Let us turn again to God's Word
in the Gospel according to Mark. In Mark chapter 9, our text is
found in the first verse, and I want to read the opening ten
verses of the chapter. We read in Luke chapter 9, and
there at verse 28 following, we have Luke's account of the
Transfiguration. of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
same is also recorded in the other synoptic Gospels. In Matthew
chapter 17 we find it, in the opening 13 verses, and so again
here in Mark, in Mark chapter 9 then, reading this account
in 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, no bleacher, we might say, on
earth can wipe them. And there appeared unto them
Elias and Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter
answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here.
Let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say,
for they were sore afraid. And there was a cloud that overshadowed
them, and the 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, say, 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 were risen from the
dead. And they kept that saying with
themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from
the dead should mean. As I said, it's the first verse,
the opening verse that I want in particular to center your
attention upon. and those words at the end of
the verse in particular concerning those who would not taste of
death till they had seen the kingdom of God come with power. Till they had seen the kingdom
of God come with power. In that patterned prayer that
the Lord Jesus taught his disciples, recorded of course both in Matthew
and also in Luke's Gospels we have that petition, thy kingdom
come, thy kingdom come. And here the Lord Jesus speaks
of that same kingdom of God coming with power. It is a glorious
kingdom. He said to Pontius Pilate, my
kingdom is not of this world, If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants, my disciples, fight. It is a spiritual kingdom. It is the kingdom of God, sometimes
referred to as the kingdom of heaven. And we see something
of the glories of that kingdom when we take account of him who
is the king, who is the one who is the king in this kingdom Well,
it is God's kingdom, but it is that kingdom that in the day
of grace, of course, is committed into the hands of Him who is
Immanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh. The Lord Jesus
Christ says in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew's gospel
out of all power, all authority is committed unto me. In heaven
and in earth he reigns, this is the day of grace, he reigns
in his kingdom as the great mediator. So as we think of the glories
that belong unto this kingdom we must take account of the one
who is truly the king of kings and the lord of lords. And so,
first of all, to consider something of the person, the person of
the King, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. What does
God say to these disciples there in the Mount of Transfiguration?
Verse 7, This is my Beloved Son. This is my Beloved Son here,
here. He is the one through whom God
speaks, the one through whom God exercises His authority in
this day of grace. This, He says, is my beloved
Son. Now, we confess that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the Godhead. He is not a son
by office. He is the son of God in the Godhead. In Proverbs chapter 8 he speaks
and says, Then was I by him as one brought up with him. I was
daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. Speaking of
his relationship to the Father from eternity in all the fullness
of that great mystery which is the Godhead. in three persons, Father, Son
and Holy Ghost. He is the Son, then, in terms
of His Godhead. We are told, are we not, in the
opening chapter of John's Gospel, that no man has seen God at any
time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father He hath declared Him. He is the only begotten of the
Father, full of grace and truth. And that's the most interesting
expression, only begotten. It reminds us of His eternal
generation. This is the relationship that
He has with the Father in the Godhead. The Father begets, the
Son is begotten of the Father. and again in that remarkable
8th chapter of the book of Proverbs does not wisdom speak of being
brought forth he was brought forth there in Proverbs chapter
8 and verses 24 and 25 we find that expression used when there
were no debts he says I was brought forth in other words I was begotten
when there were no fountains abounding with water, before
the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth,
begotten, eternally begotten of the Father. This is what we
mean when we confess and acknowledge His eternal generation. The only
begotten of the Father. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father, saith John. But he that acknowledgeth
the Son hath the Father also. Does it not stand to reason,
if there is no eternal Son, there is no eternal Father? How can
any say that there is God the Father? If the Father does not
have an eternal Son, whosoever transgresseth and abideth not
in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the
doctrine of Christ, he hath the Father and the Son, says John. This is vitally important, you
see. This relationship that he has with God the Father in terms
of the Godhead. He is the Son of the Father in
truth and in love. And here, how the Father acknowledges
him, this is my beloved son. Oh yes, believers are the sons
of God. But believers are the sons of
God by adoption. By adoption. He alone is truly the son of
the Father, the only begotten. And do you remember how the Jews
understood what he was saying when he spoke of God being his
father? In John chapter 5 how they sought
to destroy him. And why was it that they would
kill him? Well, he had broken the Sabbath, he committed or
performed a miracle on the Sabbath day, making the lame man to walk,
that was a great offense to them, they didn't understand the true
significance of the Sabbath day, but we're told they sought the
more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but said that God was his father, making himself equal with God. To the Jew, you see, the fact
that he spoke of God as his father didn't mean that he was in any
sense inferior. He was announcing to them his
equality. He said that God was his Father,
making himself equal with God. And so again in chapter 10 of
John, in verse 33, they say to him, for a good work which thou
only knowest, but for blasphemy, and because of thou being a man,
make us thyself God. That was the charge, blasphemy.
