Mark 9:2Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The Transfiguration should be understood not as a fundamental alteration in Christ's nature but as an illumination with an indescribable brightness, while His natural form remained unchanged. We should also direct our thoughts to deep contemplation. After the conclusion of this world, created in six days, Jesus will, if we are His followers, elevate us ‘to the high mountain,’ symbolizing heaven, revealing Himself to us in an unparalleled radiance. Currently, He presents Himself in a form lacking glory, as the Crucified and as the Son of the carpenter, but in that day, we shall witness His splendor as the Only Begotten Son.

He who bears our afflictions will present Himself as a spoken human word, concealed behind a veil of sounds, rather than shining forth with the Spirit's power. However, if you believe in the Man born of the Virgin, gradually the breath of faith will reveal to you that He is born of the Spirit, and you will begin your ascent up the mountain. When you observe Him upon the Cross and understand that He triumphed over death without succumbing, or witness the earth tremble, the sun being obscured, darkness enveloping the eyes of the unbelievers, tombs opening, and the dead rising (see Mt. 27:52)—this commemoration signifies that the Gentiles, once dead to God, were brought to life, their tombs opened when the light of the Cross shone. When you behold these wonders, you will have reached a high mountain and will perceive a different glory of the Word.

His earthly garments differ from those He wears in heaven. Perhaps the garments of the Word represent the declarations found within Scripture, covering the divine meaning contained within. As Christ appeared to Peter, John, and James with His face transformed and His garments becoming radiant and white (Luke 9:29), so too does the meaning of the sacred Scriptures become evident to your mind’s eye. The divine utterances become as white as snow, and the garments of the Word surpass the whiteness that any earthly whitewasher can achieve (Mk. 9:3).

Let us seek that whitewasher, let us find that snow! We read that Isaiah ascended to the field of the whitewasher (see Isaiah 7:3). The whitewashers were involved in cleansing and preparing wool. Who is this whitewasher other than the One who cleanses our transgressions? He Himself declared, “If your sins be as scarlet, as snow I will make them white” (Isaiah 1:18). This whitewasher is indeed He who purges bodily impurities and reveals to the divine sun the garments of our minds, the garments of virtue. Furthermore, I have noted—taking a cue from the adversaries to counter their claims—that the eloquence of two wise men has been compared to snow and bees.

In the words of ancient poets, we find such comparisons. For example, Virgil conveys similar sentiments, and David records, “How sweet are Your words to my taste! They are sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 118:103). Additionally, “Your word, O Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 118:105). The Word of God embodies light; it is akin to snow. Sweeter than honey and the honeycomb is the Word of God, as divine speech flows from heavenly lips more delightful than honey, with clear words falling like sweet snow. Truly, only the Word sent from heaven to earth that nourishes the thirsty fields of our hearts can be likened to snow. We are justified in making such a comparison, for God Himself affirms it through Scripture: “Let My teachings fall as rain, let My words descend as dew, as rain upon the tender grass, and as snow upon the vegetation” (Deuteronomy 32:2).

Oh if, Lord Jesus, my soul would blossom from the moisture of Your rain! Oh if You would grace my earth with the purity of Your snow, so that the tillable lands of my body, awakened from their winter slumber, do not become overly lush from premature warmth but instead yield the seeds of the heavenly Word cloaked in snow! When snow blankets the ground, the birds of the heavens find no place to settle, and the wheat crop flourishes abundantly.

The manner in which the Lord reveals Himself to His followers is diverse—it varies according to each individual's capacity for vision, which is shaped by faith.

