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[0:00] As we find it in the Gospel according to Mark and chapter 9 and we'll read the first 15 verses of that chapter.

[0:12] The Gospel according to Mark and chapter 9 and the first 15 verses. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there shall be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

[0:42] And after six days Jesus taketh with them Peter and James and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain, apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

[0:56] And his raiment became shining exceedingly white as snow, so as no fooler on earth can white them. And there appeared unto him Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

[1:11] And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee and one for Moses and one for Elias.

[1:22] For he was not what to say, for they were so afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him.

[1:34] And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more save Jesus only with themselves. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of Man were risen from the dead.

[1:52] And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

[2:05] And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things. And how it is written of the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at no. But I say unto you that Elias is indeed come.

[2:19] And they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

[2:31] And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, saluted him. And so on, may the Lord bless unto us the reading of that portion of his word.

[2:44] We shall now sing from Psalm 19, on page 223. Psalm 19, on page 223. At verse 7. God's law is perfect and converts the soul in sin that lies.

[3:00] God's testimony is most sure and makes the simple wise. The statutes of the Lord are right and do rejoice the heart. The Lord's command is pure and doth light to the eyes in part.

[3:14] Unsported is the fear of God and doth endure forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. They more than gold, yea, much fine gold to be desired are.

[3:28] Than honey, honey from the comb that droppeth sweeter far. We shall sing these verses from 7 to 10 to the Lord's praise. God's law is perfect and converts the soul in sin that lies.

[3:42] God's law is perfect and converts the soul in sin that lies.

[3:58] God's testimony is most sure and makes the simple wise.

[4:13] God's law is perfect and converts the soul in sin that lies in part. The statutes of the Lord are right and truly rejoice the heart.

[4:29] God's law is perfect and converts the soul in sin that lies in part. The statutes of the Lord are right and truly rejoice the heart. God's law is perfect and has made the sin that lies in part.

[4:42] The statutes of the Lord are right and truly rejoice the heart. God's law is perfect andacker twice the heart. God's law is perfect and what you are able to pray the heart. God's law is equal for you, Lord are right and truly ε soj 좀 for you, slash.

[4:56] And God's law is perfect and unebring the sin that lies in the air. Amen, love and truly view нами for us be perfect and will disclosure the heart.

[5:06] Lord's law is perfect and thy priority any moreap私. Lord is perfect and guild and rescue one. Lord be in the name of the sound of heaven to the light and truly rejoice the heart. Thank you.

[5:42] Thank you.

[6:12] And we'll read from the beginning. This raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, as no fuller on earth can white them.

[6:49] And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Last year we began a series of studies on the Gospel of Mark, and we took several months looking at chapter 1 to 8.

[7:10] Today I would like to return to the Gospel of Mark and begin by looking at chapter 9. At the beginning of this chapter we'll read, and he said, And to them verily I say unto you, that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

[7:34] These words were spoken within the context of the ending of chapter 8. There Jesus lays out to the crowd, along with the twelve disciples, the demands and the expectations of discipleship.

[7:52] There are three demands presented to those who are present and to us today. Jesus says to them, That whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself.

[8:13] That is his first demand of discipleship. He lays out to them the conditions of true discipleship. Let him deny himself.

[8:27] Now there is a difference between denying self and self-denial. They're not the same thing at all.

[8:39] We practice self-denial when we give up things or give up activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves completely to Jesus and obey his will.

[9:00] He does not ask the disciples to deny something to themselves. What he is asking is that they deny self.

[9:10] A second demand is let him deny himself and take up his cross.

[9:22] Now to take up his cross would have sounded somewhat strange to the crowd because taking up a cross was a prominent feature of life under the Romans.

[9:39] It was a cruel, disgusting, repulsive form of penalty that was inflicted upon criminals.

[9:52] So that the imagery of taking up a cross prior to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus would have been something to be dreaded.

[10:04] However, in the light of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, taking up the cross means to identify ourselves with Jesus in his suffering and death.

[10:22] The writer to the Hebrews says of Christ, Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.

[10:35] We are to be willing to join the ranks of the despised and subject ourselves to be put to shame and face hostility just as Jesus faced the hostility of the crowd as he carried his cross to the place of execution.

[10:58] We are to face the oppression and hostility of all those who oppose our faith and Christian witness.

[11:10] How often we quote Isaac Watts' famous hymn, When I survey the wondrous cross.

[11:23] But this demand of discipleship wants us to do more than survey the cross. Or another famous hymn, to love the old rugged cross.

[11:39] We are to do more. Jesus demands that we bear the cross. We have an obedience, as it were, to live out the cross.

[11:52] To face all the hostility that comes against our faith. To face the shame and all the oppression that is thrown at us because of our faith and Christian witness.

