Mark 9
9
1 And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter, and James, and John; and he led them separately to a lofty mountain alone; and he was transfigured before them.
2 And his vestments became radiant and exceedingly white like snow, with such a brilliance as no fuller on earth is able to achieve.
3 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were speaking with Jesus.
4 And in response, Peter said to Jesus: "Master, it is good for us to be here. And so let us make three tabernacles, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
5 For he did not know what he was saying. For they were overwhelmed by fear.
6 And there was a cloud overshadowing them. And a voice came from the cloud, saying: "This is my most beloved Son. Listen to him."
7 And immediately, looking around, they no longer saw anyone, except Jesus alone with them.
8 And as they were descending from the mountain, he instructed them not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until after the Son of man will have risen again from the dead.
9 And they kept the word to themselves, arguing about what "after he will have risen from the dead" might mean.
10 And they questioned him, saying: "Then why do the Pharisees and the scribes say that Elijah must arrive first?"
11 And in response, he said to them: "Elijah, when he will arrive first, shall restore all things. And in the manner that it has been written about the Son of man, so must he suffer many things and be condemned.
12 But I say to you, that Elijah also has arrived, (and they have done to him whatever they wanted) just as it has been written about him."
13 And approaching his disciples, he saw a great crowd surrounding them, and the scribes were arguing with them.
14 And soon all the people, seeing Jesus, were astonished and struck with fear, and hurrying to him, they greeted him.
15 And he questioned them, "What are you arguing about among yourselves?"
16 And one from the crowd responded by saying: "Teacher, I have brought to you my son, who has a mute spirit.
17 And whenever it takes hold of him, it throws him down, and he foams and gnashes with his teeth, and he becomes unconscious. And I asked your disciples to cast him out, and they could not."
18 And answering them, he said: "O unbelieving generation, how long must I be with you? How long shall I endure you? Bring him to me."
19 And they brought him. And when he had seen him, immediately the spirit disturbed him. And having been thrown to the ground, he rolled around foaming.
20 And he questioned his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" But he said: "From infancy.
21 And often it casts him into fire or into water, in order to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, help us and take pity on us."
22 But Jesus said to him, "If you are able to believe: all things are possible to one who believes."
23 And immediately the father of the boy, crying out with tears, said: "I do believe, Lord. Help my unbelief."
24 And when Jesus saw the crowd rushing together, he admonished the unclean spirit, saying to him, "Deaf and mute spirit, I command you, leave him; and do not enter into him anymore."
25 And crying out, and convulsing him greatly, he departed from him. And he became like one who is dead, so much so that many said, "He is dead."
26 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, lifted him up. And he arose.
27 And when he had entered into the house, his disciples questioned him privately, "Why were we unable to cast him out?"
28 And he said to them, "This kind is able to be expelled by nothing other than prayer and fasting."
29 And setting out from there, they passed through Galilee. And he intended that no one know about it.
30 Then he taught his disciples, and he said to them, "For the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and having been killed, on the third day he will rise again."
31 But they did not understand the word. And they were afraid to question him.
32 And they went to Capernaum. And when they were in the house, he questioned them, "What did you discuss on the way?"
33 But they were silent. For indeed, on the way, they had disputed among themselves as to which of them was greater.
34 And sitting down, he called the twelve, and he said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be the last of all and the minister of all."
35 And taking a child, he set him in their midst. And when he had embraced him, he said to them:
36 "Whoever receives one such child in my name, receives me. And whoever receives me, receives not me, but him who sent me."
37 John responded to him by saying, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name; he does not follow us, and so we prohibited him."
38 But Jesus said: "Do not prohibit him. For there is no one who can act with virtue in my name and soon speak evil about me.
39 For whoever is not against you is for you.
40 For whoever, in my name, will give you a cup of water to drink, because you belong to Christ: Amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.
41 And whoever will have scandalized one of these little ones who believe in me: it would be better for him if a great millstone were placed around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
42 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life disabled, than having two hands to go into Hell, into the unquenchable fire,
43 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished.
44 But if your foot causes you to sin, chop it off: it is better for you to enter into eternal life lame, than having two feet to be cast into the Hell of unquenchable fire,
45 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished.
46 But if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the Hell of fire,
47 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not extinguished.
48 For all shall be salted with fire, and every victim shall be salted with salt.
49 Salt is good: but if the salt has become bland, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace among yourselves."
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Mark 9
9
1Then he drove it home by saying, “This isn’t pie in the sky by and by. Some of you who are standing here are going to see it happen, see the kingdom of God arrive in full force.”
In a Light-Radiant Cloud
2-4Six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus.
5-6Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing.
7Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him.”
8The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus.
9-10Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of Man rises from the dead, you’re free to talk.” They puzzled over that, wondering what on earth “rising from the dead” meant.
11Meanwhile they were asking, “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?”
12-13Jesus replied, “Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around contemptibly.”
There Are No Ifs
14-16When they came back down the mountain to the other disciples, they saw a huge crowd around them, and the religion scholars cross-examining them. As soon as the people in the crowd saw Jesus, admiring excitement stirred them. They ran and greeted him. He asked, “What’s going on? What’s all the commotion?”
17-18A man out of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my mute son, made speechless by a demon, to you. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and goes stiff as a board. I told your disciples, hoping they could deliver him, but they couldn’t.”
19-20Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring the boy here.” They brought him. When the demon saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to writhe on the ground and foam at the mouth.
21-22He asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been going on?”
“Ever since he was a little boy. Many times it pitches him into fire or the river to do away with him. If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!”
23Jesus said, “If? There are no ‘ifs’ among believers. Anything can happen.”
24No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, “Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!”
25-27Seeing that the crowd was forming fast, Jesus gave the vile spirit its marching orders: “Dumb and deaf spirit, I command you—Out of him, and stay out!” Screaming, and with much thrashing about, it left. The boy was pale as a corpse, so people started saying, “He’s dead.” But Jesus, taking his hand, raised him. The boy stood up.
28After arriving back home, his disciples cornered Jesus and asked, “Why couldn’t we throw the demon out?”
29He answered, “There is no way to get rid of this kind of demon except by prayer.”
30-32Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.
So You Want First Place?
33They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?”
34The silence was deafening—they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest.
35He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”
36-37He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me.”
* * *
38John spoke up, “Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t in our group.”
39-41Jesus wasn’t pleased. “Don’t stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath slam me. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice.
42“On the other hand, if you give one of these simple, childlike believers a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck.
43-48“If your hand or your foot gets in God’s way, chop it off and throw it away. You’re better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud owner of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God, pull it out and throw it away. You’re better off one-eyed and alive than exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell.
49-50“Everyone’s going through a refining fire sooner or later, but you’ll be well-preserved, protected from the eternal flames. Be preservatives yourselves. Preserve the peace.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.