Mark 9

Mark 9:1

**7. JESUS THE MESSIAH 8:279:1

TEXT 8:279:1**

And Jesus went forth, and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and in the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they told him, saying, John the Baptist: and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. And he asked them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him, And he began to teach them, that the Son of man 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, And he spake the saying openly, And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But he turning about, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith, Get thee behind me Satan: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it. For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There be some here of them that stand by, which shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 8:279:1

How far from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi? Please locate on the map.

Why ask the disciples of the opinion of others? What meaning is there in the name Jesus applied to Himself? Cf. Matthew 16:13-14?

How would Jesus meet the designations given concerning Himi.e. in what way was He like John the Baptist?; like Elijah?; like one of the prophets?

Who thought Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead?

Show how appropriate this question was at this particular time in the life of Jesus.

What did Peter mean in his use of the name Christ?

Why doesn-’t Mark record the blessing pronounced by Christ upon Peter?

Define each of the three classes of persons referred to in Mark 8:31.

What is meant by the expression He spake the saying openly?

Please attempt an explanation of the attitude of Peter when he rebuked the Lord.

Why look at all the disciples and rebuke Peter? In what sense was Jesus not speaking to Peter?

Show the connection of denying self with the rebuke of Peter.

Define in your own words what it means to take up his cross and follow.

How do we attempt to save our life and in the process lose it?

Specifically how can we lose our life for His sake? Please be personal and practical.

How is the word soul or life used in Mark 8:36?

Is Jesus saying a man has no real life or is not really living unless he is giving himself to His service?

How does being ashamed of Jesus fit into this context?

COMMENT

TIMESummer of A.D. 29. From six to eight months before the Lord’s Crucifixion. PLACEIn the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, about thirty miles northeast of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. It was upon the upper sources of the Jordan, the largest of the three streams that unite to form the river springing from a fountain near Caesarea Philippi. Professor McGarvey says: The city of Caesarea Philippi stood at the northeastern curve of the upper Jordan valley, and about twenty-six miles north of the lake of Galilee. Mountains 2,000 feet high rise abruptly from the eastern side of it, while the snow covered summit of Mt. Hermon, 9,000 feet high, swells heavenward but a few miles north of it. Its earliest name known to us was Paneas, so called in honor of the god Pan, and on or near its side Herod the Great erected a temple in honor of Augustus Caesar. Afterward Philip the Tetrarch, to whom Herod gave the district at his death, rebuilt the old town, and called it Caesarea Philippi in honor of himself and Tiberius Caesar. The city is now in ruins, but the wall can be traced on every side, and in some points on the east and south sides it is standing at almost its original height. Just outside the northeastern angle of the wall is the famous spring which is one of the three principal sources of the Jordan.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 16:13-28; Luke 9:18-27.

LESSON OUTLINE1. The Good Confession. 2. The Cross of Christ. 3. Losing and Finding Life.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE GOOD CONFESSION, Mark 8:27-30.

Christ at Caesarea Philippi. Mark 8:27; Matthew 16:13; Luke 9:18.

Opinions of Christ. Mark 8:28; Matthew 16:14; Luke 9:19: John 6:69.

Peter’s Confession. Mark 8:29; Matthew 16:16.

II.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST, Mark 8:31-34.

The Prophecy of the Cross. Mark 8:31; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:22: Luke 9:22.

Peter Rebuked. Mark 8:32-33; Matthew 16:22-23.

Bearing the Cross. Mark 8:24; Matthew 16:24; Luke 9:23.

III.

LOSING AND FINDING LIFE, Mark 8:35 to Mark 9:1.

The Way to Save Life. Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24.

Gain or Loss. Mark 8:36-37; Matthew 16:26; Luke 9:25.

Ashamed of the Cross. Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Romans 1:16.

Coming in the Kingdom. Mark 9:1; Matthew 16:28; Luke 9:27.

INTRODUCTION

It was after our Lord had closed his public ministry in Galilee, and while he was seeking retirement in order to communicate special instruction in the principles of his kingdom to the apostles, who were to succeed in his work, that he gave the great lesson concerning the foundation on which he would found his church, and the lesson on consecration and self-denial that its extension in the world requires. Here begins the second great division of the Savior’s ministry, a period that leads directly to his sufferings and death. The first period culminated in the confession of Peter; the second in the cross and resurrection.

EXPANATORY NOTES

I. THE GOOD CONFESSION.Mark 8:27. Jesus went out, and his disciples. Went out is the word regularly used in this gospel when a departure from one scene of work to another is notified. In this case, our Lord, leaving the district in which he had hitherto been chiefly working, proceeded in a northeasterly direction along the valley of the Upper Jordan. And his disciples. Their presence is here mentioned expressly, calling attention to the object of a journey through a district to a great extent heathen, and lately traversed, viz., their special instruction (Mark 9:31). Into the towns, Away from the populous cities The solitude of the beautiful district, wither the Savior now journeyed, is illustrated by the fact that it is the only district in Palestine where a recent traveller found the pelican of the wilderness (Psalms 102:6). Caesarea Philippi. A city at the northeast extremity of Palestine and at the foot of Mount Lebanon, anciently called Paneas, and now Banias. It has now about fifty houses, many ruins of columns, towers, temples, a bridge, and a remarkable castle. And by the way. His conversation by the way: (1) The turn it often took when the disciples were left to themselvesdisputes concerning greatness, etc. (2) The turn Christ gave to itinquirings concerning his mission and person. Learn: (1), Avoid foolish and worldly talk; (2), Improve passing opportunities; (3), Let your talk be often about the Savior.Biblical Museum. Whom do men say that I am? The following conversation refers to three points: (1) The Christ. (2) The suffering Christ. The disciples of the suffering Christ. The object of this first question is evidently to prepare the way for the next. The inquiry was not concerning the opinions of the Scribes and Rabbis, but concerning the opinions of the people.

Mark 8:28.* And they answered.* As Jesus had not openly declared that he was the Messiah, but had allowed men to hear his surpassing wisdom and see his life and works and draw their own conclusions, there would naturally be various opinions. John the Baptist. Who had been killed by Herod a few months before, now restored to life. That was one popular notion regarding him, circulating, no doubt, chiefly among those who had never seen him. Herod Antipas entertained it (chap. Mark 6:16). Elias. The great ideal of a prophet and spiritual reformer. It was very generally expected that he was to return to the earth in connection with the Messiah’s advent (Malachi 4, 5).Morison. One of the prophets. The Jews believed that at the coming of the Messiah the prophets were to rise again. They did not declare their belief in him as the Messiah himself, doubtless for this reason, that the whole ministry of Christ appeared to them to stand in contradiction to their Messianic expectations.

Mark 8:29. Whom say ye that I am? He had never openly spoken of his Messiahship. It was his will that the revelation should dawn gradually on the minds of his children; that it should spring more from the truths he spake, and the life he lived, than from the wonders which he wrought. It was in the Son of man that they were to recognize the Son of God.Farrar. The time was come when it was of the greatest moment that they should have a settled conception of his real character and mission. And Peter answereth. With that honest readiness and impulsiveness which were so characteristic of his nature, and which fitted him for being a leader of the little circle.Morison. Thou art the Christ; Matthew adds, the Son of the living God. This confession not only sees in Jesus the promised Messiah, but in the Messiah recognizes the divine nature.Cambridge Bible. The confession of Peter is the first fundamental Christian confession of faith, and the germ of the Apostles-’ Creed.Lange. It was a decisive answer, and given as out of a higher inspiration. The Lord himself, as we learn from Matthew 16:17, traced the thought to its divine source. And yet it was, no doubt, founded on evidence which the disciple had diligently studied, and logically construed to his own inner satisfaction. The Lord in the passage in Matthew declares that the grand truth confessed by Peter is the rock on which his church shall be built. By faith in this truth men become disciples of Christ and members of his church.

Mark 8:30. Charged them that they should tell no man. The time had not yet come to proclaim that he was the Christ. To do so prematurely would result in harm rather than good. He must first demonstrate his Messiahship by his resurrection.

II. THE CROSS OF CHRIST.Mark 8:31. He began to teach them. must suffer many things. The great lesson of our two years of his ministry was that he was the Christ; after this had been learned by his apostles they were ready to be taught he must die a violent death. So from this time onward we find him speaking more and more plainly of the decease which he must accomplish. The supreme purpose of his advent was not to teach truth, nor to work miracles, nor to illustrate the perfection of manly character, but to die, to die for sinners, to bear their sins in his own body on the tree. Rejected of the elders, chief priests and scribes. The three constituents of the Sanhedrim. The elders (leading men) would be chosen because of their material and political influence; the high priests, because of their elevated ecclesiastical position; the scribes, because of their literary and rabbinical qualifications. Now, for the first time, the disciples received full and clear information of the sufferings and death of Christ.

