OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION. 1.1 Purpose. 1.2 Genre and structure. 1.3 Historical Context. 1.4 Textual Context 2. COMMENTARY

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1 OUTLINE 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose 1.2 Genre and structure 1.3 Historical Context 1.4 Textual Context 2. COMMENTARY 3. APPLICATION: SERMON OUTLINE 4. THEMATIC STUDIES 4.1 Petrine Influence 4.2 Mark's Christology 4.3 Mark's Secrecy Motif REFERENCES APPENDIX Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 1 of 28

2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Purpose This paper seeks to expound the passage of Mark 9:2-13 concerning the transfiguration of Jesus and the fulfilment of Malachi 4:5 in John the Baptist as Elijah. The principal point of this text is the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God (v7). The story is paralleled in Matthew 17:1-13 and Luke 9: Genre and structure According to the Blue Letter Bible (2002), which assumes Markan priority, Mark is the earliest of its specific genre. Related to the Gospel genre are many other pre- Markan canonical and extra-biblical examples using a similar narrative technique. Unfortunately this source does not name these other examples, but it suggests that the canonical gospels were neither unique nor the first to utilize what is now know as Gospel genre. This can only be partially true; earlier writings could not possibly have contained the narrative and kerygmatic mixture that seems to be intrinsic to the canonical gospel genre. (Carson and Moo 2005:115, emphasis added) In other words, insofar as Mark is a story a partial biography of Jesus it is perhaps akin to other ancient writings, but Mark is more than a biography; it is a gospel (i.e. it bears the good news of Jesus!) Class boundaries between genres are fuzzy but, as Carson and Moo (2005) point out, the canonical gospels stand apart from Greco-Roman bios on at least three counts: Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 2 of 28

3 they are anonymous (a Hebraic expression of humility and means to focus the reader on God (the Son)); they are not pretentious (compared with, for example, Josephus' autobiography); they integrate Jesus' teaching and action for kerygmatic impact. Genre classification is also subjective; an unbeliever might classify Mark as folklore/legend, whilst a Jew might call it midrashic. Mark does, not surprisingly, contain midrashic elements within it mainly in Jesus' own teachings but the gospel contains far more. Moreover, Mark mixes elements from the different cultures in which he is engaged; a monotheistic Hebraic foundation 1, the Roman Empire, and a Greek-speaking society. It is this mix, together with Carson and Moo's triplet above, which makes the Gospel genre a class of its own. Briefly, the structure of Mark parallels the geographic itinerary: starting from a lowpoint (the Jordan), the text climbs steadily towards the summit of Mount Hermon (the transfiguration account) and the descent of Jesus ultimately into the place of the dead (with a brief mention of his resurrection thereafter). Moreover, there is a temporal zooming in on the events towards the Passion, so that the latter half of the book covers a far shorter time-frame in much greater detail than the first half. 1 As with the other gospels, Mark contains numerous Hebraic expressions which are quite distinct from the Greek paradigm as our key text will reveal: In 9:5 Peter is reported to answer and say when no question had been asked of him. This is typically Hebraic. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 3 of 28

4 1.3 Historical context It is widely believed that Mark was written in Rome for the local church sometime between 40 and 68 CE. The exact time of writing is difficult to determine, but would be useful because the local historical context changed considerably from one Caesar to another. The church in Rome, as elsewhere, was expanding rapidly in spite of persecution which became extremely severe under Nero (64-68) and the constituency was predominantly gentile (of pagan background). This meant that the church had a weakened connection to its Jewish root and all that went with that: presumed monotheism; knowledge of OT history and the covenants; awareness of messianic prophecies and more could not be taken for granted. Moreover, the local populus had never witnessed Jesus in person. It is no wonder then, that an accurate recording of Jesus' ministry and passion was necessary. 1.4 Textual context The transfiguration occurs roughly at the mid-point of Mark, when Jesus is turning toward Jerusalem for his ultimate purpose. It follows immediately after Peter's Great Confession, and serves as proof that this revelation was indeed of God. The pericope under review ends with the descent from the high mountain, in which the disciples' expectations are also descending as Jesus enlightens them as to what lies ahead: his torturous death. Jesus re-interprets the Messianic role for them as servant, not king (yet). The previous chapters show Jesus great popularity in Galilee; now he is to face his opponents in Judea, specifically in the capital city of Jerusalem. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 4 of 28

