Well, we concluded in somewhat of an awkward place last week.
We finished just at the end of verse 4.
So today we're kind of parachuting in, as it were, to verse number 5,
and we're going to finish all the way out to verse 13.
Remember the way we've broken up this passage.
In the first four verses, we considered what the disciples saw.
As they're on the mountain, they see the transfiguration.
They see Moses and Elijah, and they're in the midst of this great experience.
And then in the remainder of the text, we will examine what they heard,
and then also what they asked.
So we've seen what they saw, what they heard, and what they asked.
So let's jump into what they heard here with verses 5 through 8.
Technically, the description of what they heard really begins where we left off in verse 4,
and I won't rehash everything that we went through last week in regards to this,
but let's just mention a couple of things.
Look with me again at verse 4.
There appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Now, remember, Luke tells us the nature of this conversation.
You can find that in Luke chapter 9 if you want to just maybe make a note of that in your margin.
Matthew 17 and Luke chapter 9 is where you will find the parallels to Mark's account.
Luke wrote that they were talking about this exodus that Jesus would accomplish in Jerusalem.
And remember, what was the exodus all about?
In the Old Testament, the exodus was the deliverance of God's chosen people from bondage in Egypt.
What was the new exodus about that Jesus would accomplish in Jerusalem?
Well, it's the deliverance of God's chosen people from the bondage of sin and death.
So the conversation that Peter and James and John hear on the top of the mountain has everything to do with Jesus' crucifixion,
suffering, and subsequent resurrection.
And the fact that it is Moses and Elijah that are discussing it with Jesus reminds us that the scriptures foretold a suffering Messiah.
And this is important at this point in this passage because the messianic mission of Jesus is the part that the disciples misunderstood the most.
And what plays out in the remainder of these verses, all the way down to verse 13, is the fruit of the disciples' misconceptions.
And of course, they would later look back on this.
We've seen that in Peter's epistle already.
Also, in some of John's writing, they would look back on this moment and interpret it correctly and understand more fully what was happening.
But in this moment, they just didn't get it.
They weren't making all the connections that they needed to make.
But the first thing that they hear is the confirmation from Moses and Elijah of what Jesus had already told them.
That he's going to go to Jerusalem.
He's going to be betrayed by the people that should have never betrayed him.
He's going to be executed by the Romans.
And then he would raise from the dead.
Okay, that's where we find our place in verse 5.
Let's look at it.
And Peter said to Jesus,
Rabbi, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents.
One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
For he did not know what to say.
For they were terrified.
I was talking with my brother earlier this week.
And I was telling him where we were in our study right now in Mark.
And he said, oh, I love preaching that passage.
He said, it's so funny.
He said, there's all this stuff going on.
And what is it that Peter pipes up and says, Lord, it is good that we are here.
Yeah, of course, Peter.
It's good that we are here.
We can sympathize with Peter in this moment, can't we?
I know I can sympathize with Peter.
When I was growing up, my mom used to always tell me that she would say,
Jared, your mouth is in drive, but your brain is in neutral.
That's what she would say.
And she would give me a hard time.
She would say, Jared, you're not a bad kid.
You just don't know how to shut your mouth.
And so in that sense, I can certainly sympathize with Peter.
Because we get to this really fantastic moment.
Mark says that Peter didn't really know what to say,
but that didn't stop him from saying something anyways.
You get to Luke's account in Luke chapter 9.
Luke says that even after he said it, he didn't even know what he said.
But that didn't stop him either.
He just spoke.
And it's a good lesson for us here.
Because there are times when God wants us to look and listen.
And there's nothing really for us to do.
There's nothing really for us to say.
But we often miss what he intends.
Because we insist on interjecting with our own thoughts and opinions and conclusions anyway.
Isn't that where Peter is here?
What's Peter's job on the mountain?
To look and to listen.
And because he was so distracted by what was happening around him,
because he was so distracted with his own thoughts,
with his own conclusions,
with the things that he wanted most,
he completely missed what he was supposed to have heard.
And that's a good principle for us to apply in a lot of different situations in life.
But we need to certainly consider it in regards to our Christian growth.
There are magnificent truths in the Bible that God wants you to see and to hear.
But you will never grasp them
if you continue to impose your own thoughts and opinions on the text instead.
And I'm going to explain what Peter's getting at and why this applies.
