Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 1 Study # 4
January 3, 2023
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(368)
1901 ASV
9:2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them;
9:3 and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.
9:4 And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
9:5 And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
9:6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid.
9:7 And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.
9:8 And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
- I. The Reference To "After Six Days".
- A. There are no "obvious" indicators that "six" days is significant; Mark only referred to "six" in this one place.
- B. However...
- 1. Genesis 2:2 tells us that God "rested" on the seventh day, after six days of creation labors.
- 2. There is a long-held "supposition" in some quarters that the "seventh" millennium of human history will be the "millennium of Messianic rule" with "peace" as a major characteristic of that time (according to Isaiah 9:7 the "Prince of Peace" will rule so that, "...of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom..."). If "peace" is equal to the notion of "rest", the Kingdom will be "Sabbatical" in nature. This possibility gives greater significance to the historical fact that when the nation ignored the required "sabbatical years" for 490 years, God removed them from their "kingdom" for the 70 years that they "owed" to the land for its "rest".
- 3. There was a reason (even if we cannot figure out what it was) for Jesus taking this action "after six days", with the "action" declared to be a visible demonstration of His Messianic identity within the declared context of a "coming of the Kingdom with power" (with Peter using those very words in his reference to this event (2 Peter 1:16)).
- a. Mark, clearly, desired to "fix" Jesus' identity as "The Christ" in the minds of at least Peter, James, and John because the "contradictory treatment of Him" in the coming days would seriously undercut that identity as was demonstrated by the disciples who were departing for Emmaus in Luke 24:19-26. This issue is the beginning and end of Mark's chiastic presentation of "kingdom" issues in 9:1-11:11.
- b. The delay of "six days" would easily fit a number of these biblical themes. Our "problem" is the question of which, if any, Jesus/Mark had in mind.
- 1) The "And He said to them..." in 9:1, is deliberately linked to 8:38 (the chapter break at this point needs to be ignored; the linkage is critical for our understanding).
- a) In that preceding unit of thought, the issue is the potential shame that will come into the soul of anyone who refuses to "follow" Him because of the fear of men in their antagonism toward The Truth [Note well here the corresponding text of 1 John 2:28].
- i. This "issue" of refusal for fear's sake has a specific "setting": the "coming of The Son Of The Man in the glory of His Father with the holy angels".
- ii. This "setting" has this point: Jesus is going to "come in the glory of His Father" to exercise "power" to bring about the prophesied Kingdom.
- iii. This was the hope of Israel: a "Messiah" Who would fulfill the longing of the prayer of the faithful -- "...Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...", and it was also the issue of Mark's record. Mark had one "large" purpose in mind when he wrote his record: to present Jesus as the One Who could deliver "believers" from their bondage to their "fear of men" and its primary foundation of the "lust" for the approval of men rather than God. Jesus is God as "Servant" and no man is ready to see Him come in the glory of His Father who would rather please men than God.
- b) Mark's focus is upon "the coming of The Son Of The Man" and the identity of Jesus as that Man.
- i. It seems clear to me that the stumbling block to that thesis was to be The Cross.
- ii. Since, then, The Cross is looming on the horizon (8:29-32), fortifying the souls of the disciples is becoming seriously important.
- II. Jesus' Selection Of Peter, James, and John.
- A. If "fortifying the souls of the disciples was His goal, why 9:9?
- B. Note Luke 22:32.
- C. Also note Mark 16:7.