All right, we're back in Mark tonight, our series in Mark.
We're going to jump into Mark chapter 9 tonight.
So if you want to turn there in the Black Pew Bible, it's page 844.
I think we'll have it on the screens over.
Yep, we'll have it up on the screens too.
But if you want to turn there, Mark chapter 9, we're going to look at verses 2 through
29, kind of a big chunk tonight, but I hope we'll see that they hang together in important
ways.
Page 844 in the Pew Bible.
That song we just sang is actually a fitting introduction to this text because the themes
of that song is basically what the end of chapter 8 is about, about Christ saying, if you're
going to follow me, you need to take up your cross and come after me, and that you'll only
find your life if you lose it.
And then Mark records this in chapter 9, verse 2.
And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain
by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them.
And no one on earth could bleach them.
And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
And Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.
For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud.
This is my beloved son.
Listen to him.
And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had
seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
And they asked him, why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?
And he said to them, Elijah does come first to restore all things.
And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated
with contempt?
But I tell you that Elijah has come.
And they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.
And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them and scribes arguing
with them.
And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him
and greeted him.
And he asked them, what are you arguing about with them?
And someone from the crowd answered him, teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit
that makes him mute.
And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes
rigid.
So I asked your disciples to cast it out.
And they were not able.
And he answered them, oh, faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?
How long am I to bear with you?
Bring him to me.
And they brought the boy to him.
And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy and he fell on the ground
and rolled about, foaming at the mouth.
And Jesus asked his father, how long has this been happening to him?
And he said, from childhood, and it has often cast him into fire and into water to destroy
him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.
And Jesus said to him, if you can, all things are possible for the one who believes.
Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief.
And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying
to it, you mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.
And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out and the boy was like a corpse so
that most of them said, he is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up and he arose.
And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, why are you going to be
why could we not cast it out?
And he said to them, this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.
So tonight, let me ask us a question.
Who do we listen to?
Who do you listen to?
I don't mean what radio station do you like.
I mean, on a deeper level, at the heart level, who are you listening to?
Whose voice is running in your head?
Because, you know, all of us are listening to someone at that level, right?
Maybe it's your parents.
Maybe it's their voice you hear, you know, whether you like it or not, when you're about
to make a decision or when you get down to what makes you who you are and what gives
you worth.
Maybe you hear your parents' voice in your mind.
Or maybe the voice that you're listening to are your peers.
Maybe the voice of your friends or your colleagues or your neighbors.
Maybe that's what's running and always running sort of in the background.
That voice approving or disapproving of this or that and shaping what you value or what you
pursue.
Maybe you're listening to your peers.
Maybe that's who you're listening to.
Or maybe it's some figure that you respect.
Maybe a teacher or a boss or a mentor or a coach that you've had along the way.
Or maybe a historical figure that you really admire, whose works you've read, whose life
you seek to emulate.
Maybe that's who you listen to.
Some sort of hero in your life.
Or maybe it's none of those.
Maybe you pride yourself on not listening to anyone, ultimately.
Not listening to anyone but yourself.
Ah, and there's some truth to that for all of us, isn't there?
Paul Tripp, who's a pastor and a writer, has often said, you are the most influential
person in your life because you are always talking to yourself.
Do you see the point he's trying to make?
Whose talk are you listening to?
That's who's going to be most influential in your life.
That voice will profoundly shape how you view yourself, your world, how you view God, what
you make of right and wrong, what's good and beautiful and true, what to pursue, what
to attract, what to reject, what to approve of, and what to condemn.
Who are we listening to?
And this dynamic happens not just on the individual level, but on a cultural level too.
Aren't there cultural narratives or sort of stories that we share and that we listen to
that shape our identity and our values?
Just think of the classic sort of narrative of the American dream.
What is it?
Work hard, keep your nose out of trouble, and you will be successful and comfortable.
And yet, we know that that's not always the case.
Sometimes we work hard and we keep our noses out of trouble.
And yet, we experience hardship and affliction and loss.
