Mark 9
(1) Jesus Transforms
“I assure you, some of you standing here right now won’t taste death until you’ve seen God’s empire come in a powerful way.”
Six days later, Jesus hiked up a tall mountain with just Peter, James, and John then transformed right in front of their eyes. His clothes started shining blindingly white—whiter than any professional cleaner on earth could have ever made them. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and started talking to Jesus. Peter said,
“Teacher, it's amazing that we get to be here and see this! Let’s make 3 shrines: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
That’s what came out of his mouth, having no idea what to say, because they were all terrified. Then a cloud formed over them, shading all of them, and they heard a voice coming out the cloud that said,
“This is My Son, and I love Him so much. Listen to what He tells you.”
Then all of a sudden they looked around and didn’t see anyone else there except Jesus.
(9) Elijah Must Come
As they were hiking back down the mountain, Jesus told them not to tell anyone about what had just happened until Humanity’s Son [Jesus] had resurrected from the dead. So they kept it a secret and discussed what it might mean “to resurrect from the dead.” They asked Him,
“Why do the Bible scholars say that Elijah needs to come before the final days?” [referencing Malachi 4:5]
Jesus responded,
“Elijah really does come first and restores everything. But why does the Bible say that Humanity’s Son will undergo intense suffering and be treated poorly? I assure you that Elijah came—and they did whatever they wanted to him, just like the writings said.”
(14) Jesus Expels Mute Spirit
When they rejoined the rest of Jesus’s apprentices, there was a big crowd gathered around them, and some Bible scholars were arguing with them. When everyone saw Jesus, they were startled and ran up to greet Him. Jesus asked them,
“What are you guys talking about?”
Someone in the crowd responded,
“Teacher, I brought You my son who’s in the clutches of a spirit that prevents him from speaking. Whenever it takes him over, it slams him into the ground while he foams at the mouth, bites down, and starts shriveling up. I asked your apprentices to make it leave, but they couldn’t.”
Jesus replied,
“Ohh, the level of belief you guys have is so tiny. How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring him over to Me.”
So they brought the boy to Jesus, and when he saw Him, the spirit immediately threw him into a convulsion. The boy fell on the ground and started rolling around and foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the dad,
“How long has this been happening to him?”
The dad said,
“Ever since he was a child. And there have been many times when it’s thrown him into a fire or into the water, trying to kill him. If there’s anything you can do, please have pity on us and help us!”
Jesus replied,
“You wonder ‘if’ I can do anything? Everything is possible to the person who believes!”
The dad quickly said,
“I do believe! Help my disbelief.”
When Jesus saw that the crowd was growing quickly, He scolded the contaminated spirit, saying,
“Deaf and mute spirit, I order you to come out of him and never return!”
It shrieked, threw the boy into violent convulsions, then came out. The boy looked so lifeless that most people were saying,
“He’s dead!”
But Jesus took the boy’s hand and lifted him to his feet. When Jesus came inside, His apprentices started asking Him in private,
“Why couldn't we kick it out?”
Jesus responded,
“There isn't anything that can make this type come out, except asking God.”
(30) Jesus Foretells His Resurrection
After that, they left and started traveling through Gallilee, but Jesus didn't want anyone to find out about it. He was teaching his apprentices, telling them,
“Humanity's Son will be handed over to people who will kill Him. And after He dies, He’ll reappear three days later.”
But they didn't understand what he meant, and they were too afraid to ask.
(33) Top & Bottom Will Trade Places
When they got to Capernaum, Jesus asked them,
“What were you guys talking about on our way here?“
No one answered because they had been debating about which one of them was the best. So Jesus sat down and gathered his 12 of apprentices together and told them,
“If someone wants to rank the highest, he’ll rank lower than everyone else and have to serve everyone else.”
Then Jesus pulled a kid over in front of all of them, wrapped His arms around him, and said,
“Whoever takes in a child like this on My behalf is taking Me in. And whoever takes Me in isn’t actually taking Me in—they’re taking in the One who sent me.”
(38) Accept Whatever Help You Get
John told Jesus,
“We saw someone kicking demons out on your behalf so we tried to stop him since he wasn’t a part of our group.”
But Jesus responded,
“Don’t discourage him, because whenever someone performs a miracle on My behalf, soon that person won’t have a single negative thing to say about Me. Whoever isn’t directly opposing us is actually on our side. If someone gives you a glass of water because you follow the Chosen One, I assure you, that person’s reward won’t disappear.”
(42) Remove Hinderances
“If there’s a little guy like this who believes and someone trips him up, it would be better for that person to have a boulder tied around his neck and thrown into the ocean.
“If your hand trips you up, then cut it off because it’d be better for you to enter life without a hand then to go into the burning trash heap where the worms never run out of food and the fire never runs out of fuel.
(49) Be Flavorful & Get Along with People
“Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is great, but if it stops being salty then how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with each other.”
