Mark 9:2-9 - Last Stop Before Lent - February 14, 2021

When you’re on a road trip, you’ll occasionally see signs issuing rather strong advice. “Last exit before toll road” tells you to get off the road if you don’t want to pay. “Last rest area for 92 miles” tells you if you have to go, stop and go now. “Last gas for 200 miles” tells you to fill up if you’re running low. “Stop here before going on” is the message these signs convey. Well, if we see the Christian church year as a road trip, then Transfiguration is a sign telling us to stop, to pause before we enter the season of Lent.

The question is: why? Why stop here on this mountaintop? There’s no question that this is a pretty fascinating scene. Jesus is transfigured in front of his disciples, revealing his true glory as God. And Moses and Elijah, the representatives of the law and the prophets respectively, are there. These two details combined tell us that this mountaintop is a sample of the resurrection life. It appears to indicate that in heaven we will recognize each other – even saints we’ve never met. It gives definite proof that there is no such thing as “soul sleep” or “conditional immortality” – the false teaching of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other false religions that when a person dies they drop into an unconscious state until the end of time, [1] because here Moses – who died and was buried (Deuteronomy 34:5-6) – and, Elijah who was taken to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2), are both fully alive and fully conscious. Here we see what the believers who have gone before us are enjoying now and what we look forward to enjoying in the future.

And yet, as interesting as all this is, why does our Lord stop us here before he begins his final journey to the cross? Why in the world do Moses and Elijah show up now, just before Lent? The answer is that this scene connects what Jesus is about to do with the OT. As we read in the last verses of the OT in Malachi: remember the law of my servant Moses, which I commanded to him at Horeb to serve as statutes and judgments over all Israel. Look! I am going to send Elijah the prophet to you before the great and fearful day of the LORD comes! He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with complete destruction (Malachi 4:4-6). Here on the Mt. of Transfiguration these words are fulfilled. Moses is here to remind the disciples (and us) of the law. Elijah is here in power to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. In other words, right before Jesus offers up the New Testament in his blood (Matthew 26:28) we are reminded of where we would be if the story ended with the Old Testament. And it’s not a pretty picture.

We are to remember the Law of Moses, summarized in the 10 commandments. We are to remember how Jesus’ clear and forceful preaching of the law throughout his ministry proves that no one, not the disciples, not the Pharisees, not you and not me have kept God’s law perfectly. We are to remember that no one will be declared righteous in his sight by works of the law, for through the law we become aware of sin (Romans 3:20). Well, what about Elijah, what does his presence mean? Elijah was the preeminent preacher of repentance. The disciples didn’t really understand it at the time, but Jesus told them as they’re coming down the mountain: Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it was written about him (Mark 9:13). John the Baptist was this Elijah, this forerunner. Like the first Elijah he issued powerful calls to repentance accompanied by the sign of baptism. But like, Elijah, John faced nothing but hostility. Herod did with him what he wanted by chopping off his head (Mark 6:14-29). This travesty only served to guarantee that the Lord would eventually come to strike the land with complete destruction.

What does this mean for us? The Lord wants us to make a last stop on this mountain and look back to the Old Testament and come to the sobering realization that if the story ended there, we’d all be lost and condemned. All the laws of Moses cannot save us; all the powerful preaching and miracles of Elijah cannot turn or convert our hearts from unbelief to faith. We need something and someone better. That’s why at this last stop God takes Moses and Elijah back to heaven so that the disciples would stop looking to them and look to Jesus alone. Transfiguration teaches us to stop with the Old Testament, to understand that the OT cannot save us.

Imagine if at the last stop before an especially barren portion of highway they siphoned the gas out of your car and took the water bottles out of your cooler and that all the restrooms were out of order. That’s kind of what happened to Peter. Six days before the Transfiguration Peter had confessed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16). And once the disciples had a handle on Jesus’ identity, Jesus proceeded to inform them of his work. He taught them the theology of the cross: that [he] must suffer many things; be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the experts in the law; be killed; and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31) – and that anyone who wanted to follow him must similarly take up his cross, and follow [him] (Mark 8:34). And Peter’s gut reaction to this theology was the same as mine: “No way! Jesus, you can’t suffer and die and neither can I! There’s got to be a better, easier way.” (Mark 8:32) Well, Jesus turned around and called him Satan and told him to get his head out of you-know-where. No, really. He told him to get his mind off the things of men and set it on the things of God (Mark 8:33).

Peter’s revulsion to the theology of the cross is probably why he wanted to keep Moses and Elijah in tents up there on that mountain. These heroes of the OT were the cavalry who could save Jesus and him from any kind of cross. At Moses’ command the earth swallowed up his enemies (Numbers 16:31-35); by Moses’ word Egypt was plagued and God’s people delivered (Exodus 7-11). And now he was here. And so was Elijah the prophet who had slaughtered hundreds of prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) and called fire from heaven down on enemy soldiers (2 Kings 1). The cavalry had arrived and Peter intended to keep them around by putting up tents for them. No more of this talk of being betrayed, rejected, and crucified – not with Moses and Elijah on your side. With these reinforcements, Jesus could become the powerful, glorious Messiah he was longing for. But then – poof! – they were gone. And all he was left with was Jesus, Jesus alone. Some rest stop; some last stop before Lent.