But we've been listening to those voices for so long telling us that hard work must equal
success and comfort that when it doesn't work out that way, what happens?
We get bitter and angry and we start to blame others, or we start blaming ourselves and beating
ourselves up, and we fall into depression and despair.
You know, the same thing can happen spiritually, actually.
We can buy into certain spiritual narratives and sort of keep on listening to them, even
when they're not at all what God has revealed to be true.
A number of years ago, two sociologists from UNC Chapel Hill did a study of the spirituality
of young people, of teenagers, and then they actually did one a little later of young emerging
adults.
And here's what they found most of them believed.
Here's how I would sum it up, anyway.
They found in this sort of sociological survey that most people believed that God's main
goal is to eliminate all of my discomforts and solve my problems.
And if I do my part, if I'm good and nice and fair, then God will bless me with a happy,
comfortable life.
And if I'm good, I get to go to heaven when I die.
Now, is that the narrative that we should be listening to?
We've been studying the Gospel of Mark through the fall and now into the spring, and if you've
been with us, you know that that narrative, my job is to live a good life and God's job
is to fix my problems for me, doesn't square practically at all with the life and message
of Jesus.
What Jesus calls the Gospel, the good news, what Jesus calls the kingdom of God, God's
reign, is almost utterly opposed to that.
Last week, Jesus told his disciples back in chapter 8 that himself, as the Christ, as
the Messiah, as the true King, that his mission meant the cross.
And then he went on to say, perhaps even more shockingly, that our calling as his disciples
meant nothing less than taking up our cross as well.
But you know, that wasn't the spiritual narrative that the disciples had been listening to.
Like so many of the other sort of Jewish people in that time, to them, the Messiah's job was
to come and to triumph and to conquer, not to suffer.
And that their place in God's kingdom would be determined by how worthy and faithful they
were to him.
That kind of sounds a lot like our default position, doesn't it?
And you know, these voices that we listen to, whether individually, from our parents
or peers or heroes, or whether communally, those sort of cultural and spiritual narratives
that we share, the truth about those things is that they die hard.
We can hear alternative truths again and again and again, but they just don't get through.
So in our text tonight, Jesus takes Peter and James and John up on a mountain by themselves.
And when they're up there, Mark says in very succinct language, he's transfigured before them.
That is, his appearance is transformed.
That's what the word transfigured means.
It's the same word for transformation.
This humble rabbi from Galilee is now blazing white before them.
Don't you love that earthy detail that Mark gives?
He was so white, whiter than anyone could possibly bleach their clothes.
You see, for a moment, Jesus is revealing to them his divine nature.
And what happens in verse 7?
A cloud comes down upon them.
It's just like Exodus, if you remember the Exodus story, when God appears to Moses and Israel
at Mount Sinai in brightness, in fire, and in a cloud.
And that cloud is just like the cloud that would come down in the Old Testament on the tabernacle
and the temple, the very representation of God's own presence.
So you see, what's happening here on the mountain is that for a moment, the curtain is being drawn back.
For a moment, the eternal glory of the divine Son of God, hidden in human flesh, comes blazing through.
Jesus reveals it to them, and they see it.
But then something else happens.
They also see Moses and Elijah.
These two great pillars of Israel's faith.
And the great pillars of the Old Testament Scripture as well.
Moses, of course, representing the law, the first five books.
And Elijah representing the prophets.
And Peter, seeing all this, is terrified.
And in classic Peter fashion, instead of being terrified and remaining silent,
he's terrified and says something, which is sort of always how it goes with Peter.
And he says, let's make three tents for each one of you equally.
And let's stay here forever, and let's commemorate all three of you.
And then God's voice comes from the cloud.
This is my beloved Son.
Listen to Him.
Or we might better say, listen to Him.
You see, Moses and Elijah are there to point to Jesus.
As if to say that He is the fulfillment of all that they had spoken about.
That Jesus Himself is, as it were, the true and final prophet.
The true bringer of God's word.
That the law and the prophets point to and are fulfilled in Him.
You notice at the end of this story of the transfiguration, who's left?
Jesus.
Alone.