And they would execute him, they would stone him. But he passes
through the midst of them. They cannot lay one finger upon
him, his hour has not yet come. But when the hour comes, and
he's arraigned before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, what
is the accusation that they make? We have a law, they say, by our
law he ought to die, because he made himself the son of God. Oh, they understood you, sir.
They understood the significance of the things that he was saying
with regards to himself, the eternal son of the eternal father. In us then we see something of
the glories of the one who is the king in this kingdom. 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. As the Lord prefixes his statement
with that significant word, Verily, Amen, Truly, so be it. There were those present, and
it's these three, these favourite three, Peter and James and John,
who are to see something of the Kingdom of God, the glory of
it, the power of it. And where do they see it? They
see it in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or they are permitted
to see through the veil of His humanity. Here He is in the state
of His humiliation. Here he is as a man, a real man,
real flesh and blood, that human nature that he received from his mother,
he was conceived by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin
Mary, that holy thing, that human nature that he received from
his human mother in the miracle of the Virgin birth, But here
he is, you see, in the state of humiliation. And they witness as something
of the glories of the Divine, the glory of his deity, shines
through the veil of his humiliation. All this is that kingdom then,
it's Christ's kingdom. Colossians 1 and verse 13, the
kingdom of his dear son, it says, or the march in the kingdom of
the son of his love. This is the kingdom of God, the
kingdom of the son of God's love. Now, what do we see? We see this
one, the son of God in his Godhead, but also we see the servant of
God in terms of the covenant and does he not demonstrate that
love that he has for his father does he not also manifest that
love that he has for the people that the father has given to
him in the covenant by his obedience how is love manifested? it is
seen by obedience to God's commandment That's the sum and substance
of the law, is it not? Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy
mind and with all thy strength. This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. And we see that in Christ. He
loves the Father, so he is obedient to the Father. He loves his neighbour,
he loves those that the Father has given to him. So he is obedient
to all that holy will of the Father. And he comes to serve
God's will. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him,
says God. Now, those words from Isaiah
42, they're quoted in Matthew 12, in verse 18, but it's interesting
when we compare scripture with scripture because we see that
the rendering is somewhat different in Matthew's account, maybe Matthew
there is quoting from the Greek seculgent version of the Old
Testament scripture but this is how it's translated in our
authorised version, Matthew 12, 18, Behold my servant, whom I
have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. My servant says God, my beloved,
always loved of the Father. It is the kingdom of the Son
of God's love. And this one whom the Father
loves is the one who ever always pleases Him. God says, of Him
in whom my soul is well pleased. in whom my soul is well pleased. Now, when we compare the different
accounts of the Transfiguration, when we look at these verses,
be they in Mark, this chapter, or in the portion that we read
in Luke, chapter 9, or be it in the opening verses of Matthew,
chapter 17, we get the fullness of what occurred on that particular
occasion. And there in Matthew's account,
Matthew 17 and verse 5, we read what the Father said, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. In Mark and Luke, we also have
those words here, here. hear him. In Matthew's account
we have that expression, in whom I am well pleased. It was not the only occasion
when the father spoke those words from heaven, he also spoke those
words, did he not, when Christ was baptized by John in the river
Jordan. Though a voice from heaven saying
this, is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased." Oh, the father is well pleased
with him. Oh, he loves him, of course.