[12:13] And his third demand was, follow me. We must follow him obediently. And sometimes that may mean not the way that we would choose for ourselves, but in the way that he has chosen.

[12:31] That means in obedience to his teachings. All these demands that Jesus makes can be summed up in two words.

[12:45] Total commitment. Which means a total dedication to Jesus Christ.

[12:56] To live out the Christian life in a very practical way. Jesus said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

[13:16] Then Jesus gives a solemn warning. He says, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it. If we live for ourselves, that is what is meant by the phrase, save his life.

[13:33] If we live for ourselves, then we shall lose our life. The person who clings to the sinful life of faith. The person who thinks that material possessions, pleasures, and the things of the world can bring inner peace and satisfaction.

[13:52] They shall lose it. But then he says, But whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it.

[14:03] The person who loses his life by devoting their life to Jesus, to serve Jesus and to serve the gospel, that person saves his life.

[14:17] That person can find inner peace and satisfaction. But he goes on, For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?

[14:31] Or what shall a man give in exchange for a soul? Imagine for a moment that a person should gain the whole world, all the world's splendor and prestige and pleasures and treasures, and lose his soul.

[14:48] What shall it profit that person? And this is becoming clearer as we focus on the fact that all earthly goods are temporal.

[14:59] When a person dies, that person cannot take any of his possessions along with him. But the soul continues. Losing your soul is the equivalent of wasting your life.

[15:14] Missing the great opportunity God gives you to make your life count. You may gain the whole world and be a success in the eyes of men and yet have nothing to show for your life when you stand before God.

[15:31] What shall a man give in exchange for a soul? If you lose your soul, you did own the whole world. It would not be enough price to give to God to buy another chance at life.

[15:47] Then he goes and he says, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

[16:06] To be ashamed of Jesus means to be so proud that no one wants to have nothing to do with him. Is that yourself today?

[16:20] Are you so ashamed of Jesus that you don't want to have anything to do with him? Having been ashamed of Jesus, he is going to be ashamed of them at his return.

[16:33] And he will reject and he will condemn them. Then we come to this promise of chapter 9 verse 1. Now there have been various opinions given as to what event corresponds to the kingdom of God coming in power.

[17:08] What is meant by the kingdom of God coming in power? It may refer to the second coming of Jesus. For he has just mentioned that the Son of Man coming in the glory of his Father and with the holy angels.

[17:25] However, this is unlikely because he would be expressing a mistaken confidence that his second coming would occur during the lifetime of the disciples.

[17:36] So we have to set that opinion aside. It may be a reference to the narrative that follows in verse 2 to 8, the transfiguration.

[17:48] The two passages are linked by the words after six days. But then why use such dramatic language as which shall not taste of death for an event that was to take place within a week?

[18:06] There is a sense, true, in which the transfiguration can be seen as pointed to the fulfillment of the promise rather than its actual fulfillment.

[18:17] It may be a reference to the final outcome of Jesus' suffering and death in his resurrection.

[18:32] In the previous chapter and verse 31, Jesus announces his suffering, death and resurrection.

[18:43] And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.

[18:55] Now these words of Jesus stunned and confused the disciples even to the extent that Peter had to be rebuked by Jesus.

[19:08] However, perhaps to understand which event that Jesus was speaking of when he spoke of the kingdom of God coming in power, we have to understand what he meant by the word see.

[19:22] Verily I say unto you, there be some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

[19:33] What does he mean by that word see? What does it mean to see the kingdom of God come with power?

[19:44] When Jesus died on the cross, we are told later on in chapter 15, that the chief priests and others taunted him saying, let Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross that we may see and believe.

[20:02] And we are told that one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink saying, let alone, let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.

[20:17] Now it is obvious to us there that they were making a reference to a physical observation, that they would physically see Jesus coming down from the cross, or that they would physically see Elijah coming to help him.

[20:34] However, we are told that the centurion, when he stood over against the cross, saw what happened when Jesus cried, Father, into thine hands I commend my spirit, when Jesus gave up the ghost, when he gave up his soul, that the centurion, who saw those things with his physical eyes, cried out, truly this man was the Son of God.

[21:07] Now, there was more than a physical observation there. There was also, what we can say, an intellectual observation that led to faith.

[21:19] He believed that this was the Son of God. More is at work here than a mere physical observation, for that would have never led him to make the confession that he made when he said, truly this man was the Son of God.

[21:38] In other words, there was not only seeing with the physical eyes, but there was a spiritual seeing of the mind and heart. So I conclude that the words of Jesus, Verily I say unto you that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power, is a reference to his death and resurrection, which required not merely a physical observation, but also a spiritual seeing.

