Mountain of Glory and Valley of Need (Part One)

Text: Mark 9:1-29

Background: One of G. Campbell Morgan’s lesser-known books is simply entitled Mountains and Valleys. In this book, he shows us how often in Scripture there is a connection between a mountain and a need waiting in the valley below. After Moses ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, he descended into the valley to face a golden calf orgy and a people needing discipline. Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7). But when the sermon was over, a very needy man with leprosy was waiting to be healed. In Mark’s retelling of the story of the transfiguration in Mark 9, the glory of the Mount is immediately followed by a great need in the valley below—a demon-possessed boy and his desperate father hoping for deliverance.

Part 1: The Mountain of Glory

Text: Mark 9:1-8

Introduction: Most of us have had the experience of enjoying a refreshing vacation, only to return home and be confronted with urgent phone calls to be returned, hospital calls to be made, and a secretary with a long list of needs. We are down from the mountain and back in the valley of needs! This was true in the ministry of Jesus.

A.    The Invitation (Mark 9:1-2). Jesus shared three special experiences with His inner circle of disciples: James, Peter, and John. On each occasion, Jesus was teaching them about death. Peter especially needed reassurance, because he couldn’t accept Jesus’ words about His impending death (Mark 8:31-33). There is an unfolding sequence in these experiences.

1.    In the house of Jairus (Mark 5:22-24). When Jesus took the hand of a little girl who had died, and said, “Talitha, cumi” (Little lamb, arise!), He showed to James, Peter, and John that He was master over death.

2.    On the mountain of glory, where Jesus was transfigured (Mark 9:1-2), He showed His inner circle that He was superior over death. He would pass through it and come out the other side in glory.

3.    When Jesus took the three with Him to the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42), He was on the threshold of death on the cross. As Jesus faced the agony of the cross, He showed His willingness to die, so that He might victoriously conquer death.

B.    The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2b-6)

1.    The experience. The Greek word for transfigured is metemorphothe, from which we get the word metamorphosis. When I was a boy, I took a cocoon that clung to a twig and put it close to our basement furnace. A caterpillar had spun the cocoon and the larva was encased inside. Metamorphosis was taking place. A beautiful moth would emerge. But I was impatient and cut it open. I missed “the glory.” For our Savior, the divine nature incarnate in human flesh shone forth in all its glory in the transfiguration.

2.    The appearance. The gospel writers exhaust their vocabulary in an attempt to describe the splendor. His garments were whiter than any launderer could whiten them. His face shone like the sun! (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3).

3.    Celestial visitors (Mark 9:4). “Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.” Moses, the lawgiver and author of the Torah, which was filled with shadows and types of a coming Messiah, met with Jesus, who fulfilled every shadow. Elijah represented the prophets who had written dozens of prophecies about a coming Messiah—and here He was! From Luke 9:29, we discover that the major topic was His exodus. Moses had led Israel out of Egyptian bondage to freedom. Jesus would lead a race in bondage to sin to the glorious deliverance of salvation through His death on the cross.

4.    The suggestion (Mark 9:5-6). Just before the transfiguration, Jesus had posed an important question to His disciples: “ ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ ” (Matt. 16:13-17). Peter was correct in his confession, but he had forgotten the unique deity of Jesus. His tabernacle suggestion put Elijah, Moses, and Jesus on the same level.

C.     Affirmation (Mark 9:7).

In the Gospels, God the Father speaks from heaven three times and affirms Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.

1.    At the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:17).
2.    When some Greeks sought Jesus (John 12:20-28).
3.    After Peter’s suggestion (Mark 9:7). God the Father accomplishes three things:

• Identification: “This is My beloved Son” (Matt. 3:17; Mark 9:7).
• Satisfaction: “In whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).
• Command: “Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7).

Conclusion: Part 2 will reveal Jesus and the three descending the mountain and being confronted with a desperate need. We need time away from the demands of the ministry to commune with the Lord of glory. It is the only fitting preparation for ministry.

Acknowledgment: G. Campbell Morgan wrote the classic The Crises of the Christ. His chapter on the transfiguration proved helpful in preparing this outline.