The transfiguration as Jesus’ manifested glory
And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power” (Mark 9:1, NIV)
Originally, I thought the above scripture passage meant that some of the disciples wouldn’t die before the end of times. This didn’t make sense to me as here we are in 2024 and the disciples are long dead and the earth is still here.
Jesus taught a lot about the Kingdom of God. He talked about entering the Kingdom and sharing it with others. But what did Jesus mean when He said that some of the disciples would see the Kingdom of God arrive in power?
Bible commentaries like BibleRef.com and BlueLetterBible.org reveal a number of possibilities. Jesus may have been predicting His transfiguration, His resurrection, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, or His second coming.
I believe the meaning depends on the definition of the Kingdom of God. Again, commentators offer a number of possibilities. I personally find the explanation of the Kingdom of God as any situation where God’s sovereignty, authority, power, and glory are manifest most reasonable.
When taken this way, it’s fitting that Jesus was foretelling His Transfiguration.
After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them (Mark 9:2–3, NIV)
In the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John all saw Jesus glorified and affirmed by God.
Peter wrote about his experience of witnessing Jesus’ greatness and glory.
For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty (2 Peter 1:16, NIV)
John also wrote to believers about seeing Jesus’ power.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14, NIV)
The Transfiguration fulfilled Jesus’ prediction that some would see His power and glory before they died.
How exciting that all born-again believers will also be witnesses to the Kingdom of God!
You may also like The Reality of Heaven
Want to go deeper into God’s Word? You’ll find this story—and many others that bring clarity to challenging passages—in What Does It Mean?: Exploring Biblical Truths About Difficult Scripture, available on Amazon.