Let us turn again to God's Word,
this time turning to the Gospel according to St. Mark, in chapter
9, and I'll read the first 10 verses. Mark chapter 9, and reading
the first 10 verses. 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. And after six days Jesus taketh
with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into
a high mountain, apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before
them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow,
so as no fuller on earth can wipe them. And there appeared
unto them Elias with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
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. For he wished not what
to say, for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them, And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my
beloved Son, hear Him. And suddenly, when they had looked
round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with
themselves. And as they came down from the
mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what
things they had seen, till the Son of Man was risen from the
dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning
one with another what the rising from the dead should mean. Here then we have Mark's account
of the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, the same that we
read of of course there in Luke chapter 9. How these three favoured
men, these disciples, Peter together with James and John, were so
favoured to see through the veil of the humanity and the humility
of the Lord Christ and to behold something of the glories of His
deity. Of course, previously on Thursday,
we did read this passage. In fact, we read through the
first 29 verses of this particular chapter. And then I sought to
say something with regards to that man who meets with the Lord
Jesus as they come down from the mount. He's there with his
sick child. possessed of a demon and the
disciples had been unable to to help to minister to him to
cast out the demon but the Lord speaks to that man and we considered
on Thursday those words in verse 23 and 24 Jesus says to him if
thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth
And straightway the father of the child cried out and said
with tears, Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. And so we took that subject of
the prayer of the man. It's a prayer of faith. We know
without faith it is impossible to please God. He that cometh
to him must believe that he is, that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him. It's a prayer of faith. he addresses
the Lord and yet it's also at the same time a prayer for faith
and how we see something of the reality of this man's faith who
is so very much aware that his faith is mixed with a great deal
of doubts and unbelief when he says to the Lord in that 24th
verse, help thou my non-belief. And we noted the emphatic singular
pronoun. He doesn't just say help my non-belief,
but help thou. He's very much looking to the
Lord and to the power of the Lord Jesus. And now the Lord
Jesus, of course, goes on to demonstrate something of that
power when he actually rebukes that foul spirit and says thou
dumb and deaf spirit I charge thee come out of him and enter
no more into him and at verse 26 we are told that the spirit
cried and rent him sore and came out of him and he was as one
dead in so much that many said he is dead But Jesus took him
by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose." Oh, what a mighty
demonstration, then, of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is what the miracles demonstrate time and again, that first of
miracles that we read of in John chapter 2, the wedding feast
at Cana in Galilee, how He manifested forth His glory, and His disciples
believed in Him. And so here he manifests something
of his power in healing the man and giving faith. All that faith
that comes by the operation of God, it was at work surely in
the hearts of that poor man who was so concerned for the healing
of his child. This morning I want us to consider
something of the power of Christ's kingdom. The power of Christ's
kingdom, and our text is really the opening verse of this chapter. Here in 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. the power of Christ's
kingdom, and that kingdom very much centers in himself. He is
that one who is the king. He has that threefold office,
of course, as the Messiah, the Christ. He is a prophet, he is
a priest, and he is also a king. He is the king of kings. He is
the Lord of lords. And the power of his kingdom
very much centers in himself, in his person and in his work
and so first of all to remind you something of the glories
of the person of Jesus Christ and of course the glory of his
person is being revealed here in the transfiguration and in
particular we think of the words that we have there at verse 7
there was a cloud that overshadowed them and a voice came out of
the clouds saying this is my beloved son hear him the father
owns and acknowledges his son even in the state of his humiliation
and so there is some manifestation of the glory of his deity he
is the son of the father in truth and in law we know that He is
the Son of God in that great mystery of the Godhead, in that
great mystery of the doctrine of the Trinity. What does He
say? As the wisdom of God there in
Proverbs chapter 8, then, I was by Him as one brought up with
Him. I was daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him. He was that one eternally with
the Father in the doctrine of God. And then, in the fullness
of the time, the Word was made flesh, says John, and dwelt among
us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. What is His glory?
