Mark 9:1

Mark 9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. Jesus told the people that some of them that stood there would see the kingdom of God come in power before they died.  This required faith in Jesus Christ being the Messiah.  Those who did not believe in Jesus would die never seeing His kingdom come.  This was a spiritual kingdom and not a physical one, and it still is today.  Verse two adds, And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.  Jesus took three of the disciples, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain with Him.  We are not told why these three were chosen, only that Jesus chose them.  At times, other Christians may seem to receive greater honor than we do, but if we are all following God's call, then it shouldn't matter.  Verse three continues, And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.  Jesus was transfigured before them.  This must have been a glorious sight, but it was still leading up to Jesus's death on the cross.  We cannot serve God effectively if all we ever want to see is the transfigured Jesus in His glory and don't want to see Him on the cross.  Some people are willing to follow Jesus as long as it benefits them materially but turn away when it stops doing so and starts requiring them to take up their cross daily.  Jesus's raiment became whiter than anything ever seen before.  We are promised that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord then He will wash us whiter than snow also, though we will never see this in this lifetime. Verse four concludes, And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.  Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus talking to Him, though they lived in different generations.  They represented the prophets, the Law and the gospel which all represented the same thing, salvation through the Messiah. Everlasting life is everlasting life.  There are no time limits on it.  Verse five states, And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. Peter, as was often the case, was quick to advise Jesus about what they should do.  Since they saw Moses and Elijah there with Jesus, Peter thought it would be good if they built three tabernacles for them.  Sometimes, I think we can get so caught up in a worship experience that we just want to stay where we are and revel in it.  Moses and Elijah could not have stayed if they wanted to, and Jesus had to continue His journey to the cross.  We must always continue to move forth in faith and not get caught up too long in even the most moving worship experience.  We as Christians are called to go into the world and spread the gospel, and we cannot do that if we stay hidden away from the world, as Jesus and Peter, James and John were that day.  Verse six adds, For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.  Though he did speak, Peter was afraid, as all three were, and really did not know what to say.  We cannot allow fear in any situation to lead us to say anything that is not in accordance with God's will if we are to be faithful servants of Christ.  Verse seven continues, And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.  Then, a cloud overshadowed them, and a Voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear Him.  When we are afraid, or even when we are caught up in a great worship experience, we need to always hear what Jesus has to say to us.  Verse eight concludes, And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. When Peter, James and John looked around after this, they saw only Jesus with them.  This is the key to salvation. Matthew Henry said that Elijah and Moses were only there to bring attention to the Voice, and after that, they disappeared. We must see Jesus alone and put out faith in Him as our personal Savior and Lord in order to be saved.