Mark 8:32. And he spake that saying openly. Without reserve, publicly. The previous statements respecting this subject, made by our Lord, were expressed in figurative language.Godwin. And Peter began to rebuke him. The same Peter who but just now had made so noble and spiritual a confession, and received so high a blessing, now shows the weak and carnal side of his character. This world has many Peters, who wish to be wiser than Christ, and to prescribe to him what it is needful to do.

Mark 8:33. Turned about and looked on his disciples, A sudden movement is indicated. Looking at all, he singles out Peter for special warning. Rebuked Peter, saying Get thee behind me, Satan. Christ saw, with the lightning glance of his spirit, in the words of Peter a suggestion not so much of his as of Satan’S. This is the very temptation that fell from the lips of Satan in the wilderness when he offered to surrender the kingdoms of this world to Jesus without his suffering on the cross. The Lord when he says, with sudden vehemence, Get thee behind me Satan! was not speaking directly to Peter but to the prince of darkness, who had for a moment taken possession of Peter’s mind and lips. Peter had been greatly elated over the Messiahship of Jesus, but still expected an earthly king Messiah after the type of David, in whose kingdom he would have a great place. To hear the Lord talk of the cross was a cruel disappointment to his ambitious hopes.

III. LOSING AND FINDING LIFE.Mark 8:34. When he had called the people unto him. The great lesson of his Christhood and death on the cross had been given to the apostles alone. Now the throng and his disciples are united and the Lord teaches a grand truth that springs directly from what had occurred just before, Will come after me. Will become my disciple. There was an eagerness among many of the people to come after him. The wistfulness of a considerable proportion of the northern population had been awakened. They were ruminating anxiously on Old Testament predictions, and filled with vague expectancy. Let him deny himself. The word is strong in the originallet him deny himself off, let him entirely renounce himself. Let him be prepared to say no to many of the strongest cravings of his nature, in the direction more particularly of earthly ease, comfort, dignity and glory. Our common thoughts of self-denial, i.e., the denial to ourselves of some pleasure or profit, fall far short of the meaning of the Greek. The man is to deny his whole self, all his natural motives and impulses, so far as they come into conflict with the claims of Christ. And take up his cross. Even as the Lord would take up his cross at Jerusalem. So every disciple must crucify the old man, his selfish nature (Romans 6:6), give up his old life, and become dead to it. The cross is the pain of the self-denial required in the preceding words. The cross is the symbol of doing our duty, even at the cost of the most painful death. Christ obeyed God, and carried out his work for the salvation of men, though it required him to die upon the cross in order to do it. And ever since, the cross has stood as the emblem, not of suffering, but of suffering for the sake of Christ and his gospel as the highest ideal of obedience to God at any and every cost. Follow me. Obey and imitate Christ.

Mark 8:35. Whosoever will save his life. Whoever makes this the end will lose life. A great principle is stated. All self-seeking is self-losing. Even in spiritual things, he who is perpetually studying how to secure joy and peace for himself loses it. A certain measure of self-forgetfulness is the condition of the highest success, even in Christian grace. But whosoever shall lose his life. In the sphere of the present. For my sake, and the gospel’S. It is only loss for the sake of Christ that has this promise. Multitudes of people lose their lives for gain, for pleasure, for fashion. Each of these has more martyrs than the cross ever required; but the loss was without compensation or hope. But whosoever loses for the love of Christ, for the sake of preaching and advancing the gospel shall save itshall have a blessedness and glory which will a thousand times compensate for every loss.

Mark 8:36. What shall it profit a man? This is one of the searching questions that the Scriptures are wont to throw out to arouse reflection. Let each student try to conscientiously answer this question and the one which follows.

Mark 8:37. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? What would a man not give? If he had the whole world, would he not willingly give it, provided he really knew, believed, or felt, that otherwise he would be utterly lost? The Saviour has gone forward in thought, and taken his standpoint in eternity. It is from that standpoint that he puts the question.

Mark 8:38. Shall be ashamed of me and of my words. As many would be prone to be. The temptation to shame, in reference to the Savior and the Savior’s sayings or doctrines, continues to the present day, and is pervading society to the core, even in countries called Christian, It is one of the severest temptations which young converts have to encounter. The anticipation of it is one of the mightiest motives to keep men away from conversion, and on the other side of Christian faith and fealty. This adulterous and sinful generation. Adulterous here, as in the Old Testament, means unfaithful to God. When he cometh, etc. The glorious coming to judge the world when all nations shall appear before him.

Mark 9:1 Some of them that stand here, etc. The allusion to the final coming of the kingdom of Christ in power which took place on the day of Pentecost. The day of Pentecost, when the descent of the Spirit took place, marks the beginning of the dispensation of the Spirit, the new economy, or the kingdom of righteousness. Its consummation will be seen when all souls shall be converted to righteousness and Jesus shall come.

FACT QUESTIONS 8:279:1

Give three facts about Caesarea Philippi.

The verses before us begin what great division in our Lord’s ministry?

What area of public ministry concludes with the eighth chapter?

What was the purpose of our Lord in going into the district of Caesarea Philippi?

459. Give three lessons we can learn in the example of our Lord.

Did Jesus want the opinions of the scribes and rabbis? Why not?

Show how Malachi 4:5 helped form the opinion of some.

Show how the whole ministry of Christ appeared to them to stand in contradiction to their Messianic expectation?

It was in the Son of man that they were to recognize the of .

The confession of Peter sees in Jesus the Messiah but even morewhat was it?

The confession of Peter had both a human and divine originexplain.

How was Jesus going to demonstrate His Messiahship?

It took two years to teach one great truthwhat was it? What was the second great truth to be taught in the next few months?

What was the supreme purpose of His advent?

Why choose the three classes mentioned in Mark 8:31? Do we have their counterpart today? Discuss.

What hurt Peter the mostthe words that Jesus would be killed or being called Satan? Discuss.

Satan repeated his temptation to Jesus through the words of Peterexplain.

Were there many who wanted to follow Him? Who? Why? How?

Explain the strong meaning of deny himself.

Discuss in your own words the meaning of the cross as here ascribed to every disciple.

Even in spiritual matters he who would save his life shall lose itplease apply.

Multitudes lose their livesdiscuss two or three areas where this loss takes placewith no gainonly loss!

In what way do we save our life?

Isn-’t the use of the word soul in Mark 8:37 an unfortunate one?it has a wider use than the eternal nature of manDiscuss.

How is the temptation to be ashamed overcome?

What is the fundamental error in being ashamed?

Mark 9:1-50

SUMMARY 8:14 to 9:50

The two miracles recorded in the preceding sectionthe cure of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), and the casting out of the obstinate demon (Mark 9:14-29)are additional demonstrations of the divine power of Jesus. They are not mere repetitions of former proofs, but they possess peculiar force in that the blind man was cured by progressive steps, each one of which was a miracle in itself, and in that the demon in question was one of peculiar power and obstinacy.

The foreknowledge of Jesus is again displayed in his two predictions concerning his own death (Mark 8:31-33; Mark 9:30-32), and with his foreknowledge, his predetermined purpose to submit to death at the hands of his enemies.

But the crowning argument of the section is contained in the account of the transfiguration. If the testimony of those who witnessed his scene is not false testimony, his divine majesty and his God-given right to be heard in all that he chooses to speak, are established beyond all possibility of a mistake.

End of Part First.

We have now reached the close of the first general division of Mark’s narrative. Hitherto, after a few introductory statements in the first chapter (Mark 1:1-13), all the incidents which he records occurred in Galilee, or in the regions immediately adjoining, Now the writer leaves Galilee, and returns to it no more. (McGarvey)

Mark 9:2-8

**9. THE TRANSFIGURATION 9:2-8

TEXT 9:2-8**

And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them: and his garments became glistening, exceeding white; so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus, And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. For he wist not what to answer; for they became sore afraid. And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud. This is my beloved Son: hear ye him. And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:2-8

Six days after what?

Was there some particular reason for taking three men? For taking these particular three?

What mountain? Please locate the previous events on the map.

Please attempt a definition of the word transfiguration.

What caused his garments to become so bright?

In what form did Moses and Elijah appear? How did Peter, James and John know Moses and Elijah?

Read Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36 and tell of the topic of their conversation.

What was the immediate reaction on Peter, James & John, to the appearance of Moses and Elijah? Why?

Why did Peter make the suggestion of building booths? Please notice that Mark gives the reason.

When did the cloud overshadow them? What type of a cloud was it? (Read the parallel accounts)

Who spoke out of the cloud? Cf. 2 Peter 1:16.

Why was this declaration concerning the Son made at this particular time? What did it mean to those who heard it?

Where were Peter, James & John when Moses and Elijah disappeared i.e. where were they physically? Cf. parallel accounts.

