John Gill Commentary Mark 9

And he said to them
Both to his disciples, and the multitude,

truly I say to you, there are some of them that stand here ;
that were then living, and upon the spot,

which shall not taste of death ,
or die,

till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power .
When Jesus was declared both Lord and Christ, by the wonderful effusion of the Holy Spirit; the Gospel spread in the world both among Jews and Gentiles, in spite of all opposition, under the power and influence of the grace of God, to the conversion of thousands of souls; and that branch of Christ's regal power exerted in the destruction of the Jewish nation; (See Gill on Matthew 16:28). This verse properly belongs to the foregoing chapter, to which it is placed in the Vulgate Latin version; and so it concludes one in Matthew, and ought not to begin a new chapter.

And after six days
Six days after this discourse with his disciples, in their way to Caesarea Philippi, and after they were come into those parts:

Jesus taketh with him Peter, James, and John ;
favourite disciples, and a sufficient number, to be witnesses of his transfiguration:

and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves ;
where he and they were alone. This was not Mount Tabor, as is generally said, but either the mountain which Caesarea was at the foot of, or it may be Mount Lebanon; (See Gill on Matthew 17:1);

and he was transfigured before them ;
the above three disciples; (See Gill on Matthew 17:2).

And his raiment became shining
With the rays of glory and brightness which darted from his body through his clothes, and made them as bright as the light of the sun at noon day: and exceeding white as snow ;
than which nothing is whiter;

so as no fuller on earth can whiten them .
The Syriac version renders it, "as men cannot whiten on earth"; and the Persic thus, "so as men could not behold him". Just as the Israelites could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance, when he came down from the mount; (See Gill on Matthew 17:2).

And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses
Or Moses and Elias, as all the Oriental versions read, as in Mt. 17:3, (See Gill on Matthew 17:3):

and they were talking with Jesus ;
concerning his decease, and what he was to do and suffer at Jerusalem, and of which he himself had lately talked with his disciples; so that this might have been a confirmation of these things to them; (See Gill on Matthew 17:3).

And Peter answered and said to Jesus
He addressed himself to him, as being more familiar with him; as also because he was the principal person: wherefore he says,

master, it is good for us to be here :
the company and conversation were exceeding agreeable to him and his fellow disciples; and the glory that Christ appeared in surpassed every thing they had seen before:

and let us make three tabernacles ;
or, as the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions read, "and we will make" expressing not a petition, but a resolution; to which the Persic version premises, "if thou wilt give us commandment"; submitting it to the will of Christ:

one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias ;
(See Gill on Matthew 17:4).