[22:11] In other words, it required faith. Notice here that he said, some of them, not all of them, but there was a remnant that did not taste death, till they saw the kingdom of God coming in power, in the death and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[22:34] And following these words, we have the next event, the Mount of Transfiguration, what we call the Mount of Transfiguration.

[22:48] The timing of this occurrence on what we say, the Mount of Transfiguration, according to Matthew and Mark, was after six days.

[23:00] Now, that phrase connects it with Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus asked the disciples, who do you say I am? And Peter replied, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[23:16] Now we know that if we were to look at this in the Gospel of Luke, that it says that it was about eight days after Caesarea. Now, there is no contradiction.

[23:27] Luke simply speaks in a very general way, and probably includes the day of Peter's confession as the first day, and the day of Transfiguration as the eighth day, while Matthew and Mark just numbers the days between the two events.

[23:45] However, what Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us is that the event upon the Mount has a special connection to what took place at Caesarea, when Peter made that confession of who Jesus was, and of all that follows.

[24:06] Now we are told that six days after that event, then at Caesarea Philippi, we have this event. When Jesus took Peter, James, and John and went up into a mountain to pray.

[24:18] We are not sure, as I said, which mountain. There have been a lot of opinions. But whichever mountain, important things took place upon it. Many have asked, why three?

[24:32] And why Peter, James, and John? The Bible makes it quite clear that everything is to be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses.

[24:43] So when we ask, why three? Well, that's the answer. Everything is to be confirmed in the mouth of two or three witnesses. What is more difficult to answer is the question, why it was these three individuals?

[24:59] Peter, James, and John. Well, we know that James was the first of the disciples or of the apostles to be killed. And that his brother, John, was the last.

[25:12] Peter was the disciple's spokesperson. And he himself had an important role within the church after the resurrection of Christ, as we find in the book of Acts.

[25:24] We also find that it was Peter and James and John that Jesus took with them at certain events throughout his ministry, like the raising of Jairus' daughter, and that they were the ones who went with him into the inner part of the Garden of Gethsemane.

[25:45] No wonder that John records for us in his Gospel that they have seen the glory of Christ as the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and full of truth.

[25:57] Peter later on calls this mount the holy mountain. But what took place upon this mountain? I believe in the first place that it was for Christ himself.

[26:14] The transfiguration had to do with who he was, the Son of God, and with his mission in the world as the suffering servant of God.

[26:25] Here is Jesus, about to descend and set his face towards Jerusalem and towards the cross.

[26:36] He opens his heart and mind to those who were as close as friends, regarding what is to happen to him at Jerusalem, but they refused to listen. Jesus is very much alone with the thoughts that lie heavy upon his heart.

[26:51] We know ourselves and we are bearing a heavy burden upon our hearts. The relief we get when we share it with those who are close to us, at least when they give us the hearing ear.

[27:04] But here we find that the disciples refused to give Jesus even the hearing ear. They gave him no encouragement in what was about to be unleashed upon him.

[27:18] And six days after, up upon a mountain, Jesus receives the required encouragement for what was to be unleashed upon him.

[27:30] The Father ministered to him. As the shadow of Golgotha began to fall upon him, the Father gave him assurance of his favour and of his love.

[27:45] We are told by Mark, and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so that a snow fuller on earth can white them.

[27:58] First, Jesus received assurance of who he truly was. We are told by Luke that it was while he was praying that he was transfigured before them.

[28:14] This took place at night, for we read in Luke the next morning that they came down from the mountain. So we can just imagine the majestic scene that took place upon the mountain that night.

[28:28] Such a scene, obviously, could not but have an impact upon Peter, James and John. That this event upon the mountain was an encouragement to Jesus can be seen in his prayer recorded for us just before he went into the agony of Gethsemane.

[28:49] But then he petitions the Father, glorify thou me for the glory I had with you before the world was. He has a longing to resume that glory to be no longer veiled.

[29:06] And on the mount, he has given a glimpse of the glory that belongs to him. But he is also encouraged with those who come to visit him from heaven, Moses and Elijah.

[29:24] It is interesting that on this occasion, it is not angels that came. Angels minister to him at his birth.

[29:35] They minister to him at the time of his temptations in the wilderness. And they were to minister to him yet in Gethsemane. But here on the mount, it was Moses and Elijah.

[29:48] They appeared with him in glory. They did not come down and somehow got involved with the glory that was emanating from Jesus, but they came down with their own heavenly glory.

[30:05] What encouragement that was for Jesus in view of his sufferings and death, what was about to be unleashed upon him?

[30:17] They appeared with Christ in glory, in the glory that belongs to the family of God. There are many opinions given why it was Moses and Elijah and most of them are quite acceptable.

[30:33] The most common one is that Moses represents the law and Elijah represents the prophets. In other words, they represent the whole world of God as known at that time.