What prompted Peter, James and John to look around? Cf. Parallel accounts.

COMMENT

TIMESummer A.D. 29. PLACEUncertainin the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi or Mt. Tabor-some think Mt. Hermon.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36.

OUTLINE1. The time and the participants, Mark 9:2. 2. The event, Mark 9:3. 3. The appearance of Moses and Elijah, Mark 9:4. 4. Peter’s unthinking suggestion, Mark 9:5-6. 5. The voice of God, Mark 9:7. 6. They saw no one save Jesus, Mark 9:8.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE TIME AND THE PARTICIPANTS, Mark 9:2.

Six days after the events in Caesarea Philippi.

Peter, James and John by themselves.

Into a high mountain.

II.

THE EVENT, Mark 9:3.

His garments became exceedingly white and glistering.

This is called a transfiguration or a metamorphosis (Mark 9:25)

III.

THE APPEARANCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH, Mark 9:4.

Sudden, unexpected appearance.

Moses and Elijah recognized.

Talked with Jesus (about his coming death).

IV.

PETER’S UNTHINKING SUGGESTION, Mark 9:5-6.

Peter was greatly impressed.

Let us build three memorials.

He was so filled with awe he did not know what to say.

V.

THE VOICE OF GOD, Mark 9:7.

A bright cloud covered them.

The voice spoke out of the cloudThis is my beloved Son: hear ye him.

VI.

THEY SAW NO ONE SAVE JESUS, Mark 9:8.

The disappearance was sudden.

Jesus touched them as they were prostrate only then did they know Moses and Elijah had disappeared.

EXPANATORY NOTES

I.

THE TIME AND THE PARTICIPANTS.

Mark 9:2. after six days.) In the note on Matthew 17:1, it has been observed that these days were probably passed in the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi. To the reasons there given, it may be added (1) There is no indication of a change of place: but Mark never omits to notice our Lord’s arrival at, or departure from, any place; he has a regular formula for both He came to, He went forth, cf. Mark 1:14; Mark 1:21; Mark 1:35; Mark 2:1; Mark 2:13; Mark 3:7; Mark 4:35; Mark 5:1; Mark 6:1; Mark 6:32; Mark 6:53; Mark 7:24; Mark 7:31; Mark 8:10; Mark 8:13; Mark 8:22; Mark 8:27. The beginning of the journey to this district is distinctly marked in ch. Mark 8:27, the termination in ch. Mark 9:30. (2) The space of six days for the sojourn is not more than might be expected, considering the special object of our Lord’s journey and the novelty and paramount importance of the truths which He there prepared the minds of His disciples to receive.

There is, therefore, little room for doubt as to the scene of the Transfiguration: Tabor being out of the question, it must have been some considerable height in the immediate vicinity. Not, however, as Dr. Thomson supposes, Mount Panium, a lower spur of the chain of heights, of which the summit would be within sight of the followers of Jesus. We read, He leadeth them up (words which denote a steep and difficult ascent, such as Dr. Tristram describes in his visit to Lake Phiala) to a high mountain. Which height cannot, of course, be determined; but, considering the special relation of Mount Hermon to Palestine, commanding a prospect over its whole extent, visible in its snowy splendour from every district, and bearing in mind the last view of Moses from a corresponding height over the promised land, we can scarcely resist the conclusion, to which late travellers and critics have been led, that the supernatural transaction took place on one of its loftiest peaks.

transfigured.) Literally, He was changed in form. This may be illustrated by Philippians 2:6, being in the form of God; for the radiant form of the Transfiguration was an effulgence of the Divine glory.

II.

THE EVENT

Mark 9:3. exceeding, white.) St. Matthew, more forcibly, as the light; the pure, essential light of the Godhead.

as snow). Possibly, as Dean Stanley suggests, a reference to the snow of Hermon; but the words are not found in the oldest MSS, and are properly omitted in late critical editions.

no fuller on earth). The comparison may seem to modern ears somewhat strange; but it is just one which would have been used by Dante, who, like Mark, always endeavours to make his readers vividly realize objective facts, Mark, however, has a still higher aim; he would mark the difference between earthly and heavenly brightness. The fuller on earth restores material clothing to its natural whiteness: the heavenly Fuller gives perfect purity, Cf. Malachi 3:2.

III.

THE APPEARANCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH.

IV.

PETER’S UNTHINKING SUGGESTION.

Mark 9:6. For he wist not,) Luke has, not knowing what he said. Our Evangelist adds the explanation; the words were spoken in bewilderment and great terror. Critics, therefore, are not justified in imputing to the apostle a weak or superstitious feeling, as though he held it fortunate that he and the other apostles were there to prepare tabernacles for the heavenly visitants, or that he expressed a desire to remain there, devoting his life to monastic contemplation, much less, as some have suggested, as though he were shrinking from the Cross. We have, at the most, a touch of nature: Peter then, as usual, seeking to give expression to his feelings in hasty outward action.

V.

THE VOICE OF GOD.

Mark 9:7. that overshadowed.) The cloud, as Matthew remarks, was bright; but brightness is the Divine veil. His brightness was as the light; there -was the hiding of His power.

my beloved Son.) Matthew adds, in whom I am well pleased. So also Peter, in his second Epistle, ch. Mark 1:17. It is not easy to account for the omission here.

VI.

THEY SAW NO ONE SAVE JESUS.

Mark 9:8. Here Mark omits to notice the coming and touch of Jesus, recorded by Matthew; but he has characteristic and graphic expressions, which may suggest both. Suddenly, as though startled by the touch of Jesus, they looked round abouta word almost peculiar to Mark, implying searching or curious look; and at the end of the verse Mark adds the touching words, with themselves: a preparation for His great promise, I am with you alwaysnot, as then, for a season only, but to the end of time, (F. C. Cook)

FACT QUESTIONS 9:2-8

Give two reasons for concluding the six days were spent in the district or neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi.

Why does Mr. Cook seem to favor Mt. Hermon as the place of the transfiguration?

In what sense are we to understand Jesus was changed in form? Cf. Philippians 2:6.

Why the detailed and repeated reference to the appearance of His clothes?

Why do some critics feel Peter was weak or superstitious? Explain.

Why mention the brightness of the cloud?

Isn-’t the pleasure of the Father inferred even though not stated? i.e. in the omission of the words In whom I am well pleased?

What does the word used by Marktranslated looked round about suggest?

Mark 9:9-13

**10. THE DISCIPLES ASK ABOUT ELIJAH. 9:9-13.

TEXT 9:9-13**

And as they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead. And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean. And they asked him, saying, The scribes say that Elijah must first come. And he said unto them, Elijah indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things: and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be set at nought? But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:9-13

Why would the transfiguration mean more after the resurrection?

Had the three disciples heard of the approaching death of Jesus?had any word of His resurrection been given?

Why inquire at this particular time about Elijah? Cf. Malachi 4:5-6.

Who were the scribes mentioned in Mark 9:11?

In what sense had Elijah already come?

What was to be restored by Elijah?

In what way did Jesus associate His death with the coming of Elijah?

To whom did Jesus refer when He said Elijah had come?

Where was it written concerning the death of John the BaptistCf. 1 Kings 19:2; 1 Kings 19:10.

COMMENT

TIMESummer A.D. 29 immediately after the transfiguration. PLACEComing down from the mount of transfiguration,

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 17:9-13.

OUTLINE1. The command for silence, Mark 9:9. 2. The thought of resurrection was strange to the disciples, Mark 9:10. 3. They ask about the coming of Elijah, Mark 9:11. 4. Jesus answers, Mark 9:12-13.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE COMMAND FOR SILENCE, Mark 9:9.

As they came down from the mount.

Tell no man what you have seen.

Wait to tell until I have been raised from the dead.

II.

THE THOUGHT OF THE RESURRECTION WAS STRANGE TO THE DISCIPLES, Mark 9:10.

They thought on what Jesus said.

They asked among themselves what He might mean by rising from the dead.

III.

THEY ASKED ABOUT THE COMING OF ELIJAH, Mark 9:11.

If you are the Messiah (as we believe you are);

In light of your prediction of death and resurrection how is it said Elijah must come first?

IV.

JESUS ANSWERS, Mark 9:12-13.

It is trueElijah must come first and restore all things.

It is also true that the Son of man must suffer and be rejected.

Elijah in the person of John the Baptist has come and they have treated him as predicted.

