Mark 9)
1 And He continued to say to them, "Amen I say to you (for the 4 similar asseverations, Matt. 10:23; 16:28; 23:26; 24:34), That there be some of them that stand here, which shall by no means taste of death (this solemn asseveration was not needed for being kept alive 6 days longer. It looks forward to the end of that age), till they may have seen the kingdom of God actually come in power." (conditional: this condition being the repentance of the nation at the call of Peter. Acts 3:19-26. Cp. 28:25,27)
X2 f 2-. Ascent. Disciples taken up.
g -2-4. Vision. The Lord, Moses, and Elijah.
h 5,6. Voice of peter.
h 7. Voice of the Father.
g 8. Vision ended. The Lord alone.
f 9,10. Descent. Disciples charged.
2 And after (exclusive reckoning. Cp. Luke 9:2 [inclusive]) six days Jesus takes with Him Peter, and James, and John, and leads them up into an high mountain apart by themselves:
and He was transformed before them. (Gr. metamorphoō. To change the form or appearance. See Matt. 17:2; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18)
3 And His raiment became gleaming, exceeding white as snow (the whiteness of nature); so as no fuller on earth is able to whiten them. (A Divine supplement, here)
4 And there appeared to them Elijah together with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
6 For He knew not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them (i.e. Moses and Elijah): and a voice came out from the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, the beloved: hear you Him."
8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only in company with themselves.
9 And as they were coming down away from the mountain, He charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man should have risen out from the dead.
10 And they laid hold of and kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead is. (i.e. "What is the rising from among [other]dead [people]?")
X3 A 11. What the Scribes were saying.
B i 12-. The Lord. Admission.
k -12. Prophecy concerning Himself.
B i 13-. The Lord. Addition.
k -13-. Prophecy concerning Elijah.
A -13. What is written in the Scripture.
11 And they asked Him, saying, "The scribes say that Elijah must come first come?" (See Mal. 4:5,6)
12 And He answered and told them, "Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things;
and how it stands written upon the Son of man, that He must suffer many things, and be despised.
13 But I say to you,
That Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatsoever they desired,
as it is written of him."
S C l 14-16. Inquiry by the Lord. Of the Scribes.
m 17,18. Inability of Disciples. Complaint.
D n1 19. The Lord. Complaint and Command.
o1 20. Father. Obedience.
n2 21-. The Lord. Question.
o2 -21,22. Father. Answer.
n3 23. The Lord. Question.
o3 24. Father. Answer.
n4 25-27. The Lord. Miracle.
C l 28. Inquiry by the Disciples. Of the Lord.
m 29. Inability of Disciples. Explained.
14 And when He came to His disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and the scribes questioning with them. (This particularizing the scribes as questioners is a Divine supplement, here. These scribes are Kenites, sons of Cain)
15 And (vv.15,16 are also a Divine supplement, here) immediately all the crowd, when they saw Him, were greatly astonished, and running to Him saluted Him.
16 And He asked the scribes, "What question you with them?"
17 And one from among the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I have brought to You my son, which has a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever it seizes hold of him, it dashes him down: and he foams [at the mouth], and grinds with his teeth, and pines away (a Divine supplement, here): and I spoke to Your disciples that they should cast him out; and they had not [the] power to."
19 He answers him, and says, "O faithless (not treacherous, but unbelieving) generation (see Matt. 11:16), how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him to Me."
20 And they brought him to Him: and when he saw Him (a Divine supplement, here), immediately the spirit convulsed him; and he fell on the ground, and began to roll about foaming. (These details are Divine supplement, here)
21 And He asked his father (vv.21-27 are a Divine supplement, here), "How long is it ago since this came to him?"
And he said, "From childhood.
22 And ofttimes it has cast him into the fire, and into the waters, that it might destroy him: but if You can do any thing, have compassion on us (relying on this rather than the Lord's power), and help us." (Notice the tender sympathy of the father)
23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe (notice the Lord gives back the father's question, with the same condition implied), all things are possible to him that believes. (All things included in this promise)
24 And immediately the father of the child cried out (inarticulate), and began to say (articulate) with tears, "Lord, I believe; help You my unbelief."
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter no more into him."
26 And the spirit cried out, and threw him into convulsions sore, and came out of him: and he was as though dead; insomuch that many said that he was dead.
