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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadSpurgeon Verse Expositions - Mark 9:2 - 9:29
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Mar_9:2-4. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
In the midst of all his sorrow and humiliation, our Lord let out some gleams of his glory, to remind us who he was even while he was here in the depths of his grief. He was still none other than the all-glorious Lord of heaven and earth, whose raiment, if he chose to make it so, would be whiter than snow, and brighter than the sun. Let us think of him with great love and gratitude as we see what glory he willingly laid aside for our sakes, and see how low he stooped who was in himself immeasurably high.
Mar_9:5-6. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Peter had enough wit left to wish to keep where he was; and, sometimes, when we are with our Lord in the mount, we can only say, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us stay where we are! Let our union and communion with thyself continue for evermore!”
Mar_9:7-8. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
Moses is gone, and Elias is gone, but Jesus remains; and it is much the same with us now, and we are quite content that all others should go that we may have “Jesus only.” If he be with us, we have the best company in the world.
Mar_9:9-10. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
You see the great modesty and patience of our Lord. Though these three favored apostles might see his glory, and afterwards bear witness concerning it, yet for the time being they must hold their tongues. All this glory, and only three men to see it, and these three must be quite silent! Our Lord seeketh not honour from men; neither ought we to do so. His mind was even then occupied with thoughts of his great sacrifice. When he spoke to Moses and Elias, his theme was, “his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem,” and when he spoke with these three eye-witnesses of his majesty, the subject of his converse was his own death and resurrection. That was the object on which his heart’s affection was set.
Mar_9:11-13. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Notice that, even when our Saviour was answering his disciples’ question about Elias and John, the ruling passion being strong upon him, he introduced into that answer something about his own death. That subject is ever before his eye; he never forgets it; he is in a sense undergoing his passion even as he descends the mount of transfiguration.
Mar_9:14. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
What a descent for Christ, from the peace and quiet of the hill of communion with the glorified, to the noise and tumult of a surging multitude, and the mocking question of the jeering scribes!
Mar_9:15. And straightaway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
I think there must be some truth in the common tradition that the face of our Lord Jesus still shone with the light of the transfiguration. It does appear so to me from these words: “All the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed.” Surely, it was not an amazement at the mere fact of seeing him whom they had so often seen, but his face, I doubt not, glowed as the face of Moses did when he came down from the mount. Only observe that, when the face of Moses burned with the reflected glory of God’s presence, the people could not bear to look upon him, but when the face of Christ shone with supernatural splendor, they “were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.” There is an attractive glory about the Christ of God. Oh, for such a sight of his face at this moment that we should all run to him, and salute him!
Mar_9:16. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
There had been a skirmish between the scribes and the disciples of Christ, and the scribes were winning the day; but when the Captain had come, the tide of battle was soon turned.
Mar_9:17-18. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
It was an aggravated case of epilepsy, attended with possession by an evil spirit. The disciples could not cast out this devil, and the scribes had therefore attacked their faith in the Master himself while he was away.
Mar_9:19. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Unbelief is a great trouble to Christ. I never read that he said to the poor or to the sick, “How long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” I never read that he expressed any weariness of human ignorance, or scarcely even of human sin, but when it is a matter of unbelief, then it stings him, and he cries, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me.”
Mar_9:20-21. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And having begun with that sorrowful subject, the father, with the painful eloquence of pity, went on to tell the tale of woe: —
Mar_9:22. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Here was unbelief, it is true; but there was with it a pitying entreaty that meant more faith than it could express. Men do not usually beg where they expect nothing, and they do not make pitiful entreaties with tears unless they have some hope. Even though it was almost covered up, still the Saviour fastened on that one utterance of unbelief: “if.”
Mar_9:23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
“It is not, ‘If I can;’ but, ‘If thou canst.’”
Mar_9:24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
There was faith, even though it was mixed with unbelief. It was a faith that made him pray, as I have already told you, and the Lord Jesus Christ found out where the faith was. He had, as it were, broken the great black lump of dead coal that looked to be nothing but unbelief, and there was the living light of faith burning in the very center of it.
Mar_9:25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
That is Christ’s way of curing. Our Lord does not save sinners as some say that he does, just for a short time, and then let his work all grumble back to nothingness. This would be unworthy of himself, and unworthy of that gracious Spirit by whom he works. No, if he casts out a devil, he shall enter no more into the one he formerly tormented.
Mar_9:26. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
As old Thomas Fuller says, the devil knew that he had to go out, so, like a bad tenant, he did all the mischief he could before he left. Satan often acts in this fashion; just when Christ has come to cast him out, he drives the poor soul into deeper despair, and perhaps into greater sin than he ever fell into in all his life before.
