Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.
Mark 9
- About the title: Psalm 78:2 “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,”
- Jesus, Elijah, and Moses appear on the mountain top “transfigured”?
- Jesus said John the Baptist was Elijah? Elijah did not die. He disappeared into the heavens on a chariot, leaving his mantle behind to Elisha (I Kings 19:19).
- Who is the prophet? Moses talks about “a prophet like me” Deuteronomy 18:15,18 concerning Jesus (Acts 3:22, Acts 7:37).
- Ten men from every nation? Is there a future when the world is reconfigured into ten nations?
- The Last is the Greatest.
The Transfiguration of Christ
Mark 9:1 And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God (having come) present with power.”
- The Kingdom of God is everything under God’s authority, sovereignty, and control.
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount
Mark 9:2 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.
Mark 9:3 His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
Mark 9:4 And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
- What were they discussing? Why was it Moses and Elijah?
- Did they also have “Glorified” bodies?
- Moses was a Redeemer, and Elijah a Prophet.
- No answers, but many questions, and since “Questions”, when sought out, tend to answer questions, it is good to ask, seek, and knock:
- The transfigured three seem to be involved in God’s plan for man, specifically, the upcoming crucifixion of Jesus.
- One phenomenon that cannot be overlooked on Jesus’ timeline for His crucifixion is Daniel’s prophetic 70 weeks, specifically directed at God’s agenda for the Jews.
- Jesus, as the Jewish Messiah, is speaking to the other two as they stand on the end of the threshold of Daniel’s 69th “week”. Something is about to change: but which way will it go?
- When He is crucified, will the 70th week begin? A Jewish Scholar would say, “Of course!” The problem is, the Jewish Leaders refused to believe that Jesus was their Messiah.
Will the Jewish leaders be able to derail God’s agenda? God forbid.
So far, historically, from Jesus’ perspective, the following has been fulfilled: - Daniel 9:24: From the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (a total of sixty-nine weeks);
FULFILLED!
The command to restore and build Jerusalem began in Queen Esther’s court as she sat on her throne alongside her husband, Artaxerxes I, on 03/31/0446 BC. Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer, was told to lead the way to restore Jerusalem, and Nehemiah took the mantle. (Nehemiah 1)
According to Daniel’s prophecies, that means their Messiah would appear on 4/21/31 AD. As it turns out, that was the day of Jesus’ “Triumphal Entry” as He rode into Jerusalem to present Himself as their King and Deliverer.
For some reason, God presented these prophecies in “weeks” rather than their literal “years”, where one day of each week is equal to one year. And yet, asking one question led to one very logical explanation based on Numbers 18:34 “For each day you shall bear your guilt one year (360 days per Jewish year) … and you shall know My rejection” (when the spies spied out the promised land for 40 days, the Jews had to wander in the wilderness 40 years.)
BUT! Will He be accepted by the Jewish leaders as King?
Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are standing on the precipice of Daniel’s 70th, and last week of prophecy for the Jews. The last week will last 7 years. - If I were present at this divine supernatural meeting, I would want to know! Will He be accepted by the Jewish leaders as King, and if so, what is the role of Moses and Elijah? Will one sit at His right hand and one at His left when He comes into His kingdom? or, Will they be the two witnesses during the last seven years? or …. questions abound, and mysteries are lost in the Light.
Is it okay to speculate? Is it right to ask questions? Should one be allowed to have theories? Only if speculation isn’t pushed to supersede or replace literal scripture as a doctrine or a fact. If not, then what are they good for? When studying scripture, they are to be asked, set aside, and then set aside to wait for more insight, revelation, fulfillment, and proof.
The truth is … we don’t know … yet.
What we do know is that Jesus came to gather the Father’s harvest of Jews. In fact, He is quoted as saying ” “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew 15:24.
