Messianic Viewpoint

Guest (Female): Shalom and welcome to Shalom Ariel as we are entering into our 54th sermon from the Gospel of Mark with Messianic leader Jacques Isaac Gabizon. Why is it easier to walk down a hill than up a hill? Gravity. Gravity makes sure that every apple that falls off a tree hits the ground. But there's an irony when it comes to spiritual gravity. You see, the more we fall down on our knees, the more our prayers will ascend before the throne of God and be heard. The more humbled our hearts are, the more the Lord will lift us up.

Yeshua gave His disciples a promise that the gates of Hades would not prevail, that nothing would stop His plan. And today we're going to learn how Yeshua will allow His disciples to get a taste of that promise to see His glory, to see His kingdom even before they died. The Greek word kingdom also means royal splendor, and so they saw Yeshua in all His royal splendor, seeing Him as He really is.

The transfiguration can be seen as a prefiguring of what each one of us goes through at the moment of our salvation. We were transfigured, so to speak, into another world, being declared innocent, being forgiven, being reconciled with God, and we became partakers of His divine nature. What a transformation that was. But is our new nature being so veiled under the flesh that no one can see it?

Like Yeshua, let's let our lives full of resurrection power not be kept hidden so that the world could be drawn to the Lord. Yeshua's transfiguration gave us the hope of heaven, the hope of the resurrection, and gave us a taste that one day, when we are to become like Him. First John 3:2 says, "Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Messiah appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is."

So let's keep ourselves down on our knees, asking for more of that resurrection power so that our prayers can be heard before the throne and we can become all that God wants us to be. Be blessed as you listen into today's program, and shalom, shalom.

Jacques Isaac Gabizon: So shalom again, Beth Ariel. Welcome everyone to our Shabbat service where we're always looking to uplift the name of our great and wonderful God. Let's keep up with the work of proclaiming the way of salvation because the time is near. Each of us, each believer has a part to do in providing help, financial or spiritual help offered through prayer.

We rarely speak of financial aspects, but it takes a lot of resources to keep the ministry going on the internet and different radio stations. Apart from a few salaries, most of the fundings we receive at Beth Ariel is directly devoted to the ongoing work of evangelism and Jewish evangelism in particular. And I praise God for the many who have been faithful to help in so many ways. Amen.

So let us, before we open the Word, pray this ancient prayer for the Word, to bless the Scriptures. You can say it with me: "Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has given us the Word of truth and has planted everlasting life in our midst. Blessed are You, O Lord, who gives the Scriptures. Amen."

So let us open our Bibles to the book of Mark where we're brought to a very special place in the Scriptures. Like it is for the greater majority of prophecies of judgment and wars in the Hebrew Scriptures, they very often end with a word of encouragement, with a prophecy of the Lord's coming. And so we see the same pattern here in Mark.

After presenting the high demands made on believers saying, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me," and saying, "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it," and also adding, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." After all these tough and uninviting demands really, Yeshua then serves the best wine and makes it all worth it.

He comes up with a great pledge, a promising power and a great eternal venture when He says in Mark chapter 9, look how the chapter opens up, verse 1: "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it had come with power." Here He was addressing the overcomers who were among the crowd. He was speaking to those who would persevere, telling them that before they taste death, that is before they experience death, they will and very soon see the kingdom of God after it had come with power.

But when would that be? He was referring to the coming of the Holy Spirit, which He promised will come as a helper, even a pledge. Even after His resurrection, that is, and the ascension. As He also promised in Acts chapter 1, verse 8, when He said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

And indeed, they did receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And this promise extends further to the moment of Pentecost 2,000 years. Since then, this experience became for every believer a personal one, a personal Pentecost of the moment when he or she confessed that Jesus, Yeshua, is their personal Savior. At this moment, they were empowered by such ability attributed only to the Ruach HaKodesh who now lives in them.

And so, when Yeshua speaks of the power of the kingdom of God, we see it fulfilled every day in the lives of so many servants of God when they enter the family of God with power. And the text clearly shows the great importance of this promise when Yeshua begins with the word amen. The Hebrew word is translated into words like truly, assuredly, verily, but the Greek kept the Hebrew word amen.

The word amen is from the root word in Hebrew meaning emet, that is meaning truth and faithfulness. And there's something really wonderful about this word emet, truth, and how it relates to the Messiah Himself. See how the word is written. The first letter of the word emet is aleph, which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And the last letter of the word emet is tav, which also is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

This is by the way the name of Yeshua in there, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. He is the emet, the truth and faithful one. And what about the center letter of the word emet? The letter mem. It is as well the middle letter of the whole Hebrew alphabet. So the Messiah is the first, the last, and He covers all things in between, for again, He alone is the truth. And to this we say amen, right?

