Mark 9:2-13.  In yesterday’s reading Jesus challenged his followers to see clearly who he was and what he was about.  As the promised coming leader of Israel they were expecting him to kick the Romans out of Israel and set up a forever kingdom.  But for God a kingdom isn’t about Castles and Armies and Fields full of produce it’s about the people.  As sinners (people who have disobeyed and rebelled against God) we are not suitable to be citizens of his kingdom.  Only when the price for our rebellion is paid can God restore our citizenship.  That is what Jesus came to earth to do that first time.  The Jewish people were too focused on their physical kingdom and were missing the point about their relationship with God.  Jesus was headed to Jerusalem to deal with that but his death would be pointless if his followers didn’t get it, so first he needed to help them see. Remember that this section of Mark is about a journey, or actually two journeys; Jesus’ real physical journey to Jerusalem and to the cross and the spiritual/mental journey of his followers to an understanding of why their king needed to die.  Also keep in mind that Mark included the particular stories of Jesus’ life and arranged them in a way that would be helpful to the suffering believers in Rome.

Mark 9:1 was included in yesterday’s reading but it is also related to today’s.  Mark’s point didn’t end with the words he quoted. In fact this may be an entirely different quote from the one at the end of chapter 8 but the information all ties together.  Jesus has just informed his followers that he must suffer and die, a situation that obviously was troubling to them.  But Jesus told Peter that he needed to see things the way God looks at them; it’s not about places but about our souls.  But at the end of chapter 8 Jesus reaffirms that he is a king and he will reign with power.  Now here in chapter 9 he tells them that some of them will not die until they get a look at God’s powerful kingdom.  In Mark 9: 2-9 we see an event called the “Transfiguration”.  The word translated “transfiguration” in verse 2 is the Greek word “metamorphoo”.  We get the English word “metamorphosis” from this word and it means  “a change of form”; Jesus “morphed” some might say.  That word is used in Mark’s telling of this story and also in Matthew’s.  Luke tells the same story but uses different words.  The word “metamorphoo” is used in two other places in the New Testament, Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.  In both of those places it talks about the change God makes in our lives.  In 2 Corinthians 3:18 it talks about how we will have the same kind of “glory” as Jesus.  That word glory can mean honor or dignity and deals with the opinion others have of us.  It is also used to descrbe the moon, sun, and stars.  In 1 Corinthians 15:35-57 Paul is telling the church in Corinth about some of the changes God is going to make in our physical lives.  He talks about a time in the future when our souls will inhabit new immortal bodies.  Paul uses the word “resurrection” which means something like “stand again” or “stand together”; we will stand together again after death in new forever bodies.  This is probably the sort of body that Peter, James, and John saw Jesus in on that mountain in Mark 9:2.

Notice that Jesus was seen talking to two men from Israel’s past, Moses and Elijah.  These would have been two of the top guys on any Jewish persons list of “Who I would Like to Meet from History”.  Moses was the original leader who communicated with God and received the Law that the Jews were to live by.  Both Moses and Elijah were considered prophets.  So by talking with these two guys we see Jesus identifying with all they stood for; Jesus’ coming suffering and death were not a break with the prophecies about the coming Israelite leader after all another prophet, Isaiah, actually predicted that the Messiah would suffer (Isaiah 53:6, see also Daniel 9:26).  I think the two ideas we see in this event are that Jesus’ death was in complete agreement with what the Old Testament taught about the coming king and that Jesus had power to conquer not just a land but the greatest foe of all mankind, death.  The cross was going to be not the end of the journey but a stop along the way to ending death, both spiritual and physical.

If there was any doubt in the minds of Jesus’ followers about him being the promised coming king God cleared that up at this event.  “This is my son, listen to him!”  Jesus was the promised king and he had the authority, direct from God.  Verse 9 seems to support the idea that at least one point of the whole event was to show his power over death.  In that verse Jesus told his three disciples not to tell anyone what happened until after he he had been resurrected.  This is not another example of Jesus keeping secrets but of Jesus waiting for the right time to reveal information.  Remember that is part of the meaning of the Greek word Mark used for “immediately”.  A major point of Mark’s story about Jesus is that everything was done at the right time, the Son of god who we are to listen to, had the authority and knew what to do and when to do it.  Jesus had the power, he was on the right path, and he was going to fulfill his purpose.

