“and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.” Mark 9:3-4 ESV
Reflection: when does eternal life begin?
In the end of Mark chapter 8, we looked at some definitions of “life”, what life actually is. Briefly, we saw that there are two general definitions; that of the physical life (breath), and that of a spiritual life (soul), which is the “essence” of man. The first is the seen; the second unseen. Now, the Bible teaches us that only the unseen lives on, which in a way we can understand. We can see physical life and also death. But what about the unseen? I read this morning a beautiful sermon on the Transfiguration by the Scottish reverend Alexander Maclaren. While he died over 100 years ago, I can still today be blessed by his love for Christ through his writings. In a way, his essence lives on. And, we can read the writings about and of people who lived thousands of years ago, like Moses, Elijah and, of course, about Jesus.
The story of the Transfiguration blurs the lines of physical life and death, and eternal life, as we often think of them. The three disciples, Peter, James and John, saw beyond the horizon of this physical life. Saw into eternity, as they witnessed before their very eyes what human eyes cannot see. It was revealed to them the glory of Jesus, the living Moses and Elijah, and the presence of God the Father. They saw Jesus talking with two mere humans, who had “died” many hundreds of years earlier. It doesn’t say what they talked with Jesus about, so we can only speculate as many have. But, they clearly were alive and interacting with Jesus. They had life. At a different occasion, Jesus says the following “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24 ESV. Notice here death is associated with judgement, so Jesus is here referring to our spiritual life (soul). Not physical (breath).
The Transfiguration is in a way lifting the veil of the physical, allowing these disciples to see the spiritual life, the eternal appearance of Jesus, of Moses and Elijah. And while it was terrifying for them, Peter famously says “And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”” Mark 9:5 ESV. Can you image being there, seeing what they saw? The last part of their experience was the appearance of God the Father, who once again appeared in a cloud as we remember from the Old Testament. Not a cloud up in the air as we think of weather clouds. We read “And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”” Mark 9:7 ESV Why did the Father say, “listen to Jesus”?
What we often forget here that along side Jesus were the Law (represented by Moses) and the Prophets (represented by Elijah). And the Father says that in Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Not that those don’t matter anymore, but they are fulfilled in Jesus. Therefore He said, to have eternal life, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” John 5:24. It is not just a future life after this physical death, it is an eternal life (soul) which starts now.
So the question to think about today for each of us, is what remains of us when our physical life and possessions are stripped away?
