Metamorphosed

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

METAMORPHOSED 

Mark 9:2-8

2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." 6(He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!" 8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

NIV

This is an account that is told from the mouths of those who stood there and witnessed this extraordinary event. Although Jesus told them not to say a word until the Son of man was raised from the dead, which we will include in some more conversation in our next look into this gospel, they did eventually tell, because Jesus did rise from the dead. So what happened here? First, what we want to discover is what it means to be transfigured. We seem to think we know, but how and why it happened is the question. The Greek word that is used there is the word that we have come to know as metamorphose. We see this in the way a caterpillar changes over time into a butterfly. It changes form, and that is what happened to Jesus, He changed form, from being fully human to being fully divine, or at least he appeared as fully divine, yet still that Greek word would indicate he went through a metamorphose, a change in form. He glowed, his clothe were shining brightly, his clothes were whiter than anything a human could get white. (The word bleach is not in the Greek text). What is also interesting is that Elijah and Moses appeared, just showed up, as if by magic. The text does not say they descended from heaven, but that they just appeared, as the Greek word implies they just became able to be seen, or visible. This is as if something that was invisible right before our eyes, suddenly appeared so we could see it. What is also interesting is that we know that Elijah, as we are told in 2 Kings, he was taken up into the heavens in a chariot of fire with horses of fire, but Moses, as we are told in Deuteronomy died on Mt Nebo and the Lord buried him there, although, to this day, his grave has never been found. We are also told that Moses was the last man to see God face to face, in fact, the only man, and since him, no one has done as many mighty acts or miracles in the eyes of Israel since him. Of Course, we know now that Jesus has done even more than Moses ever did, but then Jesus is God. Yet here both of them appeared and we would have to believe in a transfigured state as Jesus was, and they talked, they conversed. We are not told as to how long this conversation lasted or as to its content, but what we are told is that the Father also entered into the conversation, but mostly just to Peter, James and John. What must they have thought? They had to be so amazed, maybe even frighten or terrified as this sight and then to hear a voice from the heavens. So what do we learn from this? There are two truths we could see. First, this is the power of God that is at work in our lives. This transfigured Christ, this ascended Jesus who sits at the right hand of the Father is at work in us. We know that we talk about it, and we accept that we have been saved, and we will one day be with Jesus, yet this power, this awesome power that can transform himself or be transformed by the Father into light, and make two men who have long been gone appear with Jesus, this power is within us. That is almost too much to comprehend, yet it is true. Second, we also have gone through this metamorphose in that we have been changed from that old self into a new, born-again self. Yes, it is true that we will actually go through a physical metamorphose, a change from being corruptible to incorruptible, from being perishable into imperishable. We will be changed in a twinkling of an eye. But it is this change we have experienced in this life, from being dead in our sins, to alive in Christ which is the most remarkable change as if being that caterpillar, only able to crawl around so ever so slowly into a beautiful butterfly able to take to the wind and soar. Yes, we who wait upon the Lord will soar on wings, like eagles, we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not grow faint. We have the power of God in us, so let us do some soaring because we have gone through metamorphosing, we have been changed.