1 Then he said to them, “Truly I tell you, n there are some standing here who will not taste death o until they see the kingdom of God come in power.” p
The Transfiguration
2 After q six days r Jesus took Peter, James, and John s and led them up a high mountain t by themselves to be alone. He was transfigured u in front of them, 3 and his clothes v became dazzling—extremely white w as no launderer on earth could whiten x them. 4 Elijah y appeared to them with Moses, z and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, a it’s good b for us to be here. Let us set up three shelters: c one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— 6 because he did not know what to say, d since they were terrified. e
7 A cloud f appeared, overshadowing g them, and a voice h came from the cloud: i “This is my beloved j Son; k listen to him! ” l
8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.
9 As m they were coming down the mountain, n he ordered them to tell no one what they had seen o until the Son of Man p had risen q from the dead. r 10 They kept this word s to themselves, questioning what “rising from the dead” meant.
11 Then they asked him, “Why do the scribes t say that Elijah must come first? ” u
12 “Elijah does come first and restores v all things,” w he replied. “Why then is it written x that the Son of Man must suffer y many things and be treated with contempt? z 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written a about him.”
The Power of Faith over a Demon
14 When b they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing c with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about? ”
17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, d I brought my son to you. He has a spirit e that makes him unable to speak. f 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”
19 He replied to them, “You unbelieving g generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” 20 So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 “How long has this been happening to him? ” Jesus asked his father.
“From childhood,” he said. 22 “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy h him. But if you can do anything, have compassion i on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’? Everything is possible j for the one who believes.” k
24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief! ”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked l the unclean m spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf n spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 Then it came out, shrieking and throwing him into terrible convulsions. o The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, p and he stood up.
28 After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out? ”
29 And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.” ,q
The Second Prediction of His Death
30 Then r they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know it. s 31 For he was teaching t his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man u is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, he will rise v three days later.” w 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him. x
Who Is the Greatest?
33 They y came to Capernaum. z When he was in the house, a he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way? ” b 34 But they were silent, c because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. d 35 Sitting down, he called the Twelve e and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.” f 36 He took a child, g had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name h welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent i me.” j
In His Name
38 John k said to him, “Teacher, l we saw someone driving out demons m in your name, n and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” o
39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle p in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. q 41 And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink r in my name, because you belong to Christ s—truly I tell you, t he will never lose his reward. u
Warnings from Jesus
42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away v—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone w were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
43 “And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. x It is better for you to enter life maimed y than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. ,z 45 And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame a than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God b with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown c into hell, d 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. ,,e 50 Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? f Have salt g among yourselves, and be at peace h with one another.”
9:1. Mark concludes his climactic discourse on Christology and discipleship with a saying of Jesus that the kingdom of God will come in power in the lifetimes of “some standing here” (9:1). Mark strategically places this saying between the prediction of Jesus’s death in 8:31 and the account of his transfiguration (9:2–13), which anticipates his resurrection. Seeing “the kingdom of God come in power” (9:1) must therefore be understood to refer to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead—which Jesus’s hearers would indeed live to see.
9:2–8. The reference “after six days” (9:2a) opening the transfiguration narrative (9:2–13) is unusual since Mark rarely gives specific time delimitations. The “six days” links the transfiguration to Peter’s confession, giving the disciples divine confirmation of Jesus’s way to the cross. Peter, James, and John appear elsewhere as Jesus’s inner circle (5:37; 13:3; 14:33). The “high mountain” (9:2a) probably refers to Mount Hermon; the glorification of Jesus on its summit, however, doubtless also recalls the epiphany of God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 34:35). The Greek word for “transfigured” (9:2b) means to “change” or “transform,” in this instance into dazzling light.
9:9–13. On the descent from the mountain, Jesus commands the disciples to be silent for the final time, admonishing them to banish thoughts of messianic triumphalism and not to mention the transfiguration until the resurrection of the Son of Man (9:9). The disciples’ puzzlement (9:10) is a further sign of their blindness (8:14–21), for among the Pharisees the doctrine of the resurrection had been an article of faith for two centuries.