But before we even get there, we got to recognize
all he needed to do was look and listen.
Listen, the connections could have been made
if he would have just stopped and looked and listened.
But because he had in his mind what he wanted Christ to be
and what he wanted this kingdom to be,
and because he wanted it to be something different
than what Christ was saying it was,
he speaks up and really the suggestion that he gives is not very good.
It reminded me this week of a song that Andrew Peterson wrote several years ago.
A song is called Always Good, and it's an encouraging song.
But there's a part in one of the verses where he says,
I don't always know what you're doing.
Why don't you make it all plain?
But you said you'd come back on the third day,
and Peter missed it again and again.
And then he writes in this verse,
so maybe the answer surrounds us,
but we don't have eyes to see.
Isn't that where these disciples are here?
The answer's all around them.
Jesus has plainly told them.
But then we go back to chapter 8,
and we see this illustration of the blind man
and where are these men at right now in their Christian growth?
They can see.
But it's not clear.
And because it's not clear,
they're not grasping what they need to grasp in this moment.
And what Peter suggested to the Lord was that he and the other disciples
construct three tents,
one for Jesus,
one for Moses,
and one for Elijah.
And this suggestion really is influenced by the disciples'
misunderstanding of Jesus' purpose.
So they wholly believed in who Jesus was.
They were convinced of Jesus' identity,
but what they could not come to terms with
was the thought of a suffering Messiah.
Their minds were fixated on what their hopes were for the coming kingdom.
And here for just a moment,
Peter gets a glimpse of that kingdom.
That's what's happening on the mountain.
The transfiguration,
Moses and Elijah,
there's this experience,
and this is,
he's thinking in that moment,
okay,
now we're talking Jesus.
Let's forget about the stuff in Jerusalem.
Now we're talking glowing garments,
Moses and Elijah.
And what is this suggestion really about?
Peter saying,
it's good that we're here,
Jesus.
Why don't we just stay here?
We'll build you a tent,
and we'll build Moses a tent,
and Elijah a tent,
and we'll just stay on the mountain.
That's what he's suggesting.
Why?
Because he doesn't want to go to Jerusalem.
He's not interested in a Messiah that would suffer.
He's not interested in following someone,
knowing that it means that he will,
also suffer.
But he failed to miss that in this coming,
this time around,
Jesus was not coming to sit on a throne,
but to hang on a cross.
He was not coming to establish a nation,
but to save his people from their sins.
That's what this coming was for,
and Peter missed it,
or at least he refused to accept it at this moment.
And he's saying,
now we're talking.
Let's just stay here.
Let's bring the kingdom now.
Let's not worry about the suffering part.
Let's just bring the kingdom now.
And he says,
we'll do this thing.
And there's a couple of issues here.
Why is that such a problem for Peter to have suggested that?
Well,
one is suggestion was in opposition to the will of God.
Peter didn't realize that if he kept Jesus from going to the cross,
he kept Jesus from paying for his sins.
There's no redemption for Peter unless Jesus goes to Jerusalem.
There's no redemption for any of us unless Jesus goes to Jerusalem.
It was the will of God the Father from eternity past
that the Son would save us from our sins,
that he would provide this atonement.
That's what Jesus is moving toward.
That was the witness of the scriptures.
That's the purpose of Moses and Elijah being there.
But Peter wasn't interested in that.
And his suggestion goes against the will of God,
which reminds us of how Jesus confronted him earlier in chapter 8.
Get behind me, Satan.
Why?
Because you are not setting your thoughts on the thing of God.
You're setting your thoughts on the things of man.
Peter, you just want what you want.
You don't want what God wants.
The second problem here is it seems that Peter is putting Jesus
on an equal plane with Moses and Elijah.
As if somehow those three are equal, but they are not equal.
Jesus is their Lord.
Jesus is their creator.
It was Jesus in his divine identity as being a part of the Trinity
that gave the law to Moses, that spoke through Elijah.
He was not their equal.
And that's what sets up what happens next.
He was ignorant of the significant errors of his statement.
I really think that's what Luke meant when Luke said that he didn't even know what he said.
I think Peter caught up in this moment,
doesn't even realize how bad the errors were in his suggestion.
It's not clicking in his mind at this point.
But it was because of those errors.
It was because of his insistence on his own hope and opinion that those errors resulted.
