Read Mark 9:1-13, The Transfiguration
Jesus takes His inner circle, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain and He was transfigured before them. There is no definition to what He looked like. Did they see Jesus as we will in heaven? Remember Peter is telling this to Mark. Imagine the look on Peter’s face as he recalls this amazing story.
Elijah and Moses appeared before Jesus and they were talking. Elijah representing the prophets and Moses representing the Law. Thinking about all of this, maybe it gives us a better understanding to what the first verse meant…
1And He said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the Kingdom of God has come with power.”
While the three were standing there in amazement, the Father speaks from heaven in verse 7…
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!”
Just remembering this must have given Peter goosebumps.
Suddenly everything was back to normal. Jesus gives His usual command not to tell anyone but adds in verse 9 don’t tell anyone until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. They did not tell anyone but discussed between themselves what did “rising from the dead” mean. We know the resurrection story. They had no idea what was coming.
In verses 11-13 they go back to asking questions…
11 And they asked Him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”
12 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? 13 But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”
As we learned earlier, John the Baptist was the returning Elijah.
Read Mark 9:14-29; Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit
As Jesus and the three disciples came back to the others, the typical large crowd had gathered. Verses 17-19 set up this teaching…
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked Your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”
The nine that stayed behind tried to heal the boy but couldn’t. With an unusual showing of emotion, Jesus says, “How long shall I put up with you?”.
When they brought the boy to Jesus, the spirit saw Jesus and immediately attacked the boy. After a brief conversation with the father, the father ask Jesus to heal his son. Verses 22-24 are verses we should all think about…
22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If You can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
Verses 24 and 25 touch our reality. It is like the statement that if you believe, you can tell a mountain to be thrown into the sea. We come back to the definition of belief. The father’s answer has been my answer many times. I believe you can help, but help me believe you will.
Verses 25-27 tell the story of another amazing healing. When Jesus was alone with the disciples another teaching opportunity happens in verses 28-29…
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer”.
That statement leaves me wondering. I guess I will understand someday if I need to.
Read Mark 9:30-50; Jesus Teaches His Disciples
Jesus didn’t want people to know where He was because He wanted to teach His disciples separately. In verses 31-32 Jesus teaches about His death, but they still don’t understand…
31He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after three days He will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what He meant and were afraid to ask Him about it.
We want to say, “how could they not understand”, but how often is it true about us?
Many times, in the Gospels we see Jesus explaining humbleness in Kingdom leadership. When the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest disciple, Jesus uses my favorite example, a little child. Kingdom leadership isn’t about being above the rest. It is about loving. Verse 37…
37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My Name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but the One who sent Me.”
They were probably still confused.
Verses 38-50 Jesus continues to teach them Gospel truth…
39Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in My Name can in the next moment say anything bad about Me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in Me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.”
Imagine you are one of the twelve and sitting there hearing one truth after another. It would be overwhelming to me.
Christian Life Coach 