From the Gospel: “Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they have already seen the Kingdom of God come in power.” The Word of God transcends mere historical events; it is perpetually active, emanating light like the sun. Thus, when the Lord spoke of those standing with Him, He referred not only to His immediate disciples in a historical context but also to all who share in virtue and earn a place beside Him based on their moral character. The remark that they "shall not taste death" initially pertains to the Apostles, for they will not encounter physical death until they behold the manifestation of that divine radiance prepared for the saints through the Transfiguration. Different forms of death exist in the understanding of the mind. For instance, the mortification of passions is understood as death. The individual who leads an active spiritual life and transitions from the battle against passions to a state of divine contemplation experiences a form of death to their former existence, as they move away from intense struggles toward reflection on higher truths. Those who transcend ordinary contemplation and abandon all created things, arriving at the divine Cause through theological negation, similarly experience a death to their previous state, as they no longer dwell among created entities but direct all movement toward the Creator.

In reference to death, indicating a separation from all earthly matters, the Lord notes that if they shall not taste death, those whose virtues parallel those of the Apostles will likewise evade it until the Lord, transformed, reveals Himself to them—not affirming His presence through categorical definitions based on created reality, but through apophatic theology, emphasizing the ineffable nature of the Divine Mystery. One of the Evangelists mentions the Son of Man coming in His glory, while another states they shall see the kingdom of God come in power. This conveys that, by virtue of His divinity, He is the Son of God, and by virtue of His humanity, He became the Son of Man for our sake. Therefore, as the Son of God, He possesses eternal glory, and as the Son of Man, according to the Evangelist, He arrives in His glory. He has glorified human nature so profoundly that just as He appeared transformed in a suffering body on the mountain, we too shall, through the resurrection, regain an incorruptible body. The phrase "come in power" indicates that the anticipated imperishable and eternal kingdom of the saints has yet to be fully realized.

Yet, what a tailor—in other words, a spiritual guide—or someone who can maintain complete bodily cleanliness cannot achieve on earth, the Lord accomplishes in heaven, purifying the Church and its attire from every blemish of flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1; cf. Eph. 5:24-27) and renewing its body and soul with everlasting joy and brilliance.

As noted by the evangelists Matthew and Mark, this event took place six days later (Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2), while Luke mentions it occurred eight days afterward (Luke 9:28). There is no conflict in these accounts, as Luke included both the day of Jesus’ dialogue about His impending death and the day He brought His three disciples to the mountain, whereas Matthew and Mark counted solely the days in between these occurrences. Although the evangelists do not specify the mountain’s name, tradition attributes it to Mount Tabor, found in southern Galilee. The Apostle Peter refers to this mountain as holy in his Second Epistle (2 Peter 1:18).

From Luke’s account, it is clear that Peter, James, and John were heavy with sleep; after performing their routine evening prayers, they succumbed to slumber while Jesus was engaged in prayer—much like they did in the Garden of Gethsemane during Christ's agonizing prayer. Atop the mountain, enveloped in the stillness of the night, Christ prayed, contemplating all He had achieved during His ministry and the trials that lay ahead. The Jewish people, who awaited the arrival of the Messiah—the source of salvation for humanity—rejected their Savior. Their leaders, who envisioned the Messiah as a powerful king, initially viewed Jesus with open scorn, later succumbing to outright malice. The populace, captivated solely by His miracles and eager to benefit from them, perceived Him merely as a prophet, a role to which they had a notorious tendency to destroy or expel. Gazing into the future, Christ foresaw the furious shouts of those He had once favored: "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" (Luke 23:21), envisioned His own demise through crucifixion alongside thieves. As a man, Christ undoubtedly felt the weight of the Jewish people's ingratitude and the suffering to come; His heart was certainly troubled. Yet, in obedience to His heavenly Father's will, He sought solace in communion through prayer. In His petitions, He gradually released His ties to earthly concerns, elevating Himself above all grief and suffering, culminating in a transformation that transcended humanity—a divine manifestation: His appearance altered, His face radiated like the sun, and His garments became dazzling white, glimmering with light.

Mark, who initially addressed Roman Christians, emphasizes that the radiance of the transfigured Lord's garments was so brilliant that no earthly whitewasher, not even the most skilled Roman, could achieve such an effect, highlighting the miraculous nature of this heavenly illumination.