And that's a warning for us.
When we impose our own thoughts and conclusions on the scripture,
we're always going to end up in error.
Instead, we need to let God's word shape us.
Let it shape our minds.
Let it shape our hearts.
Not the other way around.
Well, let's look at verse 7 as we're moving along.
What happens next?
And a cloud overshadowed them.
A voice came out of the cloud.
This is my beloved son.
Listen to him.
Suddenly looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
Only.
Now, I want to stop here for just a moment.
And give us a second to try and contemplate the gravity of what is happening with Peter and James and John.
The significance of this moment, verses 7 and 8, it's impossible to overstate it.
Because it's not really possible for us to even fully comprehend it.
Think about it.
I want to read the verses again.
Think about this.
Think as if you were Peter on that mountain and you've just made this statement.
And here's what happens all of a sudden.
A cloud, a bright cloud enveloped them.
And a voice came out of the cloud.
There's no person attached to the voice.
It's just a voice.
And the voice says, this is my beloved son.
Listen to him.
And then they look around and suddenly it's all over.
It's gone.
There's only Jesus there.
What's happening here?
This cloud that enveloped the men, we refer to it as the Shekinah glory of God.
The Shekinah is not a biblical word.
It's an extra biblical word that the Jews used to describe the divine presence of God manifested and dwelling on earth.
And there's only a couple of places in the Bible that we see this happening.
These disciples were experiencing God in a way that very few ever had.
Let me just mention a couple of these places and maybe you'd want to read them later.
I'll give you the references.
In Exodus 40, we see this at the Old Testament tabernacle.
Technically, we could go back to creation as the Spirit of God overshadowed the earth as it moved across the waters.
It's really the same word there.
It's the presence of God on earth in creation.
But then we see it in this unique way in Exodus 40, the Old Testament tabernacle.
Moses has been instructed to lead the children of Israel to construct it.
And here's what it says.
Then the cloud covered, that's the same word, overshadowed the tent of meeting.
And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it.
And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
This cloud in Exodus 40 is the cloud in Mark 9.
This is the manifested presence of God, the Shekinah glory of God that has enveloped these men.
And then we see it again a little bit later in the Old Testament at the dedication of Solomon's temple.
It's 1 Kings chapter 8.
1 Kings chapter 8.
Here's what it says.
When the priest came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord.
Same word, overshadowed, enveloped.
A cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud.
For the glory of the Lord filled, overshadowed, enveloped the house of the Lord.
We see it again in the New Testament.
Luke chapter 1.
An angel appears to the virgin Mary.
And the angel says to her,
The Holy Spirit will come upon you.
And the power of the Most High will overshadow you, envelop you, fill you.
Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.
John writes it in John chapter 1 and verse 14.
The Word became flesh and tabernacled, dwelt among us.
Speaking of Jesus.
What is this?
This is the presence of God.
The tabernacle, the temple, the conception of Jesus.
Jesus taking on flesh.
It's the same thing that's happening to these men here.
And I want you to notice their reaction.
Mark doesn't tell us what it is, but Matthew does.
Here's what Matthew says.
Chapter 17 and verse 6.
They fell on their faces and were terrified.
Why?
Because they are in the presence of God.
There are some people that have such a low view of the glory of God
that they would never expect, if confronted by Him in this way,
to ever fall on their faces,
to ever be scared for their life.
And yet, every time we see someone in the Scriptures
confronted by the presence of God in this way,
that's their reaction.
It's always to fall on their face.
It's always to cry out for mercy.
Why?
Because of the holiness of God.
Isaiah chapter 6.
When Isaiah has this vision of God and God on His throne,
what is it that Isaiah says?
Woe is me.
Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I am lost,
and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips,
for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts,
was Isaiah's reaction.
Woe.
It's not mere amazement.
It's fear.
And yes, I know that when we reference fear in the Bible,
we're meaning reverence and respect,
but it's not just reverence and respect.
There is a legitimate dynamic of fear
when a sinful man appears before the holy God.
In Revelation chapter 1,
John is confronted by Jesus,
the glorified Jesus on the Isle of Patmos.
And what does he say?
Verse 17 of chapter 1,
he says,
When I saw him,
I fell at his feet as though dead.
Why?
He's in the presence of God.
Remember in Exodus,
when Moses went up on the mountain,
and all the people of Israel were to gather
at the base of the mountain,
and God was going to speak to them.