It is that He is the only begotten of the Father. His eternal generation,
that eternal relationship that He has with the Father. When
there were no depths, He says, I was brought forth. When there
were no fountains abounding with water before the mountains, were
settled before the hills, was I brought forth, eternally begotten. Whose goings forth have been
from of old, from everlasting says the prophet Micah. And how
important it is that we understand and grasp that glory that belongs
to Christ as the only begotten, the eternal son of the eternal
father. Whosoever denies the son, John
says, the same hath not the father. There cannot be an eternal Father
except He has an eternal Son. And so whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the
Son. We are to abide in this doctrine, the glory that belongs
unto Him as the eternal Son of God. This is my beloved Son,
says the Father. here at the Transfiguration.
And we know that the Jews to whom he came, he came unto his
own. Says John there in the opening chapter of the Gospel. His own
received him not. Why did they not receive him?
Well, they knew what he claimed. He clearly declared himself to
be the only begotten Son of God. And the Jews sought the more
to kill him because of that, as we're told there in John chapter
5. He had healed that lame man on
the Sabbath day, that had offended them. But more than that, they
accused him of blasphemy. They sought the more to kill
him because he not only had broken the Sabbath, their understanding,
their false understanding of the day, But he had said that
God was his Father, making himself equal with God. And so later there in John 10
at verse 33, what do the Jews say to the Lord Jesus? For a
good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy. And because of thou being a man,
make us thyself God. That was the blasphemy. When
he said that he was the Son of God, They understood that that
meant equality, one with the Father. And that's the charge
that they lay before Him when they bring Him and present Him
to Pontius Pilate. We have a law, they say, there
in John 19, we have a law, by our law He ought to die because
He made Himself the Son of God. Oh, He is that One who is. God's
eternal Son. And the kingdom that He came
to establish He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 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. And that kingdom comes with power
as He clearly reveals to these favoured disciples the blessed
truth of His deity. What is the kingdom? It's the
kingdom of God's dear Son. The language that we have there
in Colossians. Colossians 1 verse
13. Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. Or as the Margin says, into the
kingdom of the Son of his love. the Son of God's love. How the
Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. Then I was
by Him as one brought up with Him, daily His delight, rejoicing
always before Him. And to be brought into that Kingdom,
the Kingdom of God's love, the love that He has for His Son,
and the love that He has for sinners, that He would give His
only begotten Son to be the Saviour of sinners. Here then we see
something of the glory that is Christ, because in the mystery
of the Trinity He is the Eternal Son, the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. But He is also, evidently, the
Son of Man, and the servant of God in the Covenant. turning,
as it were, from the doctrine of the Godhead, the doctrine
of the Trinity, to the covenant of Christ, what do we see? We
see that God's only begotten Son is also the Son of Man. We have those remarkable words
in Daniel, in Daniel chapter 7 and verses 13 and 14. Daniel says, I saw in the night
visions and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds
of heaven and came to the ancients of days and they brought him
near before him and there was given him dominion and glory
and a kingdom that all people, nations and languages should
serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away and His kingdom that which
shall not be destroyed. Remember how in the book of Daniel
time and again we see the great kingdoms of the earth, the Babylonians,
the Medes and Persians, the Grecian, the Roman Empire,
But then there is this kingdom which shall never be destroyed.
All those earthly kingdoms have their day, they pass away. But
what is being spoken of here is what God had purposed in that
eternal covenant. Behold, one like the Son of Man
is brought before the Ancient of Days and the kingdom is given
unto him. It's the same kingdom that is
being spoken of in the text this morning. 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." And how is it all accomplished? It is by the Son of God becoming
the Son of Man and God's servant in terms of the covenant. Those
familiar words that we have at the beginning of Isaiah 42, Behold
my servant whom I uphold, mine erect, in whom my soul delighteth."
