Jesus' transfiguration and our resurrection (Mark 9:2-13)

[Stephan Choe]

March 23, 2025

Key verses 2b-3:         “And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became bright and very white, such as no bleacher on earth can make them so white.”

We need faith, hope and love.

We need faith in God and Jesus Christ so that we can have firm confidence despite all difficulties. We need love so that we can be happy. We also need living hope for the future.

Today I would like to talk about hope.

Generally, when people get older, they easily lose their hope.

But this Bible text teaches us that we can become more hopeful despite growing old.

To do this, we want to get to know the glorious image of Jesus through this Bible text and become aware of our own resurrection. In this way, we can make a hopeful pilgrimage to the kingdom of heaven.

1. Mountain Climbing (2a)

Verse 2a reads: “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain, just them alone.”

Six days after Peter's confession of faith and Jesus’ announcement of his death on the cross and his resurrection, Jesus went up the mountain.

Why did Jesus go up the mountain?

To prepare himself for his death and resurrection through prayer (Luke 9:28).

He takes his three disciples with him: Peter, James and John. These three disciples should firmly believe in his glorious resurrection and proclaim his resurrection after Jesus' resurrection.

This ascent of the mountain by Jesus with his three disciples shows us that Jesus wants to inform us about the glorious heavenly world and strengthen our faith in the risen Jesus and our resurrection world.

We should see our aging as mountain climbing, because the older we get, the closer we will be to the kingdom of heaven, where we will see the risen Jesus and have fellowship with all Christians. That is why we can become more joyful and praise God day by day.

2. Transfiguration (2b-3)

What happens to Jesus when he and the disciples reach the top of the mountain?

Verses 2b and 3 tell us: “And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became bright and very white, such as no bleacher on earth can make them so white.”

The Gospel of Matthew 17:2 tells us about his transfigured form as follows: “He was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as the light.”

That his clothes were white - this signifies his holiness and glory. That his face shone like the sun - this means that he has the divine form. In the kingdom of heaven there is no need for a sun or a moon, because Jesus' face shines like the sun.

The disciples had previously come to know Jesus in his human form. He was lowly, poor and yet friendly. If we only believed in this Jesus, we would be missing something important.

We have heard many fairytale stories about poor, lowly and kind princes. Their stories are beautiful. But these characters cannot help us.

But Jesus showed three disciples his heavenly form. This figure is his actual form, because he is the Son of God. He was already there in this form before creation. But he emptied himself and came into the world in human form in order to be a friend of mankind and to take all human sins upon himself and die on the cross as a sacrifice of atonement for us. After his death, however, he will rise again and put on his original form. At the end of this world, he will return in this form to gather us and lead us into his heavenly kingdom. He will give us the same form.

Jesus showed his three top disciples a preview of his heavenly glory even before his death. So they should firmly believe in Jesus as the Son of God and proclaim the good news of the kingdom of heaven to all people.

We Christians should not only carry the humble, friendly image of Jesus in our hearts, but also the glorious image of Jesus. If we carry the glorious image of Jesus, we can always be full of hope and joy. We can then overcome all difficulties or temptations and be victorious. This is the confidence of all Christians. We live on this earth. But our home is the kingdom of heaven, where Jesus Christ reigns.

Injustice and sin often occur in the world. That's why we experience many ugly things in this world. That's why many people carry ugly images of the world in their hearts and torment themselves. They want to free themselves from this torment. But they can't.

But we can free ourselves from these ugly images by carrying in our hearts the glorious image of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead and reigns as King and Lord in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When the Apostle Peter had not yet received the glorious image of Jesus into his heart, he was very afraid. Therefore, on the night of Jesus' arrest, in view of his death, he denied Jesus three times. But later, when he believed in the resurrection of Jesus and carried the glorious image of Jesus in his heart, he became courageous and full of hope. He wrote in his second letter to Christians scattered due to persecution:

"For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were witnesses of his glory. For he received honor and glory from God the Father through a voice that came to him from the great glory: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we ourselves heard this voice coming from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain."

3. Resurrection Figures of Moses, Elijah, and Us (4)

Verse 4 tells us: "And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they talked with Jesus." God had announced his laws through Moses. But people transgressed them and had to be punished for it. God sent his prophets, such as Elijah, and called them to repentance. But they didn't repent.

So God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for their sin. When Jesus prayed, God sent Moses and Elijah and encouraged Jesus to walk the Way of the Cross and then rise from the dead. Through this, Jesus would accomplish God's work of redemption.

The two prophets had experienced a life of suffering on earth to fulfill God's will. Moses suffered greatly for 40 years because of the rebellious people and was even nearly stoned to death. Elijah suffered greatly under King Ahab's persecution and felt lonely, having to fight alone against the sin of the royal house and the people.

If we only consider their earthly life, we would feel great compassion for their suffering. But this Bible passage shows us that after their physical death, the two will live in glory in the Kingdom of Heaven. And their earthly suffering was only a moment compared to their glorious time in heaven.

That is why the Apostle Paul told us:

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).

When we are resurrected, we will see and be with the glorious Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21 describes the new resurrection world as follows:

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

<Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the first things have passed away>" (Revelation 21:1-4).

We will all rise from the dead and enter the kingdom of heaven, where there is no more death, pain, or selfishness. For we will all be like the risen Jesus. There we will praise God with all our hearts and love our brothers and sisters as ourselves.

The Apostle John described our future heavenly world as follows:

"And when the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks to him who sat on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fell down before him who lives forever and ever, and placed their crowns before the Lord, saying, 'Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created'" (Revelation 4:9-11).

So we will see God, the Christ, and worship him together with all the elders, apostles, and saints.

4. God's instruction to Peter and to us (5-6)

How did Peter behave when he saw the glory of Jesus? Verses 5-6 report:

"And Peter began to say to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'"

Peter didn't know what he was saying, for they were quite perturbed. But he spoke what he desired in his heart of hearts.

He didn't want to return to the world, where it is full of problems and difficulties. He wanted to enjoy the glory without suffering.

What does God say to Peter and us?

Verses 7 and 8 report: "And a cloud came and overshadowed them. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my beloved Son; listen to him!' And suddenly, when they looked around, they saw no one with them except Jesus only."

God says to the disciples and to us: Jesus is the Son of God. We should trust in Jesus as the Son of God and follow his word. Jesus said that through suffering, death, and resurrection, he would attain the glory of God. Therefore, through faith in the resurrection, we should overcome difficulties and suffering in this world and be victorious.

I cannot forget the hour of Esther's passing. She was in great pain because of her cancer.

At midnight from Monday (December 9) to Tuesday (December 10), 2019, Esther fought a fierce battle and won. In great pain, Esther asked God three times: "Why must I suffer this?"

Then she called out, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" "Daddy" was Esther's way of saying "God." Then she said "Forgive me!" three times.

I think she was asking God for forgiveness because she had complained to God about her pain.

After she said this, her face became wonderfully peaceful, and she soon fell asleep. These were the last words I heard from Esther, as I was with her the whole time in her sick room. She slept peacefully until she went to be with her Heavenly Father at 4 p.m. on December 13th.

Because I was able to believe in Esther's glorious resurrection, I was able to overcome all sadness and be of good cheer.

Therefore, I had John 11:25 inscribed on Esther's tombstone:

"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live."

We should carry in our hearts the glorious image of Jesus Christ and the image of our resurrection and always have a living hope and say this gospel to other people. Amen!