The Transfiguration

This week I’ve been posting from Mark chapter 9. Up until now, I’ve been going off of the middle part of the chapter (a man brought his son to Jesus’ disciples, and they were unable to help, but Jesus healed the son). The first part of the chapter talks about the Transfiguration.

Jesus took three of His closest disciples, Peter, James and John, up to the mountaintop. While they were there, Jesus was transfigured, and Moses and Elijah appeared. Now, the disciples didn’t quite know what to make of this. Peter suggested building three tabernacles, one for each of the three, but Jesus thought differently. If those three men hadn’t already known that they were in the presence of greatness, they definitely knew it then. You would almost think that they had seen so much by then that nothing could surprise them, but this particular incident not only surprised them, I would say it stunned them.

In any case, I think that we should spend a little time discussing the significance of the Transfiguration. I don’t think that there is any real controversy over the idea that Moses appeared because he was the Lawgiver, and Jesus had come to fulfill the Law (and yet instill Grace). Some have said that Elijah was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament, so it makes sense that he would appear with the greatest prophet of the New Testament (not to suggest that Jesus was only a prophet, as some have said, He was much more than that). I have to question, though, whether Elijah was the greatest prophet of the Old Testament. Certainly, one of the greatest, but, I don’t think he has clear claim to the title of greatest prophet. I would be willing to entertain the notion that perhaps Elijah was there because he had ascended into Heaven, therefore foreshadowing the end of Jesus’ ministry, except that Enoch did that first.

The day that Elijah was taken up, his protégé Elisha made a point of staying with him all the way up until Elijah was taken from him. Several times Elijah told Elisha to wait for him at one place or another, and each time, Elisha insisted on going with his master. At one point, Elijah broached the subject that neither one of them wanted to talk about, and he asked Elisha what he wanted after his mentor was gone. Elisha responded that he wanted a double portion of the spirit that he knew rested on Elijah. Elijah said that he had asked a hard thing, but, if he saw Elijah after he was taken up, then he would get it. If you read up, Elisha did some amazing things after that (see also here, and here, and here). I would think that Elisha should be considered a greater prophet than Elijah.

To be honest, I think this may be the point that Jesus was trying to make. Elijah was the master, and Elisha followed him. Even after Elijah was taken, Elisha never departed from the ways that Elijah had taught him. It was clear that the same spirit was on him that was on Elijah. At another point, Jesus said that if His disciples remained faithful than they would do greater works than He Himself had done (not that any of them would ever be greater than Him, but that they would do greater works). This promise extends also to us, if we allow the spirit that was in Jesus to flow through us. Of course, that would require us to walk in the Spirit, and allow God’s spirit to guide us, and direct us, and to remember that it isn’t us that’s actually doing the work, it’s God.