Verse 1, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Seeing the King, in all His glory, was something that Peter, James, and John were privileged to see in their lifetime. Verses 2-4, "Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus." It was only a glimpse of what is to come, but we know it was so awesome that they were greatly afraid and didn't even know what to speak. Along with Verse 7, Matthew 17:5-6 tells us they heard the voice of God, "While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!' And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid."
So why did Moses and Elijah appear and what was the significance? Some say that Moses represented the law, and Elijah the prophets. Others think that Moses represented those who had physically tasted death, and Elijah, those who would be caught up to heaven (raptured), as he never died. The disciples knew what the scriptures said in Malachi 4:5, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," which prompts them to ask Jesus about it. Matthew 17:11-13, "Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist." We know from Luke 1:17 that John came in the same spirit of Elijah, "He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” It also sounds as though Elijah will come in a future tense and "will restore all things."
After unsuccessfully attempting to cast a demon out of a boy, Jesus performs the miracle requested by the boys father. Verses 23-24, "Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.' Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!' ” This is a humble and appropriate way to address Jesus Christ. If you think you are awesome and can do everything on your own, you'll never be able to admit you need help or even a Savior. We can come to God the Father as His children, and make our requests. This man prayed for faith to believe; why would He sent that request? Matthew 7:7-11, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"
Humility and childlike faith are key. Actually He requires humility. Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" Internal striving is not the way to go, as Jesus teaches the disciples. Verses 34-37, "But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 'Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.' ” We all need to practice putting others first, and their needs above our own. When we are easily offended by others, it just reveals how concerned we are with ourselves. Keep your eyes on eternity, and do all things unto the Lord. Colossians 3:23-25, "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality."
7Mark 9:43-44 NKJV
ReplyDeleteIf your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’
If there is something that is in our lives that causes us to sin or stumble, then we need to get rid of it. There are so many things that can cause us to sin in this world. You can't escape it. Everyone has something in their life that they struggle with; not one of us is perfect, but if we get it into a situation that we can't stand strong in, then we need to get it out of our lives, so we will not sin. Also, we could also cause other people to sin also.
And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?" Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teethe, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me." Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, "How long has this bee happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" When Jesus saw that he people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it: "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!" Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead." But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Mark 9:14-29
ReplyDeleteAs Jesus joined the disciples as they came down the mountain after Jesus' transfiguration. Jesus saw and great multitude and as well as scribes disputing with them. Jesus comes to the aid of the people, just like any good shepherd would. As the shepherd of a flock, pastor, protecting the flock from false teachers is huge especially today as we are seeing more and more people rise up who claim the name of Jesus. Here we read that Jesus asks the scribes what they are talking about. Can you imagine how this situation could have turned out if Jesus hadn't been there. This poor boy and his father would still be dealing with this unclean spirit and the counsel of the scribes would have just made it worse, for they don't understand the mysteries of the word to give sound doctrine and direction. Just like the disciples were not equipped to cast out the demon because they had not fasted and prayed. All of us in order to do the work of the Lord we have to empty ourselves completely to rid ourselves of the desires of the flesh in order to get our focus completely on the Lord. When we are at a point to say to a mountain jump and it jumps or even to have faith as a mustard seed we are able to do great and mighty things in the name of the Lord. To Him be all the glory. We can't do that if we are so caught up in ourselves and the desires of our flesh no matter how innocent they might be.
This father son relationship that we see here is priceless. This father has seen his son go through so much and is at his wits end. He pleads with Jesus for the healing of his son. Just like any parent would. He asks the Lord to have compassion on him and his son and to help them. Jesus' reply "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." It takes faith. We are all guilty for not having enough faith, guilty of our unbelief. There are times that the Lord could bless us abundantly more if we just let go and have faith. There are so many accounts of the Lord's healing today. When doctors knew medically that patients were going to die but because of their faith they were healed. A modern day miracle. It is said that even those doctors who witness that will still not believe in God they will just chalk it up to a scientific phenomenon. But we know that we have the great physician on our side and He can do exceedingly abundantly more than anything we could ever ask our think. What a mighty God we serve.
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