Mark 09
1And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
Many liberals falsely claim that the disciples never saw the kingdom of God. The three disciples who will see the kingdom of God will be Peter, James, and John. They are often called the inner disciples.
The Transfiguration
2Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them,
The three inner disciples experienced the kingdom of God when Jesus revealed His deified self to them. Jesus was the Shekinah Glory, the visible presence of God, in human form. He allowed His Shekinah Glory presence to shine through His human skin. The three inner disciples saw the Shekinah Glory of God. They saw the King of the Millennial Kingdom to come.
3and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them.
The clothes of Jesus became a radiant white.
4Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Moses finally was able to visit the Promised Land.
5So Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Elijah was to return before the Day of the Lord. Since Elijah was present, Peter falsely assumed that Jesus was going to immediately establish the Messianic Kingdom. During the Messianic Kingdom, all of the Jews and Gentiles will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles together. Booths (or shelters) were built during this feast, so Peter wanted to build three tabernacle booths for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
6(For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.)
Everyone in the Old Testament who saw the Shekinah Glory fell down on their faces in awe and reverence.
7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. Listen to him!”
God the Father confirmed that Jesus was the Son of God. John will mention in the first chapter of his gospel that Jesus was the Shekinah Glory who dwelt inside the body of a man.
8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.
God is omnipotent. Jesus can blink His Shekinah Glory appearance in one instant and then blink back to His human form in the next instant.
9As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
The people would not be able to understand the Messianic personality of Jesus until after His death and resurrection. Therefore, the apostles were not to tell of this event until the Book of Acts. Then, they were free to tell everyone.
10They kept this statement to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.
The disciples still did not understand the resurrection prophecies of Jesus. If the disciples did not understand the resurrection prophecies at this time, then how could they teach the resurrection to others?
11Then they asked him, “Why do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?”
The inner disciples saw Elijah with the glorified Christ. They wanted to know the timing and role of Elijah.
12He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised?
Malachi predicted that Elijah would precede the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is the Great Tribulation. Elijah will arrive in Israel before the Great Tribulation. His ministry may help some Jews to believe and be caught up in the Rapture. Another possibility is that Elijah will come between the Rapture and the Second Coming.
13But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
If Elijah would have come during this evil generation, then they would have done to Elijah what they did to John the Baptizer. They both were given the ministry of announcing the Messianic Kingdom, but at different times.
The Disciples’ Failure to Heal
14When they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and experts in the law arguing with them.
The disciples were engaged in an argument with the crowd.
15When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran at once and greeted him.
The crowd ran to greet Jesus. Jesus possessed celebrity status.
16He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
Jesus knew the answer, but He wanted to build a relationship with the crowd.
17A member of the crowd said to him, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that makes him mute. 18Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they were not able to do so.”
Notice that the crow called Jesus "teacher" and not "Lord". They had not yet recognized His true personna. The disciples were unable to cast out this type of demon.
19He answered them, “You unbelieving generation! How much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I endure you? Bring him to me.”
The scribes, disciples, and people did not have enough Bible doctrine to realize that the demon could be cast out by the Word of God. Therefore, Jesus will have to perform the exorcism.
20So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
Satan apparently placed most of his demons in the regions in which Jesus was teaching in order to keep him from teaching the Word of God.
21Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
Notice that this demon had been in control of this boy since childhood.
22It has often thrown him into fire or water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Suicidal tendencies can be a result of demon possession. Modern secular psychology is built upon the teachings of the satanic world system. The best psychology is Bible doctrine from the entire counsel of the Word of God.
23Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”
Jesus is the God of the universe. He performs miracles for His own children. If this man is a child of God, then he needs to have enough Bible doctrine to believe that Jesus has the power and authority to exorcise this demon.
24Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
The father believed lightly, but he needed help. No one can believe without the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
25Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
The Pharisees taught that only the Messiah could deliver a demon from a deaf and mute person.
26It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!” 27But Jesus gently took his hand and raised him to his feet, and he stood up.
Jesus exorcised the demon. The demon was allowed to demonstrate his evilness to the crowd.
28Then, after he went into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we cast it out?” 29He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
God is the only one who can deliver one from this sort of a demon. All the believer has to do is pray. He does not have to perform a Catholic or charismatic ritual.
Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
30They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But Jesus did not want anyone to know, 31for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.
