Little, Robert: Lectures On Marks Gospel-07 ~ Book Studies

Lesson seven in our studies in the Gospel of Mark covers chapter nine. The chapter opens with an account of the Transfiguration. In each of the Gospels where the Transfiguration is recorded, it occurs immediately after Christ's call to absolute commitment to him. Now, this, of course, involves sacrifice of earthly honors and emolument with the promise of reward in the coming day of Christ's glory. The validity of the promise rests on the actuality of the coming glory. As with Abraham, God confirmed his word with an oath to reassure his faith, Hebrews six fifteen to eighteen. so the Lord Jesus gave to three chosen disciples an actual view of that coming glory. The Lord told them that some of them would live to see his glory. He did not amplify his remark, but a week later, eight days, including the day he spoke and the day it happened, but six intervening days, he invited Peter, James, and John to accompany him to a mountain height, probably Mount Hermon. It was a night scene, and the disciples fell asleep. Meantime, the Lord was transfigured. His face shone as the sun, and even his garments became white and glistening. When the disciples awoke, they saw his glory and Moses and Elijah, who conversed with the Lord about his coming death. Luke nine thirty one. Peter's remark was undoubtedly intended to give priority to Christ, but he had to learn that Jesus could not be spoken of on equality, uh, with, uh, men, not even Moses and Elijah. He could be spoken of on equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Uh, Peter refers to and explains the import of this incident in Second Peter one sixteen to eighteen. Answering a question of the disciples, the Lord shows that the personal presence of Elijah on earth was not necessary to the fulfillment of Malachi four five. John the Baptist had fulfilled it in principle. So in Revelation eleven, it is not necessary that Moses and Elijah be personally present, but only that there be two men in the spirit and power of these two men. Verses fourteen to twenty nine of Mark give the account of the deliverance of the demon-possessed boy. While the Lord was displaying his glory on the mountaintop, Satan's power was evident at its foot. A man had brought his demon-possessed boy to Jesus, but in his absence, his disciples had tried to cast out the demon, but they could not do so. Peter's proposal to build tabernacles on the mountain would have tended to keep them from confrontation with this situation, but the Lord arrived at this point with the three. Apparently, some scribes were already on hand questioning the disciples. The physical symptoms shown by the child are similar to some forms of epilepsy, but it must not be concluded from this that epilepsy or any other form of disease is necessarily evidence of demon possession. When the Lord asked the father how long his son had had this trouble, the father said, since a child. He related that often the demon cast him into the fire or into, into the water. Uh, Satan, you know, loves to drive us from one extreme to another in order to destroy us. But there is an interesting commentary on this in Psalm sixty six twelve, which shows that while God may permit this, even in the lives of his children, he overrules it for our blessing. Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place, that is, after passing through fire and through water. The experience of Job, as seen in chapter forty two ten, is a case in point. At the end, Job had twice as much as he had at the beginning, and, uh, there's something similar in the experience of Joseph in Genesis fifty verse twenty. Now the father adds, if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us and help us. Now, uh, uh, the, the Lord answered, and Darby renders, uh, the Lord's answer, the if thou canst is, if thou canst believe. All things are possible, uh, to him that believeth. The leper in chapter one had no doubt about the Lord's power, but he recognized that he had no claim to his mercy. The father here assumed that the Lord would help, but, uh, he questioned his power to do so. Well, we should always pray subject to God's will, as the leper did, but we should never question God's power, as this father did. Well, the man immediately acknowledged his mistake, and the Lord answered to this, not only casting out the demon, but commanding him never to enter the boy again. The final convulsion showed the ferocity and reality of the demon, but Luke nine forty two says that Jesus healed the child. Answering a another question by the disciples, the Lord told them, this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. Uh, this shows, on the one hand, that there are variations among demons as there are among people. It also shows that though the Lord had given them authority to cast out demons, this could only be exercised effectively in deep exercise of soul and in the power of the Holy Spirit. No doubt they had cast out many demons prior to this time, but when they met up with one particularly hard to drive out, they were not conscious of the fact that anything done for God effectively must be by his working in and through us. In the verses following, uh, the Lord Jesus told them again