5 Mark slows right down and spends the remainder of the book on the last week of Jesus' life so as to draw special attention to it. 2. COMMENTARY The text has been broken up into phrases (not in the strictest grammatical sense) loosely according to Mounce's phrasing technique for the commentary (see Mounce, 2003 Chapter 13). The indenting applied to phrases indicates dependence on preceding phrases (in terms of sentence structure, not conceptual flow.) Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 5 of 28

6 LI N E NEW ENGLISH TRANSLATION & NESTLE-ALAND GREEK COMMENTARY 1 Six days later Καὶ µετὰ ἡµέρας ἓξ Mark emphasizes the time period since Peter's Great Confession (8:29), deliberately paralleling Moses sojourn on Mount Sinai (c.f. Dt 18:15). This must be deliberate, since Mark almost never gives time references. 2 Jesus took with him Peter, James, and Jesus chose the inner circle for the subsequent revelation. παραλαµβάνει: from παρα (with) and λαµβάνει (he takes); Mark is John writing in the present tense to make the story seem live (in real-time) παραλαµβάνει ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ to his readers. This is a common literary technique both in scripture and even today. τὸν Ἰάκωβον καὶ τὸν Ἰωάννην, Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 6 of 28

7 3 and led them alone up a high mountain privately. καὶ ἀναφέρει αὐτοὺς εἰς ὄρος ὑψηλὸν κατ' ἰδίαν µόνους. In contrast to his many public appearances post-resurrection (e.g. Acts 1:3, 1 Cor 15:6), Jesus wants only these three key disciples to witness his glory at this point in time. Mark emphasizes this strongly with the words κατ' ἰδίαν µόνους ( privately alone ). Here is another implicit reference to Moses on Mount Sinai. Privately: Jesus did not reveal his glory publically, or even to the Twelve. It seems he revealed it only on a need-to-know basis. The inner circle needed this revelation as they were to become the three chief apostles, together with Paul. 4 And he was transfigured before them, καὶ µετεµορφώθη ἔµπροσθεν αὐτῶν, Mark offers no insight beyond the word µετεµορφώθη, or metamorphosis, except the subsequent comments on Jesus' clothing. In fact, from Mark's text alone, we cannot assume that Jesus himself shone but Mt 17:2 tells us that his face shone, at least. 5 and his clothes became radiantly white, White clothes represent righteousness and purity. Angels and tribulation saints are typically recorded as wearing white clothes. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 7 of 28

8 καὶ τὰ ἱµάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο στίλβοντα λευκὰ λίαν 6 more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. Jesus' clothes were not merely white, they were exceedingly or radiantly white (λευκὰ λίαν). There is no comparison with what any launderer in the world could do to whiten them. οἷα γναφεὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς οὐ δύναται οὕτως λευκᾶναι. 7 Then Elijah appeared before them along Two of Israel's greatest leaders appear with Jesus. Elijah represents the prophets of Israel and hence the spoken, revelatory Word of God with Moses, (ῥήµα), whilst Moses undeniably represents the written Word (λόγος), καὶ ὤφθη αὐτοῖς Ἠλίας σὺν Μωϋσεῖ, more specifically the Torah and the Law. Jesus is the Living Word that encompasses both the logos and the rhema. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 8 of 28

9 8 and they were talking with Jesus. καὶ ἦσαν συλλαλοῦντες τῷ Ἰησοῦ. Just like Jesus' post-resurrection appearances, these historical characters now appear as fully human, interacting with the real physical world. Talking: apparently discussing Jesus' 'exodus', whereby he would accomplish a release for his people... (Pawson 2003:797) 9 So Peter said to Jesus, καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Πέτρος λέγει τῷ Ἰησοῦ, Literally: and Peter answered saying to Jesus. It is typically Hebraic to answer without any question. This is significant in revealing the writer's roots Mark and his source (Peter) are Hebrews; this Gospel was not written later by some Greek-speaking gentile! 10 "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Ῥαββί, καλόν ἐστιν ἡµᾶς ὧδε εἶναι, It is good: echoing the seven it was good statements of Genesis 1 (one was very good ). Why so? Because, from Peter's perspective, now the Kingdom had come and the Messiah was physically present to rule the world. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 9 of 28

