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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_9:9-13
9As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. 11They asked Him, saying, "Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 12And He said to them, "Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him."
Mar_9:9 "He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead" This was the only occurrence where a time factor is linked to Jesus' repeated warnings about their silence (cf. Mar_5:43; Mar_7:36; Mar_8:30). This restriction is related to the fact that the gospel was not yet complete. At a future time, their memory of this event would be clearly understood in light of all the other gospel events (cf. 2Pe_1:16-18).
Mar_9:10 "discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant" The disciples did not understand the distinction between "the Second Coming" (Mar_8:38) and "the Resurrection" (Mar_9:9). The Jews of Jesus' day expected only one coming of the Messiah into history and this coming was related to the military victory and supremacy of national Israel on a global scale. See hyperlink at Mar_8:31.
Mar_9:11 "the scribes" These were the culturally respected OT interpreters who explained the OT and how it applied to their day. In this time most of the scribes were Pharisees. See Special Topic at Mar_2:6.
Mar_9:12-13 "Elijah does first come. . .Elijah has indeed come" Jesus asserts that John the Baptist had fulfilled the prophetic role of Elijah found in Mal_3:1; Mal_4:5. There has been much discussion about the answer which Jesus gave. He stated specifically that Elijah had already come in the ministry of John the Baptist (cf. Mat_11:10; Mat_11:14; Mar_9:11-13; Luk_1:17). However, when the Pharisees asked John the Baptist, himself, in the Gospel of John (Joh_1:20-25) if he was Elijah, he flatly denied it. This seeming contradiction can be handled by the fact that John denied that he was a resuscitated Elijah, but Jesus affirmed that John symbolically fulfilled the preparation ministry of Elijah. They both dressed and acted in similar ways, so the identification would be obvious in the minds of the Jews who knew about Elijah and who heard and saw John the Baptist (Luk_1:17).
Mar_9:12 "will suffer many things and be treated with contempt" This was so shocking to the Jewish people of Jesus' day who expected a powerful deliverer like the OT judges and were not expecting a suffering savior. They had missed several OT clues (i.e., Gen_3:15; Psalms 22; Isa_52:13 to Isa_53:12; Zechariah 9-14). It took the twelve disciples years to comprehend; even they did not fully understand until the special ministry of the Spirit at Pentecost (cf. Joh_16:13-14) revealed it to them.
Notice that Jesus is trying to involve the twelve disciples in theological reasoning. He is forcing them to see the relationship between two different prophecies. They were not officially "scribes," but soon they must function like them.
Jesus surprised them with an unexpected fulfillment which was not literal, but typological (i.e., John the Baptist functioned as the fulfillment of Elijah's coming and preparing the way for the Messiah).
Jesus took every private moment to teach His disciples. Even on the way down the mountain He brings up a related issue (i.e., Malachi's prophecy about Elijah). This taking advantage of every opportunity for religious training is reflected in Deu_6:7; Deu_11:19.
Mar_9:13 "as it is written of him" Elijah had persecution from Jezebel (cf. 1Ki_19:2; 1Ki_19:10; 1Ki_19:14) as John did from Herodias.