Mar_9:27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
He was not dead, though many thought he was, and said so. Christ does not cure and then kill, he cures so that we shall never die. No, no, poor sinner, the last pangs of despair shall not destroy you, the fiercest, bitterest assaults of Satan shall not cause you to die: Christ will take you by the hand, and you shall arise.
Mar_9:28-29. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Mar_9:2-6. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
Brethren, like these disciples of our Lord, we are not yet fit to be favored with a sight of his glory. As we now are, we could not bear it. As our poet says, —
“
Darkness rushes o’er my sight.”
Mar_9:7-8. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
And although this was not so ravishing or so astonishing a sight, yet it was more encouraging to them, — something which they could more easily bear with joy and peace: “they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.” May God grant to us, as long as we are here below, that, If no Moses or Elias shall ever come to visit us, at any rate Jesus may never be absent from us! May our fellowship with him be unbroken!
Mar_9:9-10. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
These were Peter, and James, and John, the three most privileged disciples of Christ, — probably, the best scholars in that class which had the Lord Jesus Christ himself for its Teacher; yet his plain language, was without meaning to them: “questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.” I wonder whether, when our Lord comes the second time, we shall discover that the prophecies concerning his advent were wonderfully clear, but that we could not understand them till he came. Plain as his teaching concerning his resurrection was, his disciples could not understand it till that great event had really occurred.
Mar_9:11-13. And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come? And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
John the Baptist had come, in the spirit and power of Elijah, and had reconstituted matters, and prepared the people for the advent of the Saviour, whose herald he was.
Mar_9:14; Mar_9:16. And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
Some relics of the glory on the mount still remained upon his face, and the people were astounded; so, though deeply interested in the battle which was proceeding between the scribes and the disciples, they left them, and turned to look upon that mysterious radiance which hovered about his brow.
Mar_9:16. And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
The circumstances of the disciples resembled a battlefield on which the enemy was winning the day, and the loyal troops were about to die defeated; when suddenly, the great Commander himself appears for their relief. His presence is worth more than a thousand battalions of men; and he charges at once upon the adversary, and puts them to rout: “He asked the scribes, What question ye with them?”
Mar_9:17. And one of the multitude answered —
One who had a peculiar reason for answering; just as, I trust there will be one in this multitude before me who will have a peculiar reason for listening to my message, and a peculiar reason for remembering it after it is delivered: “One of the multitude answered” —
Mar_9:17-19. And said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; and wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
I suppose our Lord’s rebuke was meant specially for his disciples. It was something like the speech of a schoolmaster, who, having taught his pupils the same lesson a great many times, and laboured hard with them, from year to year, yet finds them failing in the very elements of knowledge. Christ does not speak as if he were tired of his life, and wished to get away from his disciples; but this is his way of saying how disappointed he is that these Iearners have learnt so little.
“How long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me” Those words struck my heart very forcibly as I read them: “How long shall I suffer you?” Does not the Lord Jesus Christ have to put up with a great deal from every one of us? I applied his words to myself, and I thought I heard him saying to me, “How long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?” Often, he must derive more pain than pleasure from intercourse with many of his people. How grieved he often must be to see their slowness to learn, their readiness to forget, and the difficulty with which they can be brought to live the lessons which he so carefully imparts to them! Then note what his action is concerning the poor child: “Bring him unto me.”
Mar_9:20. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him;
As soon as ever Christ looked at him, “the spirit tare him.” One look from Christ awakes the devil. Sometimes, sinners are worse for a time when Christ looks upon them. The devil always has great wrath, when he knoweth that his time is short; and he rages and tears most violently when he is about to be ejected. The Jews have a proverb, “When the tale of bricks is doubled, Moses appears,” and we may make it into a Scriptural proverb, “When the devil’s torment of the heart is doubled, then Jesus appears to cast him out.”
Mar_9:20. And he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
And Jesus, instead of curing him at once, gave his first attention to the other patient before him, namely, the father of the child, He was suffering from an equally bad disease, though the symptoms were different, and Jesus meant to cure him as well as his boy.
Mar_9:21-22. And he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
He put himself on a level with his child, and that is the best way to pray for your children: “Have compassion on us, and help us.” It will be compassion on you, as well as upon your son, if the Lord saves him.
Mar_9:23. Jesus said unto him, —
Catching at his words, “If thou canst do anything,” —
Mar_9:23-29. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out? And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
There are some things, which we are not fit to do until we have drawn very near to God, and have been deeply humbled, and, with sincere repentance, and the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, have been cleansed so as to receive so great a boon. Faith alone will not accomplish everything. Faith must be accompanied by prayer, and prayer must be at least sometimes, in special cases, attended with fasting. The Lord makes reserves of his mercies, which he does not give immediately even to the request of faith, he demands importunity on our part, and heart-searching, and heart-cleansing, before the blessing will be bestowed.