Questions for Discussion and Personal Reflection
Read Mark 9:2-13:
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.
11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.” (ESV)
- C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” What did he mean?
- God the Father gave a revelation similar to the one in today’s passage at Jesus’s baptism, when He declared, “You are my Son, whom I love. With you I am well pleased.” What is the significance of the Father declaring this about Jesus before Jesus had begun His ministry or done anything out of the ordinary?
- Right after Jesus’s baptism, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness, and Satan tempted Him saying, “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread.” Jesus quoted the Old Testament Scripture, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” What was the “word” that Jesus lived by? How did Jesus continue to be nourished by that word even through the difficult times ahead?
- What can we learn from this (see #3 above) for our own lives?
- Every human being has an innate desire for glory, which is honor, acceptance and approval from someone who matters. Jesus came so we might share in the glory that He had known for all eternity. How can we experience this glory even in difficult times?
- Names some of the good things that come because you are a son or daughter of God.
- Identify some elements from this passage about Jesus’s transfiguration that connect to elements at Jesus’s crucifixion, and discuss the significance of each.
- God told the disciples to listen to Jesus. What are some words of Jesus that you sense God wants you to especially listen to in this season of your life?
- At the end of this scene, all that was left was Jesus. Elijah, who represented the prophets, was gone. Moses, who represented the law, was gone. Jesus alone remained. What truths does this point to?
- What did you sense God saying to you through this message?