10 11 Let us make three shelters καὶ ποιήσωµεν τρεῖς σκηνάς, Now the presence of God was with Man, Peter thought God would fulfill the prophecy that he was going to tabernacle (permanently) amongst us. Peter wanted to erect three sukkot (shelters) to facilitate this one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Peter and his fellow disciples apparently knew who the heavenly visitors were without any introduction. σοὶ µίαν καὶ Μωϋσεῖ µίαν καὶ Ἠλίᾳ µίαν. 13 (For they were afraid, ἔκφοβοι γὰρ ἐγένοντο Just as in many other cases in scripture, appearances of heavenly beings are frightening to mortals (e.g. Lk 1:29-30). 14 and he did not know what to say.) οὐ γὰρ ᾔδει τί ἀποκριθῇ Peter is known for his enthusiastic personality; here he speaks even when he doesn't know what to say. He is eager, as usual, to act by erecting some tents for the visitors. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 10 of 28

11 15 Then a cloud overshadowed them, Cloud: reminiscent of the cloud of God's presence (e.g. in the exodus). καὶ ἐγένετο νεφέλη ἐπισκιάζουσα αὐτοῖς, 16 and a voice came from the cloud, Voice: akin to 1:11. καὶ ἐγένετο φωνὴ ἐκ τῆς νεφέλης, 17 "This is my one dear Son. As per 1:11, another climax in Mark. Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱός µου ὁ ἀγαπητός, 18 Listen to him!" ἀκούετε αὐτοῦ. Jesus is the prophet like Moses, to whom the Jews must listen! (Dt 18:15) This implicitly means Obey him! Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 11 of 28

12 19 Suddenly when they looked around, καὶ ἐξάπινα περιβλεψάµενοι Mark loves to maintain a tempo and often uses words like suddenly and immediately. 20 they saw no one with them any more except Jesus. Had Jesus been about to institute his earthly messianic reign, the two heavenly witnesses would have remained (Rev 11). οὐκέτι οὐδένα εἶδον ἀλλὰ τὸν Ἰησοῦν µόνον µεθ' ἑαυτῶν. 21 As they were coming down from the mountain, Καὶ καταβαινόντων αὐτῶν ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 12 of 28

13 22 he gave them orders not to tell anyone The secrecy motif see section 4.3. what they had seen διεστείλατο αὐτοῖς ἵνα µηδενὶ ἃ εἶδον διηγήσωνται, 23 until after the Son of Man had risen from Jesus had no doubt at all that he was both to die and to rise again. the dead. εἰ µὴ ὅταν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῇ. 24 They kept this statement to themselves, In submission to the command, Listen to him! καὶ τὸν λόγον ἐκράτησαν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 13 of 28

14 25 discussing what this rising from the dead meant. Greek philosphy had infiltrated Palestine, and Jews had never been clear on the resurrection anyway; was this to be a spiritual or a physical resurrection? When would it take place? συζητοῦντες τί ἐστιν τὸ ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῆναι. 26 Then they asked him, καὶ ἐπηρώτων αὐτὸν λέγοντες, 27 "Why do the experts in the law say that Apparently they were not familiar with Mal 4:5. Elijah must come first?" Οτι λέγουσιν οἱ γραµµατεῖς ὅτι Ἠλίαν δεῖ ἐλθεῖν πρῶτον; Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 14 of 28

15 28 He said to them, ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς, 29 "Elijah does indeed come first, and Jesus confirms the interpretation of the teachers of the Law. restores all things. Ἠλίας µὲν ἐλθὼν πρῶτον ἀποκαθιστάνει πάντα, 30 And why is it written that the Son of Man In true rabbinic fashion, Jesus includes a question in response. καὶ πῶς γέγραπται ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 15 of 28

16 31 must suffer many things ἵνα πολλὰ πάθῃ Mark's gospel emphasizes Jesus as the Suffering Servant (e.g. of Isa 53). 32 and be despised? Jesus continues to prepare them for his utter rejection shortly hereafter. καὶ ἐξουδενηθῇ; 33 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, Returning to their question, Jesus confirms that the prophecy was fulfilled. ἀλλὰ λέγω ὑµῖν ὅτι καὶ Ἠλίας ἐλήλυθεν, 34 and they did to him whatever they wanted, καὶ ἐποίησαν αὐτῷ ὅσα ἤθελον, He is cryptically speaking of John the Baptist, whom they (the gentiles, specifically Herod, to please his daughter and wife) decapitated. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 16 of 28

