A preview is not the same thing as the main event. In our world, we use “warm up” acts in live
musical concerts, or stand-up comedian acts to get the audience in the mood for
what will come next. In boxing, there is
such a thing as the “under-card” which is usually a series of fights that take
place before the main event bout.
Obviously these previews are not what we paid to see or were most
looking forward to, but there have been a fair number of musicians, comedians,
and fighters who transitioned from being the warm-up act to being the main act
because of the exposure they got during their entertainment previews. And the previews themselves do serve to get
the audience properly prepared for what comes next, in order to heighten the
experience of the main event. No one
knows how far back this practice dates, but given that Jesus had one, we can
say at least 2,000 years.
Peter records how it all started as he recited it to John
Mark to transcribe beginning in the gospel of Mark chapter nine, and verse 1
saying … “And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of
them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the
kingdom of God come with power.” In
these words, Jesus is talking to His disciples.
He has just given them a sort-of salvation tutorial in the previous
verses. That was a detailed explanation
of what it means to be able to be like Christ is, to follow Jesus where He was
going. Now Jesus is taking that idea a
bit further, He is telling them, that at least some of them will not die until
they have seen Him as God, and His Kingdom coming here with power. Of course our human minds, which live nearly
2,000 years since those words were spoken, immediately “wants” to interpret
them as being a promise of a quick second return by Christ to take us all home. But as 2,000 years has passed since then, we
know that is not the case. Further,
since the laws of aging were not suspended for the disciples (allowing them to
live until now without getting old), we can further conclude that the “main
event” of His return was also NOT what He was talking about.
So what was Jesus referring to? The answer can be found in the texts
immediately following these remarks and continuing this story. Mark continues writing in verse 2 saying … “And
after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth
them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured
before them.” Note this is the very next
verse following the lead-in written above.
You don’t need to search through scriptures to find an event that may
somehow fulfill the words of Christ, it is the very next thought. What happens in only six days, is that Jesus
takes Himself, Peter, James, and John up into a high mountain in order to be
alone with them (out of the reach of the crowds). He then “transfigures” Himself before them, or
in other words, He reveals the “God” portion of who He is. He takes the mask of humanity off for a few
moments and reveals the God side, the infinite side, of who He really is. Up to now, this has never happened. Up to now, and since His birth, there have
only been a few incidents where God the Father’s voice was heard acknowledging
Jesus as His son. Even when Jesus
performs miracles for us, it is always with Jesus cloaked in humanity, never
showing anyone what is under the veil.
Imagine the brilliant light that emerges from Jesus when
Peter sees more God than man standing before him. Imagine the purity of Christ’s love and
brilliance of the Creator now shining through in this lonely place high on a
remote mountain top. I can imagine that
even here, Jesus must hold back the fullness of who He is, or the disciples
would perish at the sight. But I can
also imagine that for these 3 men, who will ever be only human, the plain sight
of His divinity would have overwhelmed them.
They may well have prostrated themselves on the ground at His first
revealing. This was no small event, and
it was not one that would be repeated often or with casual regard. This was an epic event. This was the true revelation of God
underneath the human form. The power
that emanated from that purity was beyond our words to relate. But yet here it was. None of us could ever do this. No other wanna-be Messiah could come close to
doing such a thing. This distinction
between man and God was forevermore marked here.
Peter tries to describe what he saw to John Mark in verse 3
saying … “And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no
fuller on earth can white them.” Perhaps
doing his best to look at Jesus once the God identity has been unveiled, Peter
can only see his robe which up to now, has been a home spun garment, full of
the dirt and sweat that comes from climbing a high mountain. Up to now, the robe of Jesus was not
especially different from Peter, or James, or John. But look at it now. It is a brilliant white, a white more white
than anything Peter has ever seen. It
shines. The robe now gives off a light
Peter cannot explain. This brilliance is
not something mankind is possible of duplicating or making. Peter takes special note to call out that no
“fuller” (a profession of clothing cleaner) could ever make a robe as white as
this one is. Indeed the beginnings of
the Kingdom of God are being revealed, for this is clearly a picture of God
being revealed to His three disciples.
Then comes the fullness of a kingdom’s description as John
Mark continues in verse 4 saying … “And there appeared unto them Elias with
Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.”
And thus the remainder of the kingdom appeared: mankind with God. That is what the Kingdom of God was all
about, reconciling mankind with God.
