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Date: April 11, 1937, afternoon Place: CantonScripture Reading: Mark 9:1-8
John 3:16 says that God gave us His Son; Revelation 1:1 says that God gave us the revelation of Jesus Christ. God has given us two great blessings: Jesus Christ and the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The word revelation in Greek is apokalypsis. Apo means "to lift," and kalypsis means "veil." Together they mean to lift the veil and to reveal what is behind the veil. If we only have Christ but do not have the revelation of Jesus Christ, we still do not know who Christ is, and it is as if Jesus Christ is still behind the veil.
Our revelation of Jesus Christ will be full only when we have put off our bodies and are face to face with the Lord. Then we will see Him clearly. However, there are some people — not all, but some — who are seeking and who draw near to God. These ones not only have Jesus Christ today but also the revelation of Jesus Christ.
In Mark 9:1 the Lord said, "There are some of those standing here who shall by no means taste death until they see the kingdom of God having come in power." This means that Christ was about to be manifested. The Lord's promise in this verse implies that man can know Him at the present time. There is no need to wait until one's death. The kingdom of God is something abstract; one cannot touch it or lay hold of it. Yet we have to realize that the kingdom of God is the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the reality and content of the kingdom of God. The manifestation of the Lord Jesus is the very manifestation of the kingdom of God. Mark 9:1 presents the main subject of verses 2 through 8, which describe how Christ manifested Himself. These seven verses are a full explanation of verse 1.
Verse 2 begins with the phrase "and after six days." This means that it is the seventh day. The principle of studying the Bible is that whenever you come across a certain word or phrase that you do not understand, you should refer to the first mention of it in the Bible. The six days in Genesis 1 refer to the six days of God's work. The seventh day is the day of God's rest. God spent six days to create the universe and all the things in it. The seventh day is the day of rest. Even Adam and Eve rested. The moment Adam and Eve were born, they rested; this is the proper way. They were not born to work. Adam and Eve rested in God's work. They had the best situation. If it had been up to Adam and Eve to create the universe, they would have had to spend more time to do it. They would not have been able to complete the work even if they had six thousand years.
We are saved through realizing that God is the One who accomplished everything. We must realize that we should live by resting in God's work as well. We are here to enjoy God's work. Simply put, God does a work that is both full and complete. There is no need for us to do anything. All we have to do is enjoy what God has done. Thank the Lord! All that God has accomplished is good and complete. Whatever man has done and whatever sinners have produced are just vile and incomplete. The revelation of Jesus Christ comes "after six days." This means that God has accomplished everything. Man has no part in it whatsoever. In spiritual matters our vision is based on God's work alone; we have no part in it. God's work enables us to see God's revelation.
Verse 2 continues, "Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John." Why did Jesus not take all of the twelve disciples? Why did He only take these three disciples? All twelve disciples had Jesus Christ, but only three had the revelation of Jesus Christ. Having the Son of God is having eternal life, but not everyone who has the Son of God has the revelation of the Son of God. Without the revelation of Jesus Christ, there will not be a clear and adequate realization of Jesus Christ. The Lord brought three disciples. Thank the Lord that at least three people were able to receive the revelation of Jesus Christ. If they can have the revelation, so can we.
Jesus brought the three disciples "up alone into a high mountain privately." Why did the Lord bring the three disciples to a high mountain? This is because level ground is not the place for receiving revelation. Moses was on a mountain when he received the law. Elijah was on a mountain when he served as a prophet. High on the mountain is where one gets away from people, far away from the earth, and close to heaven. To climb up a high mountain requires strength. If one wants to receive revelation, he must leave all men behind to be far away from earth and close to heaven. He must pay the price.
While they were up on the high mountain, the Lord was transfigured before them. Why was the Lord transfigured? What would have happened if He had not been transfigured? In this verse we see that Jesus Christ is actually God in disguise. If God were not disguised, we would all know Him. But God is disguised in Christ. This makes it difficult for us to recognize Him. Perhaps we know that there was a carpenter in the land of Galilee, a man in Nazareth; perhaps we know that He was a brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon. In a sense everyone who has read the Bible knows Him, because the Bible talks about Him. His name is Jesus. But those who only know Jesus Christ in this way do not really know Him. They merely know a "disguised" Jesus Christ. The Jesus Christ whom the disciples knew was the "disguised" Jesus Christ. I am afraid that the Jesus Christ we know is merely the Jesus Christ spoken of in the four Gospels or the Jesus Christ taught by some preachers.
The Lord's transfiguration was the Lord's removing of the "disguise" in front of the disciples. It is essential for all of us to see the Lord who is outside the flesh. If we say that the disciples did not know the Lord, they could argue that they had a history of following the Lord for three years. It is inaccurate to say that they did not know the Lord. However, we could not say that they really knew the Lord, because they were so ignorant. This is why the Lord had to be transfigured; He had to remove the disciples' veil of false knowledge. God the Son manifested Himself on the mountain and removed the veil in order for man to know Him in a clear way.
After Peter saw the Lord's transfiguration on the mountain, what did he say? According to 2 Peter 1:16-17 he said, "For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we became eyewitnesses of that One's majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice such as this being borne to Him by the magnificent glory: This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I delight." Peter had such great power and such clear understanding of the Lord's coming because he had received the revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter followed the Lord to the mount of transfiguration and experienced a great change. He saw the revelation of Jesus Christ, and his living was drastically changed. How do we know whether a person really knows the Lord and has seen the revelation of Jesus Christ? If one knows the Lord and has seen the revelation of Jesus Christ, his living will surely have a drastic change. This is an indicator that a person has received the revelation of Jesus Christ.