And there's the cloud,
and there's the thunderings on the mountain.
And God speaks to the nation.
Remember what the nation of Israel told Moses afterwards?
They said,
We don't want to deal with that again.
We don't want to do that.
Why don't you talk to God,
and you just tell us what he says?
Because they were scared out of their minds.
Why?
Because they were sinful people
before the presence of the holy God.
That's what the presence of God will do.
Much of our problem today
is that we don't really know
and understand the holiness of God.
And we see it in two ways in our lives.
First, we see it in our sinful passions.
Why was there fear before Isaiah?
Because he recognized he was sinful.
He was everything that God is not.
And he may not,
in his own estimation,
been as sinful as other people
that were around him in Israel,
but he was sinful enough
because when he stood before God,
all he said was,
Woe is me.
Our sinful passions give an indication
that we don't really understand God.
We don't really understand his holiness.
And then we see it
in the complacency of our worship.
We get this idea
that the worship of God
is just to be casual in some way.
And we see this manifested in churches
where what is said to be
a gathering for worship
is a political rally
or it's a concert of some kind.
It's meant to pump you up
or it's meant to encourage you
with those around you
or to put a display
of what you can do
and whatever your gifts are
in this moment.
But if we really understood
the holiness of God,
if we really understood
the majesty of God,
if we were really confronted
with the presence of God,
we would probably play no music.
We would probably do nothing
but fall on our faces
before God
and cry for mercy.
David Carr,
the former NFL quarterback,
interestingly enough,
I know he's a great theologian
that you would expect me
to quote on a Sunday morning,
but it was fantastic.
He said,
the sun can burn out your eyes
from 93 million miles away
and some of us think
we can walk casually
into the presence
of its creator.
R.C. Sproul,
all those years of his ministry,
his purpose was
to try to help people
see through the scriptures
who God really is
to see the holiness of God
so that when we see
the holiness of God,
we will see how actually
sinfully depraved we are
and how much we need
his mercy.
Oh, that we would pray
that God would give us
a glimpse of his holiness
to show us
who he is
and he has.
It's in his word.
We'll probably never experience
something like Peter
and James
and John experience,
but we don't have to.
Why?
We have a more sure word.
That's what Peter said.
He said,
yes, I had this thing,
but you have a more sure
word of prophecy.
Go to the Bible.
Go to the scriptures
and pray
that God would open your hearts.
Pray that God would open
my heart
to see his glory,
to see his holiness,
to see his majesty.
We talk about this
spiritual renewal weekend
coming up here
in a couple weeks.
It will mean nothing
if we leave these services
night after night
after night
with no real vision
of who God is.
It will mean nothing.
Pray that God
would help us understand
in whatever way we can
and that that would be
an impact on our lives.
And we're told that
this voice thunders
from the cloud.
It was the voice
of God the Father.
It was the same voice
that thundered
at Jesus' baptism
and it said the same thing.
This is my beloved son.
Listen to him.
Every time God is said
to have spoken audibly
in the New Testament,
it was to acknowledge
that Jesus is his son
and to command
that we are to listen
to his son.
All of the audible speech
of God in the New Testament
is that.
And again,
R.C. Sproul is helpful here.
He said,
if God were to speak
aloud today
from the heavens,
you know what he would say?
He'd say to us,
listen to my son.
my son
in whom I am well pleased.
After finishing speaking,
Matthew says
that Jesus walked over
to the disciples
who have fallen
on their faces
in fear.
Matthew says,
this is awesome.
Matthew says,
Jesus,
the son,
touches them.
They're on their face.
He touches them.
And he says,
get up.
You don't have to be afraid.
It's amazing.
Is that not a picture
of the gospel?
We're confronted
by the holiness of God
and we see our sin.
We see our wretchedness
and what does that
produce in us?
It can only produce
one thing,
fear.
That's the only reaction
we could have
when we truly see
the holiness of God.
And then what does
the son do?
He touches us
and he says,
get up.
You don't have to be afraid.
Look at me.
Follow me.
Believe me.
That was the point.
And Matthew says,
the men at that moment,
after Jesus touches them,
they lift up their heads
and they look around
and Jesus' face
isn't shining anymore.
His clothes are like
they always are.
Moses and Elijah
are gone.