The word amen opens the promise of Yeshua in chapter 9 which makes every opposition and persecution a temporary heaviness when compared with the far exceeding weight of glory that will last forever as Paul says in Second Corinthians. And to further confirm this promise, Yeshua gives us a great demonstration. He chooses only three men, those who would be in leadership in the kingdom of God, and then He shows Himself or He transfigures Himself.

This is an important moment since soon they will see Him suffering and dying on the cross. So this example was not only to confirm His resurrection, but our resurrection as well. Let us see how this is brought out. Look at Mark chapter 9 verses 2 to 4. It's really a mind-blowing experience for those who were there. It says, "Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves.

And He was transfigured before them. And His garments became radiant and exceedingly white as no launderer on earth can whiten them. Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus." There's so much in these three verses. First, we're brought to something very new like the introduction of a new era in the history of Israel. See how it begins: six days later. So it happened on the seventh day. Right away we may think of the creation of the world.

Six days of creating and fixing and on the seventh day, finally the Lord rested. And so it was for the previous difficult history of Israel as it was about to begin a new phase and find their Shabbat in the Lord of the Shabbat, who's Yeshua. And so the Lord of the Shabbat has arrived and the old days of Israel are passed and a new era had come up upon anyone who would receive Yeshua. And there is yet another indication that something new was beginning there.

These six days and many other things I will mention soon in this passage reminds us of the birth of Israel, of the nation of Israel when the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai just before He gave him the covenant of the law. And see what He says to him, look at Exodus 24:16 and try to spot the correlation with the transfiguration. "Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. On the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud."

See the correlation? First Moses waited six days as well, for on the seventh day the Lord called him and he went up Mount Sinai. This echoes how the disciples were brought up to a high mountain to see the glory of the Lord in Yeshua's transfiguration. And as we read further, we see even more correlation in Exodus 24. We read of the cloud symbolizing the presence of God, but we see the same cloud over the mountain in Mark chapter 9 verse 7, also indicating the presence of God.

And there we read and a cloud form overshadowing them and a voice came out of the cloud and says, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him." And furthermore, as we see the cloud, we also hear the voice of God. In Exodus 24:16, the Lord called Moses from the midst of the cloud. And in Mark chapter 9 verse 7, it is the voice of God which came from that cloud. And in Mark 9:6, we're given this information about the disciples' reaction: they became terrified.

They were terrified at the sight and sound of the presence of God in the same way that the Israelites were also terrified when they experienced a similar divine theophany. We are told in the book of Hebrews, it says, "So terrible was the sight that Moses says, 'I am full of fear and trembling,'" just like Peter. Hebrews 12:21. All these indications, the glory of the Lord, the six days, a high mountain, the cloud, the voice, the fearful experience signal that a new era had begun in Israel.

However, now it is different for we are told in Hebrews 12:18, I want to share this with you, where the author speaks of the very same experience. He says, "For you have not come into the mountain that can be touched and to a blazing fire or to a darkness and gloom and whirlwind." He was referring to the experience on Mount Sinai, but see what he says here: "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels."

The transfiguration that is then brings us right to eternity. It is like a pledge of the great experience that is awaiting every believer once we enter heaven. While this is yet future, while the physical kingdom of God is yet future, we can however experience the joy and the Shabbat of knowing that we're heading to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, which makes all difficulties of life easier to face.

This is how far the transfigurations actually carries us. For the Jewish people or the people of the time reading or listening to this account, it touch a very sensitive chord as it indicated the return of the Spirit of God. The rabbis had the name for the Spirit of God, they called Him the Shekhinah glory. Shekhinah from the word shachan which means to dwell, as in Exodus when God was dwelling with the Israelite and speaking to them from the cloud.

And here then, in the account of the transfiguration, the Shekhinah glory reappears again in a cloud to confirm that Yeshua, He is the Messiah. And in addition to the Shekhinah, they had another name for the presence of God. It's called the Bat Kol, the daughter of the voice or the voice of God, which they heard on Mount Sinai and here on the mountain of the transfiguration. God's Bat Kol is heard one more time in a very similar way to announce a great turning point in the history of the nation.

And this is not all, for in Mark, Yeshua gives us another pledge of this truth by transfiguring Himself. See how it happens. Look at verse 2 to 4, some words in there. It says, "And He was transfigured before them, and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white as no launderer on earth could whiten them again. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus." The word transfiguration is very significant.