17 35 just as it is written about him." καθὼς γέγραπται ἐπ' αὐτόν. It is written: as with Jesus, prophecies of Elijah (and Moses) have to be fulfilled precisely. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 17 of 28

18 3. APPLICATION: SERMON OUTLINE 1. What's the main point of this story? Jesus is this Son of God! He had left his glory behind in his humiliation but it is still his glory and will be revealed to all mankind, just as it was to the inner circle. His sonship is not speculative God himself proclaimed it! Jesus is also the Living Word become flesh, fulfilling both the Spoken Word (rhema), represented by Elijah, and the Written Word (logos), represented by Moses. 2. Listen to Him! If he really is the Son of God, we had better hear and obey him! If you can't hear what he's saying to you, go to your high mountain (any place of solitude to hear his still, small voice.) Jas 1:23 we must not only hear the Word but also do what He says. 3. Jesus' glory is hidden from us now, just as it was hidden during his lifetime but it is still there. Similarly, the glory which we are to share is hidden our lives are hid with him! Don't be discouraged because you can't see what is to come; it will come! This calls for faith just as for the disciples but, like them, he gives us glimpses of his glory along the way. 4. The Son of Man had to suffer and die according to the scriptures... FOR US! Moreover, He rose again, and will come again, according to the scriptures... FOR US! Yet, like Jesus, we too must suffer many things and be despised ; they will do to us as they please, yet he is making us like Him! We too will be Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 18 of 28

19 dressed in white (his righteousness), having washed in the blood of the Lamb. 5. After your mountaintop experiences with Jesus, you have to come down to earth and carry on with life... hearing and obeying Him. Don't be surprised at the persecution that follows, and don't be discouraged because, just like it was for Jesus, it will be for you you will be resurrected in glory at his return! 4. THEMATIC STUDIES 4.1 Petrine Influence (334) Support for a predominantly Petrine influence in Mark is manifold 2 : 1. *The close relationship between Peter and Mark (c.f. 1 Pe 5:13) and fact that Mark was Peter's interpreter according to Papias. 2. *Widespread and undisputed acceptance by the church fathers. 3. The claim was uncontested until the twentieth century, and the contest was based more on speculation than on evidence. 4. *The detailed, vivid narratives by Mark suggest an eyewitness' perspective longitudinally through the gospel. 5. The fact that Peter is present in the whole narrative from 1:16 to 14:72 less 37 verses (listed in Bauckham 2006:126.) 6. The relatively high frequency of references to Peter (with respect to total 2 *Additional notes and explanations for items with asterisks appear in the Appendix under corresponding numbers. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 19 of 28

20 number of words) compared with the other synoptic gospels. 7. *The high frequency of references to Peter (25 3 ) compared with the other apostles. (Bauckham 2005: ) 8. Peter's centrality in two climactic pericopes: his recognition of Jesus as the Christ, and his witnessing of Jesus' transfiguration. 9. Peter's frailties are portrayed, including Jesus' rebuke of him (8:33) and Peter's denial of Jesus (14:66-72). 10. Similarly, all the apostles are portrayed as being slow to understand, cowardly, spiritually blind, and hard of heart in Mark. Only a senior apostle would be likely to expose them this way. (Carson and Moo 2005:176) 11. The focus of the gospel on miracles (eighteen, with only four parables and just one major discourse) compared to the other gospels is in keeping with Peter's action-oriented temperament. 12. The correlation between Peter's sermons in Acts (e.g. 10:36-41) with the message of Mark. 13. *Internal focalization, e.g. 9: *The inclusio of eyewitness testimony. 15. *The plural-to-singular narrative device (e.g. in 9:9) which points to a narration by one of the Twelve, even one of Jesus' inner circle. (See Bauckham 2006: for a fuller argument.) 3 Counting occurences of Simon and Peter, regarding 3:16 as one and 14:37 as two. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 20 of 28

