Getting a Glimpse of Jesus
Mark 9:2-10
2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”
6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

Introduction:
There is no greater Joy on a students journey than to have an invitation from the greatest teacher to ever live, to get alone with Him and to see what no other student has had the privilege to see.
Every now and then God has a way of just pulling His children aside and revealing himself to them, so that they can have the assurance of knowing that He really is God.
Introduction
Today that’s what’s happening in this text. The greatest teacher in the Universe is showing his students a deeper glimpse into His deity.
Their world is about to be changed forever, because of the lessons they will learn while on a student-retreat with Jesus!

The Appearance of God
2 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Note:
There are several things that arrest me in the first verse; the first is the selection of Jesus, and who it was that he desired to take with him upon the Mountain.
Peter, James and John were all disciples, but they were often times picked out by Jesus to do certain things that the others were not.
• These three are going to get to see what the other 9 disciples will not see.
• They will get to hear, follow and participate in an experience with Jesus, that only they would be able to report about
• They were handpicked for this experience and chosen by Christ to get to see a part of him that no one on earth has ever seen.
The second thing I see is that they were chosen to go to a remote area; “A High Mountain” where their Christian world-view of God was going to be transformed!
After this encounter with Jesus they were never going to see Him the same anymore!
This was a sacred place, an isolated place, a place of solitude and divine instruction.

Application:

• Every now and then God still hand picks believers to encounter him in the secret place!
• Every now and then God yet draws us away to be alone with him where we can see what nobody has ever seen before
• Every now and then God elects to reveal something about him in the word that you never saw before.
• When God chooses to reveal things about himself He often times takes us “up beyond the locations of life that we are familiar with”
• I believe today that God wants to take us places in his word, where we can see things we never seen before!
• I believe that God wants to expose us to his divine nature in scripture so we can have our Christian world-view changed!

Question:
1. The question is, are you available for the journey?
2. Are you prepared to follow Him if he calls?
3. Are you ready to go where no other disciples have been?
4. Are you ready to move at the masters command?
5. If so then you are ready to study at Fresno Pacific University.

The third thing I see is that he was transfigured before them!
The word here in the Original language is pronounced “meta-morphoo” it is where we get our English word meta-morphis from.
It literally means to change, transfigure, or transform.
This is interesting because, Jesus, as God had become Flesh/Human and already changed into “Emmanuel the God-man”. However, when we see him in this verse, He has elected to Transform in such a manner that no earthly colors could compare or even describe the “brightness of His beauty”.
This radiance described by Mark, is arresting because it reveals the Holiness of the Messiah” His clothes became shining, exceedingly white. What was on the inside of Christ came through his earthly garments. It became a divine garment that the disciples had the privilege of seeing.

Note:
1. Then two of the Hebrew heroes from chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews, appeared with Him in this transfigured state.
2. Moses who was known as the deliverer and Elijah who was one of the first Prophets who served The Lord during the rein of the Kings of Israel.
3. Now this is interesting because they were both in eternity! One had been kissed by death, and the other never saw death, He was taken by God upon a fiery chariot! But they both had been Men that God used greatly to speak for Him while they were here on earth!
4. They were both now in eternity, but here they have come back to earth to learn from their King, Whom they had served while they were on earth.
5. Jesus who used them in the Old Testament now is having an eternal conversation with them while standing on Earth. These two heroes did not have the privilege of walking with Him in the flesh on earth, and now they get to come and learn about his ensuing sacrifice that they knew of, but were held back from seeing the Mystery! (Luke 9:31)
6. I believe that they were talking to Jesus about Calvary; HE was revealing to them the fulfillment of their ministries and his plan to redeem mankind!

Application:
If God has ever taken you up to the Mountain top and revealed intimate things about himself, he will always let you see things that you have never seen him do before!
Peter James and John all get to hear and see Jesus like they have never saw him before.
And so will you, while you are here at Fresno Pacific! This is going to be a mountain experience! The Lord will meet you miraculously in your studies and in your interactions with others, while you get away with HIM.
The Awestruck Disciple
5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” 6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

Note:
The outspoken Peter is what I like to call “Awe-struck” He is filled with awe at what he has seen. As a result of what he has encountered, Peter the student has a brilliant idea… Let us make three Tabernacles! (Dwelling places) He wants to stay there permanently!
1. He gets a glimpse of the power and eternal glory of Jesus
2. He sees the saints of old, and delights to fellowship with them
3. For a brief moment he escapes the pain of this old world, and finds total peace on the mountain top with Jesus
His idea is not a bad one; it’s just not the right one, because the Mission of Christ has not yet been fulfilled.
He got the right glimpse of His glory, he just didn’t see the end of the story and he had not quite understood the purpose of His coming!