You will recognize the Greek word. It's metamorphoo, where we get our word metamorphosis, which means a change or a striking alteration of appearance. And here Yeshua showed them a facet of His glory, limited of course by what they were able to take in and understand. It was as well a guarantee of His resurrection, for soon they were about to witness the crucifixion. So this moment was important for them.

Now see that while Matthew speaks of His face shining like the sun, Mark focuses actually on the tunic, on the garment. We read that the garments became radiant and exceedingly white. Radiant meaning to sparkle, to glow, to glitter like a shining of the rippling water. This is how the garment reflected the person of Jesus. And the word exceedingly defines it, meaning very, utterly, extremely white. This is a color of white we do not know here on earth.

This is perhaps why the many colors used to describe heaven are impossible to figure out. It shows us that there's another beautiful world of colors right there when we enter this place. And the question we ask is why did Mark focus on Yeshua's garment? Again it must be in preparation of the coming suffering and death of the Messiah, something He just predicted. Soon enough, we will read in Mark 15:24, "And they crucified Him and divided," what? "His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take."

A prophecy fulfilled and found in Psalm 22 verse 18. But here on the Mount of Transfiguration, He showed them His garment, same word, after His resurrection. This is the tale of the two garments of the Messiah: one showing His suffering and death, the other showing His glory in the resurrection itself. It must have been so comforting for the disciples to see this. The transfiguration was then a token of encouragement to all of them, assuring them with the word amen that He would rise and reign and He did rise and He will reign very soon.

And this as well must have triggered and even fulfilled a nostalgia, a long-awaited hope in the hearts of the Jewish people then when they read or heard the accounts. At the time they associated actually the Messiah with light and brightness. They knew of the prophecy, they knew very well the prophecy of Numbers chapter 24 verse 17, which speak of a star which will come from Jacob, and it says that a scepter shall rise from Israel.

This is a Messianic prophecies of the coming Messiah who will come as a bright star. And at the time, one famous rabbi, if you remember, Rabbi Akiva, elected the false messiah and called him Bar Kokhba, meaning the son of the star. Both Bar Kokhba and Akiva brought so much havoc and destruction to the nation of Israel. It was easy for them to fool the people for they were expecting a Messiah that will shine as a star.

But the true Messiah, while bright above any star, was first coming to die. This is one thing they did not know or were not taught. Today in Judaism, this Rabbi Akiva is regarded as a great scholar and often cited, but they must have never known or they must have forgotten that this man made a major mistake in anointing a false messiah and thus causing so much trouble in Israel. This is another historical oddity.

And so at the time, there were other traditions indicating that the Messiah will come with His garments bright and radiant, so it wasn't new to them. One is found in the Midrash Rabbah on Numbers, a commentary on Numbers. One writes God clothes the Messiah with God's garments. And so when they read the account of the transfiguration, they surely made the correlation between what they heard and the Messiah.

And so on Mount Sinai, it was a theophany, a revelation of God, and here on the Mount of Transfiguration, it was a revelation of who the Messiah is. It is a Messianophany, if you want, because there the true Messiah, His nature was shown to all of them. And as the emphasis is put on the garment of the Messiah, the text in Mark adds something unusual by the way. It says that no launderer on earth can whiten them.

This puts the emphasis on the uniqueness of the salvation we have in Jesus. No other man can whiten and clean any garments, even our hearts like He does. The final whitening as far as we're concerned would be when and finally at the end at the resurrection or the rapture of the believer like it says in First Corinthians 15, He will take us and we shall be changed, right?

And the most beautiful thing is that this word, and I want to stress this, this word transfiguration is also given to us and attributed and put to explain our growth, our sanctification. Let me bring you right away to Romans 12:2 and how the same word is used. It says, "And do not be conformed to this world, be but be transfigured by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

You see, this word is used only four times in the Scriptures: two times for Yeshua, two times for us. And here's the first. This speaks of a daily changes and growth. There's a transfiguration going on. This transformation or remodeling speaks of a gradual change taking place in the lives of the believers. Like a remodeling after a plastic surgery. But here, when applied to us, it is like a spiritual surgery, which will also affect our physical appearance because when you have joy, it shows, right?

And you actually show light to others. And notice that there are two words here: conformed and transfigured. It is either one or the other. We either conform or allow the Spirit to transform us. Here the Greek word for conform is schema, meaning a picture, a copy. The idea here is that people who live by this word will reflect the image of the world, their countenance, such as that of Cain in Genesis 4 reflected his actions.