**EXPLANATORY NOTES

THE DESCENT FROM THE MOUNT**

In what state of mind did the apostles return from beholding the glory of the Lord, and His ministers from another world? They seem to have been excited, demonstrative, ready to blaze abroad the wonderful event which ought to put an end to all men’s doubts. They would have been bitterly disappointed, if they had prematurely exposed their experience to ridicule, cross-examination, conjectural theories and all the controversy which reduces facts to logical form, but strips them of their freshness and vitality. In the first age as in the nineteenth, it was possible to be witnesses for the Lord without exposing to coarse and irreverent handling all the delicate and secret experiences of the soul with Christ. Therefore Jesus charged them that they should tell no man. Silence would force back the impression upon the depths of their own spirits, and spread its roots under the surface there. Nor was it right to make such a startling demand upon the faith of others before public evidence had been given, enough to make scepticism blameworthy. His resurrection from the dead would suffice to unseal their lips. And the experience of all the Church has justified that decision. The resurrection is, in fact, the centre of all the miraculous narratives, the sun which keeps them in their orbit. Some of them, as isolated events, might have failed to challenge credence. But authority and sanction are given to all the rest by this great and publicly attested marvel, which has modified history, and the denial of which makes history at once untrustworthy and incoherent. When Jesus rose from the dead, the whole significance of His life and its events was deepened.

This mention of the resurrection called them away from pleasant daydreams, by reminding them that their Master was to die. For Him there was no illusion. Coming back from the light and voices of heaven, the cross before Him was as visible as ever to His undazzled eyes, and He was still the sober and vigilant friend to warn them against false hopes. They however found means of explaining the unwelcome truth away. Various theories were discussed among them, what the rising from the dead should mean, what should be in fact the limit to their silence. This very perplexity, and the chill upon their hopes, aided them to keep the matter close. One hope was too strong not to be at least hinted to Jesus. They had just seen Elias. Surely they were right in expecting his interference, as the scribes had taught. Instead of a lonely road pursued by the Messiah to a painful death, should not that great prophet come as a forerunner and restore all things? How then was murderous opposition possible? And Jesus answered that one day this should come to pass. The herald should indeed reconcile all hearts, before the great and notable day of the Lord come. But for the present time there was another question. That promise to which they clung, was it their only light upon futurity? Was not the assertion quite as plain that the Son of Man should suffer many things and be set at nought? So far was Jesus from that state of mind in which men buoy themselves up with false hope. No apparent prophecy, no splendid vision, deceived His unerring insight, And yet no despair arrested His energies for one hour. But, He added, Elias had already been offered to this generation in vain; they had done to him as they listed. They had re-enacted what history recorded of his life on earth. Then a veil dropped from the disciples-’ eyes. They recognized the dweller in lonely places, the man of hairy garment and ascetic life, persecuted by a feeble tyrant who cowered before his rebuke, and by the deadlier hatred of an adulterous queen. They saw how the very name of Elias raised a probability that the second prophet should be treated as it is written of the first. If then they had so strangely misjudged the preparation of His way, what might they not apprehend of the issue? So should also the Son of man suffer of them. Do we wonder that they had not hitherto recognized the prophet? Perhaps, when all is made clear at last, we shall wonder more at our own refusals of reverence, our blindness to the meaning of noble lives, our moderate and qualified respect for men of whom the world is not worthy. How much solid greatness would some of us overlook, if it went with an unpolished and unattractive exterior? Now the Baptist was a rude and abrupt person, of little culture, unwelcome in king’s houses. Yet no greater had been born of woman. (G. A, Chadwick)

FACT QUESTIONED 9:9-13

In what state of mind did the apostles return from beholding the glory of the Lord, and His ministers from another world?

What would have happened if they had told prematurely the events of the mount?

How would silence help the disciples?

Show how all other miracles relate to the resurrection.

Why was it that Jesus was thinking about His death upon coming down from the mount?

What Malachi 4:5-6 saidwhat the scribes had said did not agree with what Jesus saidat least in the minds of the disciplesexplain.

Are we to yet expect the return of Elijah? i.e. before the second coming of Christ?

When did the veil drop from the eyes of the disciples?

In what sense are we in danger of doing the same thing the three apostles did?

Mark 9:14-29

**11. HEALING THE EPILEPTIC BOY 9:14-29

TEXT 9:14-29**

And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. And straight-way all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. And he asked them, What question ye with them? And one of the multitude answered him, Master, I brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth, and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out: and they were not able. And he answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straight-way the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child. And oft-times it hath cast him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. And Jesus said unto him, if thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. Straightway the father ofthe child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him and enter no more into him. And having cried out and torn him much, he came out: and the child became as one dead: insomuch that the more part said, He is dead, But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up; and he arose, And when he was come into the house his disciples asked him privately saying. We could not cast it out. And he said unto them This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:14-29

Where had Jesus and the three apostles left the other apostles?

What was it that caused the excitement and amazement when the people saw Jesus?

For what purpose had the scribes followed the disciples? About what were they disputing? Show the futility of such a dispute.

To whom is the question of Mar 9:16 addressed?

What is meant by the words of the father who said his son: had a dumb Spirit?

How do we know this boy was suffering from epilepsy? Cf. Matthew 17:15Are we to conclude that epilepsy is caused by demon possession? Explain.

What is meant by the expression pineth away?

Discuss the inability of the disciples as related to casting out this demon.

Who was the faithless generation of Mar 9:19?

Why the reaction of the evil spirit upon seeing Jesus?

Did Jesus know all about the boy? Why ask the father the question of Mar 9:21?

Did the father have some doubt as to whether Jesus could help him?

Jesus picked up the words of the father and made a special appealwhat was it?

How did the father interpret the words of Jesus? In what sense did he believe? In what sense didn-’t he believe?

Jesus hastened to perform the miraclewhy?

Note how Jesus addressed the demonwhat significance is there as to the powernature and work of demons?

If the boy was dumb how could he cry out?

What is meant by the phrase torn him?

Was the boy dead when Jesus raised him?

What rebuke and lesson for the disciples were in the words of Jesus in Mark 9:29?

COMMENT

TIMESummer A.D. 29. PLACEAt the foot of the mount of transfigurationin the district of Caesarea Philippi.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 17:14-20; Luke 9:37-43.

OUTLINE1. The place and the people of the healing, Mark 9:14-15. 2. The occasion of the healing, Mark 9:16-18. 3. The healing, Mark 9:19-27. 4. The question of the disciples, Mark 9:28-29.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE OF THE HEALING, Mark 9:14-15.

The nine disciples at the base of the mount questioning with the scribes; a great multitude gathered.

Many were shocked to see Jesusran to him and greeted him.

II.

THE OCCASION OF THE HEALING, Mark 9:16-18.

Jesus asked about the point of the discussion.

The father with his possessed son said he had asked for help from the disciples but could not get it.

III.

THE HEALING, Mark 9:19-27.

The grief of Jesus because of their unbelief, Mark 9:19.

The son brought to Jesusthe demon convulsed him, Mark 9:20.

The sympathy of Jesusthe desperation of the father, Mark 9:21-22.

All things are possible to him who believesdo you believe?Yea Lord, I believehelp thou my unbelief. Mark 9:23-24.

Because the multitude was about to make a scene Jesus delayed no longer in the healing, Mark 9:25.

The final attempt of the demon to destroy the boy, Mark 9:26.

IV.

THE QUESTION OF THE DISCIPLES, Mark 9:28-29.

In someone’s house the disciples askedwhy couldn-’t we do it?

Jesus said, you lacked the proper attitude to exercise healing power.

EXPLANATORY NOTES. 9:14-29.

I.

THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE OF THE HEALING.

Mark 9:14-15. The time was the day after the Transfiguration (Luke), and the place was the foot of the mountain. Early in the day, probably, Jesus and the three came down, the three burdened and uplifted by their glorious secret; thinking, perhaps how Moses with shining face, and Joshua, came down Mount Sinai. It is to Peter, who was one of them, that we owe the mention of what he saw in coming down. (Instead of he, the revisers, on manuscript authority, read they.) It was an excited throng listening eagerly to the discussion of scribes (not the scribes) with the nine apostles and any other disciples who may have been present. How vivid is the picture of the effect of Jesus-’ approach!the excitement, the amazement, the instantaneous turning away from the one object of interest to him.Greatly amazed, or awestruck; not, so far as we can judge, from any peculiarity in his appearance, as if some light of the glory were still shining in his face, as when Moses drew near to Israel at the foot of the mountain (Exodus 34:29-35), for, if that had been the case, we should certainly have heard of it; and such a shining, too, would have defeated the purpose of concealment. Rather was it because he was the person of whom they were talking, and they were at once delighted and impressed by a certain sense of solemnity by the appearing of him who had never failed in a work of miraculous healing.The eager interest with which they all turned from futile discussion and failure to the Mighty One appears in their running to meet him.

II.

THE OCCASION OF THE HEALING.

Mark 9:16-18. But he cared for his own and came down like a father to his children in trouble, asking the crowd, and especially the scribes, what they were discussing with his friends. He knew their weakness, and saw that they were perplexed and defeated. They were saluting him with welcome after his absencenot the nine only, but the multitudewhen he broke in with his question.

