Shadows of Suffering

Mark 9:9-13

Do you remember the biblical account of Elijah confronting the children of Israel on Mount Carmel? It’s recorded in First Kings chapters 18 and 19. He asked them, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” One true prophet of God faced off with 450 prophets of Baal.

Elijah proposed a test. The prophets of Baal would prepare a sacrifice for their God, and Elijah would prepare a sacrifice for the true God, Jehovah. Neither one was permitted to put fire under the sacrifice. The god who answered by fire would be the true God.

As you may recall, after nearly a whole day of futilely calling on Baal, the sacrifice on the altar of the false prophets remained untouched. Then, Elijah called the people near and repaired the Lord’s altar. He prepared his sacrifice to God and repeatedly doused it with water until the altar and ground were thoroughly soaked. The Lord answered by fire when he called upon the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “When everyone saw this, they fell on their faces and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

            Immediately, Elijah commanded the people to kill all the prophets of Baal. He said, “Don’t let one of them escape.” So, they took them down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered every one of them. However, when Jezebel learned what Elijah had done, she threatened revenge. What did Elijah do? He fled for his life, first to the land of Beersheba and then on to Mount Horeb. He was so discouraged he wanted to die.

            Many of us know from our life experiences that the aftermath of a “mountaintop experience” is often a journey into the valley, which can be filled with questions and uncertainty.  

In the previous episode of our study from Mark’s Gospel, chapter nine, we encountered the unveiled Christ in the Transfiguration. What a fantastic mountaintop experience! It was something those who viewed it could never forget. However, that incredible experience cast some lengthening shadows.

            Our study today centers on verses 9 to 13. These verses tell us about Jesus and His three disciples descending to the valley below, which was both literal and figurative. I’ve titled our study “Shadows of Suffering.”  Listen carefully as I read our text, Mark 9:9 to 13.

In this text, Jesus addresses SHADOWS falling across the glorious scenes the disciples had just witnessed. These shadows reveal how glory and suffering are closely related.

The First SHADOW is,

            The Prohibition

            The text opens with the disciples and Jesus descending from the mountain. What had they seen? They had seen the unveiled glory of God in the person of Jesus as He was transfigured before their eyes! I imagine they were bursting with excitement and couldn’t wait to tell the other nine disciples what they had seen and heard. But Jesus said, “No. You’re not allowed to recount what you saw to anyone – until – until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”

            What was the reason behind the prohibition? It was the shadow of unbelief. Could it be, at least in part, Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in Mark 8:11 and 12? “Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”

What Peter, James, and John had just witnessed indeed qualifies as a sign from heaven. Jesus had performed many signs that proved the nearness of the kingdom. The Pharisees refused to believe those signs, and Jesus knew one more wouldn’t make a difference. So, He said, “You can’t talk about this until after the Son of Man is risen from the dead.”

Why was it important that the disciples wait until after the resurrection to share their experience on the mountain? In Romans 1:1-4 Paul writes that the resurrection declares Jesus as the Son of God. Listen, “Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead would banish any shadow of doubt about who He was. The unbelieving Jewish leaders conspired with Pilate and his soldiers to spread the myth that Jesus’ disciples came and stole His body at night. That was ridiculous, and they only made themselves look foolish. Later, they tried to stop the apostles from preaching the resurrection.

Peter, James, and John obeyed Jesus’ command. Verse 10 says, “So, they kept this word to themselves.” This is the same language Luke used of Mary; “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” But there was something else going on here. They discussed what He meant by “rising from the dead.” Not long before this, in Mark 8:31, Jesus had told them “that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” This must have escaped their notice.

At any rate, their submission to Jesus’ command was so complete that they dared not ask Him about the mystery. Rising from the dead meant that a death had occurred. Here is a shadow cast across their messianic expectations. How could death be associated with the glory they had just witnessed and the glorious kingdom they expected? It didn’t make sense.

Peter, James, and John had a blind spot. They couldn’t see any connection between the glory they had just witnessed and the suffering Jesus predicted He would experience. The Pharisees were blind, too, but theirs was intentional blindness; they refused to believe despite the facts. In both cases, the kingdom’s nearness escaped their minds. For the three disciples, it would be temporary. For many of the Pharisees, it would be permanent.

Today, Jesus has risen from the dead, and we can proclaim Him for who He truly is without apology. However, we are warned to avoid casting our pearls before swine and engaging with those scoffers who actively suppress the truth of Scripture.

The shadow of the cross still reminds us of the truth that suffering precedes glory.  

The Next SHADOW is,

            The Question

            To say that the three disciples suffered from sensory overload is probably an understatement. After what they had seen and heard, they were naturally confused. They still hadn’t accepted the necessity of Christ’s suffering and death. However, I believe their experience on the mountain led to the firm conviction that Jesus was the Messiah.

