Jesus

Overshadowed

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“He did not know what to answer” Mark 9:2-13

About a week after Peter’s declaration that Jesus was the Christ, Jesus took him and James and John up into a high mountain by themselves. What happened there both astounded and terrified them.

Jesus was “transfigured” or “transformed” before their very eyes. What does that mean? We don’t really know. The words mean “changed”, but does that really help? What ever the change was, it defied description. The impression left on the disciples was that of light and brightness, that the clothing of Jesus became radiant and whiter than any soap could make them. We might think in terms of movie special effects: his clothing glowed with such an intense whiteness that it could not be captured on film.

Added to this sight was the appearance of two famous men from Israel’s past – Elijah and Moses. How did they know who they were? What were they saying to Jesus?

Peter responds “It is good for us to be here.” He suggests building three structures, one for each of them. Did he think they would be staying awhile? Did he want to memorialize the event, or perhaps induce them to remain? It may be hard to say what he thought, since Mark tells us Peter had no clue. His first impulse was to open his mouth as terror gripped him and the others.

Then a cloud formed around them, obscuring their view. A voice spoke to them, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him!” Suddenly all was as it was before and they were alone with Jesus on the mountain.

As they worked their way down the slopes, Jesus warned them not to reveal what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead. Mark writes much later than that and is still at a loss to adequately explain it. Even later John would experience a revelation of Jesus and be told to write about and share what he has seen and heard. While much of what he wrote is bewildering to us today, at least what he saw and heard could be put into words. We can trust that time will reveal their intended meaning.

Yet even after some years of thought, the transfiguration is still a mystery. If the disciples could not grasp what happened on that mountain, how can we expect to comprehend all that God is and does? Modern men and women seem to think given enough time, brain power and resources, knowledge can be gained about anything. But some things will always be unknowable. We are finite beings, meaning we have limits. God is infinite and without limits. How can we possibly expect that the infinite could be contained within a finite box?

The answer is given by the Voice. What we need to know is that Jesus is God’s beloved Son. What we need to do is to listen to him.

Copyright 2020 David J. Cooley

The gospel begins

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“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Take a Bible and open it to it’s center. Chances are you’ll find yourself in Psalms. But the real center of the Bible is the gospel. The Old Testament looks forward to it as the fulfillment of God’s promises. The New Testament looks back on it as the foundation of the hope we have for our salvation.

But, what is the “gospel”? The word is used fairly loosely today and maybe without much thought to what it means. It can refer variously to the first four books of the New Testament, absolute authority (“the gospel truth”), or a musical style or genre.

Basically, “gospel” means “good news”. In New Testament times it meant a particular kind of news: a message of victory or great joy. When coupled with an oracle predicting a coming ruler, it proclaimed all the ways that the birth of this great person and his eventual rule were glad tidings which would bring about the hopes and dreams of the nation and its people for happiness and peace. They got a lot of things right in that description, but they got the wrong guy. It was not a Caesar who could perform all this, but Jesus.

No doubt Mark and the other New Testament writers took advantage of this expectation when they chose the word “gospel” to tell about the message and the man that is Jesus. Was the world in a mess back then that needed a great man to straighten it out? Are we in need of the same today? The good news is that the answer to both questions is the same: Jesus Christ, who is not just a man, but the Son of God.

Reference: Mark 1:1

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

Mark

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Mark is thought to be the first gospel written, and the John Mark we meet in Acts 12:12 to be its author. It is also the shortest account, which leads some to question why Mark didn’t say more than he did. But in his commentary, R. Alan Cole considers Mark to be the first to see the gospel as “a Passion story with an extended introduction.” If you include the Old Testament, it is a very long introduction, indeed.

Mark has a distinctive tone. He tells his story in quick, action-filled episodes. He doesn’t allow his subjects to talk you to death. His favorite transition from one story to the next is “…and immediately….” Jesus is seen as one who cuts through the religious red tape and gets things done, whether he’s healing the sick, confronting an evil spirit or defusing an academic booby trap set by the Pharisees.

Jesus is the kind of Savior that the centurion could not help but like: “…only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” (Matthew 8:8-9)

On one hand it is astounding that Mark does not include this story in his gospel. On the other, it’s the kind of attitude that Mark takes for granted. It’s the way things should be done. No lengthy explanations, motivational speeches or theological dissertations: just do it.

For more details, read the book of Mark.

Copyright 2019 David J. Cooley

The unseen God

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“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” 1 Peter 1:8 ESV

Peter walked and talked with Jesus. Literally and actually. He saw the storm stilled and walked – momentarily – on water. He felt his great words of encouragement and the sting of rebuke. The people he writes to have not had that experience.

And neither have we. We say seeing is believing but are denied that opportunity. We can rely only on faith and the testimony of those who have gone before us.

In some ways, it may have been harder to believe with Jesus standing right there next to you. There was nothing special about him. The halos we see in paintings are only an artistic device – they were not actually there. He was just another man. The dampness of the rain and heat of the sun fell on him like anyone else. He shivered in the cold and tramped along dusty roads, leaving footprints like you and I. Most people of his day rejected any notion that he was anything but human. Maybe a better person than most, but still thoroughly human. Yet he was God in the flesh.

Even though we do not see Him, we love him. Our faith is not built on wishful thinking or an emotional high but on something very real – Jesus Christ himself.