27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28 And when He was come into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could not we cast it out?"
29 And He said to them, "This kind (showing that there are different kinds of spirits) can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."
30 And they departed from there, and were passing along through Galilee (i.e. not through the cities, but passed along through Galilee past them); and He wished not that any man should know it.
31 For He began teaching His disciples (the continuation of 8:31), and said to them, "The Son of man (this was the 2nd announcement) will be delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him; and after that He is killed, He shall rise the third day."
32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask Him.
U E G 33. Event. Disciples. Disputing.
H 34. Silence and Reason.
F 35. Instruction.
F 36,37. Illustration.
E G 38. Event. A disciple rebuking.
H 39-50. Speech. Answer and Reason.
33 And He came into Capernaum (vv.33-35 a Divine supplement, here): and being in the house He asked them, "What was it that you were discussing among yourselves by the way?"
34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had been discussing among themselves, who should be the greater.
35 And He took His seat [as Teacher], and called (denoting solemnity in so doing) the twelve, and said unto them, "If any (the condition is assumed as a fact) man desire to be first, the same will be last of all, and servant of all." (Gr. diakomos, a voluntary servant. Compare Eng. "deacon".)
36 And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them,
37 "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receives Me: and whosoever shall receive Me, receives not Me, but Him that sent Me."
38 And John answered Him (his conscience was touched; for he remembered what he had done, and confessed it), saying, "Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in Your name, and he follows not us: and we forbid him, because he follows not us."
H J p 39,40. General.
q 41,42. Particular.
K1 43,44. Hand. Stumbling-blocks.
K2 45,46. Foot. "
K3 47,48. Eye. "
J p 49,50-. General.
q -50. Particular.
39 But Jesus said, "Forbid him not: for there is no one which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our behalf.
41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you are Christ's, verily I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
42 And whosoever shall have caused to stumble one of these little ones that believe in Me, it is good for him if a great millstone (turned by an ass) were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. (Cp. Matt. 18:6. Luke 17:2. A Greek and Roman punishment: not Jewish.)
43 And if (a contingent hypothesis) your hand [constantly] cause you to stumble you, cut it off (not lit. your hand, but the works done by it. Same for foot in v.45, and eye in v.47): it is better for thee to enter into life maimed (i.e. into resurrection life, or life eternal), than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire, the unquenchable: (The question is, there is the word “hell”, and Jesus says, and this is not literal saying as we as Christians are a many membered body and we make up one body, like I may be the mouth, I’ve been accused of that, and somebody might be the brain, and so on and so forth, but what it’s saying here is that if one of your members goes bad, cut them off and get rid of that rascal. Or the whole body might go to where, if it’s eternal? Is that word, in as much as it has to do with a fire that shall never be quenched, is that temporary; no, that’s eternal. So which word is used here in the Greek. Is it Hades or is it Gehenna? Hades is the place for temporary. It can be translated even just plain “grave” if you want to, but that’s a little misleading. Or is it Gehenna, which is the eternal fire? Naturally, the answer is, in the Greek, you know without checking it out, that’s Gehenna, which is to say eternal. I believe that it is important that you remember that when you read a scripture and “hell” is translated “Hades”, it is temporary. And when you read a scripture such as this, that uses “Gehenna”, it’s eternal, final. No judgment after that. The judgment when “Gehenna” is used, has already taken place.)
44 Where their worm dies not , and the fire is not quenched. (see Isa. 66:24, and cp. Ex. 16:20. Job 7:5; 17:14; 19:26; 21:26; 24:20. Isa. 14:11)
45 And if your foot offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter lame into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
46 Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.
47 And if you eye offend you, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
48 Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.
49 For every one shall be salted with fire (occ. only here in N.T.), and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. (Ref. to Lev. 2:13. This is introduced by "For", as a reason why the lesser [finite and temporal] evil is "good" compared with the greater [and final] evil. Evey sacrifice is salted [to assist the burning], Deut. 29:23. It is better therefore to endure the removal of the stumbling-block now, than to be altogether destroyed forever)
50 Salt is good: but if the salt have become saltless, with what will you restore it?
Have salt within yourselves, and have peace among yourselves." (This refers the whole of vv.43-50 back to vv.34,35; and shows that the stumbling-blocks mentioned in vv.43-47 are the things that destroy peace among brethren.)