Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 1 Study # 8
January 31, 2023
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(376)
1901 ASV
9:5 And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
9:6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid.
9:7 And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him.
9:8 And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
- I. The Fearful Response of Peter.
- A. The word Mark chose to use to describe the condition of Peter, James, and John is ekphobos. It is only used in two texts of the New Testament (Mark 9:6 and Hebrews 12:21). The Hebrews 12:21 text indicates fairly extreme terror.
- 1. The cause of the terror was "likely" both the extreme brightness of the transfiguration in terms of "whiteness" (the glory of absolute sinlessness) and the presence of Elijah and Moses.
- a. It is the glory of the risen Christ in Revelation 1 that causes John to faint; most likely because of the adrenalin overdose caused by the shock of his exposure to this glory.
- b. Daniel had a similar reaction in Daniel 8:17-18 and 27 and again in 10:9. In this case, there are some other "terrifying" presences.
- 2. The plural form of egenonto indicates that all three of the men were in this state of terror.
- 3. There is something to be said of the incompatibility of man in his present condition and the "normal" state of heaven's righteousness.
- B. Mark's record of Peter's words.
- 1. Peter addresses Jesus as "rabbi", a term designed to indicate high respect for one who is counted to be a "Master of Knowledge" (whether the speaker actually has that high respect for the one he addresses, or not).
- a. He uses the same term of address in 11:21 in commenting upon the miraculous deadness of the fruitless fig tree.
- b. Mark's use tends to signal "shock" on Peter's part, but not so in the case of Judas in 14:45.
- 2. "Good it is for us to be here". An interesting statement, given his level of fear.
- 3. "Let us make three tabernacles...".
- a. The text says he said this "for he did not know what to say".
- 1) Was he attempting to prolong the presence of Elijah and Moses (as Luke's record might imply)?
- 2) Or was he fearfully attempting to be "hospitable"? The fear strongly implies a need to be accepted.
- 3) Or was he making some kind of link to the Feast of Booths?
- b. What was he "saying"?
- 1) Clearly, he had some connection in his mind to "tabernacles".
- a) A "tabernacle" was, at its most essential identity, a "tent of dwelling" as a temporary dwelling place that could be packed up and moved from place to place.
- b) Also, at its most elemental meaning, Peter's statement put Jesus, Elijah, and Moses all on the same "level" of significance.
- c) The statement is rooted in Peter's lack of knowledge as to how long this "setting" would be in place and it strongly implies that he expects it to be, at a minimum, an over-night experience.
- 2) Why did Mark include this detail?
- a) Jesus' earlier announcement had been that "some" would "see" The Kingdom of The God having come (with lingering results: perfect participle) in power.
- b) Peter must, then, have taken Him to mean that the experience would "last" and he jumped to the conclusion that it would "last" in terms of its "presence".
- c) And Mark, wanting to present the experience as "lasting" in some sense decided to include Peter's reaction as a foil against which the "lasting" could be instilled; not a "lasting" in terms of duration of existence as "The Kingdom", but in terms of the duration of the impact made: Jesus is the King.
- II. The Divine Response To The Words Of Peter.
- A. God's response was to shield His glory by the use of a cloud, but make it impossible to miss the reality of His words.
- B. God's response was to disabuse Peter of both of his "misunderstandings".
- 1. The three were not on the same level of significance.
- 2. The experience was not going to last very long, though the impact of it would last throughout Peter's life.