After the Lord was transfigured, suddenly Elijah and Moses appeared before the disciples and conversed with the Lord Jesus. Peter must have thought, "This is such a rare opportunity for the three of us to be with the three of you." He proposed to the Lord, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tents, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah." Yet the Lord did not answer him. What does this mean? Suppose someone invites you to tea and you only stare at him without saying a word. Saying nothing is more severe than saying "no" to him. Not saying anything means rejection. Silence means resistance. Christ should never be ranked equally with Moses and Elijah. The kingdom of God has replaced the law and the prophets. If the kingdom of God is here, Moses and Elijah must go away. Only then can Jesus Christ of Nazareth come. If Moses and Elijah are still here, Jesus cannot come. Moses and Elijah cannot be mixed together with Jesus. If the Old Testament continues, the New Testament cannot come. The disciples did not realize this.
Mark never followed the Lord Jesus. He was a young man, and he was a disciple of Peter. The Gospel of Mark is Mark's written account of what he heard from Peter. Peter spoke the words, but Mark recorded the message. This is an historical fact concerning the Bible. The Gospel of Mark is actually the Gospel of Peter. This is why the Gospel of Mark gives us more specific details concerning Peter. Peter loved to talk. Wherever he was, he always had something to say. At this point he said something foolish again. But after he said it, he did not know how to go on. The Lord was silent, and Peter did not know what to say. But God spoke at this juncture. The Father's words seemed to be directed at Peter specifically; they were words of rebuke. The Father seemed to be saying, "You should use your ears and not your mouth. You should listen to the Lord instead of asking the Lord to listen to you." Here we see what the New Testament is all about. We should not listen to the law and the prophets any longer. Instead, we should listen to the beloved Son of God, Jesus Christ. The prophets should be put aside, and the law should be put aside. The New Testament is Jesus Christ revealed. A life according to the New Testament is just a life of obedience to the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Moses represents the law, which tells us that God has established regulations for man. In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Pentateuch contains hundreds of additional commandments. These are also laws. The Old Testa- ment only contains God's law. When men in the Old Testament wanted to know whether a certain matter was right, all they had to do was find the answer in the law. They did not necessarily have an inner sense of right or wrong. Their "yes" and "no" were written in the law. If a person observed the various ordinances and laws, he would be justified. In the Old Testament all problems were dealt with by the law; the law determined what was right and what was wrong. Hence, the law separates man from God. It sets up a standard of right and wrong apart from God. But these are dead standards. Thank the Lord, the Old Testament is over. The law is over. Today in the New Testament dispensation, only God is our "yes" and "no." God in us becomes our law. If a man does not have God and only has regulations, and if all he knows is "yes" and "no," he is still in the Old Testament. Once a person has God, he will be delivered from right and wrong, and he will truly be one who lives in the New Testament.
I have a servant in my house called Mr. Wong. His disposition is entirely opposite of mine. He likes to have rules and regulations for everything he is about to do, and he likes to work by these rules and regulations. However, all I want is for him to obey me and to do things according to my desire. What he wants is in the principle of the Old Testament; what I like is in the principle of the New Testament.
With the law there is no need for man to draw near to God. He can know what is right and what is wrong. The law is a set of dead moral standards apart from God. It is something that once it is known, will be known forever. But the New Testament requires a daily knowing and a moment by moment knowing. In the New Testament Moses cannot exist; the law cannot exist. True knowledge of the Lord is not the knowledge of yesterday; nor is it derived from books. It is knowledge that comes from the Lord who is living and speaking in us; it is always in the present tense.
What do the prophets represent? The prophets supplemented what was lacking in the law. They were the ones who inquired of God on behalf of men. A prophet was one who sought God's will on behalf of others. For instance, you might be sick and not know whether you would become well or not. You could send for a prophet to inquire of God to see whether or not you would become well. Or you might not know whether or not you should go to a certain place. You could ask someone to inquire of God's will for you. This was the work of a prophet. The law enabled you to know right and wrong according to dead regulations, while a prophet told you what was right and wrong in place of you knowing it yourself.
God said that we should not listen to Moses or Elijah. However, there are many Elijahs today. Suppose we have a very spiritual brother or sister among us. If you have a problem, it is easy to ask him or her to inquire of God for you. If you are not clear about God's will, it is easy to charge him or her to inquire about God's will for you. This is the principle of a prophet. This is what Elijah did. The law takes away man's direct communication with God, and the prophet also takes away man's direct fellowship with God. Both the law and the prophets stand between man and God and separate man from God.
Some may ask why there are prophets in the New Testament. What is the difference between New Testament prophets and Old Testament prophets? New Testament prophets are completely different from Old Testament prophets. The Lord gave some prophets in the New Testament. Their principal work is the building up, encouragement, and consolation of men (1 Cor. 14:3). They only explain the prin- ciples of God's will. They do not go into the details of God's will.
Isaiah prophesied that one day, "the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah,/As the waters cover the sea" (11:9). God's words are marvelous. He says the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah. "Full" means there is no longer any need. Hebrews 8:11 says, "And they shall by no means each teach his fellow citizen and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all will know Me from the little one to the great one among them." This means that neither a fellow citizen nor a brother can be one's prophet any longer. We have to know God ourselves. This is the New Testament. The New Testament is the Lord living in us, telling us what is from God, what is right, and what is wrong. The New Testament is the Lord leading us inwardly. Because of this we have no need for others to instruct us anymore. We can receive spiritual help from others, but the detailed leading of God's will is strictly a matter between us and God. Today the prophets and the law are over. Thank God! We need to hear, "This is My Son, the Beloved. Hear Him!"
