Mark 9:1-10
Heaven Came Down

The title of the message is a title to a popular Christian hymn by
John Peterson. We do not sing it here because it is not in our hymn
book, but it describes what salvation is to the believer. It is
heaven coming down to us and the glory of God filling the believer.

I wonder if this passage is what John Peterson had in mind when he
wrote that song. I am not certain but in the Scripture heaven was not
actually coming down.  Heaven had been down for around 33 years.
Heave was coming out.

In this passage, like in some others, Peter obviously got some things
wrong; however, one statement that he made was absolutely right.

Mark 9:5  And Peter answered and said to Jesus,
Master, it is good for us to be here…

Let me share some reasons why it was good for these people to be
there.

I. It was good to be there because they were learning about Jesus.
    A. By my chronology, it would appear that the disciples had been
        with Jesus for a long time by now.
        1. In fact, I think it is much later in the ministry of Jesus
            than the chapter marker might indicate.
        2. Still the disciples were having a problem understanding
            who Jesus was.
        3. They certainly had had many opportunities to figure it
            out.
        4. In fact, they had even stumbled over the words themselves.
    B. HUMAN SAYINGS This story started in the last chapter.
        1. \\#Mark 8:27-29\\
        2. Jesus had taken the disciples up north to Caesarea
            Philippi and asked, "Whom do men say that I am?…
        3. He got a collection of opinions before Peter, under the
            direction of the Holy Ghost, answered, "Thou art the
            Christ."
        4. But did he understand what he was saying?
            a. I’m not so sure.
            b. In fact, Jesus might not have been either for the
                first verse of Mark 9 tells us that He told them they
                would see something of who He was in the future.
            c. We do tend to do better at understanding the things we
                see than just the things we hear, don’t we.
    C. \\#2-3\\ HEAVENLY SIGHTS - And so six days later, God let’s
        them see who Jesus is.
        1. In the mountain that night, there were three miracles.
            a. Two of them were visual.
            b. One was audio.
            c. Why two visuals?  Because they, like us, need all the
                help we can get to understand something.
        2. \\#2-3\\ The first visual miracles was the transformation.
            a. \\#2\\ The Bible says that Jesus was "transfigured."
            b. That means transformed, changed.
            c. The Greek word that is used is the word we get
                metamorphosis from.
            d. That is the word that we often use to speak of a
                larva (a worm) as it turns into a butterfly.
            e. The notion is that the larva was always a butterfly on
                the inside. It’s beauty was just hidden in a worm’s
                body.
        3. Isaiah prophesied the common appearance that Messiah would
            have.

Is 53:2  For he shall grow up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we
shall see him, there is no beauty that we should
desire him.

            a. There would be nothing unusual about Jesus’
                appearance.
                (1) He would be just another root in a dry ground.
                (2) There would no special form or comeliness about
                     Him.
                (3) The word "comeliness" means no beauty or glory
                     about Him.
                (4) There would be no special beauty that would cause
                     Him to stand out or be desired.
            b. From all outward appearances, Jesus looked like an
                ordinary Man.
            c. But the God of all lay hidden within that robe of
                flesh!!
        4. \\#4\\ The second visual was the appearance Moses and
            Elijah.
             a. I don’t think they were there for the revealing of
                 Jesus but for another reason.
             b. Even so, their presence put an exclamation mark on
                 what they were seeing.
             c. It is for certain that not everyone gets a visit from
                 the godly dead.
        5. But still, based on Peter’s statement to build the three
            tabernacles, it would appear that they STILL did not
            understand who Jesus was.
            a. In their defense, \\#6\\ does say of them:
                (1) They were SORE scared.  The word "sore" means
                     very much scared.
                (2) And it says, "they wist not what to say."
                     (a) That means they did not know what to say.
                     (b) Lesson - If you don’t know what to say, say
                          nothing.
                     (c) It is better to remain silent and let people
                          suppose you are a fool than to speak and
                          remove all doubt.
            b. But even so, it is obvious that after seeing the two
                heavenly sights they still did not understand.
            c. So God gives a third miracle.
    D. \\#7\\ HOLY STATEMENT - That night, they also got to hear with
        their ears that Jesus was God.