There is that relationship in the Godhead of love. God is love. The father loves the son, the
son loves the father, the father and the son love the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Spirit, he loves the father and the son. There is
that inter-trinitarian relationship of love. Be there no object outside
of himself, God is still love. But when we consider Christ as
God's servant in the Covenant, The Father loves him. My beloved
son, he says. My beloved son. Why is he so
loved of the Father? Because, as we've said, he is
ever obedient to the Father's will. He pleases the Father. Isaiah 42 verse 21 The Lord, we read, is well pleased
for His righteousness sake. He shall magnify the law and
make it honourable. How the Lord is well pleased.
What does He do? He's made of a woman, He's made
under the law. And He magnifies the law. How
does He magnify the law? By obedience to every one of
its commandments. He fulfills all righteousness.
He is the sinless one. He pleases the Father by that
life of perfect conformity to the will of God. And not only
does He magnify that Holy Lord of God in the manner in which
He lives, but His obedience is not unto death, even the death
of the cross. He magnifies the Lord in dying.
In living he magnifies it in terms of its precepts, he obeys
all the commandments. In dying he magnifies the same
law in terms of its dreadful penalties. The law says the soul
that sinneth it shall die, and he dies, he dies, the just for
the unjust to bring sinners to God. Oh how God is well pleased
with him. how God is well pleased with
him. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. The person then of the Lord Jesus
Christ who is king in Zion. God has set him as king upon
the holy hill of Zion. All the kingdom is his. But then
we see something of the glory of this kingdom, when we take
particular account of the work, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
has done. We've already alluded to that,
how he is made under the law, how he honours the Lord and magnifies
the Lord. and now he comes of course as
that one who is going to fulfill all righteousness he will accomplish
all those things that are written of him in the scriptures and we are told are we not in
the portion that we read in Luke chapter 9 of those two that appeared
with him in the man Moses and Elias, Moses and Elijah. And
what do we read concerning the subject matter of their conversation? Behold, there talked within two
men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory and spake
of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. These men, you see, These three
men who were to see something of the Kingdom of God come with
power, how do they see it when they witness these two from the
Old Testament speaking with Christ and speaking of his death? Now, as we know, Moses is representative
of the law. The law was given by Moses. And
Elias, Elijah, is in of the great representative of the prophetic
office and these two law and prophets do they not speak constantly
of the Lord Jesus Christ again at the end of his ministry after
his death and his resurrection from the dead when he appears
to his disciples and the record that we have there in the last
chapter of Luke's gospel Remember how Christ meets with
those two on the road to Emmaus. And what does he say to them?
They can't understand the things that have happened in Jerusalem.
The strange news now is that Christ is risen from the dead. Oh fools, he says, 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. Here we have Moses and Elias we have the law and the prophets
and he expounds all the defeats of their concerning himself. These things have their fulfilment
in him. Again later when he appears once
more in the upper room he says to them these are the words which
I spoke 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 Mary. then
opened in their understanding that they might understand the
scriptures. Lord Christ glorious, the power
of his kingdom, where is it to be discerned? In the work, the
great work that Christ came to accomplish, his decease, which
he would accomplish at Jerusalem. This is a very Summon substance
of the gospel, is it not? Read the opening verses of 1
Corinthians chapter 15, where Paul makes it plain what the
gospel was that he preached unto the Corinthians. How that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures. And that He was
buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. It's all in accordance, you see,
with the Scriptures. And these are the things that
are spoken of by Moses and Elias as they appear with Christ there
in the Mount of Transfiguration. He's deceased, which he would
accomplish, he would accomplish it at Jerusalem. or therefore
does my father love me because I lay down my life that I may
take it again. He says no man has taken it from
me. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father. He accomplished
it. It was a voluntary sacrifice. He went willingly to the cross.
