Mark 9

Mark 9 is the ninth of the sixteen chapters of the Gospel of Mark. It follows chapter 8, in which Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ and Jesus first foretells his suffering and resurrection. The chapter stands at the point where the Galilean ministry draws to a close and Jesus turns toward Jerusalem.

Outline

• Verse 1 Jesus declares that some of those standing there will not die before they see the kingdom of God come with power.
• Verses 2–8 Six days later Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain and is transfigured before them. Elijah and Moses appear, and when Peter proposes building three tabernacles, a voice from the cloud speaks of "my beloved Son" (see Transfiguration).
• Verses 9–13 Jesus charges the disciples to tell no one what they have seen until the Son of Man has risen from the dead, and he responds to the scribes' teaching that Elijah must come first.
• Verses 14–29 Jesus heals a boy possessed by a mute spirit that the disciples could not cast out, and he says that this kind can come out only by prayer.
• Verses 30–32 Passing through Galilee, Jesus foretells his death and resurrection a second time, but the disciples do not understand.
• Verses 33–37 In a house in Capernaum, Jesus tells the disciples, who had been arguing about who was the greatest, that they must become servants, and he teaches about receiving a little child.
• Verses 38–41 When John reports that they had forbidden a man who did not follow them from casting out demons, Jesus tells him not to forbid him, and he speaks of the reward for giving a cup of water.
• Verses 42–50 Jesus warns against causing little ones to stumble and teaches about the hand, foot, and eye, about hell, and about salt.

Key verses

• Mark 9:7, "This is my beloved Son: hear him." Together with the voice at Jesus' baptism (Mark 1:11), it reveals Jesus' identity.
• Mark 9:24, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." It is often quoted as the confession of one in whom faith and doubt coexist.
• Mark 9:35, "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all." It is cited as a basis for servant leadership.

People and places

• Jesus
• Peter, James, and John — the three disciples who accompanied Jesus on the mountain of the Transfiguration
• Elijah and Moses — commonly interpreted as representing the Prophets and the Law
• The boy's father — the man who brought his possessed son to Jesus; his name is not given
• The Twelve Disciples
• The high mountain — unnamed in the text; traditionally identified as Mount Tabor or Mount Hermon
• Galilee and Capernaum

Interpretive notes

• Some interpreters take verse 1 to refer to the Transfiguration that immediately follows; others, to the Resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, or to the destruction of Jerusalem. Because the chapter divisions were added later, the verse is also read as the conclusion of chapter 8.
• Mark does not identify the Elijah who "is indeed come" in verse 13, but the parallel passage, Matthew 17:13, states that he was John the Baptist.
• Some manuscripts read "prayer and fasting" in verse 29. Verses 44 and 46, which repeat the wording of verse 48, appear only in some manuscripts, and the Korean Revised Version prints "(none)" in their place.
• The word translated "hell" in verses 43–48 is Gehenna in the original Greek, a term derived from the Valley of Hinnom. Most churches read the command to cut off a hand or foot as hyperbole calling for a decisive break with sin.
• Verse 40 is sometimes cited in discussions of cooperation among denominations; some hold that it should be read together with "He that is not with me is against me" (Matthew 12:30).
• The parallel passages are Matthew 17 and Luke 9.

In the Korean church

• Churches that follow the liturgical year observe the last Sunday after Epiphany as Transfiguration Sunday, reading verses 2–9 of this chapter in Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary.
• Verse 24 is frequently cited in sermons on faith, and verse 29 in sermons emphasizing the importance of prayer.