Mark 9:32
But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
But they did not understand
The phrase "But they did not understand" highlights the disciples' lack of comprehension regarding Jesus' teachings about His impending death and resurrection. The Greek word for "understand" here is "syniēmi," which means to bring together or to comprehend. This suggests that the disciples were unable to piece together the prophetic words of Jesus with their expectations of the Messiah. Historically, the Jewish expectation of the Messiah was a conquering king who would liberate Israel from Roman oppression. The idea of a suffering Messiah was foreign and difficult to grasp, which is why the disciples struggled to understand Jesus' prediction of His death.

this statement
refers to Jesus' foretelling of His death and resurrection. The Greek word "rhēma" is used here, which can mean a word, saying, or statement. In the context of Mark 9, Jesus had just spoken plainly about His future suffering, death, and resurrection. This was a pivotal teaching moment, yet the disciples' preconceived notions and cultural expectations created a barrier to their understanding. Theologically, this highlights the mystery of God's redemptive plan, which often transcends human understanding and requires faith and revelation to fully grasp.

and they were afraid to ask Him about it
The phrase "and they were afraid" reveals the disciples' fear and hesitation. The Greek word "phobeō" is used, which means to fear or be afraid. This fear could stem from a variety of sources: fear of rebuke, fear of the unknown, or fear of confronting a reality that contradicted their hopes. In a broader scriptural context, fear often accompanies encounters with the divine or the unknown, as seen in other biblical narratives. The disciples' fear prevented them from seeking clarity, which is a reminder of the importance of approaching God with boldness and seeking understanding through prayer and study.

to ask Him about it
The phrase "to ask Him about it" indicates the disciples' reluctance to seek further explanation from Jesus. The Greek word "eperōtaō" means to inquire or question. This reluctance could be due to their fear of appearing ignorant or their discomfort with the subject matter. In the historical context of a rabbi-disciple relationship, questioning was a common method of learning. However, the disciples' hesitation underscores their struggle to reconcile Jesus' teachings with their expectations. This serves as an inspirational reminder for believers to seek wisdom and understanding from God, trusting that He welcomes our questions and desires to reveal His truth to us.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is teaching His disciples about His impending death and resurrection.

2. The Disciples
The followers of Jesus who are struggling to understand His teachings and are afraid to ask for clarification.

3. Galilee
The region where Jesus and His disciples are traveling, a significant area for Jesus' ministry.
Teaching Points
Understanding Requires Humility
The disciples' fear of asking questions highlights the importance of humility in seeking understanding. We should not be afraid to ask God for wisdom and clarity.

Fear as a Barrier to Growth
Fear can prevent us from seeking deeper understanding and growth in our faith. We must overcome fear to fully grasp God's truths.

The Importance of Open Communication
Just as the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus questions, we too can be hesitant in our communication with God. We should strive for open and honest dialogue in our prayer life.

God's Patience with Our Misunderstanding
Jesus' patience with His disciples serves as a reminder that God is patient with us as we grow in understanding His Word.

Seeking Wisdom from God
James 1:5 encourages us to ask God for wisdom. This passage reminds us that God is willing to provide understanding if we seek it earnestly.
Bible Study Questions
1. What might have caused the disciples to be afraid to ask Jesus for clarification, and how can we overcome similar fears in our spiritual journey?

2. How does the disciples' misunderstanding in Mark 9:32 relate to other instances in the Gospels where they struggle to comprehend Jesus' teachings?

3. In what ways can we apply the principle of seeking wisdom from God, as seen in James 1:5, to our daily lives?

4. How can we foster a spirit of humility and openness in our relationship with God, especially when we encounter difficult teachings or situations?

5. Reflect on a time when fear prevented you from seeking understanding or growth in your faith. How can you approach similar situations differently in the future?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Mark 8:31-33
This passage also discusses Jesus predicting His death and resurrection, highlighting the disciples' misunderstanding.

Luke 9:45
Similar to Mark 9:32, this verse emphasizes the disciples' lack of understanding and fear of asking Jesus for clarification.