The answer came from the most interested, and the one who had the best right to tell the story. One of the multitude. Matthew says that he came kneeling, and Luke that he cried out with his request.I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spiriti.e. a spirit that makes its victim dumb; so in Matthew 9:32; Matthew 12:22. When Jesus addressed the spirit (Mark 9:25), he spoke to it as dumb and deaf, perhaps because of what he had observed in addition to what the father told him.The additional symptoms described in Mark 9:18 are those of violent convulsions, and plainly they are those of epilepsy, which in this case was complicated with insanity. Luke uses the word sparassein, to convulse, and Mark, at Mark 9:20, the stronger compound word susparassein. Matthew says that the child was lunatic, or epileptic; but he adds that the lunacy was the work of a demon. More particularly, when the demon seized the boy he tore or convulsed him, or, as some explain it, threw him to the ground; and then he foamed and gnashed his teeth, and the consequence was that he pined away or was steadily wasting. These are the symptoms of epilepsy, which was well known among the ancients, and was regarded by the Greeks and Romans as a sacred disease, brought on directly by supernatural power and of evil omen. The word lunatic, or moonstruck, is applied to the victim in this case, as often, probably because the attacks were associated with the recurrence of the full moon. The questions, both physiological and psychological, that are connected with the subject of demoniacal possession are full of difficulty; but nothing is more certain than that our Lord on many occasions, and most emphatically on this, recognized the presence of a personality distinct from that of the victim and commanded it away.

*The man said, I have brought unto thee my son.*i.e. to the place where he supposed that Jesus was, because his company was there; brought him, apparently, half in hope and half in despair; this was the last resort, and he came to it without much faith.But Jesus was not there; probably the man came in the cool of the morning, when Jesus and the three were about coming down from the mountain. And I spake to thy disciples, that they should cast him out; and they could not, In Luke, I entreated thy disciples. Their inability is often explained by the fact that Jesus was not with them, but they had cast out many demons in his absence when he sent them forth for such work (chap. Mark 6:13). Then, however, they were sent; and perhaps the lack of the consciousness of mission now embarrassed them. The three leading apostles, too, were absent, and perhaps the company at the foot of the mountain felt itself to be really the less, though actually the larger. No doubt, also, the severity of the case gave them pause. Their confidence was not strong enough to bear the sense of publicity and of being tested that came with the challenge; for the scribes at once followed up their failure; plying them with questions that must have made them most uncomfortable. The penalty of unbelieving fear is confusion. (See Jeremiah 1:17.) Nor was there much to help them in the faith of the father.

III.

THE HEALING.

Mark 9:19. He answereth him, and saith. The revisers-’ text, more correctly, He answereth them and saith. Not to the afflicted father, but to the inefficient disciples.O faithless generation! Not now of little faith; in Matthew and Luke, Faithless and perverse generation. Here expressly, as in chap. Mark 8:18 implicitly, he ranks his own disciples with the generation to which they belong, since he finds in them the ordinary unbelief. They ought, he implies, to have been able to cast out the evil spirit. Perception of the sadness of the case probably repressed their faith; but it ought to have aroused their compassion, and their compassion ought to have increased their sense of the possibility of healing through the grace of Christ. Our Saviour is exacting in the expectation that his friends will be in possession of the spiritual gifts and graces that he offers them. His almost impatient question means, How long shall this generation, whose unbelief I am learning so thoroughly, vex me so? How long must I live among the faithless?But he ends with Bring him unto me. The Mighty One now takes hold where the weak have failed.

Mark 9:20. The sufferer was brought, but the sight of the great Healer maddened the malign spirit; so that the boy went into a violent convulsion and wallowed foaming on the ground. Was it the dumbness of the victim that prevented such confession as that of chap. Mark 1:34; Mark 3:11; Mark 5:7? There was no confession, and no vocal objection or entreaty on the part of the spirit.

Mark 9:21-22. The sad sight arrested even the Healer’s mind in the midst of his act of mercy. Compassion was prompting the act, and one would think compassion would urge him on to finish it. But nowhere does the true human thoughtfulness of Jesus appear more plainly; he looked on pityingly while the boy suffered, and compassion even stopped him for a moment while he tenderly inquired how long the infliction had been upon him.The naturalness of this pause is inimitable; and not less so is the father’s answer, We can hear in it the tones of anxiety and despair, and of eagerness for the utmost that can be done. Ofor froma child. Then, apparently, the boy had passed beyond early childhood, though in Mark 9:24 he is called by the diminutive name paidion, a young or little child.And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters to destroy him. But it has been baffled thus far. This demoniac had more watchful friends than the one at Gergesa (chap. Mark 5:3), who had no home but in the tombs. It was but too common in ancient times so to turn maniacs loose, and this boy was fortunate above many in having care and protection.For healing at the hand of Jesus the father had strong desire, but very little faith. If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us, counting himself in with the child as calling for the gift, but looking upon this as a kind of forlorn hope, concerning which he had as much despair as confidence. The disciples had failed; it was supposed that the Master had more power, but who could tell? If thou canst do any thing was much as he could say. Was not this one of the faithless generation? But there was more excuse for him than for the disciples, who had seen so much.

Mark 9:23. As by the revisers, the word believe should be omitted. It was doubtless added by copyists, though very early, to complete an imperfect construction and explain a sentence which without some help they could not understand, With the word omitted, Jesus took up the father’s words, If thou canst do any thing for us, or rather, merely, If thou canst, indicates, moreover, that the quoted words form grammatically a part of his sentence. We have not an indignant exclamation, as if he had said in amazement, If thou canst! and we have not a question, as if he had asked, Do you say, If thou canst? rather did he mean, As for that if thou canst of thine, that ei dune, all things are possible (dunata) to him that believeth. The play upon the words (dune, dunata) cannot be reproduced in English, except very imperfectly, but it is something like, As for that if thou canst of thine, all things can be to him that believeth. By this he means, You have inquired about ability and whether any help is possible, but you have misplaced the question. The question of ability is in you, not in me. Faith is the secret of ability and of possibility. The power is sufficient on my part; is it on yours? I can give, but can you receive? Yet the thought is expressed, not so much reprovingly as cheeringly; for the conclusion is not a severe one, but rather the hopeful announcement of the boundless breadth of the possibilities of faith. This is another way of saying, Believest thou that I am able to do this? but with a gracious hint that the man will do well to believe. So does the great Object of faith love to encourage faith. He loves to be trusted.

Mark 9:24. The father’s answer was a cry strong and eager, but the words with tears are of doubtful manuscript authority. Lord should quite certainly be omitted, and the insertion of thou, which in the Greek is unexpressed, misrepresents the rapidity of the man’s utterance in the eagerness of his impassioned prayer. I believe, help my unbelief. The saying is commonly, perhaps, taken to mean, I believe, but I desire to believe more worthily; increase my faith. This makes help to mean remove or abolisha sense for which no good support can be found. If the man had meant to ask that his faith might be rendered equal to the occasion, one would not expect him to ask it in this ambiguous way; and especially is it certain that he would not use the same word, help, that he had just employed in quite another sense.This word is repeated from the former prayer, have compassion on us, and help us, and naturally means, as there, heal my son. So the thought is, I believe, and yet my faith is scarcely worthy of the name; I hardly dare to call it faith or to plead by it as a believing man. Yet do not wait for something better, but grant my prayer, even to this faith which is no faith. I do believe; but if my belief is no better than unbelief, still heal my son. Do not sternly judge my faith, but help me as I am. There is no contradiction here, and scarcely even paradox, but only deep sincerity in the beginnings of faith, joined with the eagerness of strong desire for a special gift. This is an early Just as I am, and a very rich and suggestive one. If the man had paused to study his own faith and to make it sufficient, and withheld his prayer till he could make it satisfactory, would he more have injured himself or grieved the Master? He was pleasing Jesus best when he ventured wholly on him, trusting all the defects of his faith to the mercy from which he was imploring help. Just as I am is the word most acceptable to him.

Mark 9:25-27. The excitement was rising, and it was time that the scene should be brought to an end, more especially as the father was now ready in heart to receive the gift for which he prayed. The form of exorcism employed in this case was the most elaborate and solemn of all that are recorded in the Gospels. Thou dumb and deaf spirit. So addressed with reference to its work upon the child, the effects of its agency.I charge thee. I is emphatic in the GreekI, thou knowest who, as the spirit knew at chap. Mark 1:24. The emphasis upon the pronoun is our Lord’s solemn self-assertion in the spiritual realm.Come out of him. The customary command; but the addition, and enter no more into him, is found here alone, It is pleasant to think that this exceptional command sprang from our Lord’s perception of the exceptional severity of the case, and the more than usual interest that he seems to have taken in it.The rage of a hostile will when compelled to yield vented itself in the final cry and convulsion; for here also the word is convulsed. rather than *rent.*How intensely vivid is the narrative in Mark 9:26-27the prostration of the child, the whisperings of the spectators, the kindness of the Healer! He took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. Luke, and he alone, notes the amazement of the beholders at the mighty power or majesty of God. The same word is used in 2 Peter 1:16 of the glory or majesty which the three disciples had seen in Jesus on the very night before this healing.This is one of the many cases in which we would be thankful to see what has been hidden, and know the subsequent relations of this father and child to Jesus. Did the child appreciate the Healer and grow up into a holy Christian manhood? Were all the demons exorcised in his soul? Did the father grow in faith, as one ought after such a beginning?

