GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 9-2
Important Days
Twenty-four-hour clock time is not the same as twenty-four-hour human time. Some days pass too fast, and some too slowly. Alice and I met in February of our sophomore year in high school. We dated (went steady, in the language of the time) through the school years and planned a wedding after we both graduated and found jobs. Alice began working at Mercantile Bank in St. Louis, and I began working at Granite City Steel Company. So we set the date for the wedding on Saturday evening, June 17, 1961. The weeks before the wedding seemed to drag by, but the few days before the actual event were a whirl—tuxedos to rent, a trip to plan, a wedding rehearsal, and the work schedule. The beautiful June evening arrived, and the wedding took place. All the days had twenty-four hours in them, but some of them went slowly, and others went fast.
St. Mark wrote about Jesus’ trip to Caesarea Philippi, his teaching, his prediction of suffering and death, and his description of the cost of discipleship. Then Mark wrote, “And after six days, Jesus took along Peter, and James, and John, and he took them up to a high mountain by themselves alone, and he was transfigured before them.” (Mark 9:2) Almost unnoticeable in this majestic story is Mark’s insertion of the time reference: “after six days.” This was only one of two times that Mark was specific about time (cf. Mark 14:1). St. Luke said the time was eight days between the teaching session and the mountain experience; he probably counted the day of both events plus the days between to arrive at eight days. None of the Synoptic writers pinpointed the actual location of this event, but—the Mt. Tabor tradition aside—this event likely took place on Mt. Hermon, which would have been in the mountains northwest of Caesarea Philippi, which is located in the foothills of Mt. Libanus. All three writers—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—who recorded this event mention the time between Jesus’ lesson and the transfiguration. These were days full of memorable events—the healing of the blind man, Peter’s confession, Peter’s misunderstanding and reproof, and Jesus’ prediction of his approaching death. There is little wonder that the number of days left a lasting impression on the mind of the writers.
As the time made an impression on these writers, so the days leading up to June 17, 1961, made an impression on this writer.
Previous
Next
Directory