Ryle on Mark 9:1-13

Imported boundary: J. C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Mark from the Internet Archive DjVu OCR for the 1858 Robert Carter St. Mark volume. Title pages, preface, contents, running heads, page numbers, OCR boilerplate, and indexes are not mirrored. The source includes Ryle's printed Scripture text and exposition; this scan-derived text remains needs-verification.

Primary passage: Mark 9:1-13.

Source Text

1 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. 2 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. 3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow ; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4 And there appeared unto them Eiias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three taberna- cles ; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. • 6 For he wist not what to say ; for they were sore afraid. 7 And there was a cloud that over- shadowed them : and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son : hear him. 8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with them- selves. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man wrhat things they had seen, till the Son of man was risen from the dead. 10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with an- other what the rising from the dead should mean. 11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the Scribes that Elias must first come ? 12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restor- eth all things ; and how it is written of the Sou of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. 18 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 connection of this passage with the end of the last chapter ought never to be overlooked. Our Lord had been speakimg of His own coming death and passion - of the necessity of self-denial, if men would be His disciples • - of the need of losing our lives, if we would have them saved. - But in the same breath he goes on to speak of His future kingdom and glory. He takes off the edge of His " hard sayings/' by promising a sight of that glory to some of those who heard Him. And in the history of the transfiguration, which is here recorded, we see that promise fulfilled.

The first thing which demands our notice in these verses, is the marvellous vision they contain of the glory which Christ and His people shall have at His second com- ing. There can be no doubt that this was one of the prin- cipal purposes of the transfiguration. It was meant to teach the disciples, that though their Lord was lowly and poor in appearance now, He would one day appear in such royal majesty as became the Son of God. It was meant to teach them that when their Master came the second time, His saints, like Moses and Elias, would appear with Him. It was meant to remind them, that though reviled and persecuted now, because they belonged to Christ, they would one day be clothed with honor, and be partakers of their Master's glory.*

* The analogy between the glory assumed by our Lord at His transfiguration, and the glory which the saints shall receive at His resurrection, is well pointed out by Victor Antiochenus in a passage quoted by Du Veil. He says, "

We must not suppose that there is to be any change of the natural form of man in the kingdom of heaven. For as the appearance of Christ was not in 175 We have reason to thank God for this vision. We are often tempted to give up Christ's service, because of the cross and affliction which it entails.

We see few with us, and many against us. We rind our names cast out as evil, and all manner of evil said of us, because we believe and love the Gospel. Year after year we see our com- panions in Christ's service removed by death, and we feel as if we knew little about them, except that they are gone to an unknown world, and that we are left alone. All these things are trying to flesh and blood. No won- der that the faith of believers sometimes languishes, and their eyes fail while they look for their hope.

Let us see in the story of the transfiguration, a remedy for such doubting thoughts as these. The vision of the holy mount is a gracious pledge that glorious things are in store for the people of God. Their crucified Saviour shall come again in power and great glory. His saints shall all come with Him, and are in safe keeping until that happy day.

We may wait patiently. " When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." (Colos. iii. 4.)

The second thing which demands our notice in this passage, is the strong expression of the apostle Peter, ichen he sav) his Lord transfigured. " Master," he said, " it is good for us to be here." No doubt there was much in this saying, which cannot be commended. It showed an ignorance of the purpose itself changed, but only illumined (or glorified) - so, also, the just who will be conformed to His glorious body, will not be changed as to their outward form. Their bodies will only receive a certain ac- cession of splendor and light, which St. Paul calls a change, (1 Cor. xv. 52.) but the evangelists a transfiguration." for which Jesus came into the world, to suffer and to die. It showed a forgetful ness of his brethen, who were not with him, and of the dark world which so much needed his Master's presence. Above all, the proposal which he made at the same time to " build three tabernacles" for Moses, Elias, and Christ, showed a low view of his Mas- ter's dignity, and implied that he did not know that a greater than Moses and Elias was there. In all these respects the apostle's exclamation is not to be praised, but to be blamed. But having said this, let us not fail to remark what joy and happiness this glorious vision conferred on this warm-hearted disciple.*

Let us see in his fervent cry, " It is good to be here," what comfort and consolation the sight of glory can give to a true believer. Let us look forward, and try to form some idea of the pleasure which the saints shall experience, when they shall at last meet the Lord Jesus at His second coming, and meet to part no more. A vision of a few minutes was sufficient to warm and stir Peter's heart. The sight of two saints in glory was so cheering and quickening, that he would fain have enjoyed more of it. What then shall we say, when we see our Lord appear at the last day with all His saints ? What shall we say, when we ourselves are

* The remark of Brentius on the glorious nature of the whole vision of the transfiguration is well worth quoting. Like most of that admirable commentator's expositions, it contains much in few words. " No Synod on earth was ever more gloriously attended than this. No assembly was ever more illustrious. Here is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Here are Moses and Elias, the chief of the prophets. Here arc Peter, James, and John, the chief of the apostles." 17T allowed to share in His glory, and join the happy company, and feel that we shall go out no more from the joy of our Lord ? These are questions that no man can answer. The happiness of that great day of gathering together is one that we cannot now conceive. The feelings of which Peter had a little foretaste, will then be our's in full experience. We shall all say with one heart and one voice, when we see Christ and all His saints, " It is good to be here."

The last thing which demands our notice in this passage is the distinct testimony which it bears to Christ's office and dignity, as the promised Messiah.

We see this testimony first in the appearance of Moses and Elias, the representatives of the law and the prophets. They appear as witnesses that Jesus is He of whom they spoke in old times, and of whom they wrote that He would come. They disappear after a few minutes, and leave Jesus alone, as though they would show that they were only witnesses, and that our Master having come, the servants resign to Him the chief place. -

We see this testimony, secondly, in the miraculous voice from heaven, saying, " This is my beloved Son : hear Him." The same voice of God the Father, which was heard at our Lord's baptism, was heard once more at His transfiguration. On both occasions there was the same solemn declaration " This is my beloved Son." On this last occasion, there was an addition of two most important words, " Hear Him." The whole conclusion of the vision was calculated to leave a lasting impression on the minds of the three dis- ciples. It taught them in the most striking manner, that their Lord was far above them and the prophets, as the master of the house is above the servants, and that they must in all things believe, follow, -obey, trust, and hear Him.

Finally, the last words of the voice from heaven, are words that should be ever before the minds of all true Christians. They should w hear Christ" He is the great Teacher ; they that would be wise must learn of Him. He is the light of the world : they that would not err must follow Him. He is the Head of the Church : they that would be living members of His mystical body must ever look to Him. The grand ques- tion that concerns us all is not so much what man says, or ministers say - what the Church says, or what councils say - but what says Christ ? - Him let us hear. In Him let us abide. On him let us lean. To Him let us look. He and He only will never fail us, never dis- appoint us, and never lead us astray. Happy are they who know experimen tally the meaning of the text, " my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John x. 27, 28.)*

* The coming of Elias, or Elijah, which forms the topic of con- versation between our Lord and His disciples in the latter part of the passage now expounded, is a deep and mysterious subject. 1. According to one class of interpreters, the ministry of John the Baptist was the coming of Elias. They consider that the prophecy of Malachi (Mai. iv. 5, 6) that Elijah the prophet should be sent be- fore the great and dreadful day of the Lord, was completely accom- plished in John the Baptist, and that no other coming of Elias is to be expected. This is the view maintained by the great majority of Protestant commentators, both English and foreign, from the time of the Reformation to the present day. 2. According to another class of interpreters, a literal coming of 179