Mark 9:1

Mark 9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. Jesus told the people that some of them that stood there would see the kingdom of God come in power before they died.  This required faith in Jesus Christ being the Messiah.  Those who did not believe in Jesus would die never seeing His kingdom come.  This was a spiritual kingdom and not a physical one, and it still is today.  Verse two adds, 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.  Jesus took three of the disciples, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain with Him.  We are not told why these three were chosen, only that Jesus chose them.  At times, other Christians may seem to receive greater honor than we do, but if we are all following God's call, then it shouldn't matter.  Verse three continues, And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.  Jesus was transfigured before them.  This must have been a glorious sight, but it was still leading up to Jesus's death on the cross.  We cannot serve God effectively if all we ever want to see is the transfigured Jesus in His glory and don't want to see Him on the cross.  Some people are willing to follow Jesus as long as it benefits them materially but turn away when it stops doing so and starts requiring them to take up their cross daily.  Jesus's raiment became whiter than anything ever seen before.  We are promised that if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord then He will wash us whiter than snow also, though we will never see this in this lifetime. Verse four concludes, And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.  Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus talking to Him, though they lived in different generations.  They represented the prophets, the Law and the gospel which all represented the same thing, salvation through the Messiah. Everlasting life is everlasting life.  There are no time limits on it.  Verse five states, 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. Peter, as was often the case, was quick to advise Jesus about what they should do.  Since they saw Moses and Elijah there with Jesus, Peter thought it would be good if they built three tabernacles for them.  Sometimes, I think we can get so caught up in a worship experience that we just want to stay where we are and revel in it.  Moses and Elijah could not have stayed if they wanted to, and Jesus had to continue His journey to the cross.  We must always continue to move forth in faith and not get caught up too long in even the most moving worship experience.  We as Christians are called to go into the world and spread the gospel, and we cannot do that if we stay hidden away from the world, as Jesus and Peter, James and John were that day.  Verse six adds, For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.  Though he did speak, Peter was afraid, as all three were, and really did not know what to say.  We cannot allow fear in any situation to lead us to say anything that is not in accordance with God's will if we are to be faithful servants of Christ.  Verse seven continues, And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.  Then, a cloud overshadowed them, and a Voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son, hear Him.  When we are afraid, or even when we are caught up in a great worship experience, we need to always hear what Jesus has to say to us.  Verse eight concludes, And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. When Peter, James and John looked around after this, they saw only Jesus with them.  This is the key to salvation. Matthew Henry said that Elijah and Moses were only there to bring attention to the Voice, and after that, they disappeared. We must see Jesus alone and put out faith in Him as our personal Savior and Lord in order to be saved.

Mark 8:34

Mark 8:34 says, And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  After telling Peter that his attitude toward what Jesus knew was His purpose in coming and His commitment to fulfilling it made Peter no better than Satan, Jesus called other people to His disciples and Him.  If we try to claim that Jesus is anyone other than the only begotten Son of God Who died to save everyone who will accept Him as their personal Savior and Lord, we likewise are no better than Satan.  Jesus told those that He called that day that if they wanted to follow Him, they had to take up their cross to do so.  The cross was an instrument of death, and they would have to die to self-will in order to follow Him, and so must we.  Verse thirty-five adds, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Jesus said if we value this life more than following Him, we would lose our life, but if we value following Him more than our physical life, then we would save our life.  I believe too often as Christians we put our physical well-being and comfort ahead of following Christ.  Verse thirty-six states, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  Verse thirty-seven adds, Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Jesus asked them and asks us today what we would profit if we gained the whole world but lost our soul.  If we begin to focus on the things of this world more than on our relationship with Jesus Christ, what does that say about our relationship with Him?  One day, the richest person in the world will leave everything behind, and if he or she has not put his or her faith in Jesus Christ, all will be lost, and the same is true for the poorest person.  Verse thirty-eight continues, Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. Then, Jesus said if we are ashamed of Him and His word in this sinful and adulterous generation, then Jesus will also be ashamed of us before the Father with His holy angels.  We should never hope that people really won't know that we are Christians because we don't want them to view us as strange.  As Christians, we are strange to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, but we should want them to know this.