The disciples would not have a clear understanding of who Jesus was until after His resurrection. Therefore, they were forbidden to teach the Messianic person until they experienced and possessed complete understanding. There are many Christians who desire to teach the Bible without proper training. They first need to prepare themselves before they can teach others. Most pastor-teachers have never even studied the entire counsel of the Word of God in the original languages.
Questions About the Greatest
33Then they came to Capernaum. After Jesus was inside the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
Just as God asked Adam and Eve questions in the garden, so Jesus did the same with the disciples. When God asks questions, He already knows the answer. He asks his children questions so that they can learn the mind of God.
34But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
Even the greatest disciples of God have problems with pride and humility.
35After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
Alexander the Great, Herod the Great, and Darius the Great are called “great” by the satanic world system because they gained power by theft, rape, deception, and murder. This is human viewpoint. According to divine viewpoint, the greatest men are those who serve God by serving men. Great men study and apply bible doctrine at the deepest level.
36He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them,
Jesus loved children. The Roman world did not. They smashed their heads against walls and tore their bodies out of the mother’s womb. The satanic world system attempts to seduce children into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Jesus took a small child in His arms to show that He loved and honored children.
37“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
Jesus commanded that children were not only to be protected, but they were to be welcomed. Whenever Jesus taught, the children were always welcome to participate in the worship with their families. The modern church does not welcome children in their worship services. Like secular education, they attempt to divide the children from their family. It was the parents, not Sunday school teachers, who were responsible for teaching their children the things of God. In the Mosaic Law, children were to be taught when they woke up, during the day, and before they went to bed. Children were to be questioned by their parents after Bible lessons. Satan has used the church to separate children from learning Bible doctrine with their parents and from their parents.
At YEBC, children below nine years old acclimate to Bible doctrine with their parents. At nine years old, they are required to take notes and repeat the lesson back to the elders. Afterwards, parents are expected to question their children on the way home. Children are also taught Hebrew, Greek, Bible doctrine, and Bible history. The goal at YEBC is to prepare children to debate rabbi by the time they are thirteen years old.
On Jesus’ Side
38John 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.”
Should believers cast out demons, or was this just an apostolic gift?
39But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me.
Jesus allowed other believers to cast out demons in His name.
40For whoever is not against us is for us.
According to the Word of God, there is no such thing as neutrality. Public education attempts to hire and train teachers that are unbiased. However, an unbiased mind does not exist. Everyone brings bias to the table. If a person is neutral, then he is not serving God. God will knock the neutral person off of the fence and force him to choose sides. God does not use neutral soldiers.
41For I tell you the truth, whoever gives you a cup of water because you bear Christ’s name will never lose his reward.
A believer is required to take care of other believers if they are inside their own local church. However, believers are not to aid unbelievers. Christians are in a war. Soldiers do not feed the soldiers of the enemy. Soldiers destroy the enemy. The Christian soldier destroys the enemy with Bible doctrine. Either the enemy becomes a friend by believing the gospel, or he remains an enemy and is destroyed.
If an intellectual unbeliever attacks Bible doctrine, then the sword is to be drawn. The skeptic is to be backed into a corner and shown his ignorance. Most immature believers are shocked at this kind of response, but this is because they have not studied the Bible at a very deep level. Their sword is ineffective and they do not know how to use it. Since they cannot use their own sword, they complain about others who do know how to use the sword.
42“If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
Jesus protected the little children. Many nations are not protecting the little children today. They are allowing couples to commit fornication and then kill the innocent baby in the womb. It would be better for these nations to have a large rock hung around their necks and to be cast into the sea than to abort an innocent baby in the womb. This verse should be read to every couple who seeks an abortion. This verse should be hung on the door of every abortion clinic.
43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have two hands and go into hell, to the unquenchable fire.
It is better to cut off the hand rather than to sin and be sent to the Lake of Fire forever.
44Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
This verse is not in the Westcott-Hort manuscripts, but it is in the Textus Receptus manuscripts.
45If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.
It is better to cut off the foot rather than to sin and end up in hell.
46Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
This verse is also not in the Westcott-Hort manuscripts, but it is in the Textus Receptus manuscripts.
47If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,
It is better to gouge out the eye than to be sent to hell.
48where their worm never dies and the fire is never quenched.
The horrors of hell were mentioned three times as a warning to unbelievers.
49Everyone will be salted with fire.
Fire purifies by burning away the dross from the pure metal
50Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Salt penetrates and burns out the corruption that can be found in food. The Word of God is fire and salt. It purifies the believer so that he can perform the work of God.