Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do You See God in the Ordinary? | The Gospels | Mark 9:2-13

Episode Date: February 3, 2026

Why did Jesus reveal his glory before his suffering? Would seeing God’s glory change the way you live? What if his glory is closer than you think? In today’s episode, Tanya shares how Mark 9:2���13 reveals Jesus’s glory through the transfiguration and invites us to see and reflect that same glory in our everyday lives. Read the Bible with us in 2026! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Mark 9:2-13 

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. The smell of coffee grounds scooped fresh out of the bag and into the coffee pot. An on-time flight, a safe drive to school, a bluebird perched in the tree in the middle of winter. Time for an afternoon nap or stroll, a warm dinner, a restful night's sleep. Do you see God in the ordinary? Our passage today is the part in Mark that describes the transfiguration, anything but ordinary.

Each of the Gospels gives us a look at this scene that occurred with Jesus and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Jesus and the disciples were traveling back toward the Sea of Galilee after Peter had declared that Jesus truly was the Messiah. Shortly after that confession, Jesus told them the cost of following him would be denying themselves and taking up their cross. He also told them that he must suffer and die. The trip they were on must have been heavy, like feeling heavy with grief and answer questions about why Jesus had to die and when it would happen. But in the middle of this despair was the transfiguration. What does that even mean? Well, Mark writes this. After six days,

Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white-like snow, know, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Matthew adds, His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. The light that flowed out of Jesus' face and his clothes was white and pure. John also says, We beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This was no ordinary day. Jesus was transformed before them, and his true glory was revealed. The disciples were able to see who he truly was, not just their teacher,

not just their friend, but the son of God, the Messiah, God in the flesh with them. Do you think it would change your life to see Jesus in his full glory? It surely did for Moses. In Exodus 33, Moses begs God, please show me your glory. And God replies, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live. But God shows him mercy and says, You shall stand on that rock, and while my glory passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock

and cover you with my hand. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. When Moses saw even a glimpse of God's glory from inside the cleft of that rock, the experience was so intense that Exodus 3430 tells us,

his own face began to shine with brilliant radiance, so intense the people of Israel were afraid to come near him. But the people of Israel, What the people saw in Moses' face was the reflection of God's glory. He was not the source of light, but the light of God was reflected on his face. But on that mountain of transfiguration, what the disciples saw was the actual glory of God coming from Christ himself, not a reflection, but the actual glory. John writes, we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I think about how this experience must have changed them, informed them, and prepared them for what was coming. As they came down from the mountain, they still didn't understand everything. They didn't fully grasp the suffering that was ahead for them, and definitely not for Jesus. But they must have been replaying the words that God said while that transfiguration was happening. God said, this is my beloved son. Hear him. See, Jesus had told him that he would suffer and die, but he also told them about the resurrection. So they were not without hope.

Now they had seen the glory of God and the man that they loved and followed. They might not fully understand yet what was going to happen, but they had seen enough to know that death would not be the end of the story. What about you? Have you seen enough? Have you seen God's glory? We don't have mountaintop experiences most days, but we can train our eyes to see God's glory in the ordinary.

We can see His glory in the quiet days, where nothing dramatic happens and yet be grateful for peace. We can see His glory when our prayers are answered. We can see His glory when we feel uncertain, like the disciples did, but still know that Jesus is with us. Asking God to train our eyes to see His glory helps anchor our wandering minds and our despairing hearts when we don't know how to ask for help, because God's glory gives us hope in who we belong to, in who we are becoming. Sometimes we get lost in responsibilities. We get into schedules, tasks, and expectations, and we forget who we belong to.

We forget what it means. But Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians that we are never forgotten in the purposes of God, and we are never without the ability to reflect his glory, even in the ordinary moments, or maybe even in the stressful ones. Paul writes, and we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed, into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Do you ever think, like, hey, I'm going to work today and I'm going to show God's glory? Well, probably not. But we are on a journey, we're on a race, whatever you want to call it,

and we have the assurance that Jesus is with us. Jesus is transforming us into his image. The Spirit is with us, and day by day God is shaping us into the image of Christ. God's glory not only comforts us, it goes with us. God reflects His glory through us so that others might see Him. Jesus said, You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. And Paul echoes this when he writes that God shines his light in our hearts so that his knowledge, the knowledge of his glory might be made visible through us.

By His power, our lives become kind of like Moses' faith, living reflections of God. So in our words, in our patience, in our kindness, in how we respond when things are hard, and how we love people when it would be maybe easier not to, in all those things we can't do in our own strength but in God's. In those ordinary ways, God's glory means we show up faithfully, reflecting the one to whom we belong. By His grace, let it be so. Amen.