God says, I have put my spirit upon him, he's anointed, he's
the Christ. And we see how those words are
directly applied to the Lord Jesus in Matthew 12, 18. Behold my Son, or rather behold
my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is
well pleased. And what does God say here in
the Transfiguration? We have these words in verse
7, This is my beloved son, hear him. But interestingly, the account
that we find in Matthew, because this account is not only in Mark
and in Luke, we read in Luke earlier, the same account of
the transfiguration, but we have it again also in Matthew 17. And there, verse 51, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him. We have a fuller account as it
were in Matthew's account. and those words, in whom I am
well pleased. How the Father owns and acknowledges
His Son here in the Transfiguration, He is pleased with Him. Again
at the baptizing of the Lord, remember how the Father there
also acknowledges Him. when Christ comes up out of the
water of baptism and the heavens open and the spirit descends
in the form of a dove and then the father speaks those words
from heaven this is my beloved son a lower voice from heaven saying
this is my beloved son that's the words that we have at the
baptizing, similar words then to what we find here at the Transfiguration. How the Lord is well pleased
with him. And why is he well pleased? Because
how is he establishing this kingdom? He's establishing it by the life
that he's living and the work that he's accomplishing. He's
doing all the will of the Father. I do always those things that
please Him says the Lord Jesus in John 8,29 and how does He
please the Father? by His obedience to all the holy
law of God He is made of a woman, He is made under the law and standing in that law place
for His people He obeys every commandment of God. He's that
one who is Jesus Christ the righteous. And we're told, aren't we, back
in Isaiah 42, 21, the Lord is well pleased for His righteousness
sake. He will magnify the law and make
it honorable. Oh, this is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased." How the Father utters those words
from heaven then, both at the transfiguration, but also previously
at the baptizing of Christ. He is God, and He is God manifest
in the flesh, and in that state of humiliation, He has a work
to accomplish. And as the God-man, He fulfills
all righteousness. and he is that one who becomes
obedient unto death even the death of the cross. So as the
kingdom can only be understood in terms of the person of the
king we must also take account in the second place of the work. A certain aspect of that work
that is so evident here And that is the fact that he is to die.
He is to die. What was the subject matter of
the conversation that the Lord Jesus has with Moses and Elijah? Elias of course is simply the
Greek form of the name Elijah. Here we have in the Mount of
Transfiguration these two men Moses representing the law of
the Old Testament, Elijah representing the prophetic office in the Old
Testament. And what is it that they speak
of? Well, you may have observed again in that passage that we
read, Luke's account, that it's fuller than what we have in Mark.
So as we compare these different accounts in the Gospels that
we understand why it is that God in his wisdom has given us
a fourfold Gospel. There's such a fullness to be
declared concerning Christ. And there in Luke 9 Verse 30, Behold, it says, They
talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared
in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem. The subject matter of their conversation,
even the glorified Christ speaking with these two men, is that of his dying. He has
come to die. He has come to die. Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. He was dead and buried and rose
again the third day according to the Scriptures. We have those
words at the beginning of the 15th in 1st Corinthians. all is according to the scriptures
and remember again in Luke how when we come to the end of that
gospel and we see the resurrected Christ and he's speaking with
his disciples with those two on the road to Emmaus initially
and he speaks with them, he opens to them the scriptures concerning
all that great work that he came to do they didn't recognize him as
they walked with him and they couldn't understand what had
taken place at Jerusalem in the death of Jesus of Nazareth and
there in Luke 24-25 he says to them, O fools and slow of heart
to believe all that the prophets have spoken, ought not Christ
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?
and beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto
them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." It
is evident then that as the Lord here in the mount is speaking
with these two, Moses and Elijah, they had spoken of Him. The Lord
says, "...search the Scriptures, these are they that testify of
Me." This is the subject matter of the of the whole Bible the
person and the work of Christ and then later in the same closing
chapter of Luke verse 44 here is the Lord now appearing to
his disciples not just the two on the road and he says Verse 44, These are
the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Lord
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning
me, then opened thee their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures. Oh, it's the work, it's the work
also. that is the establishment of
this great kingdom that has come with such power what a mystery
in this because that kingdom comes not only by the life that
the Lord Jesus has lived but principally it has come by the
death that he has died and there is a mystery here because this
man Jesus of Nazareth is none other than God that is so evident
here in the transfiguration and yet this man is going to die
and surely there can be no cause of death in him because he is
altogether sinless, he is sinless in his human nature that holy
thing that was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the
Virgin Mary was free from every taint of original sin there's that sense in which his
human nature is an immortal human nature the seeds of death are
not there the soul that sinneth it shall die and yet he's going
to die what a mystery and when we read there at the end of 2nd
Corinthians that he was crucified through weakness crucified through
weakness, why? because He has taken upon Him
all the sin of His people. He is their sin-bearer. It's
as if Christ is the sinner, and the sinner must die. And yet,
though there is that great mystery, the humiliation of His death,
yet there's also such an authority when it comes to die. and he
says it doesn't it there in John 10,17 therefore that my father
loved me because I lay down my life that I might take it again
no man take it from me I lay it down of myself I have power,
I have authority to lay it down and I have power to take it again
this commandment have I received of my father Oh, his kingdom, you see. His
kingdom comes with power. His death is a voluntary death.
