BACKGROUND
Jesus Transfigures (2-12; Matthew 17:1-13; Luke 9:28-36)
Jesus Delivers a Demon-Possessed Boy (14-29; Matthew 17:14-21; Luke 9:37-43a)
A background study has already been posted on these two events in Matthew 17 HERE. I will have more to say on the healing of the demon-possessed boy in the reflection section.
Jesus Predicts His Death for the Second Time (30-32; Matthew 17:22-23a; Luke 9:43b-45)
From the region of Caesarea Philippi and northeast Palestine, Jesus began to head through Galilee and Perea to Judea and into Jerusalem where He would face His crucifixion and resurrection six months later. He needed to prepare His disciples now, even though they would not fully comprehend it until later.
Jesus Clarifies True Greatness (33-37; Matthew 18:1-6; Luke 9:46-48)
Rank was important to the Jews, but Jesus taught that the essence of true
greatness was learning to be a servant of all. The Greek word here is diakonos which means "one who attends to the needs of others freely" as opposed to doulos which means a slave who is in a servile position. The road to glory is via service not self-exaltation. Of course, Jesus is the ultimate example of this.
Jesus Rebukes the Disciples for Forbidding Deliverance by Outsiders (38-41; Luke 9:49,50)
Most commentators believe the disciples were jealous of the man who healed in Jesus' name when they could not (14-18), and he was doing it in an unauthorized way rather than the man misusing Jesus' name. (see Acts 19:13-16 for an example of this). Even though the verses involve different events, Mark 9:40, "For he who is not against us is for us" can be compared to Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with Me is against Me." If you are working for Jesus, you cannot be working against Him also. The man may have not done it the "right" way according to the disciples, but He did it for Jesus, and that is all that mattered. Boy, this is such a lesson for today when established patterns of doing things in the church don't make way for new ways!
Jesus Warns Against Temptation (42-50; Matthew 18:7-9)
This was discussed in the previous lesson on Matthew 18 HERE.
REFLECTION - All Things Are Possible to Him Who Believes
I shared this story back on Day 15 of the Bible Book Club journey, but God reminded me of it as I was meditating on Mark 9 last Saturday while listening to a speaker at a conference. So, I will share it once again:
I was at Multnomah School of the Bible at a training program back in 1981. Every morning, all the people in the program spent half an hour in the same portion of the Word.
One particular morning, I was up in a spartan attic bedroom in one of the rental houses near campus peering out the window located at the peak of the roof. It was summer, but, not unusual for Oregon, it was raining cats and dogs. Our passage for that morning was Mark 9, where the man brings his demon-possessed boy to Jesus to heal. After some dialogue with Jesus, the boy's father said to Jesus:
". . .if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"
Jesus responded:
"'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
Then Jesus drove out the demon.
I sat there in that attic bedroom, and I audibly laughed and said, "I don't believe this really happened, Lord! In fact, I don't believe you turned water into wine either or healed all those people. I don't believe it!!!!! It is too impossible."
Then, I realized the import of my words, and I cried out to God, "I want to be like that man. I do believe Lord, but my faith is so small, help my unbelief! Lord, could you show me yourself by stopping the rain?" (What was I thinking to pray such a crazy prayer in OREGON of all places?)
Immediately, and I mean IMMEDIATELY, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun beamed through that window blinding my eyes, and I said, "OK, I believe it all." It was a defining moment in my journey.
The conference speaker's talk was entitled "A Vision for the Possible." He stated that the goal of Jesus was to teach His disciples that the impossible was possible. The speaker shared stories about God accomplishing the impossible in his work overseas, and he referred to this same story in Mark 9 about a father who asked for help in his unbelief. I realized I had slacked off a bit in believing God for the impossible since He parted those clouds for me 29 years ago, but his talk and this chapter inspired me to believe God for big things once again!
APPLICATION
What are you believing God for this year? Dream big dreams for His glory!
PRAYER
Lord, we do believe, help our unbelief. We praise You that You can do anything! Do the impossible through our lives. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.

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