John 16:17-18
The disciples express confusion about Jesus' teachings, showing a recurring theme of misunderstanding.

Proverbs 1:7
This verse speaks to the fear of the Lord as the beginning of knowledge, contrasting the disciples' fear of asking questions.
Christ Teaching His DisciplesExpository Discourses.Mark 9:30-32
Prediction of His PassionJ.J. Given Mark 9:30-32
Renewed Prediction of DeathE. Johnson Mark 9:30-32
The Complete TruthJ. Parker, D. D.Mark 9:30-32
The Gospel a Source of Sorrow and PerplexityA.F. Muir Mark 9:30-32
The Utility of Truth not UnderstoodDr. Whichcote.Mark 9:30-32
Understood NotFrances Ridley Havergal.Mark 9:30-32
People
Elias, Elijah, James, Jesus, John, Peter
Places
Caesarea Philippi, Capernaum, Galilee, High Mountain
Topics
Afraid, Clear, Didn't, Fear, Feared, However, Meant, Question, Questioning, Saying, Statement, Understand, Understanding, Understood
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 9:32

     2054   Christ, mind of
     5135   blindness, spiritual
     7621   disciples, calling
     8351   teachableness
     8355   understanding
     8754   fear
     8761   fools, in teaching of Christ

Library
February 2 Evening
One star differeth from another star in glory.--I COR. 15:41. 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.--Be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Christ's Lament Over Our Faithlessness
'He answereth him and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?'--Mark ix. 19. There is a very evident, and, I think, intentional contrast between the two scenes, of the Transfiguration, and of this healing of the maniac boy. And in nothing is the contrast more marked than in the demeanour of these enfeebled and unbelieving Apostles, as contrasted with the rapture of devotion of the other three, and with the lowly submission and faith of Moses and Elias.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Omnipotence of Faith
Jesus said unto him, If them canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.'--Mark ix. 23. The necessity and power of faith is the prominent lesson of this narrative of the healing of a demoniac boy, especially as it is told by the Evangelist Mark, The lesson is enforced by the actions of all the persons in the group, except the central figure, Christ. The disciples could not cast out the demon, and incur Christ's plaintive rebuke, which is quite as much sorrow as blame: 'O faithless
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Unbelieving Belief
'And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.'--Mark ix. 24. We owe to Mark's Gospel the fullest account of the pathetic incident of the healing of the demoniac boy. He alone gives us this part of the conversation between our Lord and the afflicted child's father. The poor man had brought his child to the disciples, and found them unable to do anything with him. A torrent of appeal breaks from his lips as soon as the Lord gives
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

An Unanswered Question
'What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?'--Mark ix. 33. Was it not a strange time to squabble when they had just been told of His death? Note-- I. The variations of feeling common to the disciples and to us all: one moment 'exceeding sorrowful,' the next fighting for precedence. II. Christ's divine insight into His servants' faults. This question was put because He knew what the wrangle had been about. The disputants did not answer, but He knew without an answer, as His immediately
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Salted with Fire
Every one shall be salted with fire.'--Mark ix. 49. Our Lord has just been uttering some of the most solemn words that ever came from His gracious lips. He has been enjoining the severest self-suppression, extending even to mutilation and excision of the eye, the hand, or the foot, that might cause us to stumble. He has been giving that sharp lesson on the ground of plain common sense and enlightened self-regard. It is better, obviously, to live maimed than to die whole. The man who elects to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'Salt in Yourselves'
'Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.'--Mark ix. 50. In the context 'salt' is employed to express the preserving, purifying, divine energy which is otherwise spoken of as 'fire.' The two emblems produce the same result. They both salt--that is, they cleanse and keep. And if in the one we recognise the quick energy of the Divine Spirit as the central idea, no less are we to see the same typified under a slightly different aspect in the other. The fire transforms into its own substance
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