The fact that the disciples, even Jesus’ closest three, had a lot to learn is seen in their response to his mention of resurrection.  They had just seen Jesus talking with Elijah, probably his spirit, and they remembered that their teachers, growing up, had talked about Elijah coming back; being resurrected.  Evidently the teachers had linked the resurrection of Elijah with the coming of the Messiah.  This is based on a prediction in Malachi 4:5.  That prediction is that Elijah will return before a time of great judgment in the nation of Israel and that he will help people start to live the way God intended them to live.  That time of great judgment was also to be a time when the Messiah, the promised king, would bring healing to the nation.  Jesus confirmed the disciples understand, as far as it went, but then he brought back up the thing that had originally troubled Peter in Mark 8:31-31, “How is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated badly?”  Jesus then answers his own question by telling them that Elijah has already come.  In Matthew 11:11-14 Jesus identifies John the Baptist as Elijah.  This is not to say John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated because the Bible does not support the idea of reincarnation.  In this case Jesus is telling us that John the Baptist was one who cam and was “like” Elijah.  Some scholars think that the two witnesses  in Revelation 11 will be two Old Testament prophets resurrected for the task there and that Elijah will be one of these two in literal fulfillment of Malachi 4:5.  T is important to know that some prophecies in the Bible have more than one fulfillment and that is what we may be seeing here.  John the Baptist was “a” fulfillment before the coming of the Messiah as the “suffering servant” (Isaiah 53) and the actual real resurrected Elijah being one of the two witnesses coming before the coming of Jesus as ruling king in the book of Revelation.

I think that it’s cool how Jesus carefully showed his followers that he want some new thing but that he was the one predicted in the Old Testament.  That doesn’t mean it’s always easy to understand sometimes we let our own ideas or traditions get in the way of fully understanding what God is doing.  For the readers in Rome I think this part of the story would have confirmed to them that Jesus knew they were going to have trouble but also that he had the power and authority to deal with it when the time comes.  Jesus was on his way to be crucified in Jerusalem, there was no escaping that for him but there was going to be a resurrection and he was going to set up his kingdom.  The believers in Rome might not miss out on suffering or even death (which history tells us they did suffer) but they could see from this passage and the predictions already fulfilled that they were on the path to eternity with God, and they too would be restored to life one day.

God thank you for caring enough to take the time to save us.  Thank you for taking the time to show your original followers the path you were on and the path some of them and us would have to follow.  Give me courage to stay on the path no matter where it leads in this life.  Help me keep my eyes on the end of the path, eternity with you.

Mark 8:22-9:1.  Anyone who knows me well knows I am not much of a writer.  Sure I write a lot for my class and for this blog but I am not very good technically.  In school I always focused on math and science.  From listening to my wife Home School our children though I picked up that a good essay needs to have 5 paragraphs; and introduction, three in the body, and a conclusion (at least I think that is what I have heard).  The book of Mark seems t be like a good essay; it has five sections; an introduction, three main sections, and a conclusion.  We have just finished the first of the three main sections.  We have observed that Mark really moves, he uses the term immediately quite a bit.  Remember that Mark was written to the church in Rome during a time of rising persecution.  The first section was full of miracles as Jesus brought his message to the crowds.  This next section will focus more on the close followers of Jesus, the disciples.  Jesus is going to show them where he is going and where they to will go as they follow him.  The final main section will focus on the crucifixion of Jesus.  I hate over simplifying but we might label the three sections:  The Power of Jesus, the Path of Jesus, and the Purpose of Jesus.  This third section might also be called the Passion of Jesus (passion being a common term for the events around his crucifixion) or the Price Paid by Jesus.  Remember though that this book was written to help the believers in Rome around the time of Nero deal with their own struggles.

The second main section, the Path of Jesus, begins with the healing of a blind man and also ends with the healing of a blind man (John 8:22-26, 10:46-52).  It begins with Jesus in the north near Galilee and ends with him in the south near Jerusalem.  Tht is the physical path Jesus needed to follow to get to Jerusalem where he would accomplish his purpose; fulfill his passion to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).  But there is much more in this section than Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, there is also a spiritual journey for his close followers, the twelve disciples or apostles (sent ones).  Like the two men who form the brackets around this section they had problems seeing.  It was not their physical sight that was the problem but their spiritual sight, or understanding, that needed to be worked on.

In Mark 8:22-26 we have the first physical healing of a blind man in this section.  They are near the sea of Galilee and a man is brought to them who is blind.  Jesus was asked to touch the man so he would receive sight.  Jesus took the man out of the village and spit on the man’s eyes and then put his hand on the man.  The man began to see but his sight was blurry.  Jesus put his hands on the man again and his sight was restored fully.  That is a vey interesting story.  Why didn’t the man see clearly right away?  Why did Jesus spit on the man’s eyes?  If you remember the healing from two readings ago you might remember that Jesus used a common practice of spitting on his hands before he touched the deaf mans ears.  This practice would have communicated to the deaf man that Jesus was going to heal him.  His healing was full and immediate.   Remember though that that was in the first main section, the Power of Jesus.  Hear again Jesus is using common practice to help people see, and not just the blind man.  While that man was blind physically Jesus followers were kind of blind spiritually.  The crowd wanted Jesus to do miracles, take away all of their physical problems; cure their hearing and their hunger.  But Jesus wanted to cure them permanently from the root of their problems; he wanted to deal with sin.  That was his passion but it required the right path.  So Jesus acted the part of a healer, he followed the custom.  But the man’s sight wasn’t fully restored.  Jesus then took hold of the man a second time and without the customary spitting and what ever else the man was healed.  No ritual just Jesus.