9:14–24. In the second-to-last miracle story in Mark (9:14–29), a desperate father struggles for the life of his son and the existence of his faith. While Jesus and Peter, James, and John were on the mountain, a man brought his son who “has a spirit” (9:17) to the remaining disciples for healing (9:18). The description of the boy’s condition (9:18, 20–22) suggests he has epilepsy (cf. Mt 17:15), but Mark understands it in this instance to be demonically instigated. The disciples’ inability to heal the boy is another instance of their inadequacies when Jesus is not with them (see also 6:48). Jesus does not chastise the disciples, for inability is not a fault. His exasperation at the crowd (9:19), however, implies more serious problems of misunderstanding and hardness of heart. In recounting the boy’s condition, the father declares what is in his own heart.
9:25–29. Seeing the crowd converge and not wanting to make a display of his power, Jesus rebukes the spirit and commands it to leave the boy (9:25). The encounter with Jesus seems to leave things worse than before, with the deathlike condition of the boy (9:26). Here too the father must trust Jesus rather than immediate and apparent circumstances. Stretching forth his hand, Jesus “raised [the boy], and he stood up” (9:27). This description echoes the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead (5:41), emphasizing the miraculous authority of Jesus.
9:30–32. The journey (9:30) may have been advised by the continued opposition of Antipas and the Jewish authorities, but above all because Jesus determined to journey to Jerusalem (see Lk 9:51, 53). On the way, Jesus gives the second and shortest of three passion predictions (9:31; see also 8:31; 10:33–34). In the second prediction, Jesus attributes his death not to the Jewish leaders, as in the first, but to all humanity. Moreover, “is going to be betrayed” is in the passive voice, which was a common way for Jews to avoid using the name of God. This implies that Jesus’s impending suffering in Jerusalem is a fulfillment of the divine will. Ironically, when the word of God is decisively spoken, the human response—and here from those with the greatest opportunity to understand—remains one of ignorance and fear (9:32).
9:33–37. The second of the four stories takes place in Capernaum, Jesus’s base of operations in the first half of Mark (9:33a). Alone with the disciples, Jesus asks what they talked about on the way (9:33b). They meet his question with embarrassed silence, for they were arguing who was the greatest (9:34). The placement of this story after the second passion prediction accentuates the contrast between Jesus and the disciples: he embraces humility, they argue who is greatest; he surrenders his life in service, they desire recognition and distinction. The second passion prediction is thus followed by a second misunderstanding.
9:38–41. The third narrative of the four reminds the disciples to judge others not by their own standards but by Jesus’s generosity. As a member of Jesus’s inner circle, John the son of Zebedee takes an elitist attitude toward an unnamed exorcist. Failing to learn the object lesson of the previous story, John regards his call as one of entitlement and exclusion; indeed, he speaks of following us rather than following Jesus (9:38). Ironically, John wants the exorcist to stop doing what he and the other disciples could not do (9:28). Jesus is more generous than the disciples (9:39–40). Faith no larger than a mustard seed is acceptable (4:30–32), as is a little child (9:36–37). Even a cup of cold water given in Christ’s name will not go unrewarded (9:41). Jesus receives what is done to a follower of Jesus as done to himself.
9:42–50. The final of the four narratives on humility and suffering is a graphic warning against causing others to sin. Mark 9:42 asserts the inestimable value of the small and insignificant. Not causing “one of these little ones . . . to fall away” refers to those “who believe in me”—that is, to disciples. Whatever is done to a follower of Jesus, whether good (9:41) or bad (9:42), is done to Jesus. Mark 9:43–48 shifts the focus from jeopardizing others to endangering self. The instruction to cut off hands or feet or gouge out eyes is not a command to literal physical mutilation. Like the millstone of 9:42, these are metaphors that are exaggerated for effect: let nothing—not even things as dear as hands, feet, and eyes—prevent you from entering the kingdom of God. The concluding references to fire and salt (9:50)—both of which accompanied temple sacrifices (Lv 1:1–17; 2:13)—are further metaphors of the trials and cost of discipleship.