The cloud is gone.
The voice is silent.
What are they left to see?
Jesus only.
Now listen,
that's the point
of the transfiguration.
That's the point.
Moses and Elijah,
the Old Testament scriptures,
what's their purpose here?
To get us to see Jesus.
What's the purpose
of the voice?
The voice of God the Father?
To get us to see Jesus.
What then is the purpose
of the Holy Spirit?
The scriptures say,
it is to get us
to see Jesus.
Notice,
notice,
God the Father
doesn't thunder
with a voice that says,
this is my son,
listen to me.
He says,
listen to him.
He's not pulling
the attention
to God the Father.
The Holy Spirit
doesn't do that either.
He doesn't testify
of himself,
he testifies of Christ.
What do the scriptures do?
What is the point
of all of this?
That these disciples
might look up
and see Jesus alone.
What is the point
of this passage for us?
That we may look up
and see Jesus,
Jesus alone.
And then that moves us
on to this really
kind of enigmatic part
of this passage
in verses 9 through 13,
which is under the heading
in my notes
is what they asked.
So we have what they saw,
what they heard,
and now we see
what they asked
in verses 9 through 13.
Now I just said
it's a bit enigmatic here.
That's not to say
that we cannot
understand the verses.
It would just take
a little bit of work
for us to connect
the dots here
of what's happening.
And I can't delve
into all the complexities here,
but I think that
if you'll just hang with me
for a couple more moments,
I think we can get it, okay?
Look at verse 9.
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.
Now I love that Mark
gives us a glimpse
into this conversation
because we're not often told
in the Gospels
of how the disciples
were processing
the things that they saw,
how they were processing
the things that they heard.
We see it from time to time,
but not very often.
The Gospels move
very quickly, don't they?
We get here
and Matthew and Mark
both kind of give us
a glimpse as to
how the disciples
responded to this event.
And so it says
that as they were hiking
down the mountain,
they began to ask Jesus
some questions.
And it just makes me wonder,
how long did it take?
It's a pretty magnificent event.
I would imagine
there's some silence
for a little while.
Peter's just been rebuked again.
I would imagine
from him especially
there's probably
a little bit of silence.
But eventually
the silence is broken.
And they begin to discuss
what has transpired,
which leads to Jesus
quickly commanding them
not to tell anyone.
Now that's a tough order,
isn't it?
And we see it all the time
with Jesus, right?
And we've talked about
all the reasons
why Jesus often
instructed people
not to say anything
about the things
that he had done.
We understand
all of those things.
There's no reason
to go through them again.
But it's a tough order.
Here's these three disciples.
They've had the most
magnificent experience
of their life.
And now they can't even
tell their buddies.
At least not yet.
And of course,
they obeyed that.
They obeyed the command.
Jesus said
not to say anything
until the Son of Man
had risen from the dead.
And so,
they still didn't understand
the purpose of the cross.
Jesus knew
that their spiritual sight
would remain unclear
until after the resurrection.
And so,
to share the news
of the transfiguration
would only add
to the misconceptions
of the people.
It's only going to
potentially add obstacles
on Jesus' path
to the cross.
It was just necessary
that they not say anything yet.
But they would.
Just not yet.
Well,
that led to a question
and a discussion
amongst the three disciples.
We really want to tell people.
He said not to tell people
until the Son of Man
is risen from the dead.
So,
what does this rising
of the dead actually mean?
What is Jesus getting on
about here?
The discussion that ensues
between the three men.
And here,
it's important for us
to understand
what their preconceived
idea of resurrection was.
That's the question
that they asked Jesus
or that they were
asking one another.
And the preconceived notion
for these men
was not that they were
trying to figure out
resurrection in general.
They believed in a future
resurrection of all people.
The Jews,
for the most part,
believed that.
From Daniel chapter 12.
They also had seen Jesus
raise other people
from the dead.
So,
it's not that they just
didn't really understand
resurrection.
It's that they had
no capacity in their mind
for a suffering Messiah
that would need
resurrection.
That thought just
doesn't enter into their mind.
So,
even though Jesus
had plainly said it,
they're not grasping it.
Perhaps they're just
not receiving it.
And so,
they're discussing
with one another,
well,
what does he mean
by this resurrection
and when can we tell people?
And it seems that
they've settled in
on this idea
that what Jesus
was referring to
was this general
resurrection of all people
to judgment.
