Mark 9:2-13 - The transfiguration
8/1/23
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Scripture
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2 And after six days, Jesus took along Peter and James and John, and led them to a high mountain by themselves alone.
Caesarea Philippi was located in the northern part of the Old Testament region of Bashan, the “place of the serpent,” at the foot of Mount Hermon.1
The site was famous in the ancient world as a center of the worship of Pan and for a temple to the high god Zeus, considered in Jesus’ day to be incarnate in Augustus Caesar.2
More than twenty temples have been surveyed on Mt. Hermon and its environs. This is an unprecedented number in comparison with other regions of the Phoenician coast. They appear to be the ancient cult sites of the Mt. Hermon population and represent the Canaanite/Phoenician concept of open-air cult centers dedicated, evidently, to the celestial gods.3
The reference in the quotation to “celestial gods” takes our minds back to the “host of heaven,” the sons of God who were put in authority over the nations at Babel (Deut 32:8–9) who were not to be worshiped by Israelites (Deut 4:19–20; 17:3; 29:25).4
Where are Jesus and the disciple [Mark 8:27]? Which mountain is this? What is the significance of the area?
It is here, at Caesarea Philippi, that Peter has just professed that Jesus is the Messiah [Mark 8:27-38]. Matthew gives us more detail…
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it!
Matthew 16:18
The “gates of hell” was a cave at the bottom of Mount Hermon…
The pagans of Jesus' day commonly believed that their fertility gods lived in the underworld during the winter and returned to earth each spring. They saw water as a symbol of the underworld and thought that their gods traveled to and from that world through caves.
To the pagan mind, then, the cave and spring water at Caesarea Philippi created a gate to the underworld… In order to entice the return of their god, Pan, each year, the people of Caesarea Philippi engaged in horrible deeds, including prostitution and sexual interaction between humans and goats.
When Jesus brought his disciples to the area, they must have been shocked. Caesarea Philippi was like a red-light district in their world and devout Jews would have avoided any contact with the despicable acts committed there.5
What is Jesus promising about his church? How does this encourage you in your time and place? Try to be explicit!
And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothing became radiant—extremely white, like no cloth refiner on earth can make so white.
What does shining indicate [Exodus 3:1-4:17 cf Ezekiel 28:13]? Jesus shone in and of himself? Why?
Who is the ruler of this world [Matthew 4:8-9 cf Psalm 82 [LEB] cf John 10:34-35]?
4 And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here! And let us make three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (For he did not know what he should answer, because they were terrified.)
Who is Elijah? Why is Jesus THE Elijah? Who is Moses? Why is Jesus THE Moses?
7 And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus alone.
In what sense is Jesus the Son of God here [Psalm 2]?
9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, he ordered them that they should tell no one the things that they had seen, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant. 11 And they asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah indeed does come first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
How can Jesus say, “And how is it written concerning the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt?” He is probably linking the son of man of Daniel 7 [especially vv13-14] with the “suffering servant” passage of Isaiah 52:13–53:12. Why do we not make these links? Have you hit other strange quotes in the NT? Keep
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Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First Edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 283.
Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First Edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 284.
Arav, “Hermon, Mount (Place),” 159.
Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, First Edition (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), 284.
Know, That the World May. ‘Gates of Hell’. That the World May Know. Accessed 7 January 2023. https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/gates-of-hell-article.