[30:46] The word of God was summed up as the law and the prophets. When we find that phrase in the gospel, it means the whole word of God at that time, which would have been, of course, the Old Testament.

[31:07] But as we have already noted that it wasn't angels that came to minister to him on this occasion, it was Moses and Elijah. And we ask why. Well, I think it is because angels are not the recipients of God's redemptive plan.

[31:26] In fact, the redemptive plan of God is something, according to Peter, which the angels desired to look unto. They were, as it is, on tiptoe, looking at the redemptive plan of God as it has been worked out on the earth.

[31:52] And therefore, because they are not the recipients of God's redemptive plan, at this point in the life and experience of Jesus, angels do not minister to him.

[32:06] Instead, it was more fitting that it would be Moses and Elijah and not angels. Although both are part of the redemptive plan of God, nevertheless, at this moment in the experience of the Lord, there was such a great need that it was more fitting for Moses and Elijah to appear with him glory than it was for angels.

[32:36] There is also, of course, the fact that Moses saw death, but Elijah was translated without going through death. So shall it be at the end.

[32:50] Some will have slept and they shall rise out of the graves. Others will be alive and they will be translated having not gone through death when Jesus returns.

[33:02] But their bodies shall be changed in their translation. And so all those who have slept in the graves and those who are alive shall be sharing the glory of Christ.

[33:13] We shall all reflect the glory of Christ. Those who have slept and those who are alive are the coming of Jesus Christ. Mark simply informs us that they were talking to Jesus.

[33:33] And it appeared unto them Elias or Elijah with Moses and they were talking with Jesus. In the other Gospels we are told that their conservation was upon the Exodus that Christ was going to accomplish at Jerusalem.

[33:54] Well what is this Exodus? Well obviously it is his death on the cross at Jerusalem. That was a topic of conversation that took place between Jesus Moses and Elijah.

[34:16] The death that Christ was going to accomplish at Jerusalem. it is brought before us as something that Christ was going to accomplish.

[34:29] We don't normally accomplish our own death. We just die. But here we are told that Jesus is going to accomplish his own death.

[34:40] And that can only mean that his death was a work that he was going to do himself. Death could not touch Jesus.

[34:51] until he gave the command Father into your hands I commend my spirit.

[35:05] The work of giving himself to death. Christ was always in control of his destiny. His life was not taken from him.

[35:16] Death could not take him until he said Father into your hand I commend my spirit. And we read that he bowed his head. His head did not fall.

[35:27] He bowed his head. He was in control. And he gave up his spirit. The work was accomplished in accordance to the word of God to the law and the prophets.

[35:45] He himself said no man taketh it from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to receive it again. This commandment have I received of my father.

[35:59] And Moses and Elijah is talking to him about what he was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. Talking to him about his death and resurrection.

[36:16] You know maybe we're taking it all too far but I don't think so when we think of the topic of conversation that took place between Jesus, Moses and Elijah regarding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[36:33] We cannot but think that that was the topic of conversation among the souls in heaven. That they are taking a heavenly conversation with them down upon the mount.

[36:49] Because the topic is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And everything is central to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[37:04] Moses and Elijah here were evidence to Jesus of the success of his death that he was going to accomplish at Jerusalem. The accompaniment of his exodus meant that the salvation of the church.

[37:23] The accomplishment of his death and resurrection meant the salvation of the church. Moses and Elijah and all the old old old testament saints went to heaven and the strength of what Jesus was now going to accomplish at the cross outside Jerusalem.

[37:47] And their appearance here meant that his mission was going to be a success. It was evidence to Jesus that his death and resurrection was going to be successful.

[38:02] also because here is Moses and Elijah, heavenly visitors, and they are in heaven because of what Jesus was going to accomplish at Jerusalem in his death and resurrection.

[38:21] So we read that for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. the joy was the fulfilling of the father's will in the salvation of his people.

[38:34] And no doubt these heavenly visitors was an encouragement to Jesus. What he receives here is not only a reminder of who he is, but a foretaste of heaven itself, a reminder of what will be accomplished by his death, the salvation of his people.

[39:02] And for me and you today, how can we gain encouragement through this scene on this mountain?

[39:14] Well, I think we can in the words of Paul when he says, for our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like into his glorious body, according to the working whereby he saved, believing to subdue all things into himself.

[39:42] I think it is an encouragement for us, through all the oppression and hostility and difficulties and hard times that may confront us, that our salvation is secure in Jesus Christ, that he has been successful in working out salvation for his people, and that they shall share in that salvation at his appointed time.

[40:20] And the question for me and you today is, will we be sharers of that salvation? Will we share that salvation? Will we share that glory that has been procured for his people through his death and resurrection?

[40:44] Will we share that salvation? Will we share that glory? The Lord bless our thoughts. Let us pray. Eternal and ever.