Mark 9:7  And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying,
This is my beloved Son: hear him.

        1. Their ears had heard that message before.
            a. John the Baptist spoke words like them. "Behold the
                Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world!"
            b. They probably had heard of the words of Simeon or Anna
                who met Joseph and Mary when they brought Jesus to
                the temple.
            c. They themselves had discussed the possibilities and
                made similar declarations to one another.
        2. But on that night, they heard the voice of God declare
            that Jesus was God!

II. It was good to be there because they were learning about glory.
    A. I don’t know that it is essential that we learn about glory.
        1. There isn’t much of it on this planet.
        2. By the time most of us get to see it, we will be well on
            our way to being in glory.
        3. But it was good for these men to be there because they
            got an introduction to glory.
    B. Like many others, I have heard of the glory of God but have
        yet to see it.
        1. I have struggled through the years to define it.
        2. In the last few years, I have borrowed a definition that
            I read somewhere.
        3. Glory is the outward manifestation of the inward purity of
            God.
        4. That means we will never come into the presence of God
            without first walking through His glory.
    C. What is God’s glory like?
        1. Bible descriptions says it is bright.

Mark 9:3 And his raiment became shining,
exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth
can white them.

Matt 17:2 …his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment was white as the light.

Luke 9:29 …the fashion of his countenance was
altered, and his raiment was white and
glistering.

        2. I can imagine that it is beautiful.
        3. I believe glory has POWER with it as well.
            a. When people stepped into it, it often effected them.
            b. John and Ezekiel were left weak.
            c. Daniel was left sick for certain days \\#Dan 8:27\\.
    D. Outside of these speculations, there is little I can tell you
        of the glory of God, but these men left the mountain top that
        night with a better knowledge than I will have until I see
        Jesus face to face.

III. It was good to be there because they were learning about the
      Father.
    A. We forget somethings that while we serve only one God, the
        three Persons of the Godhead are not the same.
        1. The men learned something about Jesus that night.
        2. Then the learned something about the Father.
    B. It am certain that God had a purpose for happened on the
        mountain that night.
        1. God never does anything without a purpose.
        2. What might that purpose have been?
            a. I think the transformation of Jesus was a revealing
                miracle.
            b. I think the appearance of Moses and Elijah was
                something else.  I believe it was a ministering
                miracle.
                (1) I suspect that Jesus was getting a little
                     homesick.  Jesus had been away from home for a
                     long time.
                (2) But then again, it could have been that Jesus was
                     on the final leg of His mission and needed some
                     encouragement.  If you combine the gospels, it
                     would appear that Jesus was already heading
                     toward Jerusalem for the last time.
    C. Whatever the purposes, God seemed content to let Elijah and
        Moses handle it—until Peter’s statement in verse 5.
        1. Then the Father had to speak.
        2. He had to clear up some misunderstandings.
        3. I think we can learn some things about the Father from
            that.
    D. What should they have learned about God that day?
        1. God is Father to the Son.  There is a relationship there.
        2. God loves the Son.  God has no pride in the human sense of
            vanity or selfish arrogance, but I can almost hear in His
            voice the respect of His Son’s devotion and obedience.
        3. God exalts the Son.  The Father remained silent and was
            content to let Moses and Elijah speak to Jesus until
            Peter confused glorified men with the divine Son.  Then
            God Himself stepped in to exalt the Son as He was worthy
            to be exalted!

And so heaven came down!  What a glorious event that was.  God made
Himself and His Son know, but then He was gone.  Even on that night,
God did not force Himself into a place where He is not wanted. He
left and heaven followed Him.

If we want God, we must create a place for Him to rule. We are so
full of ourselves that there is no place for God in our lives. We
must repent—cast out self. If we see the need, desire heaven come
down, and rid ourselves of self, God will send it.

Oh, would it not be good to be in such a place!

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