It's like the book of Hebrews says, if you've been coming in the morning to our series in Hebrews.
Do you remember how the book of Hebrews starts?
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, like Moses and Elijah.
But in these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also He created the world.
Listen to Him.
If you remember Jesus' baptism back in Mark chapter 1,
there are similar words, right?
The skies rip open and there's a voice from heaven that says,
This is my beloved Son.
With you, I am well pleased.
There and here in Mark chapter 9, God the Father is affirming the divine identity of Jesus.
But you know, at the baptism, it almost seemed as if those words were directed to Jesus,
as much as to us or as much as to the disciples.
But now, you see, on the mountain, with Moses and Elijah standing by,
it's a command to us.
This is my beloved Son.
Listen to Him.
Listen to Him who fulfills all that the prophets spoke about.
Listen to Him who is the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of God's nature.
Now, put yourself in the disciples' shoes for a second.
Jesus has just told them in chapter 8
that the way of the kingdom is the way of the cross.
That the path of glory is actually the path of sacrifice and suffering.
That to gain our life, we have to lose it.
And doesn't that cut against every single other voice that we listen to?
So, are these just the ravings of a misguided rabbi from Galilee?
Or are they the very message of life from God Himself?
And in the transfiguration, we see the answer.
The glory of Jesus is revealed.
The Old Testament heroes show up.
And the voice of God speaks.
Listen to Him.
What He's told you is true.
And that means we should listen to Him
when our families are telling us
that our plans to follow Christ
would mean to them throwing their lives away.
And we should listen to Him
when our heroes are telling us
that greatness is found in power
and achievement and self-improvement.
And instead, we should listen to Him
when our peers are telling us
that you only live once
and you've got to seek as much pleasure now
in this life before it's too late.
And we should listen to Him
even when the broader world is telling us
that God ought to be there
to make our lives comfortable
and that our performance
will determine His ability to do so.
Instead, we should be listening to Jesus.
On their way back down the mountain,
Jesus tells them again
not to tell anyone
until after His resurrection.
And again, we've seen this motif a couple times,
this theme in Mark a couple times, right?
And again, the disciples are confused.
And this time they ask Him about Elijah.
Isn't Elijah supposed to come
and restore all things?
How can we be talking about
crosses and suffering, Jesus?
I thought Elijah was supposed to come
and restore all things
and then the day of the Lord would happen
and the Messiah would show up
and it would be peace and glory forevermore.
And you know, that's not a silly question
they're asking
because at the end of the Old Testament
in Malachi chapter 4, verses 5 and 6,
literally the last verses
of our English Old Testament,
Malachi writes that Elijah will return
before the great and awesome day of the Lord.
But you see, Jesus helps them understand
more properly what Malachi was saying
and what's actually happening.
Because did you notice Jesus says,
Elijah has come
and they did to him whatever they wanted.
And of course, he's referencing there
John the Baptist
because for Jesus,
John the Baptist has fulfilled
Malachi's prophecy about Elijah.
John the Baptist got everything ready
for the day of the Lord.
But what the scribes
and even the disciples here failed to see
is that the Old Testament also says
that the Son of Man
will be treated with contempt.
Jesus probably has in mind Isaiah 53
where the suffering servant of the Lord,
do you remember that passage,
is bruised and crushed
for the sins of his people.
So you see, even after the transfiguration,
the disciples are still having
a hard time seeing
what Jesus wants them to see.
But Jesus is adamant
again and again and again
that the way of the kingdom
is the way of the cross.
And then they're sort of making
their way back down the mountain
and finally they get to the bottom.
And again, we see all this reinforced
another time.
There's a crowd and some scribes
and there's an argument going on
between the scribes
and Jesus' disciples.
And Jesus enters into the crowd
and gets involved,
which is an interesting point, isn't it?
He doesn't stay far off
on the mountain,
basking in glory.
Christ comes down
and gets into the mess
of our broken and sinful lives.
And the disciples too
aren't allowed to stay
on the mountaintop.
They too are brought back down
into the gritty realities of life.
