The Gospel Of Mark With Francis Chan: A Video Bible StudySample

When Jesus rose out of the Jordan at his baptism, the Father’s voice declared, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). In today’s reading, we find Jesus with three of his closest disciples on a mountaintop where he is transfigured before them. Incredibly, Moses and Elijah appear with him, and God speaks from heaven again. It sounds the same, God affirming Jesus as his Son. But while the subject of his words doesn’t change, the objects did.

This time God says, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” He’s talking directly to the disciples. We get to see through the eyes of Peter, James, and John: Jesus took them up, he was transfigured before them, Peter searches for the right response, God’s words were directed toward them, and suddenly they realized their visitors were gone.

Three extraordinary truths were revealed on that mountain:

1. First, the Transfiguration unveiled a glimpse of Jesus’s preincarnate glory. In the Old Testament, God’s glory was always accompanied by light: His presence leading Israel out of Egypt in the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night is known as the Shekhinah glory. In this form he dwelt with his people. By appearing clothed in light, Jesus exhibited his identity as Son of God in majestic, dramatic fashion. It also previewed his glorified, post-resurrection body and how he will appear when he returns to judge the world.
2. Second, the appearance of Elijah and Moses confirmed Jesus’s identity: They represented the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah)—a sort of short-hand for the entirety of God’s Word. Just a week earlier (see Mark 8:27–30), Peter had confessed his belief that Jesus was not Elijah but instead the promised Messiah. And shortly after they descend from the mountain, he confirms that the prophecy about Elijah coming had already been fulfilled. In all this, Jesus demonstrated his superiority to the Jews’ primary spiritual leaders. The Son had finally come.
3. Third, God the Father authenticated Jesus’s identity and ministry (“This is my beloved Son”) and, even in the presence of Moses and Elijah, directly commanded his followers to listen to his Son. In doing so, the disciples understood (or would eventually understand) that Jesus now held spiritual authority over the Law and Prophets. Jesus himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). His teaching calls us to love even our enemies.

What does the Transfiguration mean for us today?

First, we can be assured that Jesus truly is the Son of God. Years afterward, Peter used the Transfiguration as the basis for his authority to speak in Jesus’s name:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. (2 Peter 1:16–18)

Second, Jesus is worth listening to. The word “listen” includes the idea of active hearing with the intent to obey—to take his words into consideration and act upon them. When he speaks, we should act. This is wisdom: to act in accordance with words that God and his chosen representatives say.

Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the beloved, in whom the Father is well pleased? If so, are you ready to obey him? What does that look like for you?