He could only die because he gave himself. They were unable
to do anything against him. It's a voluntary sacrifice that
he makes. And there they are in that Mount
of Transfiguration, and what are they speaking about? His
decease. which he should accomplish at
Jerusalem and he has accomplished salvation, he hasn't just made
salvation a possibility, we know that not just something possible
or anything maybe about it, no he's actually accomplished salvation
for all those that were given to him in that eternal covenant
again Paul speaks of it so many times in his various epistles
but there in the Colossian epistle Colossian 2 verse 14 he speaks of Christ blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. The margin says in
himself. All in his person, in his work,
he has overcome all the powers of darkness, He has died for his people. He has offered that great sin-atoning
sacrifice and made salvation something so sure and so certain. This is the kingdom then that is being revealed to these
disciples. It's the work of Christ. But
that death was not the end of his work. He was also raised
again on the third day. And isn't this what He speaks
of to His disciples as they came down from the mountain? He charged them that they should
tell no man what things they had seen till the Son of Man
were risen from the dead. All they'd heard this conversation
concerned His dying, but there would also be a rising again.
and they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with
another what the rising from the dead should mean. But how
that resurrection is of course the vindication of him. Poor
death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin. The strength of sin is the law.
But Paul says thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ. He has vanquished sin. He is victorious over Satan. And how important is the resurrection? Or there, as Paul is defining
the gospel that he preaches at the beginning of Romans, what
does he say concerning Jesus? He was declared to be the Son
of God. with power according to the Spirit
of holiness by the resurrection from the dead and we have all
the persons in the Trinity in that statement we have the Son
but we have the Father the Father marking him out, defining him,
that's the force of the Word declared to be the Son of God
with power according to the Spirit of holiness, the Holy Ghost is
there by the resurrection from the dead His power ultimately then is
seen when he rises again on the third day. And so, having sought
to say something of the person and work of Christ in whom this
kingdom centers, let me, as we come to a conclusion, say something
with regards to this power. spoken of in the text. He says
unto the disciples, 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. And again the
Lord emphasizes this statement because He prefixes it with the
Verily as He was wont to do many times in the course of His ministry.
and you know the force of that word truly so be it all this
is the truth of God these men are going to witness such a remarkable
sight they're going to see something of the kingdom of God with power but it's there isn't it in that resurrection as we said those
words that we quoted just now from 1st Corinthians 15 or death
where is I sting or grave where is I victory or thanks be to
God he has gained the victory over over sin, over satan, over
death, over the grave this is what the Lord Jesus Christ has
done and now he is that one who has
all power in heaven and in earth as he says previous to his ascension
on high all power all authority is given to me in heaven and
in earth go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
teaching them all things the great commission that the Lord
gives to his disciples he is that one who has power And this
is the day of grace. And what is the promise that
God has given concerning this kingdom? Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. There is the promise given concerning
Christ in the 110th Psalm. He is that one who is to be heard
throughout the whole day of grace. This is my beloved son, says
God. Hear Him. Hear Him. And what do we read in the following
verse? Suddenly, when they looked round about, they saw no man
anymore save Jesus alone with themselves. Oh, it's Jesus alone. Elijah, Moses and God. It all centers only in the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is that one who is to be heard. And I remarked on Thursday concerning
this poor man, this faithful man, this believing man so afraid
because he felt the awful unbelief of his fallen nature. And yet, there is faith, because
remember how he responds to the Lord Jesus. When Christ says
to him there at verse 23, If thou canst believe, all things
are possible to him that believeth. Well, that's the voice of Christ,
that's the Word of God. And straightway, the father of
the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe.
Well, faith came. Faith came when he heard the
voice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where the word of a king is,
there is power. Isn't that a demonstration of
the power of the Lord Jesus? Before he's performed the miracle,
he's going to perform the miracle, he's going to cast out that foul
spirit But first of all he creates faith in that man. He can make
that great confession. It's a real faith. Maybe that's a comfort to some
of us because so often we feel we have hardly any faith. We
have more unbelief than anything. Well that man felt his unbelief
and yet he had faith. Because the Lord accomplishes
the very thing that the man had requested, the man had desired.