And yet, oh the mystery of it, the mystery of it. He was crucified
through weakness, it says. He was crucified through weakness.
How we see the reality of that human nature, that he could die. He could die. And in dying is
never anything less than God. God manifest in the flesh. The
one who has authority from his father to lay down his life and
to take his life again. All the glory of it, you see,
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He became obedient, we are told,
unto death. Even the death of the cross. And all that he accomplished
by dying. It was a great work that he accomplished, Paul, tells
us what was accomplished as he writes to the church at Colossae
there in Colossians chapter 2 verse 14 we read of him blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was
contrary to us took it out of the wine nailing it to his cross
And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in Him. All the glories
you see. The glories of God that we see
as Christ is enthroned upon the cross at Calvary. And there He
vanquishes sin. Or it was there He made an end
of sin. He made an end of sin. when he bore the punishment that
was the just desert of his people. No more can Satan accuse them.
Christ has died. Have we seen anything of it,
friends? What a favour was given to these
men. They shall not taste of death, it says, till they have
seen the Kingdom of God come with But not only his death, of course,
there is his rising again. He was dead and buried. According to the Scriptures,
he rose again, says Paul there, in those opening words of 1 Corinthians
15. He rose again from the dead according
to the Scriptures. And so, look at what we read
here at the end of the Transfiguration. Verse 9, 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. And they kept that saying to
themselves, they kept it close. Questioning one with another,
what this rising from the dead should mean? It was to rise again
from the dead. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy vict'ry? The sting of death. The strength
of sin is the law, but, says Paul, thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He is
the risen Saviour. The risen Saviour never ascended
on high. He is declared to be the Son
of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the
resurrection from the dead. He has all power, He has all
authority in heaven and in earth and He is able to say to the
uttermost all that come to God by Him. We see the glory of the
Kingdom, I say, when we take proper account of Him who is
spoken of in the Revelation as the King, the King of Kings,
the Lord of Lords, the One who has authority. as power, is able
to save to the Ottomans. Well, finally, let us consider
something of the power that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is what is spoken of in the text, is it not, here at the end of
verse 1. 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. What is the promise? We sang
it earlier, of course, in the medical psalm. Psalm 110. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Or the day of his power. And
it's his voice, you see, that we are to hear. Isn't that the
mark of his sheep? They know his voice. They follow
Him. He gives to them eternal life. We're told here concerning what
they witnessed there in the mount, verse 7, there was a cloud that
overshadowed them and a voice came out of the cloud saying,
this is my beloved son. Hear Him. Hear Him. Have you heard the voice of the
Lord Jesus Christ? Has the Lord Jesus Christ ever
spoken to you? You are to hear Him. And the
preacher tells us, does he not, where the word of the King is,
there is power. All the power of our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Gospel. How He must come to us. He must
come to us just as He came to those at Thessalonica, those
Thessalonians. How did he come to them, how
Paul writes and reminds them, does he not, in his first epistle,
in the opening chapter, our gospel, he says, came not unto you in
word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much
assurance. Is that how the gospel comes
to us? Is that how we desire that God's word should come to
us? Not just in word, not just hearing words, the words of a
man, a poor preacher, but knowing the ministry of the Holy Spirit
and the power that belongs unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the King
in Zion. How does He come? He comes within
us. Behold, says the Lord Jesus, Luke 17, behold the Kingdom of
God is within you. Lord, that's where He comes.
That's a coming to our hearts. It has to enter into us. The
King Himself has to come. But who may abide the day of
His coming? Who can stand when He appears? He is like a refiner's fire.
