III. On the other hand, wATCHFULNESS AND SEVERITY WITH SELF WILL ENSURE THE BLESSING OF THE ETERNAL LIFE, AND THE HONOURS OF THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM. Even supposing that self is denied and crucified, that pleasures are foregone, that privations are incurred,—is all this worth thinking of with regret when the recompense of the faithful is borne in mind? What is this recompense? The Giver of life himself pro- mises “entrance into life; ” the Sovereign of the spiritual kingdom promises “ entrance into the kingdom of God,” If in some sense the saved are, in the process, exposed to a thousand ills and sorrows, still, though they enter lame and maimed and half-sightless into the kingdom of life, of God, they do enter, and entering are for ever glorious and for ever blessed. It is promised that through much tribulation Christ’s followers shall exter into the kingdom of heaven.
“ARK—II 0
16 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. (ca. m 1—60
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS.
Vers. 2am8.—The Transfiguration, I. THe crrcumsTances. At an interval of siz or eight (Luke) days from Peter’s confession and the teaching of the cross. “Into a high mountain,” é.e. into some glen or secluded spot in the mountain. As there is no mention of any movement southward, and distinct assurance that they did not at this time go into Galilee (ch. ix. 30), the notion of Tabor being the mountain is unfounded. The slivhtness of its elevation, and the circumstance that its summit has been a fortified spot from the earliest times, render it almost certain that it was not the scene of the Transfiguration. All the evidence is in favour of Hermon, the snow-clad, seutinel-like peak in which the Anti-Libanus range culminates, Its name means “ the mountain,” and it is spoken of in the Old Testament as “holy.” Its cool slopes and upland solitudes would afford congenial retirement to the weary Christ. It was mental trouble he had to overcome, and this he sought to doin prayer and Divine com- munion. For this reason, and the signs afforded by the rest of the chapter of the day having well begun as they descended, it has been supposed it was a night scene. He was wont to pray during the night, and the disciples were “ heavy with sleep.” It gives a peculiar character to the occurrence to suppose this to have been the case. But that they were fully awake when the vision appeared, Luke again assures us. The duration of the vision is not suggested; probably, as in dreams, time was an inappreciable element,
IL. Tue coments. 1. Transformation. “He was transfigured before them,” ete. The change described by the Greek word is literally one of form, but this must not be pressed. “It was a change in the externality of the person,” says Morison; “a kind of temporary glorification, effected no doubt from within outward, rather than from without inward. It would reveal the essential glory of the spirit that ‘ tabernacled’ within, its glory at once in that lower sphere that was human, and in that higher sphere that was Divine ” («Practical Commentary,’ tn loc.), The general brightness of his appearance is noted by the three evangelists, Matthew comparing his face to the sun, and his garments to the ight. Mark speaks of the fuller’s white in his description of it. The face is referred to by Matthew and Luke, and all three refer to the garments. Luke tells us it occurred “as he was praying.” 2, Association with Moses and Elias, They were seen by the apostles, but did not purposely present themselves. They were talking with him, and Luke tells us the subject of their converse: “ his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.” They were representatives of the nghteous spirits in Hades, the world of the unseen, of disembodied spirits ; representatives, too, of the Law and the prophets, They had laid the foundations of the kingdom of righteous- ness which he perfected. They spoke of his death as the grand means of the fulfilment of the hopes of immortality, they themselves having in the manner of their own “exodus” afforded the shadow and prophetic type of which his was the substance. He is in essential, spiritual oneness with them. 3. Peter’s suggestion. Outcome of zeal, but not according to knowledge. It is seemingly enough for him to see his Master on terms of equality with those great spirits of the past. There is an undis- criminating comprehension in his proposal; a desire also to extend the duration of the ecstasy in which he and his companions were, It breaks the grand harmony of the evolution of the scene, and yet is full of instruction. 4. Divine attestation. The three accounts agree in the words, “This is my Son: hear ye him.” Matthew and Mark have also “ beloved,” for which Luke substitutes ““my chosen;” and Matthew alone adds, “in whom I am well pleased.” The words are but human renderings of the unspeakable “ voice.” They prove that the great Centre of attention and attraction for the Church is Jesus, not Moses or Elias. 6. Restoration of Christ to his usual appear- ance, ‘The distinguished associates of his glory vanish. The vision was no “ baseless fabric,” but it was over, and now the spectators must return 0 common life and mundane duties. Jesus “ was found alone; ” “ Jesus only.”
Ill. Tue tessons. These are innumerable, and we must content ourselves with a few of the more prominent. There was revelation for both Christ and his disciples. A new [ght was thrown upon past and future, and the fear of death was broken. But the whole scene is best understood as a revelation and glorification of Christ. 1. The Divine Father has glorifind his Som, and thereby attested him to himself and to the
on, x, 1—50.] THR GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 18