Waverly Church of Christ

Six days before the events of Mark 9:2-8, Jesus took His disciples north to the foot of Mt. Hermon and the head waters of the Jordan River, a place called
Caesarea Philippi. It was here that He asked His disciples two questions:

a. “Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27)

b. “Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29)

After Peter declared Him to be the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mark 8:29; Matthew 16:16), Jesus began to teach them that He “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). It was at this point that Peter pulled Him aside and began to rebuke Him, prompting Jesus to say to him “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Mark 8:33).

Jesus then went on to teach them about the need to take up their crosses and lose their lives for His sake. No doubt these men were confused and questioning what all of this meant.

Over the next five days, I believe that two things happened:

a. The disciples talked among themselves trying to understand all that Jesus had told them.

b. The weight of what lay before our Lord began to weigh even more heavily upon Him.

So it was that six days later, Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John and began to climb Mt. Hermon.