Mark 8:31

 Mark 8:31 says, And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Jesus began to teach His disciples about what was going to happen soon.  He was going to suffer many things, be rejected by the elders and chief priests, and scribes, the religious leaders of Israel, God's chosen people, then be crucified and rise again the third day.  All the miracles that Jesus performed in this world were not His reason for being here.  They were temporary, but His death burial and resurrection for the redemption of mankind was His purpose, and it is permanent.  Verse thirty-two adds, And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.  Peter rebuked Jesus for saying this.  As Christians, when God leads us to do something for Him, and we don't do it, we in effect are rebuking Jesus, Who tells us we can do all things through Him.  Verse thirty-three continues, But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.  Jesus then called Peter, who had been named the Rock, Satan and told Peter to get behind, or away, from Him.  Jesus also told Peter that he savored the things of men and not the things of God.  We may be rock solid in our faith at one point, and still let the things of this world pull us away from God at another.  If we are basing our faith in God on how He gives us what we desire in this world, I believe He will tell us to get behind Him.  We must seek His will first, foremost, and always to be His faithful servants.  

Mark 8:27

Mark 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?  After healing the blind man, Jesus and the disciples went to the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and Jesus asked them a very important question, and that was Who did people say that He was.  This is a question that can be answered and is answered many different ways.   Verse twenty-eight adds, And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.  The disciples answered that some said John the Baptist and some said Elijah or one of the other prophets.  Some people today are still willing to acknowledge that Jesus was a great prophet, but that is all.  They were wrong then and they still are now.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.  Jesus then asked them the most important question anyone can ever be asked, and that is, "But whom say ye that I am?".  The disciples answered, "Thou art the Christ."  This is the only true answer, and it is the only one that can bring salvation to anyone. Verse thirty concludes, And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.  It was not yet time for Jesus to reveal that He was indeed the Messiah, but once He did, we like the disciples are charged with telling everyone Who He is. 

Mark 8:22

Mark 8:22 says, And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. When Jesus reached Bethsaida, a blind man was brought to Him.  We must also come to Jesus where He is.  Even though Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost, we still need to meet Jesus while He is near us spiritually.  Jesus never forces anyone to come to Him, even though He has sought them.  Verse twenty-three adds, And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.  Jesus took the man by the hand and led him out of town.  The man was not given a reason why this was happening but could simply follow in faith.  We may not always understand what is happening in life, but we need to simply continue to follow Jesus by faith.  Jesus spit on the man's eyes, though this was unnecessary in order to heal him.  Matthew Henry says this was a small sign to bolster the man's faith, which may have been weak at that time.  I believe God will always allow us to see signs that He is at work in our lives, ever if our faith is weak.  Jesus then asked the man what he saw.  Verse twenty-four continues, And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.  The man said he saw men that looked like trees walking.  I believe the man's limited sight was due to a lack of complete faith in Jesus.  When our faith is small in a particular circumstance, we may have limited vision as to what God has in store for us.  Verse twenty-five states, After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.  Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes and had him look up.  When Jesus touches us when we are having a hard time seeing clearly spiritually, we need to look up to Him and not around at the world.  The man's eyesight was restored then, and he saw clearly.  Jesus did not leave the man with partially restored sight, and He will not leave us with partially restored spiritual sight as long as we put our faith in Him completely. I believe this was because His faith in Jesus grew, and not because of the physical act of Jesus touching his eyes.  Verse twenty-six adds, And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.  Jesus then told the man to go home and not to tell anyone what had happened.  We on the other hand, when we meet Jesus Christ and accept Him as our personal Savior and Lord are given the command to go and tell everyone.  So today, let me tell you about a Man named Jesus Who came to redeem us from the death penalty of sin, by sacrificing Himself to a cruel death on the cross in our place.