People's New Testament And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. 9:1 The Transfiguration
SUMMARY OF MARK 9: The Coming of the Kingdom. The Transfiguration. Moses and Elias. The Elias That Must Come. The Boy with the Dumb Spirit. The Condition of Receiving Christ's Help. The Disciples Taught of Christ's Sufferings. Who Shall Be Greatest?. The Narrowness of the Disciples Rebuked. A Cup of Cold Water in the Name of Christ. The Offending Hand or Eye. Till they have been seen the kingdom of God come with power. Compare Mt 16:28 Lu 9:27. Matthew says, Till they have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom; Luke, Till they have seen the kingdom of God. A comparison shows that the reference is to the coming of the kingdom in power. Of the twelve, one at a time was dead; the others had not tasted of death. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. 9:2 After six days. After six days intervening. Luke says, About eight days (Lu 9:28), he counting the one before and after the six days that intervened. For notes on the Transfiguration, see Mt 17:1-13, and compare Lu 9:28-36.
And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. 9:14-22 And when he came to his disciples. After the transfiguration.
He saw a great multitude. For notes on this miracle, see Mt 17:14-21. Compare Lu 9:37-42. Mark's account is the fullest. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. 9:14-22 And when he came to his disciples. After the transfiguration.
He saw a great multitude. For notes on this miracle, see Mt 17:14-21. Compare Lu 9:37-42. Mark's account is the fullest. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? 9:14-22 And when he came to his disciples. After the transfiguration.
He saw a great multitude. For notes on this miracle, see Mt 17:14-21. Compare Lu 9:37-42. Mark's account is the fullest. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 9:14-22 And when he came to his disciples. After the transfiguration.
He saw a great multitude. For notes on this miracle, see Mt 17:14-21. Compare Lu 9:37-42. Mark's account is the fullest. And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 9:18 He foameth. and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away. According to the Revised Version, Matthew (Mt 17:15) says that the youth was an epileptic, and the symptoms given by Mark are those of epilepsy. Mark also states that he had been afflicted from childhood (Mr 9:21).
He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 9:23 If thou canst believe. The question is not whether Jesus can, but whether the afflicted father can. Can he have the needful faith in Christ? Faith is the great need.
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 9:24 Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. The spark of faith has been kindled; if his faith is not strong, he prays the Lord to give him stronger faith. So should always pray the doubting Christian. If your faith is weak, cry for help.
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 9:26 The spirit cried, and rent him sore. The evil spirit obeys most reluctantly and seeks to destroy one whom it can no longer use. The paroxysm of departure was fearful, and left the boy exhausted and as dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. 9:27 Jesus took him by the hand, etc. The touch of Jesus completed the cure.
And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? 9:28 Why could not we cast him out? His answer first was, according to Matthew, Because of your belief (Mt 17:20). The whole difficulty centered in their want of faith. No demon could defy them if only they had faith enough. And then Jesus illustrates the power of faith by showing that even a small amount of active, living faith, like a grain of mustard-seed, could remove this mountain, perhaps pointing to Mount Hermon, at whose base they were, and which towered in its grandeur above them.
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. 9:29 Can come forth by nothing, but by prayer. Fasting is omitted in the Revised Version, but placed in the margin. The faith which will be effectual must be a faith exercised in prayer. The work of the Church is still to cast out devils, the unclean spirits of worldliness, selfishness, greed, infidelity, lust, intemperance, Sabbath-breaking. These still defy the ordinary efforts and faith of God's people. We have faith enough for ordinary duties, for some giving, for prayer-meetings, for building churches; but there is a work which ordinary faith cannot do. How shall we get that higher faith? By prayer and fasting. By such an earnestness that we forget the needs of the body.
And they departed 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 into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. 9:31,32 The Son of man is delivered. See notes on Mt 17:22,23. Compare Lu 9:43-45.
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him. 9:31,32 The Son of man is delivered. See notes on Mt 17:22,23. Compare Lu 9:43-45.
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 9:33 What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? See notes on Mt 18:1-9. Compare Lu 9:46-50.
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all. 9:35 Servant of all. The two conditions of true greatness are humility and service; not to be the servant of friends, or kindred, or of a class, or even of church members, but of all, like Christ.
And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. 9:38 John answered him,... 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 (Mt 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 (Ac 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. He followeth not us. Did not join himself to the apostles as one of their followers. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 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).
For he that is not against us is on our part.
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 9:42 Whosoever shall offend one of these little ones, etc. See notes on Mt 18:6-10.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 9:43 The fire that never shall be quenched. See PNT Mt 5:29. The fires that were occasionally lit in the literal Gehenna, or Tophet, were necessarily only temporary. They died out for want of fuel. It was to be otherwise with the fire of the other and ulterior Tophet. The fire referred to is, of course, a mere symbol of the sum total of certain dreadful realities, for which there are no adequate representations in human language.
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 9:48 Worm dieth not... fire is not quenched. An expression borrowed from Isa 66:24, and probably in current use among the Jews of our Savior's time, as applied to the state of future retribution.
For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 9:49 For. Our Lord is alluding to the pervading idea of Mr 9:45-48. These sacrifices of hand, foot, eye, must be made; for --
every one shall be salted with fire. Fire is used in the Scripture to denote suffering, persecution, trial, distress of any kind. Salt is used to denote permanence, preservation from corruption. Every one, good and bad, must suffer. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. 9:50 Have salt in yourselves. The spirit of self-sacrifice, and thus you will have peace with one another. The People's New Testament by B.W. Johnson [1891] Bible Hub |
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