21 4.2 Mark's Christology For Mark, Jesus is the Son of God as much as he is the Son of Man. Mark deliberately starts his gospel with The beginning..., echoing Genesis 1:1, thereby already hinting at Jesus' pre-existence. He goes on to inform his readers in the same sentence that Jesus is the Son of God (Mk 1:1). A climax of Mark's gospel is near the end: Jesus death (Mk 15:37-39), at which point he is acknowledged again as the Son of God, not by a Jew this time, but by a gentile moreover, by a Roman centurion, symbol of opposition to God's people. These two statements of Jesus' divine sonship form an inclusio within which the ministry of Jesus is told. Together with the Son of God title go Son of David, Messiah and King of the Jews. Yet Mark has a Hellenistic heresy to address: Jesus as a superhuman savior, a popular miracle-worker, demon-deliverer, religious authority; untouchable and futureknowing, Jesus was being portrayed by some as being above suffering. And so upon Peter's great confession of Jesus as Messiah (8:29), Mark begins immediately to portray Jesus as the Son of Man (8:31) and Suffering Servant. Son of Man only appears twice in Mark before this point, yet eleven times after Peter's confession, including twice in our selected transfiguration text. By presenting Jesus as both Son of God and Son of Man, Mark pre-empts the Church's dilemma on the nature of Christ in the centuries that followed; Jesus is both perfectly divine and perfectly human. Amoss (1979) explains why Christ's humanity is so imporant: Jesus, the 'suffering servant of God,' must be not only our savior but our model. We cannot share in his resurrection unless we have also shared in his ministry of suffering love. Those ashamed of Jesus as the Son of Man will find that he is ashamed of them at Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 21 of 28

22 his parousia as Son of God (8:38). 4.3 Mark's Secrecy Motif (307) The secrecy motif in Mark is a record of Jesus' own efforts to conceal his identity; it is much more pronounced here than in the other gospels. By just over half-way through, immediately after the transfiguration (9:9), Mark had recorded nine times when Jesus instructed people or demons to be silent about who he is or what he had done. Edwards (2002) lists three possible reasons for this behavior: 1. Jesus was protecting himself against people trying to force him to fulfill messianic expectations (of a politico-military ruler) at the wrong time; 2. So that faith in Jesus would be based on who he is, not merely what he does; 3. Because Jesus' true identity had to be obscured until his death; in 8:30 Peter is commanded to silence "not because he was wrong but because he did not fully grasp the meaning of his confession. Nor could he. Only at the cross can Jesus be rightly known..." (Edwards 2002:19) as the suffering Son of God, whose disciples will pay a high cost. In 1901, Wrede proposed that Jesus did not even see himself as messiah, and that his recorded attempts to conceal his messiahship were not from him but added by oral tradition and by Mark himself (Wrede 1901). However, numerous notable Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 22 of 28

23 scholars have thoroughly refuted Wrede's argument, including GE Ladd and NT Wright who argue that Jesus' behavior, speech and exhibition of authority clearly indicate that he knew he was the Messiah. Edwards concludes: The secrecy motif arose from Jesus' conscious identification with the Servant of the Lord motif in Isaiah and from the need to guard his messianic identity from premature and false understandings. With regard to the command to silence, both historical and literary factors argue that Mark's presentation of Jesus stands in essential continuity with the Jesus of history. (Edwards 2002:65) Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 23 of 28

24 REFERENCES Amoss, George Introduction to the Christology of Mark's Gospel. [Online] Available Accessed 6 April Baukham, Richard Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Blue Letter Bible 2002 "The Gospel According to Mark," New Testament Introductions. [Online] Available Accessed 30 March Carson, D.A. and Moo, Douglas J An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Edwards, James R The Gospel according to Mark. Cambridge: Eerdmans. Mounce, William D Greek for the Rest of Us. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. Pawson, David Unlocking the Bible. London: Collins. Sheikh, Bilquis (with Sneider, Richard) I dared to call Him Father. Vereeniging: Christian Art Publishers. Stern, David H The Complete Jewish Bible. Clarksville, Maryland: Jewish New Testament Publications. Wrede, William The Messianic Secret. Trans. J. C. G. Grieg. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 24 of 28