of his impending death and resurrection. They apparently were unwilling to expose the fact that they did not understand his words. The Chinese have a saying, he who asks a question is a fool for a moment. He who refuses to ask a question is a fool for a lifetime. Because of their failure to enter into the import of our Lord's words, they were contemplating greatness instead of contemplating the fellowship of his sufferings and being made conformable to his death. Consequently, they were debating among themselves who should be the greater, and when questioned, they were ashamed to admit what had been the subject of their conversation. But the Lord Jesus knew, as he knows the inmost thoughts and desires and ambitions of every one of us. Psalm one hundred and thirty nine one to six. To counter their thinking, the Lord Jesus took a little child into his arms and showed them that concern, uh, he showed them, uh, con- that concern for the least means more to him, uh, than a display of greatness. Uh, parallel passages in Matthew and Luke, uh, tell us that true greatness does not consist so much in surpassing others. It's expressed rather in humility and simplicity and in service to others. He presently speaks of giving even a cup of cold water to another for Christ's sake as something that Christ will reward. We normally wouldn't think that. Verses thirty eight to forty two show that the spirit of rivalry extended beyond their own company. They were quick to try to suppress, uh, what they considered competition by others. It appears that John, uh, even expected commendation for his zeal in this respect, but instead the Lord rebuked, rebuked, uh, both their act and, uh, the attitude which prompted it. Uh, as the lesson notes point out, this involves an important lesson. We learn from Matthew twelve thirty that where the person of Christ is involved, the alternatives are absolute. There can be no equivocation. He that is not with me is against me. But in the matter of Christian service, it is gross presumption, uh, to suppose that, uh, those not with our particular group are therefore not pleasing to the Lord. Uh, this rests on other grounds. Our bond of fellowship is Christ himself, and those who know and love him are inherently within the limits of our fellowship. To be an occasion of stumbling to a little one who believes on Christ is a serious offense, and it is the Lord himself who so declares. Well, the closing verses of the chapter, forty three to fifty, show the need for self-judgment and the recognition that it is God with whom we have to do. That these instructions were not meant to be taken literally, it seems obvious, but we have known of cases where people attempted to carry them out in self-mutilation, cutting off, uh, one or even both hands or feet would not take sin out of the heart. And why put out one eye and leave the other? And the ultimate of taking one's life does not remove sin, it augments it. What the Lord Jesus is teaching here is the importance of living a clean life before him, rather than judging others. He's showing the importance of the soul over the body, of the spiritual over the physical, and we believe that this applies in other areas besides sin. In the light of the issues of eternity, it is important to set our priorities on the things of eternity. We have something similar in First Timothy four eight: For bodily exercise profiteth little or for a little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. The most solemn, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, should awaken a deep desire in each of us to, uh, reach the lost for Christ. Well, we take it that verses forty nine and fifty refer to believers and unbelievers alike, and, uh, that they show that each of us must give account of ourselves to God, as we read in Romans fourteen twelve. Now, in the case of believers, our sins were dealt with in the atonement of Christ. They will never be raised against us again, but our works will be examined in the day of Christ. And in the meantime, God deals with us to conform us to the image of his son and to bring us into the center of his will in order that we may be blessed and that we may be a blessing to those who are around us. This is the object that God has in view in his dealing with his children. With unbelievers, it's quite different. They will be dealt with at the great white throne. Now, the Lord Jesus is a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, according to First John two one and two, but his atonement is made conditional in its effectiveness for those who receive him in repentance and faith. The old formula used to be sufficient for all, efficient for all who believe, and I don't think we can improve on that. Those who do not believe remain under the wrath of God, as we read in John three thirty six. But, uh, Revelation twenty verses eleven to fifteen uh, show us that the, uh, lake of fire has different degrees of recompense according to the life lived by each individual. The books are opened, and the book of life is opened to show that their names are not written there, and the other books give the record of their lives, and then every transgression and disobedience receives a just recompense of reward. Hebrews two two.