            They asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” Their thoughts turned in that direction since they had just seen Elijah on the mountain with Jesus and Moses. If Elijah was coming first, who was to follow him?

            If you recall my earlier teaching from Mark, those living in the ancient Near East were familiar with the meaning of the word gospel. It was the good news proclaimed by a herald or messenger. He would precede the coming of the monarch to ensure all the preparations were made for his arrival. Isaiah described a forerunner like this in chapter forty of his book.

The disciples were familiar with this teaching that Elijah would precede the coming of Messiah. Malachi 3:1 predicted, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts.” So, if Jesus was the Messiah, Elijah had already come, and they must have missed him. There was a shadow for which they had no answer.

In addition, the conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah indicated a vastly different outcome than what the religious leaders taught. Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus about His coming death. The Jewish people expected a Messiah who would deliver them from Roman rule, not a suffering servant, so that piece of the puzzle didn’t fit either. Even after Jesus’ resurrection, the disciples still expected Him to set up an earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6).

            When Elijah came, the Jewish religious leaders expected and taught three things. First, his appearance would predict the kingdom’s nearness. Second, he would lead the people in a spirit of repentance. Finally, he would personally anoint the Messiah. Have you made the connection with Mark chapter one? John the Baptist fulfilled all these expectations, and Jesus’ explanation reveals the final shadow.

The Final SHADOW is,

            The Explanation

            Jesus tells the disciples, “You are correct. Elijah does come first and restores all things to their former state.” Again, this is one of the biblical prophecies with more than one fulfillment. Malachi 4:5 and 6 read, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” This coming great and dreadful day is associated with the second coming of Christ, not His first coming.

            Jesus continued, “And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?” To be treated with contempt means to be despised as nothing! That echoes the words of the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him,” Isaiah 53:3.

Again, this is relatively new information for the disciples. They had just seen Elijah on the mountain, but Jesus had come before this experience. They were trying to sort this conflicting information in their minds. Jesus further explains this in verse thirteen.

            Jesus said, “Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.” That statement must have left them more confused than ever. When the religious leaders asked John if he was Elijah, he said, “No” John 1:21. More shadows. Elijah had not come, but according to Luke 1:17, John the Baptist came “in the spirit and power of Elijah.”

In Matthew’s record, we read, “Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise, the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”

            The suffering and death of John the Baptist were signs that the fulfillment of Messiah’s sufferings was coming. In Matthew 11:13 to 15, Jesus commented on this. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” If they had received John the Baptist, everything would have been restored as promised.

            And if they had received John as Elijah, they would have received Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 23:37 to 39, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!See! Your house is left to you desolate;for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

            So, the three expectations the Jews had of Elijah were fulfilled in John the Baptist. His appearance signaled that the kingdom was imminent. John said, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.” 

            Further, John’s message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” He also insisted that genuine repentance would be evident through changed behavior. Finally, he would anoint the Messiah. Symbolically, that’s what John did when he baptized Jesus, and the witness of all Heaven approved.

            All this happened according to the Scriptures. But there was and is a caveat. Let’s look again at the closing verses of Malachi’s prophecy. “Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet,
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Another dark shadow falls.

            The caveat was that if Elijah were rejected, severe consequences would result. Jesus’ words tell us that John was not accepted by the religious establishment even though he came in the spirit and power of Elijah. Consequently, Jesus was also rejected, and the land and people of Israel were smitten with a curse. This is the same word used for Aachen’s sin in Joshua chapter seven when he took some of Jericho’s “accursed” goods. Those goods were things God had devoted to destruction.

            Less than 40 years passed from the crucifixion of Jesus until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. I am told that even today, devout Jews repeat Malachi 4:5 rather than acknowledge the terrible threat of verse six. From that awful time when the Son of Man was despised and treated as less than nothing, the Jewish people have suffered from that curse. They were driven out of their own country and scattered, as it were, to the four corners of the earth.  

            However, as I understand the Scripture, the ultimate fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy is still in the future. Perhaps the final Elijah is one of the two witnesses in Revelation chapter eleven. The powers ascribed to him there fit the record in the books of the Kings. After a brief ministry of three and a half years, he will be killed. The whole world will rejoice over his demise. However, he will be resurrected and taken to heaven after being dead for three and one-half days. These events will result in a significant judgment of the earth and its inhabitants. After additional torments, the King of Kings will return and usher in the final kingdom.

            The disciples were waiting for the glorious kingdom of Messiah to come. Jesus told them it was very near, and it had already come. But because the king and kingdom were rejected, they did not come in fullness. Today, the shadows are lengthening; the kingdom’s fullness is closer than ever. Don’t make the same mistake the Jewish leaders made.    

Are you ready for the shadows to be dispelled and the kingdom of God and Christ to come in full? If not, today is the day of salvation. Please don’t put it off!