The other word again, transfiguration. As we are transfigured into His image, this is a good illustration of our spiritual growth. It is written in the present imperative tense, that is it's an ongoing change. Daily, hourly I would even say, it's an evolution of our being. And we find the other word, the word, the same word that is in the other verse, Second Corinthians 3:18, as it also refers to Moses' transfiguration.

This is what it says: "But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transfigured into the same image from glory to glory just as the Spirit of the Lord." Moses also experienced some type of metamorphosis, a physical one too. When he came down the mount after he encountered God, his face so shined that they had to put a veil over his face. This is in Exodus 34.

In the same way, every believer that comes close to God will then reflect the light of God to others. And you know what? People are attracted to this. They will come close to you because they want to hear how come you're so joyful. The world is crazy and you're good. What's happening? And so the transfiguration in Mark was also a promise for all the disciples of all time, of the change which was to characterize the people who follow the Messiah.

It's like going through the life of a caterpillar. At first, a caterpillar is really not nice to look at, right? It is slow, it is slimy, it takes all day to go about two feet. But when it undergoes the process of metamorphosis and the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, something beautiful is born. Metamorphosis is the process of something at work on the inside trying to show up on the outside. This is the life of the believer.

Now see that Yeshua is not alone on the mountain. Who was with Him? Moses and Elijah. Again let's read verses 4 and 5. "Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for You, one for Moses, one for Elijah.'" Now a first question we ask, how did Peter know it was Moses and Elijah when he never met them before?

This may be an indication that in heaven, we will have such an identity that each one will be recognized by who he is. Perhaps we will recognize every other prophet and every other believer without even having known them before. Those we knew and others we will meet who lived through the ages. Imagine you're there and you meet Paul, and then you meet Isaiah. They'll answer all your Bible questions by the way, on their books, I'm sure.

And this new identity may be related to the new name, by the way, and I want to bring that to you, the new name that Yeshua gives us, right? We remember that the overcomers of Pergamos, this is what He promised: "To him I would give some of the hidden manna to eat, and I will give him a white stone and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." When a new name is given in the Scriptures, it's because of a new mission, a new life, and it is usually because of something great which follows.

Abram had his name changed to Abraham, and the reason was given to him by the Lord when He says, "I will make you the father of a multitude of nations." And in that sense, he's the father of us all who are in the faith, as Paul says in Romans 4. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, for from him all issued the physical descendant of the nation of the Jews, Israel. And so in heaven, there's a new era of work and growth that will open up to each one of us.

Now what do you think your name will be in heaven? It may be in the process actually of being decided. When God gave a new name to Abraham and to Jacob and to Peter, it was not right away, but it was after they had gone through many trials and persisted in their faith even while there had been many failures. He then gives them a new name.

I often remember this story about this rich man who went to heaven and the angels presented him for a new home and it looked small, like a shack. This is when he told them that he had a much bigger one on earth. And so they replied to him, they said, "But we built it with what you sent us." So we are building today our eternal abode and however it will be and contrary to this illustration really, it will be much better than what we have on earth.

However, it will be built in accordance to what we produce here on earth, this is what the Scriptures tells us. In Second Corinthians: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of the Messiah so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad." It's now that we're preparing ourselves.

Guest (Female): Shalom Ariel is a daily radio program emphasizing the Jewish perspective of Scripture. God is not through dealing with Israel, nor will He renege any of the promises He has made to her. Our teacher for this program, Jacques Isaac Gabizon, is a Messianic Jewish believer and Messianic leader at Beth Ariel congregation right here in Montreal.

If you've been encouraged by the messages, we'd love to hear from you. Give us a call at 1-888-685-5902, or you may write us at info@bethariel.ca, that's B-E-T-H-A-R-I-E-L all one word. You are also welcome to join us for our Saturday morning services. We are located at 6297 Monkland Avenue, corner of Madison in NDG. The message is given in English, but we do offer simultaneous translation into French and Russian. Services begin at 11:00 AM.

We have Shabbat school for children of all ages up to and including teens. You may also download audio messages from our website at bethariel.ca and enjoy other in-depth teaching from Jacques Isaac. If you would like to sign up for informative newsletters, log on to our website and add your name to our email list. Shalom Ariel is a listener-supported program. If you have it on your heart to donate, it will be a great blessing for the continuing ministry and outreach of Beth Ariel. Thank you and shalom, shalom.