “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” So it would have been impossible to look at him.
   The person you have been with for three years suddenly starts to emit light. A light so white and so bright that it almost blinds you. You cannot look directly at him any more – he is just too bright.
   I'd be frightened, so I'm not surprised that the disciples were.
5. What happened while Jesus was shining?
   A) the weather turned
   B) a cloud covered them
   C) it began to get dark
   D) the sun came out
   Exodus 19:9:
   The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.”
   In Exodus 33:20 God says “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
   [Cloud cover slide]
   Since Moses' encounter with God, a cloud has always signified the presence of God. Here it is no different. The cloud hides God's face, but not his voice.
6. What did the voice say?
   A) This is my son
   B) I love my son
   C) Follow Him
   D) Listen to Him
   This is one of those questions where the Christ church rules are different from the real rules. God's voice from the cloud said “this is my son”, “whom I love” and “Listen to Him”. The voice is confirming what the rest of the vision had suggested – that Jesus is God's son.
   Unlike at his baptism this message was entirely for the disciples. They must have already known that Jesus was special. Now they knew just how special.
7. As they came down the mountain Jesus told the disciples
   A) Keep it secret for nowB) The plan to visit Jerusalem
   C) That he was going to be killed
   D) Meet back here next week

[Complete the competition]

“Don't tell anyone about this until ….” Can you keep a secret? Sometimes keeping a secret can be very difficult. I can remember times when I've almost let slip and ruined the surprise for someone. In this case though I doubt the disciples had too much trouble. What they had seen was pretty fantastic, and now they were being asked to keep it secret until after the 'son of man' had risen from the dead.

“Son of Man” is a title that Jesus used of himself, so the disciples would have understood what he was talking about.

What does it all mean for us?

What can a vision given to three men over two thousand years ago mean to us today?

We've seen how the vision confirmed that Jesus was the son of God. The glory of God shone through him and out to the watchers, the whiteness symbolizing holiness and purity. Moses the giver of the Law and the rescuer of Israel appears, linking Jesus with the very origins of the Jewish faith.

Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.”

Elijah, the greatest prophet, a man everyone expected to return and announce the coming Messiah appears, and both talk with Jesus.

Then there is the voice from the cloud. God says: “This is my son, whom I love, Listen to Him.”.

Prior to this vision Jesus had been teaching his disciples about his forthcoming death and Peter had recognised Him as the Messiah.

The vision served to help solidify those realisations. It can do the same for us. It helps us to see where Jesus fits into the history of God's redemption of the World.

Jesus knew that he was soon to die at the hands of the Romans and that His voluntary death would give people a way back to the relationship with God they were intended to have.

After his resurrection the disciples would have remembered the vision – even assuming that they'd somehow forgotten it – and that, along with everything else they had seen would have helped them understand that their rescue from death was possible.

If you can't take any of that there is at least God's command to listen to Jesus.

The Million Dollar Question really understates what is at stake here.

It's a life and death question we're finding answers for.

Final Answer Slide - 21

Final Answer?