Mark 9
And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
2 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?”
12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him.
16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?"
"Bring him to me.”
20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”
29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”
32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?
Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Salt.
Jesus is always interesting.
Displaying the Vast Attributes of God the Father Almighty.
This is true of God:
1 John 4:10
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 Peter 4:8 (ASV)
Above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins
Jesus being God proclaims to the disciples they will see Heaven before they die. If you have studied the medical conditions of Jesus upon the Cross, you are aware Jesus died mercifully faster from heart failure, far faster than most human beings placed on a cross. Father God was merciful towards Jesus Great Love for us as atonement for our sins.
Jesus is perhaps telling them they will be like Stephen and see this Glory before their suffering overcomes them.
The Wonder of God. Vast. Jesus tells these disciples they will see Heaven, an impossibility and immediately Jesus fulfills this.
Now there is another facet to this human equation. Wonder of God with Doubt. Anxiety.
They are like Mary. Unsure of what to do with a God sized Word of God Statement.
10. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.
Who else did this?
Luke 2:19
Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
Let's see another, less thought of , example:
Isaiah 7
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask a sign of the Lord yourf God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.”
13 And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
God is not just considering the people He addresses, He is considering yesterday, today and tomorrow's Beloved of God. This is a God sized Word of God. Who is Ahaz? The unbelieving father of Hezekiah, the most prosperous king of David's Line just outside of Solomon. God is considering Ahaz's son. And us today.
These Words of God continue to all people.
God does not have explain God. He is God.
What God does after He proclaims...
He allows mankind to do the work given to them - Believe.
If they do not, Father God is not fussed. He does not require human hands to bring forth His Plan.
Father God is Love, we witness in the fullness of His Plan.
Jesus does not in desperation run back and forth begging for belief.
He believes all called by Father God will become the Lord's.
Jesus does not shrink from proclaiming the Good News of God.
Jesus has given exactly what Father God intends Jesus to give.
Facets of Human understanding:
Mary accepted faith is a mystery. Luke 2:19
The disciples accepted faith is a mystery. Verse 10.
Paul shows us in the Holy Spirit, he accepts the mystery with Timothy. Once saying, Paul "will see how it goes with me."
And telling us with Timothy:
Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
Another facet of God giving what God will give:
Place God first and trust God of All Creation.
God does not do this. Unless - God is ready:
1. Words of Affirmation.
2. Acts of Service.
3. Giving Gifts.
4. He does promise Quality Time like the 12 always open gates of Heaven.
5. Physical Touch.
God is saying, in conclusion, "God loves first. Believe the Promises of God."
The disciples walked with the Light of Life and had questions. We can believe Jesus perceives thoughts and heart.
We can trust Father God with our questions. Jesus made time for the father of the child asking for more faith, even as the crowd was 'running' to them. We can believe God for His mighty Works and His quiet works as well.
We can believe in trusting in Jesus, He will lift us up too.
Father God,
You are God, we are not. We are the people You have created.
In You, we will lean upon Your Holy Spirit. Doing like Elisha and asking for more of Your Holy Spirit when we do not understand. Placing all things under Your feet, Father God.
When emotion floods us, we will acknowledge our emotion. Like anxiety and we will give this emotion to You. I will trust in Your Word and I will ask for You to cover my emotion and I will not be afraid. I will be centered upon you.
I believe You have a plan for me. And this is my hope and future.
We will be Your children. We will look to Your Word and Your teaching. We will ask our Heart in Jesus' name to keep Your Commandments. We will look to length of days and years of life and peace You add to us. Proverbs 3. We bless You for favor and good success, looking to You in our hearts. We will lean upon Your understanding.
Whatever we ask in prayer, we will believe in the Name of Jesus, Your Good Will will accomplish and we will have Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Encouragement, Dignity, Self Control and the Presence of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment