“Focus People!” – MARK 9:7-13

It’s not that Elijah (9:4) does not matter, it just that he has already “come” and his name was John, the baptizer (Matthew 17:13) and it was necessary for him to “fade away” (9:8) after preparing the way.

Moses, too, was an integral part of preparing for the Christ (Galatians 3:23-29), but the Law was never meant to be permanent.

This was the time for Peter, James and John (the apostle) to “see” Christ glorified, so they could “focus” exclusively upon Him. They came down off the mountain (9:9) and into the plain … the real world awaited them, and their faith would be challenged (9:19, 9:29).

Focus on Jesus requires clear discernment of who you choose to listen to for spiritual guidance.

Obviously, the disciples had been listening to the scribes (9:11). What they said, according to Jesus, was “true” (9:12), but it was not “truth”. It was incomplete (9:12b-13). Truth is the body of all truth (John 17:17, Psalm 119:160), and Jesus came to complete God’s revelation. The entire Hebrew people had been focused upon Moses for generations, but had been told “another prophet” would come to speak to them (Deuteronomy 18:15-18, Acts 2:22-23). The scribes and Pharisees had been so focused upon Moses that they crucified the prophet. Moses taught things that were true, but they were incomplete without Jesus.

The message of the Transfiguration is a message of focus.

There is honor due to those chosen of God to speak portions of His divine truth to people (Hebrews 1:1-2), just like there is honor due to those who teach and shepherd the flock (1 Timothy 5:17). Elijah, Moses, Elders, teachers and preachers are just men. The focus must remain on the Word (John 1:1, 1 John 1:1, and John 6:67-69). Listen to the words out of the Father’s own mouth … “This is My beloved Son, hear Him” (9:7). This message of hope comes with a warning from the mouth of Jesus for “whoever is ashamed of Me and My words” (8:38). Notice how Jesus links Himself to His teaching.

Focus is matter of life and death.

All of this is well and good when we are “on the mountain” with our Lord. Spiritual times are born of purposeful focus on God through such facets as prayer, praise and proclamation. It is when we “come down of the mountain” to live our daily lives that we become distracted. Jesus says we should not be anxious about finances (Matthew 6:24-25), but we allow our jobs and financial priorities to eclipse the things of God and take away from our spiritual focus. Jesus says we should love Him most (Mark 12:30, Luke 14:26), yet we put our family before Him (sometimes claiming it’s for Him). He commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), and we still see others as our competition in life.

It all goes back to focus – is our focus on self, or the Savior?