And this is what leads
to their next question.
Verse 11.
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
to 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.
This is a weird question
now, isn't it?
Because what they're discussing
with one another
is resurrection.
Why didn't they ask Jesus
about resurrection?
Because they thought
they figured that part out.
They were certain
Jesus,
Jesus can't be talking
about himself.
This has to be
something else.
They're settling in
on this general
resurrection of all people
to the judgment
at the end of the age.
And so their question
then is not so much
about resurrection,
it's about this
Elijah figure.
The question has to do
with the fulfillment
of a prophecy
from the prophet
Malachi.
Now God had spoken
through Malachi
to say that
a forerunner
would precede
the Messiah
and prepare the way
for his arrival.
And you can write
these references down.
We would find it
in Malachi 3
and verse 1
and then again
in Malachi 4
and verse 5.
And let me just
read them to you.
Malachi 3,
here's what it says,
Behold,
I send my messenger,
he will prepare
the way before me.
And the Lord
whom you seek
will suddenly
come to his temple.
The messenger
of the covenant
in whom you delight,
behold,
he is coming,
says the Lord of hosts.
So that's chapter 3
and verse 1.
A messenger
will precede the Messiah.
And then in chapter 4
and verse 5,
Malachi summarizes
his prophecy
and he says
that this messenger
will be Elijah.
Let me read it to you.
Behold,
I will send you
Elijah the prophet
before the great
and awesome day
of the Lord comes.
He will turn
the hearts
of the fathers
to their children,
the hearts
of the children
to their fathers,
lest I come
and strike the land
with the decree
of utter destruction.
So the question
that the disciples have
is related
to this prophecy
for Malachi.
The Jews believed
that before the Messiah
would come
and set up the kingdom,
that Elijah himself,
the Old Testament
prophet himself,
would come back,
would return,
and that he would do
this preparatory work.
The language
is to restore
all things.
It's really a reference
to preparing the way.
That idea
of the herald
that would go
before a king
and prepare the way
is really what
the intention
of that phrasing is.
They thought Elijah
literally was going
to come back.
The disciples
would have assumed
this as well.
But they couldn't
figure out,
though they believed
in Jesus
that he was indeed
the Messiah,
they couldn't figure out
this whole bit
about Elijah.
And so that's
what they ask.
They're thinking
about the kingdom,
they're thinking
the kingdom is coming now.
They're still confused
about that.
And they say,
Jesus,
if you're the Messiah
and we believe
that you are,
what's this whole bit
about Elijah?
Where's Elijah?
We thought Elijah
was supposed to come.
And we just saw him
on the mountain
and we've never
seen him before.
So what's the whole deal
with Elijah?
Now,
Jesus answers them
in a way
that's a little bit unique.
But before we can
really understand
verse 12
in this question
that Jesus asked,
let's start
with verse 13.
Jesus tells them,
essentially,
John the Baptist
is the Elijah
that Malachi
was referring to.
And so at this point
in the conversation,
Matthew wrote
in chapter 17
and verse 13
that the disciples
got it.
It clicked with them,
okay,
Jesus is referring
to John the Baptist.
That must be
the explanation.
And so though
the Jews were looking
for this literal
return of Elijah,
Jesus said
that this prophecy
was fulfilled
in John
who had come
in the spirit
and power
of Elijah.
It was a matter
of interpretation.
They had interpreted
it in a literal way
and it didn't quite
mean it in a literal way
when God gave
the prophecy.
Now,
the New Testament
is clear about this.
Let me give you
a couple of references.
When the angel
appeared to Zechariah
to tell him
that his wife
Elizabeth
would bear a child
and to name him
John,
here's what the angel
said.
Luke chapter 1,
He will turn
many of the children
of Israel
to the Lord
their God.
He will go
before him
in the spirit
and power
of Elijah
to turn the hearts
of the fathers
to the children
and the disobedient
to the wisdom
of the just
to make ready
for the Lord
a people
prepared.
We just heard
that language
in Malachi.
The angel
is telling Zechariah
your son
is going to be
that one.
He's the Elijah.
Okay?
After John
is born,
his father
Zechariah
has this doxology,
this moment
of praise.
In Luke chapter 1
the Bible
says that he was
filled with the Holy Spirit
and here's what he said.
