Aaron Greenberg
Dr. Gregg
Exegesis Paper
October 17, 2014
Mark 9:2-13
2 After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all
alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world
could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.5 Peter said to
Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for
Elijah.” 6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a
voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”8 Suddenly, when they looked around,
they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them
orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept the matter to
themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.11 And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law
say that Elijah must come first?”12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why
then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they
have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
Although the crucifixion of Jesus is arguably the most talked about biblical event in
history, some key events leading up to the death of Christ are often forgotten. Yes, the famous
donkey ride and last supper are recognized, but what about the Transfiguration? In this twelve-
verse passage, Peter, James, and John witnessed spiritual intervention in the natural world as they
saw Jesus change appearance and converse with Moses and Elijah, who had been dead for ages.
Throughout this reading, there are several instances of historical content, intertextuality,
repetition, irony, symbolism, and talk of prophecy that both had been, and had yet to be fulfilled
at that current time.
Beginning in verse two, the passage starts off by stating that Jesus took three of his
disciples (John, James, and Peter) to a secluded area on top of a high mountain in the region,
which is presently suggested to be Mount Tabor. It is safe to assume that Jesus only brought
along three disciples for added privacy. This is because, “disclosure of truth takes place in
private” (Hooker 215). Frequently, Jesus would take all twelve of his disciples aside from the
following crowds for rest or teaching purposes, but only taking three shows the privileged
relationship that these disciples had with Christ. Jesus also didn’t just choose the journey on top
of the mountain for solitude though; mountains had much significance historically in the Hebrew
culture. Elijah and Moses both received visions of God’s glory on top of mountains, and
knowing this, Jesus subtly attempted to remind the disciples of the importance of mountains
from the wilderness tradition of the Old Testament (Lane 318). Once they had reached the
mountain, Jesus underwent a transformation of appearance known as the transfiguration in front
of the disciples, giving them a glimpse of his heavenly glory.
In verse three, Jesus’ clothes suddenly became unnaturally white, shining as a reflection