IV.

THE QUESTION OF THE DISCIPLES.

Mark 9:28-29. This final reference to the failure of the disciples is omitted by Luke and given more fully by Matthew who adds here a saying about the power of faith similar to that which followed the blighting of the fruitless tree (Mark 11:23). When he was come into the house, or home, to the temporary home that the company had in that region.Why could not we cast himrather, itout? The question had already been answered by the exclamation, O faithless generation! in Mark 9:19, but they were not quick to take reproof, and this inquiry was one of the many illustrations of their slowness, with which he had to be patient. Yet perhaps unbelief never fully understands its own failures, but supposes there must be some reason for them to be sought.This kind (of demons) can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting (some manuscripts omit and fasting)i.e. This is an extreme case, one that can be made to yield only to faith nourished by the earnest use of all the means of strength, Prayer is recognized as the first great spiritual agency; and if the reference to fasting is genuine, our Lord associates with prayer self-denial, regarded, evidently, as the fitting means of attaining a holy self-command. Fasting in itself, considered as an end, would certainly command his instantaneous and unutterable contempt, as did the many performances of a similar kind that came under his notice; and fasting in general received from him such comments as showed that he esteemed it not very highly. But prayer and self-control go harmoniously together as the means by which an efficient faith may best be sought. (W. N. Clarke).

FACT QUESTIONS 9:14-29

What is the peculiar value of Mark’s narrative of the healing of this demoniac?

How is the genuineness of this record observed? Why is this important?

How would any shining or glow on the face of Jesus have defeated the purpose of concealment?

Why were the people so eager and happy about the appearance of Jesus?

Who was best qualified to answer the question of Jesus as of Mar 9:16?

Specifically describe the illness of the boy.

In what sense was the boy moonstruck?

Describe the characteristics of epilepsy.

Our Lord on many occasions, and most emphatically recognized one fact about demon possessionwhat was it?

In what sense had the father brought his boy to Jesus? Hadn-’t the disciples cast out demons before? (Mark 6:13) Why not here?

Jesus classified His apostles with others in calling them a faithless generation. Why? Cf. Mark 8:18.

Why didn-’t the evil spirit confess the deity of Jesus? Cf. Mark 1:34; Mark 3:11; Mark 5:7.

What caused Jesus to pause in the midst of healing the boy to ask a question of the father?

If the demon cast the boy into water how is it he did not drown?

Show how there was more excuse for the faithlessness of the father than for the disciples.

Explain just how Jesus used the words of the father: If thou canst.

The answer of the father is commonly understood to mean: I believe, but I desire to believe more worthily; increase my faith.but this is not the true or whole meaningwhat is the meaning?

Show how the expression Just as I am fits the father.

What word was emphasized in the charge of Jesus to the evil spirit? Why?

Why did Jesus use the wordsand enter no more into him.?

Show how intensely vivid the narrative is in Mark 9:26-27.

What was the reaction of the healingi.e. on the beholders?

Why did the apostles ask about their inability? didn-’t they already know it was because of unbelief?

What are the efficient means by which faith may best be exercised?

Mark 9:30-32

**12. THE RETURN TO GALILEE, AND THE RENEWED PREDICTION OF THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION 9:30-32

TEXT 9:30-32**

And they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he shall rise again. But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:30-32

Please trace on the map the movement of the Lord.

What did Jesus want no man to know? i.e. in Mark 9:30.

In what sense was Jesus already being delivered up into the hands of men?

Why didn-’t the apostles understand the very plain words of Jesus about His death and resurrection? Show an example where we have been just as dull of hearing.

Why were they afraid to ask Him?

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn of 29 A.D. PLACETurning southward from the district of Caesarea Philippi and Mount Hermon Jesus and His company return to their old home in Capernaum.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 17:22-23; Luke 9:43-45.

OUTLINE1. Jesus departs the areatravels as secretly as possible, Mark 9:30. 2. He wants to have as much time as possible to teach His apostles of His coming passion, Mark 9:31. 3. Even when He plainly told them they did not understand, Mark 9:32.

ANALYSIS

I.

JESUS DEPARTS THE AREATRAVELS AS SECRETLY AS POSSIBLE, Mark 9:30.

The twelve apostles and Jesus leave the district of the transfiguration and healing.

They travel through the province of Galilee (upper and lower Galilee).

Their movements were unannounced and sudden so as to enable Jesus to be alone with His apostles.

II.

HE WANTED TO HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE TO TEACH HIS APOSTLES OF HIS COMING PASSION, Mark 9:31.

He taught them personally.

He said, The Son of Man is being delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; after His death He will rise from the dead on the third day.

III.

EVEN WHEN HE HAD PLAINLY TOLD THEM THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND HIM, Mark 9:32.

They heard but did not understand.

They were ashamed of their ignorance and therefore did not ask Him for an explanation.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

JESUS DEPARTS THE AREATRAVELS AS SECRETLY AS POSSIBLE.

Mark 9:30. and passed through Galilee.) Or, and were passing along through Galilee. The meaning is, that our Lord, with His disciples, then left the district of Caesarea Philippi, and on their journey passed through Upper Galilee. They probably crossed the Upper Jordan by the bridge or ford called Binat Jacob, below Lake Huleh, and thence followed the route to Capernaum.

and he would not.) The reason is given in the next verse. Our Lord would prevent a concourse of peoplenot, as some hold, because He was now in the territory of Herod Antipas, but because the disciples needed further instruction, specially concerning His death. St. Matthew’s account is less full, but agrees with this. He says, while they abode in Galilee, i.e. were no longer in the district of Caesarea Philippi.

II.

HE WANTED TO HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE TO TEACH HIS APOSTLES OF HIS COMING PASSION.

III.

EVEN WHEN HE HAD PLAINLY TOLD THEM THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND HIM.

32. This verse gives additional information. St. Matthew notices the deep sorrow of the disciples; St. Mark says that they still failed to understand the saying. He uses the imperfect tense throughout denoting the continued or repeated result of His teaching. If the disciples understood what was meant by suffering and death, they could not reconcile it with what they knew of His Person, and were probably at an utter loss as to the sense in which He was to rise again: whether it implied entrance into a higher state, or restoration to common life. The narrator evidently feels that the fear to inquire, through natural and evincing reverence, was detrimental to them, showing an imperfect appreciation of His character and of their duty. (F.C. Cook)

FACT QUESTIONS 9:30-32

Trace the route of our Lord from Caesarea Philippi to Capernaum.

Why do some hold that since Jesus was in the territory of Herod Antipas He wanted to remain in secret?

Why were His Words concerning His death hard to reconcile to what they knew of His life?

Mark 9:33-50

**13. THE CHILDLIKE SPIRIT 9:33-43

TEXT 9:33-43**

And they came to Capernaum: and when he was in the house he asked them, What were ye reasoning in the way? But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another in the way, who was the greatest, And he sat down, and called the twelve; and he saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and minister of all. And he took a little child, and set him in the midst of them: and taking him in his arms, he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me. John said unto him, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name: and we forbade him, because he followed not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ’S, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 9:33-43

Didn-’t Jesus know of what they reasoned on the way? Why ask them?

Had anything happened in the experience of the apostles which would suggest the topic of greatness in the kingdom? Discuss.

What confession was made by the silence of the apostles?

Why all the twelve to come close to Him?

Show how the very nature of the desire to be first would place such a person last in the kingdom of Christ?

What principle is at work in the one who wants to serve all that makes him first of all?

Name two qualities of a child to be much desired by the citizen of Christ’s kingdom.

Please explain how receiving a child relates to receiving Christ?

Discuss the meaning of the word receive as here used.

What possible connection do the words of John in Mark 9:38 have to do with what Jesus said in Mark 9:37?

These disciples fell into the terrible sin of sectarianismshow how.

When and where had the apostles seen such a man?

How was such a one enabled to cast out demons?

Was it wrong for this unknown disciple to cast out demons? Why did John think it was wrong?

What principle is involved in the words of Jesus in Mark 9:39-41 which is applicable to us today?

For he that is not against us is for us. is this always absolutely true? Discuss.