And all this is what Jesus
has been telling them,
that it's not a triumphant march
to the throne,
but it's the self-sacrificing
way of the cross.
And you know, now it seems
at this point in the narrative
that things have gotten even harder
for the disciples.
You remember back in chapter 6,
Jesus gave the disciples
the authority to cast out demons
as they went around preaching
and were given every reason
to think that they were actually
able to do so.
They don't come back saying,
Jesus, what happened?
You gave us that authority
and it didn't work.
No, in fact, in Luke's gospel,
they come back saying,
we did it.
But what happens here?
They aren't able to do it.
They're inadequate.
They fall short.
You see, as they progress
in their time with Jesus,
the battle isn't getting easier.
It seems that it's getting harder.
The scribes are getting
more combative
and the crowds are getting
more hard-hearted,
as Jesus says in verse 19.
And the forces of evil
are getting more entrenched
and more immovable.
And you see, that is often
the way that the Lord will lead us.
He shows us more of himself
to prepare us
for the greater challenges ahead.
Didn't Peter want to stay
on the mountain,
build some tents,
and leave all this messy business
of sin and redemption
down below?
Let's just stay up here, Jesus.
We'll build some tents.
We'll start a tourism thing.
You know, we'll get some people
to come up the mountain,
pay a few denarii or whatever
to check out Moses and Elijah
and you because you're blazing white.
We'll make a little money.
We won't have to get mixed up
in the sticky, sinful realities of life.
How often do we want
our spiritual lives to be like that?
Let's just stay away from the mess
and the sort of experience
up here on the mountaintop.
But you see, the whole reason
Jesus took them up there
was so that they could get
back on the road
because he knew it was
going to get harder
and he wanted them to be prepared.
And you see, if the transfiguration
was meant to drive home the point
that we must listen to Jesus
above all else,
then here at the bottom
of the mountain,
we're taught a lesson
in what it means to trust Jesus
in spite of all else.
When the father of the demon-possessed boy
says,
if you can do anything,
have compassion on us
and help us.
You can almost hear
the resignation in his voice,
can't you?
If you can do anything,
have compassion on us
and help us.
You might be able to, Jesus.
If you can.
I hope you will.
And then what does Jesus do?
He challenges this man.
And how does he challenge them?
He says,
if you can,
all things are possible
for the one who believes.
And with that question,
it's not really a question,
but with that remark,
isn't Jesus forcing this man
to reckon with his unbelief,
to stare it straight in the face
and to be honest?
And at the same time,
Jesus is drawing this man
into a relationship.
If you can.
Aren't all things possible
for the one who believes?
And then the father utters
one of the most honest prayers
I think we can ever pray.
He says,
I believe.
Help my unbelief.
So what does it mean?
To listen to Jesus.
To trust him.
To believe in him.
It doesn't mean
that we don't have doubts.
And it doesn't mean
that we don't have questions.
And it doesn't mean
that we have to be 100%
completely certain.
No.
It means
committing yourself to him.
Even with your doubts
and your questions.
Because then what happens?
The father has just admitted
that his belief
is loaded
with all sorts of doubts
and questions.
It's like a piece of steak
that's just run through
with all sorts of fat
and sinews
and all sorts of stuff
you really don't want
in your meat.
There I am Jesus.
I believe.
Help my unbelief.
And how does Jesus respond?
Is he offended
by the man's
less than certain faith?
Did you see what I just did
up on that mountain?
Come on.
You believe?
Help my unbelief.
No.
Jesus receives the man
and heals his son.
It wasn't utter certainty
that Jesus was looking for.
And by all means
it wasn't the sort of
level of this man's faith
that caused his son
to be healed.
What Jesus was looking for
was just honesty
and a commitment to him.
even in the face of doubts.
You see,
truly trusting in Jesus,
true faith,
is a certain kind
of helplessness.
If the kind of faith
Jesus required,
think about it,
was absolute certainty,
if that's what Jesus
was looking for,
then wouldn't we come to him
full of self-confidence,
confident that we had
it all figured out?
