Kingdom power
1) In chapter 8, Jesus began to open the eyes of his disciples to see their need for the cross and for following him there. So who is Jesus talking to now in Mk 9:1? cf Mk 8:34
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What was their unspoken question that is addressed here? =>
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What did Jesus mean by seeing “the kingdom come in power”? [Hint: “to see”, gr. eídō (oida): Has the sense of “I see what it means“]*
2) How long did it take for this promise to be fulfilled?
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The only clue is in the immediate context, v2: Why 6 days? cf Gen 1:31
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Does Jesus imply that Christians first must work before they can enter the ‘Sabbath rest’ that we talked about in Mk 2? Why not? cf Heb 4:10
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If the six days point to the creation of man, what does this sign say about what it takes that anyone can properly “see” and believe? See what? cf Jn 6:29
3) The gospels don’t say how Elijah and Moses were recognized, and only Luke added what they conversed about (Lk 9:31). Why did Mark instead focus on the whiteness of Jesus’s clothes?*
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Lk 9:33 explains that when Peter proposed to build three tents, E and M were already saying goodbye: How could tents have changed this?
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Why was Peter’s suggestion inappropriate? 2Cor 5:1-4
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Why was it so difficult but important to grasp that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom” (1Cor 15:50)?
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4) How did Jesus’ descent from the mountain resemble (or differ from) the return of Moses from mount Sinai? [Note: Moses had to punish idolatry]
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Who is rebuked, and for what? v16 [the crowd for arguing with the disciples about their failure to exorcise an unclean spirit; not the disciples, see v29 & note on v19]
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What was wrong with the “faith” of this father? How can we know for certain that he did not lack faith in miracles? v23 [cf note on v19] =>
5) Who ‘diagnosed’ the convulsions and muteness of this boy as a demonic possession?
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After adding to this diagnosis deafness, Jesus commanded a spirit to leave “and never come back”, v25: Is this miracle also a metaphor for our conversion? What does it take to prevent a return?
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i.e. who is in danger to be “re-possessed”? cf Mt 12:44-45 [law & order don’t help if the house remains empty, i.e. uninhabited by the Holy Spirit]
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How does that deliverance square with his private explanation that this ‘kind’ (gr. genus) cannot (lit.) “come out” except by prayer and fasting?**
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Did Jesus specify who might consider to pray and fast? The disciples, or the patient?
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Accordingly, should Christians try to exorcise people because they experience seizures? Why not?
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6) After a third prediction of his own death and resurrection (vv30-32), what did Jesus tackle next to teach his disciples about bearing the cross?
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vv33-37: What is his strategy against conflicts within your own ‘group’ that arise from desires for preeminence? [e.g. Boromir in Lord of the Rings: The flesh wants to “rule them all”, rather than serve]
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vv38-41: How does reluctance to bear the cross cause unnecessary schisms?
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What defines here “unnecessary”?
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vv42-50 and the teaching on divorce also feature in the sermon on the mount (Mt 5:29-30). In Mark 9, Jesus connected this same metaphor to a warning. Which one?
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What does it mean to cause “little ones” to stray?
- If Jesus used the same metaphor on different occasions, what was its occasion in Mk 9?Indecent lusting (like Matthew), or the danger of teachers who lead others astray?
- What makes it hard to separate members from the church body who cause Christians to stumble?
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7) Application
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In which of the above areas are you (most) tempted to avoid the cross? Can you share why?
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How does this chapter help you to submit to the cross, instead of avoiding it?
* Seeing the kingdom come in power means to see the spotlessness of the new Adam: Rev 3:4-5
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