Transfiguration impresses on us that we need to stop being like Peter. What was Peter’s real problem? He wanted a shortcut to glory. He wanted to avoid suffering and the cross at all costs. He wanted to stay there in that little slice of heaven with Moses and Elijah and not have to descend the mountain to watch Jesus be arrested, abused, tortured and crucified – and to endure suffering and temptation himself. And he’s not alone. That’s the original sin, isn’t it? Satan led Adam and Eve to seek a shortcut to godly wisdom by eating the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6). In a way, every sin is a shortcut to God’s will. And we still take these shortcuts with frightening frequency. Why do people fabricate false gods? Because they want the glory of believing they can achieve their own salvation without the humble confession that we are lost and condemned sinners. Why do we fail to praise Jesus’ name before family and friends? Because we want a shortcut to the glory of acceptance, not the long, hard road of mockery and ridicule – or perhaps even being “canceled” from our career or friend group. We seek the shortcut of escape from stress and depression in substances and distractions to avoid the hard work of repentance and prayer. We cohabitate or secretly lust after images on our devices because we seek the pleasure of marriage without the effort and commitment. And the list could go on. But just like on a road trip, these shortcuts always end up in disaster. Just ask Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:16-19). Just ask Peter, who tried to take a shortcut out of a difficult situation in the temple courtyard by swearing up and down that he didn’t know Jesus, only to end up outside the city weeping bitterly (Matthew 26:75).

Transfiguration means that we need to stop being like Peter as we enter Lent. We need to stop following the seductive shortcuts offered up by Satan and promoted by the world. There are no shortcuts to glory for Jesus or for us. Just as Jesus had to leave that mountain to be arrested, tortured, and crucified, so we must pick up the cross of self-denial and repentance and follow him. And it’s healthy for us to do so. For as we struggle and strive against the sinful nature – and fail again and again – we better understand why we don’t need more laws and we don’t need miracles, we need Jesus, Jesus alone.

What do we get in Jesus alone? The voice from heaven tells us. It says: this is my Son; whom I love. Listen to him. First, this is my Son. The poor man that we will see beaten and bloodied, overwhelmed with sorrow, crying and crucified and forsaken by God is none other than God’s Son. This is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through him all things were made” (Nicene Creed). Why do we have to remember this? Because unless God kept the law for us, it’s not kept well enough and unless God shed his blood on the cross there is no way that our sins can be covered and our curse removed. Unless Jesus is God, Lent and Christianity itself are a complete waste of time.

Second, whom I love. The Father is saying more than that he just loves his Son. The Greek literally says that Jesus is the beloved. God doesn’t just love Jesus, he loves him exclusively. How could he not? He was perfect. The rest of us, we’re terrible disappointments. How could he love us? Why, when we look in the mirror, would anyone love us? But God does. God loved us so much that he sent his beloved Son to bear the curse of sin – the never-ending torment of hell – on the cross, all so that he could turn towards us in love. This is why we need Lent every year. This means that Lent is very personal for each of us. We can’t view Lent with a cold and detached disinterest, as if we were just watching a movie. The hatred, the suffering, the death we will hear in our passion history readings over the course of the next six weeks is the hatred, the suffering, the death that we deserved. But Jesus alone, the beloved Son of the Father, will endure it so that we never will. Lent is for no one but sinners. Lent is for you and for me.

Third, listen to him. Don’t listen to the accusations that Moses’ law levels against you that tell you that you deserve nothing but death and damnation. Listen to Jesus who suffered death and damnation in your place. Don’t listen to the devil’s false promises of glory without the cross; listen to Jesus’ promise that the way of the cross is the only road to glory (Mark 9:34-35). Don’t listen to the world which tries to distract you with earthly things; listen to Jesus who keeps your focus on the never-ending glory of life that awaits you in heaven (Philippians 3:20).  

And where can you listen to Jesus? Not in your heart – your heart is deceitful above all things and incurable (Jeremiah 17:9). Not in the world. The world is under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19). We listen to Jesus in His Word. Once again this Lent we’re going to hear Jesus say some beautiful things: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34); Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43); My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34); It is finished (John 19:30); Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23:46). These are words that Moses and Elijah never spoke. These are words you will never hear from the devil, the world or your sinful flesh. These are words that Jesus alone can and does speak to you. These are words spoken from a cross to people living under a cross that lead to true glory. These are the words of Jesus. As we begin Lent this week, it is well worth our time to make every effort to listen to him.

This is Transfiguration. This is our last stop before Lent. Let’s not waste it. Let’s stop thinking that salvation can be found in either the laws of Moses or the miracles of Elijah. Let’s stop being like Peter, hoping to find a shortcut to glory without the cross. Let’s stop, look, and listen to Jesus alone – for hidden in his cross and ours we find true, lasting glory. Amen.

[1] https://www.namb.net/apologetics/resource/soul-sleep/