Why the illustration of the cup of cold water?

Is there any connection between offending the little ones and forbidding one to cast out demons or giving a cup of water in the name of Christ? Please think on this question.

Who are the little ones of Mar 9:42?

What is the meaning of stumble as here used?

Show how mention of sinking into the water of the sea fits the place where it was said.

In what sense could the hand be the cause of sin? What basic lesson is taught here?

Isn-’t Jesus suggesting rather drastic action to avoid sinning? Is it practiced today? Discuss.

What is the meaning of life and hell as used in Mark 9:43-47.

Give your own meaning of Mar 9:48-49.

Show how Mark 9:50 relates to what has preceded.

COMMENT

TIME.The autumn of A.D. 29; probably five or six weeks after the last insident. PLACEThe place of this event is Capernaum, the Lord’s own city, on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, to which he had now returned from the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi, on the head waters of the Jordan.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTS.Matthew 18:1-14; Luke 9:46-50.

LESSON OUTLINE1. Who shall be Greatest? 2. Bigotry in the Kingdom. 3. Christ’s Care of the Little Ones.

ANALYSIS

I.

WHO SHALL BE GREATEST? Mark 9:33-37.

Disputing about Pre-eminence. Mark 9:1-2; Matthew 18:1; Luke 9:46; Luke 22:24.

The Path to True Greatness. Mark 9:35; Mark 10:35-40; Matthew 20:26-27.

The Child as a Text. Mark 9:36-37; Mark 10:13-16; Matthew 18:2.

II.

BIGOTRY IN THE KINGDOM. Mark 9:38-41.

A confession of Bigotry. Mark 9:38; Luke 9:49-50; Numbers 11:26-29.

Bigotry Rebuked. Mark 9:39-40; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Numbers 11:29.

No Good Deed Lost. Mark 9:41; Matthew 10:42.

III.

CHRIST’S CARE OF THE LITTLE ONES. Mark 9:42-50.

Offending the Little Ones, Mark 9:42; Matthew 18:6; Luke 17:1.

Cutting off Offenses. Mark 9:43; Matthew 5:29; Matthew 18:8; Deuteronomy 13:6.

Punishment for offenders. Mark 9:44-50.

INTRODUCTION

The great revelations of Caesarea Philippi, considered last were followed by the manifestation of the glory of the Savior on the Mount of Transfiguration, related in Mark 9:2-13, and parallel passages, and this wonderful event was evidently succeeded by a few weeks of partial retirement, during which the Lord sought to impress upon his apostles the great truths that had been so recently revealed. Shortly after the Transfiguration he healed a lunatic child (Mark 9:14-32), somewhere among the foot-hills of Mt. Hermon; and then, probably crossing the Jordan near its sources, he would enter the northern parts of Galilee, and thus journey towards Capernaum. Matthew’s language (Matthew 17:22), And they abode in Galilee, implies that some time was spent there instructing the disciples in the truths he had just opened to them. During these journeyings, and probably just before their arrival at Capernaum the dispute referred to in the lesson had arisen among the disciples.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

I.

WHO SHALL BE GREATEST?

Mark 9:33. And he came to Capernaum. On his return from his journey to Northern Galilee, from the neighborhood of Caesarea Philippi and the Mount of Transfiguration. During his absence he had been confessed and had acknowledged himself as the Christ. Though this was followed by his declaration that he must be crucified, yet his disciples had so little conception of the true nature of his kingdom that they expected a speedy establishment of a royal Messianic throne on the earth with the various accompaniments of earthly royalty. Not free from earthly ambition, a strife had arisen among them as to which of them should be the great ministers of the Messianic King. This had occurred on the way back to Capernaum. The Lord had taken no part in it; they no doubt sought to conceal their dispute from him, but after their return and they had entered into the house where he was abiding he suddenly startled them by demanding the cause of their dispute. He asked, not for information, but as an introduction to the lesson he sought to impress.

Mark 9:34. But they held their peace. Deep shame kept them silent, and that silence was the most eloquent confession of their sinful ambitions. Who should be the greatest. Who should occupy the chief position under the Kingthe position of prime minister, as it were, in the kingdom that they thought he was about to inaugurate.Morison. What seductive dreams lay for Galilean fishermen in their being commissioned by the Messiah, as his confidential friends, and the first dignitaries of his kingdom! They had as yet no other notion of the kingdom that was shortly to appear than that it would be a temporal one; that their Master was to become a powerful prince, with places, honors, wealth, at his command.

Mark 9:35.* And he sat down.* As teachers did while teaching. The lesson, which touched the fundamental principle of the Christian life, was impressed formally and with all solemnity. And called the twelve. To come close to him. He wanted all of them to hear him. If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all. Simply because the desire to be first, self-seeking, is exactly opposite to the spirit which is the law of Christ’s kingdom, the spirit of love, of self-denial, of helpfulness of others, of humility. Therefore the more any one has of the desire to be first, the less he has of Christ’s kingdom. So that the very desire to be first makes him last by the very nature of things. And servant of all. Despotism, self-seeking, ambition, ever make a man a slave. No one is so much a slave as he who desires to be first of all. He is a slave to his ambition, to the whims and opinions of other people, to circumstances. But voluntary service in the kingdom of love, and under the impulse of humility and self-denial, makes a man a spiritual power, gives him an unconscious and blessed greatness. To be truly great one must (1) forget himself in his work, (2) be humble instead of conceited, and (3) be a helper of his race, or the servant of all. Paul, Luther, Washington and Lincoln were the servants of humanity.

Mark 9:36. And he took a child. Matthew’s account indicates that the disciples asked him a question concerning who should be greatest, or the grounds of greatness in his kingdom. The Lord answers by an object lesson. He called a child (Matthew) and first placed the child in the midst, and then took it in his arms, possibly drawing a lesson for his disciples from its ready submission and trustfulness. Set him in the midst, As an illustration; as a living parable. Matthew says that he went on to say, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven, They not only should not be first, but they should not enter at all, if they indulged their present spirit. Chrysostom says: For such a little child is free from pride, and the mad desire of glory, and envy, and contentiousness, and all such passions, and having many virtuessimplicity, humility, unworldlinessprides itself on none of them; having a two-fold severity of goodnessto have these things and not to be puffed up about them.

Mark 9:37. Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me. There is scarcely a better test of a Christian’s character than his bearing toward children and the childlike. Our Lord sets a little child in the midst of his disciples everywherein the family, in the Sunday-school, in the congregation, in the community; that child is our Lord’s representative, and the object of his watchful care. Just in proportion as there would be a readiness to receive our Lord as he is, if he were visibly present in person, is that child welcomed in heartiness and cared for tenderly. How does that father treat his children, and his neighbor’s children? How does that pastor minister to the children of his flock? How does that church provide for the children of its congregation and membership? How are those Christian citizens looking after the children of their community? These are questions which we may suppose our Lord to be asking as he searches the fidelity of his professed followers.Trumbull. In my name. Receiving in my name is serving with Christian love, and as belonging to Christ. Influenced by regard to my name. We should lay emphasis on this expression. Receiveth me. Observe that the true way to receive Christ is to receive into our hearts, for Christ’s sake, those who need the hospitality of our sympathies, as the way to serve Christ is by serving the needy and suffering (Matthew 25:40).Abbott. Receiveth. him that sent me. When we love or receive him who was one with the Father, we enter into fellowship with him who is the Supreme and Eternal Love. Compare John 14:10; John 14:23.

II.

BIGOTRY IN THE KINGDOM

Mark 9:38. And John answered him. The words were so far an answer to what our Lord had said, that they were suggested by it. The disciple desired to show, as in self-vindication, that he not only received his Master, but that he was unwilling to receive any who did not openly follow him as a disciple.Ellicott. The expression, in my name, seems to have suggested to John a sudden question. They had seen, he said, a man who was casting out devils in Christ’s name; but since the man was not one of them, they had forbidden him. Had they done right?Farrar. We saw one. The disciples had shortly before returned to Christ from their first missionary tour, in which they were empowered to cast out devils (Matthew 10:8). The man here referred to they probably met during this tour. He must have been a disciple of Christ, who was enabled by his faith, yet without a commission, to cure the possessed.Abbott. Casting out devils in thy name. Really, and not in a wrong spirit, as did the Jewish exorcists (Acts 19:13-14); for it was done in thy name. Such workers as this man believed in him, or they would not have used his name. And he followeth not us. What perplexed John was, that one not belonging to the apostolic band should have wrought precisely the miracle which stood foremost among the signs of apostleship; that which the disciples themselves had so lately attempted, but failed to work. See Mark 9:18; Mark 9:23. Nor are we able to explain the case because we know nothing more of the man or circumstances than is here stated. And we forbade him. Hindered him, so far as blaming him, and insisted on the abandonment of the exercise of his gift.