Here were both groups of mankind represented in this first preview of
the coming of Christ in His second return to earth. Elias or Elijah had never died but was fully
transformed in character before his earthly death and taken to heaven by angels
pleased to carry out that job. Moses had
died, and was raised from the earth fully transformed in character, ready to
greet his Lord in the air, carried to heaven by angels glad to have been
assigned that task. Mankind was here
now, in the form of both of these saved groups, talking plainly with
Jesus. These were not ghosts, or
disembodied spirits, they were men like you and I. They were there right now, united with their
Savior. This was the first preview of
the Kingdom of God, beheld in power as was promised by Christ only six days
earlier.
As usual Peter is not quite sure what to do, or say, but as
usual Peter has to say something. That
boisterous personality cannot just keep still at the sight of something that
overwhelms the others. So he recalls to
John Mark his best efforts at the time picking up in verse 5 saying … “And
Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let
us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. [verse
6] For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.” No human had ever experienced what was going
on at this moment, nobody, ever. There
was no basis in scripture to have studied.
There were no stories handed down from father to son. In the 4,000+ years of earth’s history,
nothing like this had ever occurred. So
Peter tries to make conversation by offering to build 3 tabernacles on that
ground one for Jesus, Moses, and Elias.
A normally flattering offer, but none of them are interested in the
attempted flattery of Peter. There are
no ego’s here to stroke, only a continued united mission to redeem mankind from
itself. But there was still one thing
missing from the definition of His Kingdom, a unity between God and man.
John Mark continues transcribing in verse 7 saying … “And
there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud,
saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. [verse 8] And suddenly, when they had
looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.” God the Father had come, He masked Himself in
a cloud, for even here in this preview event, He could not reveal His glory to
those who were still marked by sin lest He destroy the object of His love. But God the Father had a message for those
three disciples, that Jesus was indeed His only Son, and that they should hear
Him. Almost as quickly as these events
began, they were ended. As the disciples
looked around they saw only themselves, and Jesus as He had been before. His robe was as dirty and sweaty as
theirs. No Moses, or Elias, just the
four of them. At this point, each
disciple must have wondered if they were hallucinating. But then how could all 3 of them have seen
exactly the same thing at the same time in their respective
hallucinations. No, it had to have been
real. It was after all the preview event
Jesus had promised that some of them would see.
In the aftermath of this event Jesus charges them with a
familiar charge. John Mark records in
verse 9 saying … “And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that
they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were
risen from the dead. [verse 10] And they kept that saying with themselves,
questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” Jesus again asks for secrecy, but this time
only until He is risen from the dead.
This is a new condition, and the disciples have no idea what it means. They still cling to a false idea of the role
of the Messiah. Having seen Him
transfigure and get the support of Elijah and Moses, only deepens the false
idea they cling to. If Jesus has access
to all this power in heaven, surely He will use it to accomplish creating His
kingdom here on earth. The preview they
just got, must be a prelude to an anti-Roman paradise, what else could it be? So they decide to change the subject slightly
and see if they can get more information out of Him. They ask a different question.
John Mark continues writing in verse 11 saying … “And they
asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? [verse 12] And
he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things;
and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and
be set at nought. [verse 13] But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and
they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.” The disciples ask why the Pharisee leadership
and scribes think that Elijah must come before the Messiah fulfills His
role. Jesus answers that again they have
a mistaken interpretation (how like us), but if you examine it … Elias just did
come in the flesh, and in the message of John the Baptist. Both in person and in truth has Elias come
ahead of the fulfillment of the Messiah’s role, albeit, not the role the
disciples wanted Jesus to fulfill.
When we read scripture, we do what the disciples did. We read it from a preconceived set of
traditions, and personal hopes. We read
the scriptures that support our ideas, and ignore the texts that do not fit
them well. We, like the disciples, cling
to our ideas and views of the role of Christ, despite what He directly tells us
that we simply do not understand. This
is all because like our Pharisee forefathers, we do not seek Christ to lead us
to truth, we instead attempt to tell Jesus what our truth is and expect Him to
conform to it. If we are even to read
rightly, we must learn to submit ALL our ideas to Jesus first. We must read through the lens of Jesus where
loving others is the primary concern.
Only after full submission, and being led by Christ, can we begin to
understand what was written, and what it means to each of us. To distinguish between previews and main
events, and to understand what Jesus asks of us, we must read through the lens
of Jesus Christ and after submitting our will to His. And there will be far more Peter has to say
to us …
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