Mark 9:2-10 “Listen to Him”

The account of the Transfiguration of Jesus appears in Matthew 17:1-13, Luke 9:28-36 and in Mark 9:2-10. Both Matthew and Luke follow Mark in showing that the transfiguration identified Jesus as Son of God in glory and His Servant in the Passion, Death an Resurrection.

The Marcan account connects the event to Jesus’ revelation to his disciples of his impending death at the hands of the “elders, archpriests and scribes (8:31).” Jesus made this revelation after Peter confessed him as the Christ (8:30). Peter would not accept the possibility that the Christ should suffer and die. Jesus’ rebuke becomes a challene to all those who would like to follow him.

If anyone intends to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. He who wants to save his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel shall save it.

“Six days afterwards…” Mark points out that on the seventh day after Jesus tells of his suffering and death and the fate that awaits anyone who follows him, the Transfiguration occurs. What is the significance of this seventh day? And why does Mark refer to it in such a roundabout manner? Was Mark referring to a precise chronology of events when he writes “six days afterwards?” I don’t know. It is tempting to think, however, that Mark wanted the hearers of the gospel to pick up the connection between the event of the Transfiguration and the event that is celebrated by them on the seventh day: the Resurrection.

“And he was transfigured before them…” The description that Mark gives here makes Jesus the focal point of the future and the past. His clothes acquire an unearthly splendor and two figures from the past whose coming were also anticipated by the Jews stood by him. “White” is the color of the resurrection, whose source is the glory of God himself. Peter later on writes about this:

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 had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. (NRSV, 2 Peter 1:16-18)

Moses and Elijah were prophets whom God privileged to be the conscience of His people. Moses is the one whom the scribes and Pharisees refer to when dealing with matters of conscience. Elijah is “the prophet like Moses” foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15-18 who was taken up by a heavenly chariot to return on the day of Israel’s vindication (cf. Mark 9:11ff). These two prophets appear discussing with Jesus. Mark does not say what they were talking about. Luke however points out that they were discussing Jesus’ exodus, i.e., his going out of the world through the cross. (Luke 9:31)

“A cloud came, overshadowing them…” The cloud that covered them is the Shekinah (“the Majestic Glory”, cf. 2 Peter 1:17) of the desert wanderings. When Israel journeyed in the desert, Yahweh’s presence accompanied them as a pillar of fire by night and a shiny cloud by day. It was this cloud that covered the Tent of Meeting whenever Moses consulted with God. At the transfiguration, a voice from the cloud addressed itself to the three disciples and to those listening to the story:

This is my Son, my Beloved. Listen to Him

Mark underlines the fact that “Listen to him” refers to Jesus and to him alone: “…and they saw no one except Jesus with them” (9:8). Thus, the Transfiguration becomes the occassion whereby God presents His voice to the faithful. The time of Moses and Elijah has passed; it is now the time of the Beloved Son to speak for the Father. The author of the letter to the Hebrews writes about it thus:

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

What Mark has been hinting at in the previous chapters of his gospel becomes clear in the announcement of the voice from the cloud. Henceforth, to obey Jesus is to obey God.

The first time that this voice is heard in Mark’s Gospel is during the baptism at the Jordan. There the voice said: “You are my Son, the Beloved. In you my favor rests.” The phrase combines Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1, a passage about the Davidic king and about the Suffering Servant of Yahweh. Here at the Transfiguration, the revelation of Jesus’ identity is coupled with an imperative: “Listen…!” The words about discipleship uttered by Jesus in 8:34-9:1 and in all the gospels as these are read in the Sunday assembly of the faithful now acquire an absolute character. These are no longer words from a known preacher; these are the words of God Himself.