An argument for preparing for the Millennium, when Jesus will reign on earth and the Jews will serve Him and carry out His desire for the Gentiles. - Zechariah 8:23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days (the millennium) ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
Mark 9:5 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—
- Why Moses and Elijah when there could have been many other Old Testament righteous men?
Mark 9:6 because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.
Mark 9:7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
- NOTE: Fear causes people to say stupid things. Peter had demoted Jesus to being equal to Moses and Elijah. Now, God is telling Peter, as well as James and John to listen to his Son, Jesus. They were talking about Jesus’ coming crucifixion. This was a serious conversation.
(See Bottom of Posting for Transfiguration Chart with Daniel’s 70-Week Prophecy.)
Mark 9:8 Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.
Mark 9:9 Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
- NOTE: Once again, Jesus is telling them he will be killed and rise from the dead. Once again, they don’t understand.
Mark 9:10 So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.
Mark 9:11 And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
- Why are they diverting the subject? Shouldn’t the first outward response be this question about rising from the dead?
Mark 9:12 Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
- Jesus tries again to tell them what is coming.
Mark 9:13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”
- Jesus is still patient enough to answer their question, and His answer is interesting, especially since John the Baptist denied he was Elijah to the priests and Levites from Jerusalem (John 1:21,25).
He must have had the spirit of Elijah; and yet … what does that mean? - In Matthew 11:14 adds that Jesus told Peter, James, and John “… if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
- Therefore, Jesus is revealing something that evidently is hard for someone to understand or accept. Is it a one-time event, or something that can, or will, happen to anyone (whatever IT is)?
A Boy Is Healed
Mark 9:14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.
Mark 9:15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.
Mark 9:16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
Mark 9:17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.
Mark 9:18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
Mark 9:19 He answered him and said, “O faithless (unbelieving) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I (put up with) bear with you? Bring him to Me.”
Mark 9:20 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.
Mark 9:21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood.
Mark 9:22 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.”
Mark 9:23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
Mark 9:24 Immediately, the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
- “Help my unbelief!” The prayer for everyone. The prayer that asks for a mustard seed of faith. (Matthew 17:20) The smallest seed in the Middle East during Jesus’ time.
Mark 9:25 When Jesus saw that the 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!”
Mark 9:26 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.”
- What is this “spirit”….or “demon”? What are they and where do they come from?
Mark 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
Mark 9:28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
Mark 9:29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”
- What kind? Why is “this kind” different? Now it takes faith, prayer, and fasting…
Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection
Mark 9:30 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.
Mark 9:31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” @Prophecy Alert
- There is quite a bit of very detailed information in one sentence, how did He know?
- He will be betrayed.
- He will be killed.
- He will rise from the dead on the third day.
- That answers the question whether or not the leaders will accept Him.
Mark 9:32 But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
Chart Below: @Prophecy Fulfilled
Who Is the Greatest?
Mark 9:33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed (discussed) among yourselves on the road?”
Mark 9:34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.
Mark 9:35 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.”
Mark 9:36 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,
Mark 9:37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
- Jesus is comparing Himself to children. What do they have in common? Innocence.
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism
Mark 9:38 Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”
Mark 9:39 But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.
Mark 9:40 For he who is not against (you) us is on (your) our side.
- An interesting measuring stick for churches, doctrines, and people.
- The gifts of the Holy Spirit are manifold and mysterious, weaving a tapestry displaying the ultimate plan of God, when everything becomes beautiful in its own time. Ecclesiastes 3:11
- He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.
Jesus Warns of Offenses
Mark 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me (To fall into sin) to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
Mark 9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life (crippled) maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to (Gr. Gehenna) hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—
Mark 9:44 where
‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
Mark 9:45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell (Gr. Gehenna], into the fire that shall never be quenched—
Mark 9:46 where
‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into (Gr. Gehenna) hell fire—
Mark 9:48 where
‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’
Tasteless Salt Is Worthless
Mark 9:49 “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.
Mark 9:50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”
Transfiguration Chart with Daniel’s 70 Week Prophecy.