Application:

• Every now and then we too as students of Christ, have these Holy Moments and Inspirational ideas!
• Every now and then we too have the feelings of “Lord let us stay here forever”
• Every now and then we too recognize the fact that we are in the presence of Jesus, and would rather build a permanent dwelling place on earth, to enjoy his presence”
Peter forgot that earth was a fallen planet, and sin still reigned in the hearts of men.
Peter forgot, there were 9 other students waiting down the mountain to be with Jesus, He and James and John were not HIS only followers

Peter needed to be reminded that the journey does not stop here! There is a Calvary waiting for Jesus, and a ministry of suffering is what he had been called to endure!

The Answer from God
7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
Note:
Right after Peter’s comment, The Father brought his thoughts back into focus. As Jesus was teaching Moses, Elijah and the three disciples…
The Father speaks and informs the disciples that Jesus is HIS Beloved Son, “HEAR HIM”!
Note:
In other words, Peter You will not build three tabernacles… Hear Jesus! His words are what you need to know…Hear Jesus.
Peter you wont be able to stay in this location forever…His words of salvation for they are what you need to know… Hear Jesus!
Peter, I know things are comfortable here, but you cant stay in school forever… Hear the call to service, surrender and sacrifice, thesis what came to teach to you… Hear Jesus!

Application:
Students of FPU we are here to be reminded that earth is not heaven, and we are not to desire to dwell here forever!
We have to be reminded that the thoughts and ideas of men are not to be “Taken as words of deity” and what God is commanding of us is to Hear Jesus.

• As students if we would hear Jesus, we could love one another!
• As students if we would hear Jesus, we could feed the poor of the world!
• As students if we would hear Jesus, we could love the orphans of the world!
• As students if we would hear Jesus we could serve the widows of the world!
• As students if we would hear Jesus we could visit the prisoners of the world!
• As students if we would hear Jesus we could give ourselves to the ministry of serving!

• As students if we would hear Jesus we could preach the gospel to the world!
The Assignment of God
9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

Note:
• The disciples here in this verse are given a command by Jesus. The command is to keep what they have seen to themselves.
• They were to not tell a soul that they saw Jesus like they never saw him before
• They couldn’t tell anyone that Elijah and Moses were real people!
• They couldn’t tell anybody about the Glorious cloud that covered them and the powerful “booming voice of the father” gave them direct instructions.
• They couldn’t tell anybody that Jesus Transfigured before them, and He really was God in the Flesh!

All that they had seen, and all that they had encountered they were commanded to keep it to themselves! Because the resurrection had not happened yet!
They couldn’t tell it because he had not yet completed the mission
Observation:
Jesus is making it very clear here that there was going to be an execution! He was going to die, BUT, he was also going to come back to life!
He was going to rise from the dead.

• After the resurrection, they could tell everything they saw!
• After the resurrection they could preach about what they saw
• After the resurrection they could tell of seeing Elijah and Moses with Jesus!
• After the resurrection they could spread the word about what they heard!
• After the resurrection their testimony would validate their faith
• After the resurrection they could become good news reporters!
Why?
1. Well I believe that after they saw Him concur death, their words would be more powerful!
2. After they saw Him come back from the dead, they would be sure of their message to the people!
3. After they saw Him come back from the dead, their confidence would be strengthen because they saw him before and after he went into the grave!
Observation:
• Here is Jesus is calling them to be eye witnesses of His glory.
• If they waited to the resurrection to tell the story, they would have remembered what it was like to be with Him on the Mountain, when the saints stepped through the corridors of time, broke into the atmosphere of faith, teleported through the layers of the cosmos and ended up on a mountain in Galilee sharing space with lowly fisherman!
• Their testimony would be greater if they waited until the resurrection!
Conclusion:
Today we know the story, because they got to get a glimpse of his glory
• They got a glimpse of the plan of God!
• They got a glimpse of what God was doing in the earth!

Application:
I got to leave you now, but before I go I want you to know that we have prayed over you and it is our request that while you study at FPU…
That you would get a glimpse of Jesus, and understand scripture like you never knew it before!
• We are praying that When you get a glimpse of Jesus, you would be ready to follow him to Calvary like you never had before!
• We are praying that When you get a glimpse of Jesus, you will be able to hear the father speak!We are praying that
• When you get a glimpse of Jesus, you will understand a little better, Why he had to go to Calvary to die for you!
• We are praying that When you get a glimpse of Jesus you too can remember His promise, that He would suffer and die, but early Sunday morning rise again from the dead
• We are praying that When you get a glimpse of Jesus you won’t want to keep it to yourself!
• We are praying that When you get a glimpse of Jesus, you have to tell someone just like the disciples did
• We are praying that when you get a glimpse of Jesus You will write it down, post it on media outlets, put in books for libraries, broadcast it on radio, television, any way you can you tell the story!
• We are praying that the class of 2020 would Get a glimpse of Christ at FPU and turn the world upside down with the good news!
• So get ready family to Get a glimpse today, and do great things for the Kingdom