He is like fuller's soap. who can abide that awful day
when the Lord is pleased to come? What does he do? He comes as
a refining fire. When he comes into the heart,
he comes like that full of soap. He makes the sinner see and feel
something of what he is. He gives such a sense of his
sinnership And not only does he make him feel that he is a
sinner, he makes him feel his helplessness. He cannot save
himself, he cannot deliver himself, he cannot turn from his sins.
He has to learn that awful doctrine of total depravity, and all that
goes with it is total inability, his complete impotency, his utter dependence upon another,
upon God. Oh, this is how the kingdom comes,
you see. And so what does the Lord do? He teaches his people
lessons. He teaches them that all that
doctrine that is contrary to the sovereignty of the grace
of God is a lie. It's useless. It cannot save a man. Any doctrine
that is contrary to sovereign grace, because such is the state
of the sinner. The kingdom has to come with
power. The power has to come from outside of ourselves. It
is the Lord who must come. And he comes. Thou turnest man
to destruction, says Moses, and sayest return ye children
of men. When God turns a man to destruction,
what does he do? He sees that he has destroyed
himself. Or we've destroyed ourselves
by asking But how gracious God is when
we learn experimentally what we are, our total depravity,
when God takes us, as it were, and brings us under that holy
law. There is a ministry of the law,
is there not? And that ministry of the law
is to make us feel our sins. By the law is the knowledge of
sin itself. Whatever things the Lord said,
it said to them who were under the Lord, that every mouth may
be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God. There is that Lord work. Before
faith came, we were kept under the Lord, shut up, unto the faith
which would after would be revealed. all brought to the end of ourselves
and brought to realise the importance of knowing what it is for the
Lord to come in all His gracious power into our souls and to establish
in our hearts that blessed reign of His grace. Can we in any measure enter into
what is recorded here concerning these men? The Lord says, 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. Before we die, before we die,
we must know what it is for the kingdom of God to come into our
hearts with power. Are we those who desire it? Do
we seek it? You say, well I don't know, I'm
not sure. Maybe. Or maybe you're completely indifferent
to me. How sad, how solemn, if there's
no real soul concern in us with regards to this matter. We must
seek it. Remember that petition that's
part of what we call the Lord's Prayer. We're to pray, Thy Kingdom
come. Do we want it to come? Do we
want it to come into our souls? Earlier this year, a few weeks
ago now, I was doing some work on the accounts of John Kay. John Kay was one of those Seceders,
a great friend of William Tiptoft, who was so very kind to him,
and lodged him for many years in his own house there in Abingdon.
But Kay liked to Tiptoe and Philpott and others was one of those who
felt compelled for conscience sake to secede from the Church
of England ministry. But he wrote something of his
experience in a book called The Inward Kingdom of God. And he
records how God dealt with him, bringing him to salvation. And I was doing some work in
preparing that book for republication, editing the work as necessary. and I was struck in doing a little
bit of research and reading some of the various letters of John
Keynes how he remarks how it is such a serious and solemn
thing to be supernaturally religious suppose we are all religious
we come here regularly, we sit under the word of God we are
religious men and women but are we supernaturally religious. Do we really know what it is
for that kingdom to come into our hearts? And can we really
say, in prayer to God, Thy kingdom
come, we want His kingdom to come. Oh, and it's a powerful
kingdom. Thine is the kingdom. Thine is
the power. Thine is the glory. Oh, for God
to come in all the power of that kingdom and to establish in our
poor souls that blessed reign of grace. When he comes, you
know, he'll subdue our iniquity. That's what he does. Subdues
our iniquity, delivers us from all our unbelief. It is a gracious
kingdom. Oh, that we might know then what
it is to see it. We read of these men who were
not to taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God's
come. with power. Might it come then
friends to you and to me. Amen. Great God, thy kingdom come,
with reverence would we pray. May the eternal three in one,
his sovereign scepter, sway.