Day 19 |March 23 | March Mark 8:34 – 9:6

1 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.”

Who was standing there when he said this?  And what were they going to see? 
Right after saying this, Jesus took three of the disciples (Peter, James, and John) to a high mountain where they witnessed something they did not understand.  They saw Jesus in clothing whiter than anyone on earth could make.  They saw Elijah and Moses conversing with Jesus. And they heard the voice of God say “This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to him!”

 The words God spoke to the disciples in the presence of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are echoes of Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42.  Psalm 2 is about God establishing his King “on Zion, my holy hill”, likely a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus as the moment of victory over the kings and rulers of the earth.  Isaiah 42 is about the chosen one whom God will make a “covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.”  What was shown to them was confirmation of what Peter had earlier declared:  Jesus is the chosen one, who would win the victory over the powers and principalities and in so doing would establish justice on earth.

It could be that Peter, James, and John may have glimpsed what the kingdom of God looks like; humanity and God living together as it was originally in the Garden of Eden.  It could also be that those who were with Jesus here in Caesarea Philippi and who later also witnessed the crucifixion where those who saw the moment of victory, the moment the kingdom of God came with power.

Either way, the context for us are the words just before the transfiguration: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”  Are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of the kingdom of God?