As
they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
Mark 9:9-10
Mark 9 [8.] Suddenly looking around, they saw no one with them any more, except Jesus only.
Mark 9 [9.] As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
Mark 9 [11.] They asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
Meaning:
Peter, James, and John had just seen Jesus transfigured in glory and heard God’s voice call him “my beloved Son” (Mark 9:7). On the way down the mountain Jesus gives them an unexpected command: they must keep silent about it, but only until he has risen from the dead. The three obey, but they are puzzled by what he means.
- “He commanded them that they should tell no one”
Throughout Mark’s Gospel Jesus repeatedly tells people not to spread news of who he is or what he has done. He told a cleansed leper, “See you say nothing to anybody” (Mark 1:44), and after raising Jairus’ daughter he ordered that no one should know it (Mark 5:43). Many Jews of the time expected a political Messiah who would drive out the Romans. A story about Jesus shining in glory on a mountain could easily have stirred up the wrong hopes, a King without a cross. Even the other nine disciples were not told yet.
- “Until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead”
This silence had a time limit. After the resurrection the story could be told, because then it would be understood rightly. The glory of the mountain could only make sense alongside the suffering of the cross and the victory of the empty tomb. The message at the tomb would be, “He has risen. He is not here” (Mark 16:6). Years later Peter did tell the story, writing that he was an eyewitness of Jesus’ majesty “on the holy mountain” (2 Peter 1:18).
“Son of Man” was Jesus’ favourite way of speaking about himself. It recalled the heavenly figure of Daniel’s vision, yet Jesus joined it to suffering, death and resurrection. Mark’s readers know that the Son of Man must suffer before he enters his glory.
- “Questioning what the ‘rising from the dead’ meant”
The disciples were not confused about resurrection itself. Many Jews, following the Pharisees, believed that God would raise the dead at the end of the age. Daniel had prophesied, “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life” (Daniel 12:2). Martha expressed the same faith: “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (see John 11:24-26).
What puzzled them was the idea of one man, the Messiah, rising from the dead before the end of history, which also meant that he must first die. That did not fit their expectations. Only after Easter did they grasp it: “But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). His resurrection is the first part of the great harvest that Daniel foresaw.
The Significance of Mark 9:9-10
- The resurrection unlocks the story
Without the resurrection, the life of Jesus can be misunderstood, as a story of a great teacher, a miracle worker or a failed revolutionary. In the light of Easter everything falls into place. Paul summarises the heart of the Gospel as Christ’s death for our sins, his burial, and his resurrection “on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
- Honest questions and faithful obedience
The disciples obeyed even when they did not understand, and they brought their questions to one another and to Jesus. Faith does not mean having every answer. It means trusting Jesus and keeping his word while God gradually opens our understanding.
Cross-References:
Mark 16:6: "Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen. He is not here. Behold, the place where they laid him!" The time limit on silence ended at the empty tomb.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4: "that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," The rising from the dead that puzzled the disciples became the centre of the Good News.
Daniel 12:2: "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." The Old Testament hope of resurrection at the end of the age.
John 11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies." Jesus himself is the source of resurrection life.
Conclusion: Coming down from the mountain, Jesus told Peter, James, and John to say nothing about the transfiguration until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. The glory they had seen could only be rightly understood after the cross and the empty tomb. The disciples obeyed, though they puzzled over what his rising from the dead could mean. After Easter they understood, and the resurrection of Jesus became the heart of their message and the hope of all who believe.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible