The Hope of Glory
Mark 9:1-8
This devotion and video come from a message of the same title.
The Transfiguration is not just about the glory of Jesus. It’s also about us having confidence that we will be sharing in the glory of Jesus. When we are identified with Jesus Christ through faith, we have this hope of glory.
CONFIDENT HOPE
Jesus is going to pull back the veil of his humanity, and we are going to get a glimpse of the hope of glory. But biblical hope is not wishful thinking. Biblical hope is a confident expectation based on solid certainty.
In Mark 9:1-4, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, and as the men watched, notice, the NLT says, “Jesus’ APPEARANCE was Transformed.” That is the traditional word “transfigured.”
The NLT helps make it clear that only Jesus’ outward appearance changed – nothing inside changed. The inner qualities of Jesus, did not change. Only his outer form was “trans-figured.” His outward “figure” was transformed.
Jesus pulled the veil of his humanity back to allow the Disciples to see a portion of his glory, to give the Disciples (and us) confidence in the hope of his glory.
In Mark 9:1-4, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain, and as the men watched, notice, the NLT says, “Jesus’ APPEARANCE was Transformed.” That is the traditional word “transfigured.”
The NLT helps make it clear that only Jesus’ outward appearance changed – nothing inside changed. The inner qualities of Jesus, did not change. Only his outer form was “trans-figured.” His outward “figure” was transformed.
Jesus pulled the veil of his humanity back to allow the Disciples to see a portion of his glory, to give the Disciples (and us) confidence in the hope of his glory.
LISTEN
As we read on in Mark 9:5-6, Peter speaks out, not knowing what to say. But on the heels of that comment, Mark 9:7 (NLT) says, 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”
God, the Father, who dwells in unapproachable light, covers his glory in a cloud and says to us, this is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him. We have a hundred voices we could be listening to today. But the God of Heaven says, this is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.
God, the Father, who dwells in unapproachable light, covers his glory in a cloud and says to us, this is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him. We have a hundred voices we could be listening to today. But the God of Heaven says, this is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.
THREE INCREDIBLE TRUTHS
#1. You will be YOU after death
Moses died 1200 years earlier, Elijah died 800 years earlier, and yet, here they are, alive and well, in a relationship with and working alongside Jesus. They are not gone. They are not 'asleep' as some misinterpret the King James language for death. And yes, they were heroes of the Bible, but they were still just men, like us.
And they are still who they were on earth. They are not reincarnated as something else; they are not angels; they are not floating on a cloud with a harp; they are not any of that other crazy stuff we come up with about death. They are still who they were in life.
When God created you, he created you – as you – for eternity. There will never be a time when you cease to be you or become something else rather than you. And . . . God created you to be in a relationship with him for eternity, we see that here with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
And they are still who they were on earth. They are not reincarnated as something else; they are not angels; they are not floating on a cloud with a harp; they are not any of that other crazy stuff we come up with about death. They are still who they were in life.
When God created you, he created you – as you – for eternity. There will never be a time when you cease to be you or become something else rather than you. And . . . God created you to be in a relationship with him for eternity, we see that here with Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
#2. You will be KNOWN after death
The Disciples immediately knew that this was Moses and Elijah. We don’t know how they knew. But if the “how” was important, God would’ve told us how they knew. The important part is Moses and Elijah were known, and they were “in relationship” with the glorified Jesus, and so will you be, if you put your faith in him!
You will be known in heaven because your identity goes with you into heaven, and because God is a relational God. He exists IN relationship in the Trinity, and we were created for relationship with God. Jesus Christ died for you so that you could be in a relationship with God. God made us for relationship both with him and with others, and he made us that way for eternity. And we see that here in the relational interaction between Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
You will be known in heaven because your identity goes with you into heaven, and because God is a relational God. He exists IN relationship in the Trinity, and we were created for relationship with God. Jesus Christ died for you so that you could be in a relationship with God. God made us for relationship both with him and with others, and he made us that way for eternity. And we see that here in the relational interaction between Moses, Elijah, and Jesus.
#3. If you are in Christ, you will share his GLORY after death
The Bible says when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we become so identified with him that we are “in Christ” . And so, we see here not only the glory of Jesus but also Moses and Elijah sharing the glory of Christ. In eternity, it will not only be Jesus who will be glorified but we, through faith in him, will also be glorified with him (Romans 8). And here, the Disciples get the slightest glimpse of that.
The Bible says, through our faith, we will share in his glory and in his inheritance for eternity. And we need to allow that promise to drive us to a closer relationship with Jesus.
Today, by God’s grace and through your faith in Jesus, you can know God, and you can freely receive right standing with God. And you can look forward to a very real life, in a very real eternity, in very real relationships, sharing the glory of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, through our faith, we will share in his glory and in his inheritance for eternity. And we need to allow that promise to drive us to a closer relationship with Jesus.
Today, by God’s grace and through your faith in Jesus, you can know God, and you can freely receive right standing with God. And you can look forward to a very real life, in a very real eternity, in very real relationships, sharing the glory of Jesus Christ.