Mark 9:39. Forbid him not. He neither praises nor blames him for following an independent course, and not working with his disciples. He simply declares that he must not be forbidden, and that those who work the same kind of work that we do should be regarded not as enemies, but allies. Thousands, in every period of church history, have spent their lives in copying John’s mistake. They have labored to stop every man who will not work for Christ in their way from working for Christ at all. Ryle. No man which shall do a miracle in my name. He who does a mighty work in the name of Christ cannot be an enemy of the Lord. The principle inculcated forbids discouraging any work, by whomsoever undertaken, minister or layman, man or woman, which is really accomplishing spiritual results.Abbott. If we see any one really accomplishing results that are for Christ it is wrong to hinder his work.

Mark 9:40. For he that is not against us is on our part. Note the social us. The Savior graciously associates the disciples with himself. On another occasion (Matthew 12:30) he said, He that is not with me is against me. There is no belt or border-land between right and wrong. He who is not good is bad; he who is not bad is good. In the highest sphere Christianity and goodness are identical. Christ is impersonated goodness.Morison.

III.

CHRIST’S CARE FOR HIS LITTLE ONES.

Mark 9:41. For whosoever shall give. The idea is, that, if so small a service as is here referred to goes not unrewarded, much more will the ejection of a demon in his name be approved and rewarded of him. A cup of water. Here mentioned as the cheapest of all bodily refreshments, and therefore suitable to represent the smallest act of kindness done by man to man. In my name. With this motive, because he belongs to Christ; with the desire to serve Christ, and honor him, and express his love to him. He shall not lose his reward. He shall be treated as if it were done to Christ himself. It will be accepted as an expression of love and honor to his Master.

Mark 9:42.* Whosoever shall offend* (cause to stumble) one of these little ones that believe in me. The weakest and feeblest of God’s flock, not merely the children, but the little ones, in intellectual and spiritual power and in ecclesiastical position and earthly honor. The child yet nestling in his arms, and furnishing the text for his remarks, he warned them of the awful guilt and peril of offending, of tempting, of misleading, of seducing from the paths of innocence and righteousness, of teaching any wicked thing, or suggesting any wicked thought to one of those little ones. Better that a millstone were hanged about his neck. We are taken, in imagination, into the presence of a certain dreadful scene. We see a millstone attached to a man’s neck. The fastening, passing through the central perforation of the stone is made secure. It is a sad sight. Yet, turning from another scene, we say, This is better. It is better than that the same man should act the part of a seducer, and entrap a childlike follower of Jesus. And were cast into the sea. Which was within sight. Death is a less evil than sinningmuch less than causing others to sin; for one kills the body, the other the soul. No language or figures could more powerfully portray the deep interest of the Master in the little children. How terrible to lead them astray!

Mark 9:43.* If thy hand offend.* Cause you to sin or stumble; ensnare you into evil, Are we to understand these passages literally? No, certainly not. The meaning is, if an object dear as the right eye, and useful as the right hand, stand between you and your progress to heaven, and your complete surrender to Christ, that object, however dear, you are to part with.Cumming. Hand. The temptation to do what is wrongforgery, stealing, murder. Eye. Lusting, coveting. Foot, Going into forbidden ways. He goes on to warn them that no sacrifice could be too great if it enabled them to escape any possible temptations to put such stumbling-blocks in the way of their own souls or the souls of others.Farrar. Into life maimed. The meaning is, not that any man is in such a case that he hath no better way to avoid sin and hell; but, if he had no better, he should choose this. Nor doth it mean that maimed persons are maimed in heaven; but, if it were so, it were a less evil.Richard Baxter. Into hell. Not Hades but Gehenna, the place of eternal punishment. The name was derived from the valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem where refuse was burned.

Mark 9:48. where their worm dieth not. Yet another strong figure, again in terms of Isa 66:24, and expressing a future penalty that does not exhaust itself.

Mark 9:49. every one shall be salted with fire. Once more the connection hangs on a phrase, here -fire-’; but in this case the continuity of thought between Mark 9:48 and Mark 9:49 is deep and strong, far more so than in the next case, that of the -salting-’ in Mark 9:49 and the -salt-’ in Mark 9:50. The clause added by the A. V., -and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt-’ (cf. Leviticus 2:13), is no part of the original. The addition was originally an interpretation of the genuine text (which falls out in some early MSS.): then it was added to it. The genuine saying, a very striking one, seems connected with the preceding mention of a fire that is not quenched, thus: -Yes, the fire, I say, is not quenched; for with fireof one sort or anotherall must, sooner or later, be salted.-'

The key to its meaning is found probably in the Levitical regulation which provided that with all oblations salt was to be offered (Leviticus 2:13), as the glossing addition rightly suggests. Salt was used in connection with the making of covenants (Leviticus 2:13; Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5); and the sacrificial salt of the Levitical offerings was the symbol of the covenant-relation between God and Israel. It was interpreted by this time, at least, with reference to the properties of salt as a preservative against corruption in things apt to putrify, a preservative, however, with a stinging, painful effect on sentient life. In this respect it is like -fire,-’ which also causes pain, yet it may be, wholesome and purifying pain; hence the combination of the two metaphors in the one idea -salted with (purifying) fire.-’ To this discipline of suffering in one form or another, Jesus says, all men must submit, whether freely or by constraint. The form he here sets before his disciples, for their good, is that of discipline; voluntarily accepted for the sake of the true life, to be safeguarded thereby from corruption; and illustrations of this positive or cleansing function of moral fire have just been given in Mark 9:43-47. But these are only special cases of the general principle of suffering as integral to the path of his disciples, as of their Master, which Jesus had set himself to bring home to them ever since he had hinted, while near Caesarea Philippi, at the Cross looming before him (see Mark 9:31 f).

The best commentary on the whole saying is another equally striking, in Luke 12:49: -I came to cast fire (of testing) upon the earth: and what will I, if it is already kindled?-’ There he adds that he has himself to be -baptized-’ with this kind of searching -baptism-’ (cf, Matthew 3:11, for the metaphor, -He shall baptize you with holy spirit and fire-’), and is sore pressed or -straitened-’ in spirit -til it be fulfilled,-’ The context which precedes this in Luke (Luke 12:47 f.) makes the parallel most illuminative, teaching as it does that -stripes-’ for servants will be -few-’ or -many,-’ according as their unreadiness for the Lord’s arrival is accompanied by knowledge or ignorance of his declared purpose to return ere long, so that they should be ready for Him. The broad moral for all (-every one-’) is the necessity for practice of the sacrifice of self, that -life-’ may be gained and loss escaped.

Mark 9:50. Salt is good, lost its saltness. The sweeping out of salt that has lost its virtue, and become useless or hurtful, is still, travellers tell us, a common sight in Palestine.

wherewith will ye season it? Salt once spoilt can never have its saltness restored. So if the qualities which make up the -saltness-’ of the true disciplefidelity at all costs of pain, self-abnegation, and the likeare turned to faithlessness and selfishness, what becomes of the discipleship which should save others from the corruption of worldliness and selfhood? There is no human source of -saltness-’ capable of renewing it.

Have salt in yourselves. Keep the purifying sacrificial fire alive in your souls, and in particular let it burn up the egoism that destroys unity.

and be at peace one with another. Let the saving salt of fidelity to your Divine calling fulfill itself in brotherly relations with one another, So the words seem to bring us back to the disputing of the disciples (Mark 9:33) with which the conversation started. Selfish claims for the chief places destroy peace among men, and are not of the spirit of Jesus-’ disciples. (J. Vernon Bartlet).

FACT QUESTIONS 9:33-50

State two very important things that had happened during Jesus-’ absence from Capernaum.

What was the basic misconception of the disciples as it related to the Messianic kingdom?

What did the disciples mean by the use of the term greatest? Greatest what?

Was there any significance in the fact that He sat down?

The more one has a desire to be first the less he has of what?

State the two things the truly great one must do.

A little child is free from what undesirable qualities?

Why is it true that there is scarcely a better test of a Christian’s character than his bearing toward children or the childlike?

In what sense was John in his comment of Mar 9:38 showing his self-vindication?

How was it possible to cast out demons without being one of the twelve or one of the seventy?

What does the principle laid down by Christ in Mark 9:39 inculcate?

In what sense is Christ impersonated goodness?

How does giving a cup of cold water relate to forbidding the casting out of a demon?

Relate the offending or stumbling of the little ones to the context.

Is death better than sin? Is this literally true?

If we are not to understand the passages of Mar 9:43-44literally how are we to understand them?

Explain the hell or Gehenna here mentioned by Christ.

In what sense does the worm die not in the place of eternal punishment?

Give your exegesis of Mar 9:49.

There seems to be two or three uses of the word salt in Mark 9:49-50discuss them.