It was possible. And the Lord raised, but didn't
raise the son, but cast out the demons and then takes that child
by the hand. They thought he was dead. Such
was the power that had been demonstrated. Oh, the word of a king. What
a powerful word it is. And think of the gospel. Think
of the gospel. What is, in a sense, the first
office of the gospel when we think of the ministry of the
Lord Jesus? The first office, in a sense,
is to interpret God's law and to show the spirituality of that
law of God. Doesn't Paul say, we know that
the law is spiritual? but I am carnal. There was a
time when he didn't realize that the law was spiritual when he
was a self-righteous Pharisee he said touching the righteousness
which is of the Lord he was blameless he thought he knew it but he
didn't know it at all it's Jesus of Nazareth who expounds the
true spiritual nature of the Lord of God doesn't he there
in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 where he takes
in particular those two commandments, the sixth and the seventh thou
shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery and he says if
you're angry with your brother and you're as he was so angry
you're destroying his personality you're a murderer if you're wanton
in your look, wanton in your thought, you're an adulterer
or no man, surely no man would presume to imagine he can attain
a righteousness by a law that demands that obedience comes
from the very depths of his heart that there's a spiritual obedience
as well as an external obedience and there the Lord Jesus you
see is that one who makes his people therefore feel their sinful
depravity, and their total inability, and their utter helplessness, their impotence, they can do
nothing. Doesn't the Lord teach us that
all doctrine that is contrary to the sovereignty of grace is
really contrary to the gospel? and therefore can do sinners
no good. We have to learn the truth about
ourselves. That's a strange, strange work.
When the Lord comes and makes us feel what we are, as sinners,
who may abide the day of his coming? Who can stand when he
appears? Always like a refining fire,
he's like full of soap. the holiness of the Lord Jesus. And yet, that strange work, and
it is a strange work when the Lord brings out the truth of
the law and the spiritual nature of the law, but it's all a preparation
for the proper work of the Gospel. And what is that proper work
of the Gospel? It's making salvation known. All before faith came,
we were kept under the law says Paul, shut up to the faith which
would afterward be revealed kept under the law thou turnest man
to destruction that's what God has to do with us destroy ourselves
thou turnest man to destruction and sayest return ye children
of men well that's the faith of the operation of God who raised
Jesus from the dead it's God who has to do the work
And what do we read here in the text? 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. Now, the question I have to ask
myself is, is that verse true of me? Is what I have in this
scripture really true in me, in my experience, in my life?
Can I say that I trust in the goodness of God,
I've seen the kingdom of God before I die? Is that true of
me? Is that true of you? Have we entered in any measure,
even a small measure, into this spiritual experience that he's
spoken of in the text? What are we to do? We're to seek
it. we read of the kingdom of God coming with power but isn't
that one of the petitions that we are taught in the Lord's Prayer
when we pray amongst other things we are to say thy kingdom come
well that's a prayer for the coming of God's kingdom throughout
the earth, doubtless but isn't it also a personal prayer isn't
it a prayer that God's kingdom will come to us, it will come
into our souls why the Lord says behold the kingdom of God is
within you that's where God's kingdom is established in the
heart I came across this remark in one of the sermons of John
Kay who was one of those seceders from the Church of England in
the early part of the 19th century, men like J.C. Philpott, of course,
and William Tiptoff. Well, John Kay was another. They
seceded from the Church of England and became dissenting ministers.
And dear John Kay says, it is a serious thing to be supernaturally
religious. And of course the important word
there is supernaturally. There are many people who are
religious, but if we have a real religion, a supernatural religion,
we'll understand this text, and we'll be in this text. We'll see the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is not in words, but in power, says the
apostle. It's God's kingdom. Thine is
the kingdom. Thine is the power, Thine is
the glory. It's only the Lord God Himself
who can establish that kingdom. And that's why I say it has to
come into our souls. And how can we know it? We have to ask. We have to pray. Ask, it shall be given you. Seek,
and ye shall find. Knock, it shall be opened unto
you, says the Lord. All we have to ask. Again, doesn't
he say, if ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your
children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask? We have to ask for the Holy Spirit,
and that we might see that this kingdom centers all together
in Christ, in the person of Christ, in the work of Christ, all which
life eternal. to know thee the only true God
and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. 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. Amen.