Mark 9
COMMENTARY:
: 1 And HE said to them, Verily I say to you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. (1089 “taste” [geuomai] means experience, partake of, make trail of, to come to an inward awareness of, or eat.)
DEVOTION: This verse has caused many to have a problem understanding what Jesus meant by this statement. Was HE talking about HIS second coming with HIS angels to rule and reign here on the earth?
When was the kingdom of God going to arrive? Had it arrived when Jesus was born in Bethlehem? Had it arrived with the power that Jesus manifested in HIS ability to heal the sick and raise the dead? Had it arrived when the three disciples went up into the mountain to see Jesus become transfigured before them and they saw Moses and Elijah? Finally, did the kingdom of God come when Jesus was raised from the dead and the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples to start the church?
A lot of questions asked with many scholars each taking their pick of which one they liked. One of the main thoughts is that Jesus was talking with HIS disciples and giving them the thought of a future plan of God. HE was announcing the fact that there is power in serving Jesus.
HE wants them to realize that they were part of a great new event happening in history that would bring in the kingdom of God. These men were going to reach a world for Jesus. They were going to have the power to heal, cast out fallen angels and many other things that they could have never down without the strength of Jesus.
Jesus promised power that would come with the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
CHALLENGE: These things all happened in the lifetime of the eleven disciples that served the LORD until their death.
: 19 HE answered him, and said, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him to ME. (430 “suffer” [anechomai] means bear with, endure, to hold up, to sustain, be patient with, accept, to accept a complaint, or forbear.)
DEVOTION: How would you describe our generation? Most of those receiving these daily meat devotionals live in America.
We have seen individuals go into clinics to have abortions for many years now. There have been millions of babies aborted mainly for no reason except personal selfishness. They didn’t want to raise a baby and didn’t want anyone else to raise their baby. When we read about Abraham and Sarah lying one time we find the LORD telling a king that HE was going to kill a nation. How was HE going to do it? HE was going to do it by closing the wombs of all the women in the nation. We are not closing the wombs but we are ending the lives of many children.
We see that marriage is under attack in our society. God created one woman and one man to be married for life. This is the standard that is set throughout the Bible. There have been people who have tried to cut out all the verses that say anything against a different lifestyle. In fact, recently there has been another “bible” published that takes the verses right out of their bible completely. Many churches have become politically correct rather than Biblically correct.
What about the people who attend Bible believing churches? Are they out reaching their neighborhoods for the LORD? Could we walk up to the pastor and ask if their neighborhood understands that they are loved by the church and welcome to the church? Do people next door to the church understand what the church believes about eternity? Most in most Biblical churches think they are doing God a favor by showing up to church each Sunday and giving them an offering.
CHALLENGE: Could we call this generation in America a faithless generation? If so, can we change this? With the help of the ministry of the Holy Spirit all things are possible. Nothing is impossible with the LORD!!!
: 23 Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes. (1415 “possible” [dunatos] means to be able, to be capable of, one who has the ability, powerful, mighty, strong, mighty in wealth and influence, strong in soul, or to bear calamities and trials with fortitude and patience.)
DEVOTION: The three disciples returned from the mount of transfiguration to find the other disciples unable to heal a boy with that was demon possessed.
Jesus is challenging this man whose son was demon possessed to believe in HIM and HIS power. The father responds “Lord, I believe; help THOU mine unbelief. The father was honest. He believed that Jesus was able to deliver his son from the demon but he also knew that his belief was not as strong as it should be.
Jesus took the father at his word and healed his son. The demon didn’t leave without crying. When he left the boy, it appeared as if the boy was dead. BUT JESUS took by the hand and delivered him to his father. Praise HIS name.
The disciples asked why they couldn’t cast out the demon. Jesus told them that they lacked power. The power to do this type of miracle only comes to those who fast and pray. Fasting is going without food or drink for a period of time to get closer to the LORD. Prayer is communication with the Father regarding a circumstance here on earth. We are to close our prayers in “Jesus name.”
The challenge for us today is to take the LORD Jesus Christ at HIS word and believe that if we want to see great things in our lives, we have to pray and fast. Not for our glory but for the LORD’S glory. Our motive has to be pure.
HE is challenging us today to believe that HE is still powerful enough to do the impossible. Many will say that they believe HE is powerful enough today, but when it comes to waiting on HIM they fail the test. Many still doubt that the LORD is able to do the impossible. The father was honest with the LORD. He admitted to the LORD that he needed more power to believe. He asked the LORD to help him in his unbelief. Are we willing to do the same? Are we honest with the LORD? Are we willing to practice prayer and fasting to help our unbelief?
These disciplines are necessary to receive power from the LORD to do the impossible. Is there any impossible things happening in our lives that need that kind of power? We need to challenge each other to practice these disciplines. Praise the LORD this power is available even today.
CHALLENGE: Add the disciplines of prayer and fasting to your life. If we can do it at least once a month – imagine the power for the work of the LORD!!!
: 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. (514 “peace” [eireneuo] means harmony, to live in prosperity, to live in community, or to reconcile.)
DEVOTION: The LORD wants those who claim to be believer to live in community always with an attitude of reconciliation if there ever happens to be something that might cause them to not get along with one another.
There are many “one another’s” in the New Testament. The LORD has a purpose for the church. That purpose is to live together in harmony with one another.
How is this possible? From a human perspective it is impossible for people to be in harmony with one another all the time. Each of us struggle with the fact that we are selfish and lazy. If we don’t work at relationships they will fail. If we work at them ourselves they will fail. The only way that we can be in harmony with one another is for us to continually go before the LORD in prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to work in our midst to end disputes.
There are disputes that we can live with and there are disputes we can’t live with according to our thinking. The disputes we can live with are those that don’t deal with major doctrines or teaching in the Bible. Those disputes that deal with major doctrinal disputes are not easily handled. There has to be searching of Scriptures together and a dependence on the Holy Spirit to give wisdom when we come to a conclusion.
There are always going to be false teachers in our churches. But not everyone is a false teacher. There are three types of Christians in every church: little children, young men and fathers according to I John. So there is growth involved with every dispute. Each of us is at a different age in our spiritual life. Sometimes there needs to be an attitude to agree to disagree until more growth can happen in a group.
We are not to be hotheads. We should have a goal to always be available for reconciliation with another genuine believer. Don’t close doors to fellow believers. The only ones who should be out of the church are false teachers.
CHALLENGE: Don’t lose your saltiness. Always be available for reconciliation with a fellow believer. Remember the age of those we have disputes with over doctrine.
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