If that's what Jesus wanted
was 100% absolute certainty,
and if I actually had that,
it wouldn't be helplessness
with which I came.
Instead,
what Jesus wants us to do
is to come
with the helpless cry
captured so well
by this Father.
Lord,
I believe.
Help my unbelief.
And at the end
of the section,
the lesson is similar
for the disciples,
isn't it?
You can only drive out
this kind by prayer,
Jesus says to them.
And what is prayer
after all?
Isn't prayer
the acknowledgement
that we can't do it
ourselves?
Isn't prayer
an act
speaking of our own
insufficiency
and inadequacy
that we can't do it.
That's why we pray.
But we pray to a God
who is sufficient
and who is adequate
and who is able.
And this is what Jesus
is trying to tell us.
This is why we have
to listen to him.
Because you see,
every other religion
and every other voice
that you will listen to,
it will give you
lots of advice
on how to give up
your self-gratification
and even your
self-determination
for a greater good.
Every other religion,
every other parent,
every other peer,
every other hero
will give you
lots of advice
on what pleasures
to give up,
on what rules to follow,
on what paths to pursue,
and what principles
to adopt
in order for you
to make it in the end.
But you see,
Jesus is completely different.
The ultimate cross
that we must take up
is not merely
abandoning
our self-gratification,
doing things
for our own pleasure,
and giving up
our self-determination,
being our own Lord.
But ultimately,
Jesus says,
here's what you put
on the cross.
Your self-justification.
Your attempts
to try
to save yourself.
And that's how you know
you've finally crossed over
to real faith in Christ.
Not when you have
all your answers,
all your questions answered,
not when you have
all your doubts resolved,
but when you've stopped
trusting in your own
works and efforts,
when you've stopped
trusting in your own worth
to be accepted by God,
and when you've stopped
trusting even in the own
quantity and quality
of your faith,
and you've just come
to Jesus with honest
and empty hands,
and said,
Lord,
I believe.
Help my unbelief.
Let's pray together.
Lord Jesus,
tonight we want
to acknowledge you
as the one
who is completely
and fully divine.
in this passage
you show us
just a glimpse
of your supreme glory.
Lord,
as Peter will
later write,
he'll say that
on the mountain
they beheld
your majesty.
Lord,
thank you for revealing
your majesty
to us
in the words
of this gospel.
and Lord,
we pray that we
would listen
to you
above and over
all the other voices
that vie for our
attention and for
our heart's allegiance.
Lord,
help us to listen
to you
in the words
of the scripture.
Lord,
where you speak
to us clearly
and powerfully.
and Lord,
for all of us
here tonight,
help us
to come to you
in genuine faith.
Lord,
not a faith
that is anxious
about how pure
and how sound
it is,
but Lord,
that deep helplessness
that acknowledges,
Lord,
that in our sin
we are lost,
but in you
we find grace
and peace.
God,
if any of my friends
here tonight
are struggling
to believe in you,
Lord,
by your spirit
would you grant them
the gift of faith.
Open their eyes,
Lord,
to see their own
helplessness
but your own
Jesus' glory
and sufficiency.
Lord,
thank you
that you do this
for your namesake.
Amen.
Thanks for coming tonight.
In the back
there's some coffee
and some snacks.
Feel free to stick around
as long as you'd like
to talk and just catch up.
It's not like you got
anything else going on
tonight, right?
That was a Super Bowl joke.
That was my one
Super Bowl joke of the night.
Come on.
Give me that one.
Hey,
this week,
get a bulletin
on the way out.
Lots of small groups
happening midweek,
kind of kicking back in
now that the spring is,
or now that we're
sort of into the new year.
Most of the groups
are up and running
full-fledged.
So if you're looking
for some midweek fellowship
and Bible study,
connect with a small group.
Let's end with
the doxology
from the book of Jude.
Now to Him who is able
to keep you from stumbling
and to present you blameless
before the presence
of His glory
with great joy,
to the only God,
our Savior,
through Jesus Christ,
our Lord,
be glory,
majesty,
dominion,
and authority
before all time
and now and forever.
Amen.