Mark 9:1-9

9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹  there are some standing here who will not ²  experience ³  death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” ⁴ 

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ⁵  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ⁶  9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. 9:4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, ⁷  and they were talking with Jesus. 9:5 So ⁸  Peter said to Jesus, ⁹  “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters ¹⁰  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 9:6 (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.) ¹¹  9:7 Then ¹²  a cloud ¹³  overshadowed them, ¹⁴  and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. ¹⁵  Listen to him!” ¹⁶  9:8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.

9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

[9:1]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:1]  ² tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[9:1]  ³ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[9:1]  ⁴ sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the kingdom of God come with power: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to after six days in 9:2 seems to indicate that Mark had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration was a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

[9:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[9:2]  ⁶ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[9:4]  ⁷ sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).

[9:5]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:5]  ⁹ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[9:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “dwellings,” “booths” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[9:6]  ¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[9:7]  ¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:7]  ¹³ sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

[9:7]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “And there came a cloud, surrounding them.”

[9:7]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).

[9:7]  ¹⁶ sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.