Transfiguration

Mark 8:34-9:13

³⁴He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ³⁵For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. ³⁶For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? ³⁸Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” ^9:1 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

^9:2 Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, ³and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. ⁴And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. ⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” ⁸Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. ¹¹Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹²He said to them, “Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings and be treated with contempt? ¹³But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.”

After the feeding of the four thousand and the healing of a blind man at Bethsaida, Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah. But when Jesus tells them about his upcoming rejection, suffering and death, Peter rebukes Jesus. Jesus then tells them what it means to be His follower.

Key concepts that Jesus teaches include:

• Deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him
• Those who want to save their life will lose it, those who lose their life for His sake will save it
• Those who are ashamed of Him in this life, Jesus will be ashamed of them in the afterlife

These may seem a little drastic in our times, but if we recall that Mark’s audience was in the midst of persecution and was in danger of being arrested, tortured and killed just because they are Christians, then it makes sense. Mark is trying to encourage the believers to be true to Jesus no matter what, since being faithful or not has eternal consequences.

Then Jesus says a strange thing at the end – “Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”

Kingdom of God coming with power implies the Parousia, or the second coming of Christ – When Jesus comes as judge and king, to establish His kingdom forever. Obviously, this has not happened yet, and equally obviously, no one who was around when Jesus said this is still alive. Was Jesus wrong? Probably not. So, what does this mean?

A partial answer comes in the very next section, commonly known as the transfiguration.

Six days later, Jesus takes Peter, James and John to a high mountain. There, Jesus is transfigured – His clothes became dazzling white. This reminds us of Moses when he comes down from Mt. Sinai, when his face shines. So, the three of them were able to see and experience Jesus in His full glory. Not only that, but they were also able to see Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus, as well as hearing God’s words telling them that Jesus is His Son and that they should listen to Him.

This tells us that Peter, James and John were able to see the beginning of the coming of the Kingdom of God with power. Still, the Kingdom coming in full power is yet to come.

Since the beginning of the Christian church, we have been looking forward with expectation for the second coming of Christ. As we get older, we start to resign ourselves to the fact that it is not going to happen in our lifetime.

But just because the Parousia will come after our earthly lives are done, it does not mean that we will not witness the Kingdom of God coming with power. It does not mean that those people who were listening to Jesus’ words never witnessed the kingdom of God coming with power.

The demands of being a follower, according to Jesus, are not easy ones. One must deny oneself, take up one’s cross and follow Him. This cannot be done without the full power of God. And some of those who were standing there with Jesus — Peter, James and John among them – Did deny themselves, picked up their cross and followed Jesus into eternity. So did some of the members of Mark’s church. They were able to hang onto their faith, even though they were arrested, tortured and put to death. They lost their earthly lives for the sake of the gospel, but their eternal lives were saved. They could only do this with the full power of the Kingdom coming to work within them.

As individuals and as a church, we can also be witnesses to the kingdom of God coming with power when we deny ourselves, pick up our crosses and follow Him.

We may not die gloriously as a martyr of faith, but we can do our best to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to those who are perishing. It might cost us money or time or relationships or reputations but putting others above ourselves is how we are to love others, which also means loving our Lord and His teachings and commands.

To those who need Christ, we can be the preview of the Kingdom coming in power.

(the above is a summary of the message shared by Shun Takano during our worship on August 23, 2026.)