'This is My Beloved Son: Hear Him'
'And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him.'--Mark ix. 7. With regard to the first part of these words spoken at the Transfiguration, they open far too large and wonderful a subject for me to do more than just touch with the tip of my finger, as it were, in passing, because the utterance of the divine words, 'This is My beloved Son,' in all the depth of their meaning and loftiness, is laid as the foundation of the two
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Jesus Only!
'They saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.'--Mark ix. 8. The Transfiguration was the solemn inauguration of Jesus for His sufferings and death. Moses, the founder, and Elijah, the restorer, of the Jewish polity, the great Lawgiver and the great Prophet, were present. The former had died and been mysteriously buried, the latter had been translated without 'seeing death.' So both are visitors from the unseen world, appearing to own that Jesus is the Lord of that dim land, and that
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Transfiguration
'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. 3. And His raimemt became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. 4. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5. 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,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Receiving and Forbidding
'And He came to Capernaum: and being in the house He asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 34. But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest. 35. 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. 36. 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, 37.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

July the Ninth Scholars in Christ's School
"He taught His disciples." --MARK ix. 30-37. And my Lord will teach me. He will lead me into "the deep things" of God. There is only one school for this sort of learning, and an old saint called it the Academy of Love, and it meets in Gethsemane and Calvary, and the Lord Himself is the teacher, and there is room in the school for thee and me. But the disciples were not in the mood for learning. They were not ambitious for heavenly knowledge, but for carnal prizes, not for wisdom, but for place.
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Lenten Fast.
"This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer."--ST. MARK ix. 29. You remember the narrative from which I have taken this verse. Jesus, as we read, had just come down from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when He was come to the multitude, a certain man besought him saying, "Have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic and sore vexed, and I brought him to Thy disciples, but they could not cure him." Then Jesus rebuked the devil, and the child was cured from that hour. Thereupon His disciples
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

The Child in the Midst.
"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."--ST. MARK ix. 36, 37. It is one of the characteristics of our time, one of its most hopeful and most encouraging signs, that men are awaking to higher and purer conceptions of the Christian life and what it is that constitutes such a life. We
John Percival—Sermons at Rugby

Of Hell
"Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:48. 1. Every truth which is revealed in the oracles of God is undoubtedly of great importance. Yet it may be allowed that some of those which are revealed therein are of greater importance than others, as being more immediately conducive to the grand end of all, the eternal salvation of men. And we may judge of their importance even from this circumstance, -- that they are not mentioned once only in the sacred writings, but are repeated
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

A Caution against Bigotry
"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. But Jesus said, Forbid him not." Mark 9:38, 39. 1. In the preceding verses we read, that after the Twelve had been disputing "which of them should be the greatest," Jesus took a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of these little children in My name, receiveth
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Faith's Dawn and Its Clouds
In the text there are three things very clearly. Here is true faith; here is grievous unbelief; here is a battle between the two. I. Very clearly in the text there is TRUE FAITH. "Lord, I believe," says the anxious father. When our Lord tells him that, if he can believe, all things are possible to him, he makes no demur, asks for no pause, wishes to hear no more evidence, but cries at once, "Lord, I believe." Now, observe we have called this faith true faith, and we will prove it to have been so.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 18: 1872

The Child in the Midst.
And he came to Capernaum: and, being in the house, he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? 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. 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
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

Absolute Surrender
"And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that
Andrew Murray—Absolute Surrender

Thoughts Upon Striving to Enter at the Strait Gate.
AS certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another World, either in a World of Happiness, or else in a World of Misery, or if you will, either in Heaven or in Hell. For these are the two only places which all Mankind from the beginning of the World to the end of it, must live in for evermore, some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places,
William Beveridge—Private Thoughts Upon a Christian Life

The Three Tabernacles
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. MARK ix. 5. Caught up in glory and in rapture, the Apostle seems to have forgotten the world from which he had ascended, and to which he still belonged, and to have craved permanent shelter and extatic communion within the mystic splendors that brightened the Mount of Transfiguration. But it was true, not only as to the confusion of his
E. H. Chapin—The Crown of Thorns

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