And you child,
this is in reference
to John,
will be called
the prophet
of the Most High.
You will go
before the Lord
to prepare
his ways
to give knowledge
of salvation
to his people
and the forgiveness
of their sins
because of the tender
mercy of our God.
And then Jesus
confirmed this
in Matthew 11.
For all the prophets
and the law
prophesied until John
and if you are willing
to accept it,
Jesus said,
he is Elijah
who is to come.
And then he says,
he who has ears to hear,
let him hear.
In other words,
if you will see
who John really is,
you'll see
who I really am.
That's the whole point
of this.
That's what Jesus
is getting at
in this question.
And then we have
to ask,
if it was so plain
that John the Baptist
was this Elijah figure,
why didn't the disciples
understand it?
It's clear,
isn't it?
They didn't want
a Messiah
who would suffer
and they had
no capacity
in their mind
for a messenger,
a forerunner
that would suffer.
Just like they had
no capacity
in their mind
for followers
of the Messiah
to suffer.
Suffering was not
a part of the equation
for them.
The whole equation
for them
with the kingdom
was blessing
and the nation
being established
and all of the enemies
of Israel
being demolished
and the Messiah
reigning
and they reigning
with them.
There's no suffering
in their mind.
And so now
that John
has been arrested
and executed,
they've completely
dismissed any possibility
that he could have
been the Elijah figure
of Malachi.
And here is Jesus
saying,
no,
Elijah has come.
It was John.
They did to him.
They did to him
whatever they wanted
as it is written of him.
Okay,
now we can come back
to verse 12
because we understand
John is the person here.
Now we come back
to verse 12
and we're about
to finish it up.
I hope I'm not losing you here.
Almost done.
And he said to them,
Elijah does come first
to restore all things.
And then he asked a question.
And how is it written
of the son of man
that he should suffer
many things
and be treated
with contempt?
Now,
this question
seems strange.
They've asked him
about Elijah.
Why is Jesus
now asking them
about what the scripture
says about the suffering
Messiah?
And Jesus
is teaching them again
that the scripture
says the Messiah
must suffer.
Therefore,
his followers
must also
be prepared
to suffer
for his sake.
That's the point.
Matthew
orders
these statements
in reverse.
and it's
to accomplish
a different,
provide a different
perspective
of Jesus' statement.
He reverses them
in order to say
how the Messiah
would suffer.
And in Matthew's
account,
he's essentially
saying
the way that
they treated
John
is also
the way
they will
treat me.
That's essentially
the sequence
that Matthew gives.
But Mark
gives a different
sequence.
Mark's presenting
a different
perspective.
He's not
trying to tell
us
how the Messiah
would die.
He's trying
to emphasize
why John
had to die.
And so
his sequence
goes like this.
They did
that to
John
because
they will
do that
to me.
Do you see
the difference?
why is
Jesus asking
this question?
He's bringing
their minds
back to the
scripture.
The Messiah
will suffer.
Therefore,
why would you
expect
that his
messenger
wouldn't
suffer?
And why
wouldn't you
expect
that you
won't
suffer?
And here
he covers
this third
part of his
teaching in
chapter 8.
We've seen
his identity.
We've seen
his suffering.
And now
we're again
reminded of
the cost
of being
his disciple.
Just because
John was
executed
didn't mean
that he
wasn't
the Elijah
figure.
It actually
shows that
he was
the Messiah
figure.
Because just
as they
treated
Jesus
is how
we might
expect
to be
treated
as his
followers.
And it's
not hard
to see
that is
it.
It's
only
getting
harder.
But every
one of
these men
that were
covering in
the life
of Jesus
every one
of them
suffered
willingly
joyfully
why?
Because they
found in
Jesus
the pearl.
They found
in Jesus
the treasure.
And so
Jesus is
just teaching
the lesson
again.
Now as we
close I want
us to step
back for just
a second
and consider
this narrative
as a whole.
What is it
we're supposed
to do about
this passage?
We like to
ask that
question right?
When we come
to the text
what do we
do about
this?
This is
what it
says.
This is
what it
means.
What do
we do
now?
The purpose
of the
transfiguration
is to
proclaim
who Jesus
is,
what he
came to
do,
and what
it means
to be
his
disciple.
So the
application
is clear.
We are
to believe
who he
is,
accept
what he
did,
and follow
him,
and follow
him.