The next part of today’s reading follows through on the spiritual journey of the disciples.  As they traveled along Jesus asked his followers who they and others thought he was.  “Why the crowd thinks you are a great prophet.” They told him.  “What do you think?”  He asked.  Peter answered for the group, “You are the promised coming one (the Messiah or Christ).”  Doesn’t seem like much spiritual blindness here, they seem to have a very clear picture of who Jesus is, but wait there’s more.  The next thing Jesus does it tell them that he is on his way to be tortured, rejected and killed.  Then he will come back to life after three days.  Peter’s reaction this time is to take Jesus aside and tell him to stop all the crazy talk.  The problem is it wasn’t crazy talk it was all stuff predicted in the Old Testament (see for example Isaiah 53).  So there was spiritual blindness on the part of the disciples, they did not have a clear picture of what it meant fro a person to be the Messiah or Christ.  Jesus saw that the rest of the guys were watching so he scolded Peter; Peter was being like the Devil and like the crowd looking for a leader who would fulfill their plans rather than God’s.

Our reading ends today with Jesus gathering all those around him, the close followers and the crowd, and explaining clearly that it costs to follow God.  We see the cross as a symbol of Jesus but to the Roman minds it was a symbol of one thing a painful horrible death, and here we see Jesus telling them all that if they are going to follow him it will involve picking up a cross.  It would have been a very strong image, one that would have caused many people to walk away.  But the consequence of clinging to this life is also horrible.  If we live for this life only we run the risk of losing our soul in eternity.  It’s not that we wont exist in eternity it’s that our existence will be away from God, an existence that is described in other places as the outer darkness where there will be weeping an gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12; 13:42,50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30).  In Mark 8:38 Jesus informs the crowd that anyone who is “ashamed” of him will find Jesus responding to them in the same way when he takes over the world.  The word here translated ashamed is kind of interesting, it is a compound word in the Greek, epaiscunomai.  It is formed from “epi-“ which means “on, in, unto, to, upon, at”.  It shows position.  The second part of the word “aiscuno” means “to be ashamed”, it’s root means to disfigure or deface.  It seems that Mark could have just used this second part but he modified the idea of being ashamed with the idea of being in a certain position.  It seems like the idea here is one of promoting a wrong picture of Jesus.  We need to not see Jesus as someone who will come and fulfill our idea of how things ought to be we need to see him as one who is fulfilling god’s best plan for all of us; Jesus came to seek and to save sinners (Luke 19:10).  Jesus message to the crowd ends on a sort of upbeat note in Mark 9:1.  Although we see that Jesus followers will all die some day (at least the ones listening to him right then and there) some of them would actually see proof of the promised coming eternal kingdom before they died.  Jesus’ promise of an eternity with God was not an unproved promise of living for eternity on some wonderful planet ruled by me or in some paradise with all the physical pleasures I think I might want but a promise of eternity with God with proof that it would happen, at least for some of those listening at the time.

I think we all have a blurry picture of Jesus.  We al have our own idea of what we want out of God.  But we need to accept his plan, it’s much better than we could ever imagine.  After all, all that we can imagine is based on a remnant, an echo, of the great life God created for us back in the beginning.  Despite the decay which sin has brought into our existence we still see the great and good life and desire to have it.  God didn’t make all that is good and wonderful just to dangle it in front of us like some bait only to hook us and throw us into the bottom of the boat to wriggle and die.  God wants us to have that good life and share it with us for eternity.  We need to never reject of deface that with our own incomplete plans and desires.  I think it would have been very helpful to those believers in Rome to see the disciples fumbling around with the path Jesus was on.  I think it would have been encouraging to realize that following Jesus would involve a cost, maybe even physical death, but that there was a kingdom at the end of the path.  I think it would have been helpful to be reminded that Jesus knew the pain and suffering that was along his journey and that he followed the path anyway.  And I think it would have been encouraging to be reminded that the path of pain ended with Jesus conquering death for himself and for us.

Jesus thank you for not running off the path.  Thank you for following through on God’s path for you even though it involved intense suffering.  Thank you for giving us proof that you are the fixer of problems and especially the fixer of the ultimate problem, sin.  Help me not deface your plan.  Let me honor you by going where ever you want me to go.  Give me the courage and strength to accept the path you have for me.  Make that path clear.  Help me lead others along it to that bright kingdom with you in eternity.