25 Appendix ADDITIONAL NOTES: 1.2 GENRE AND STRUCTURE Carson and Moo (2005:115) also flag a point made by Cox (1983:65): ancient biographies documents the activities of their subject merely to demonstrate their ethos. Clearly the message of the gospels is more than Jesus' lifestyle, so none of them ought to be classified merely as biographies. ADDITIONAL NOTES: COMMENTARY The Greek text supplied by based on Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland 26th edition 1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart) and The Greek New Testament (3rd edition 1975, United Bible Societies, London.) LINE ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY 2 Note the order of rank: Jesus, the Master, then Peter, appointed earthly head of the catholic church, followed by James, who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and then John his brother (Mt 9:28). 3 It is probably Mount Hermon, the highest in the land at 2814 metres in elevation. ἰδίαν: used as an adverb, from ἴδιος (ἰδίαν is the feminine singular in the accusative case), an adjective meaning: pertaining to self, that is, one's own Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 25 of 28

26 private (as opposed to public) related to separate, distinct peculiar, specific, appropriate. (Source: Wiktionary.org) The second meaning is clearly the intended one. 5 Later, in Revelation, John is to record the saints (often martyrs) wearing white clothes, made white (not red) by washing in the blood of the Lamb. The summit of Mount Hermon is often snowy, so there is an implicit comparison between the dazzling white snow in the sunshine, and the brightness of Jesus' clothes. With the presence of the cloud (really, the cloud of the Presence!), there would be little daylight; the light was from within it was the shekinah manifesting in the tabernacle of Jesus' flesh. 7 Both leaders had unusual life-ends (Elijah didn't die) and are expected to return to earth in the last days before the Second Coming (Rev 11:3-12, interpreting the two witnesses as these two men.) Both men's lives served as types, or examples, of the Christ to come, especially Moses (Dt 18:15). 8 Their talking means that they were generating sound waves. In spite of their capacity to transcend the natural world, their manifestation is literal and tangible. 10 Rabbi: there is never a sense of equality between the disciples (talmidim) and their master-teacher (rabbi). Talmidim had to emulate their rabbi in every possible way. 11 Let us make: again, echoing Genesis 1. ποιήσωµεν appears in identical form in the Septuagint translation of Gen 1:26. Fairly, this may be coincidental, but it could also undergird the sense that the entire transfiguration account is a divine encounter. In Gen 1:26, ποιήσωµεν is useful to show that there is plurality in the Godhead; confirming the present pericope's affirmation of Jesus Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 26 of 28

27 as God's own Son. 12 Automaitic recognition of heavenly personalities is not an entirely foreign concept. Even in our times, this happens see Sheikh 1978:25; the Muslim author knew her visitor was John the Baptist without ever having heard of him. 14 Apparently the disciples did not follow the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah either they couldn't hear it or didn't understand the language. Hence Peter's suggestion is entirely inappropriate, even though his expectation for them to tabernacle was reasonable. 35 And since Elijah is a type of Jesus, the disciples can expect the gentiles (specifically Pilate, to please the Jewish leadership) to put Jesus to death as they wished just like they did with John the Baptist ( Elijah ) and will do again for Elijah personally in the last days. ADDITIONAL NOTES: PAULINE INFLUENCE 1 This point is strengthened in that Papias is not defending the claim that Mark recorded Peter's teachings, hence implying that this was undisputed. Papias was probably basing his claim on personal contact with the apostle John (Eusebius 325: Carson and Moo 2005:173) 2 Papias, Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, and Origen (c.f. Carson and Moo 2005:173). Note that these claims are early, not arising after centuries of speculation. 4 The criteria for apostolic appointment emphasize the importance attached to having witnessed Jesus entire ministry (Acts 1:21-22). 7 The next highest are James (11) and John (10). 13 Only one of the twelve (sometimes only within the inner circle of Peter, James and John) could have known the internal aspects of what they experienced their thoughts and feelings. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 27 of 28

28 14 This is explained by Bauckham (2006: ), with Peter being the first and last apostle named by Mark in a deliberate yet subtle acknowledgement of Peter as his source 15 where a plural verb (or verbs) without an explicit subject is followed immediately by a singular verb or pronoun referring to Jesus only. That the device is awkward, nearly absent in Matthew and Luke and frequently omitted in variants of Mark, indicates that its frequent usage by Mark was both original and deliberate. Exegesis: Mark 9:2-13 Page 28 of 28