Mark 9.30-41, Page 21.29-22.21

Introduction

• Did you have cause this past week to pray in real dependence on God to face significant challenges? Did you experience God’s power?

The Text: Mark 9.30-41, Page 21.29-41

• Read the text aloud to each other.

Discussion Questions:

• Compare this announcement of his coming death and resurrection with Jesus’ first announcement 8.31, 19.19. What does it mean that Jesus ‘will be delivered into the hands of men…’? Who is doing this delivering? How does the idea that Jesus is being intentionally delivered impact your understanding of the gospel?
• Why are the disciples arguing about status? How does Jesus’ teaching about the first being last address the disciples’ argument?
• How do the stories of the child and the person casting out demons illustrate Jesus’ teaching about servanthood, that the first must be last?
•  
• Application reflections
• What is our experience of how status and power are used in our work environments, and in our homes? Does it seem to be based on servanthood? How about in our church fellowship, or in our small groups? Are we practicing servanthood? Are there any areas where we need to make adjustments?
• Imagine for a bit that we are that child that Jesus took into his arms, and brought into the center of attention: how would that feel? Anything you would want to say to Jesus as he embraces us?
• Have we experienced Jesus’ promise that even apparently insignificant contributions to his cause are rewarded? Share some ways you feel you have experienced his reward for your service. 

Pray

• Meditate for a few minutes on God’s decision to deliver Jesus to death and resurrection for our sake, and on Jesus’ faithful obedience to his Father’s plan.

 

OIA 21-.29-22.21; 9.30-41

Observations

• Who: Jesus, the twelve, a child, John, someone casting our demons in Jesus’ name; Christ;
• When: sometime after the boy’s healing
• Where: passing through Galilee, apparently on the way south from Caesarea Philippi;
• What: Second announcement of Jesus’ death and resurrection; the twelve arguing about who is the greatest; Jesus teaching and illustrating the first must be last;
• Connections: Son of Man; second announcement of three; child may link back to the healed boy;
• Contrasts: first/last; greatest/servant of all; greatest/child; the twelve/an outsider.
• Responses to Jesus:
• Questions

Interpretation

• Jesus’ second announcement of his death and resurrection is a bit different from his first: this time he is to be ‘delivered into the hands of men…’ Who is doing this ‘delivering’? It is God himself who delivers Jesus to his death and subsequent resurrection. The Greek work here is paraditotai, Strong’s #3860; this is the same work used in 1.14 – John was delivered into prison; this is the same word translated as ‘betray’ in reference to Judas. The point here is that God is the active agent in delivering Jesus into the hands of men; this is not a random or senseless death, rather one God is intentionally visiting on his beloved, and obedient son.
• Note that Jesus is specifically addressing the 12; my take on this section is just this – that Jesus is focusing on the 12, on driving home the core values of his kingdom, on servant hood and kingdom leadership. Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem; he knows it, and is emphatically teaching the 12 all he can before his passion. Part of the structure this section is Question/Answer; watch for this as we work through this section. The good news is, in contrast to the feeding of the 5000, the twelve are again asking: they are exercising the secret of the kingdom: they are responding.
• The Twelve are beginning to listen to Jesus’ announcement: and their response is to argue about who is the greatest, who will take over the movement if Jesus is in fact killed. Jesus then announces the theme of his training for the 12 in the coming chapters: The first shall be last shall be first. Power in Jesus’ practice and in his kingdom is wielded by servanthood. What a contrast to all our experience, from kindergarten on through business and government, even in our own households!
• Welcoming the child and outsider are illustrations of Jesus’ theme of servanthood. Both are examples to contradict the disciples’ perception of how power works in the kingdom – the least and the outsiders are welcomed. Jesus goes so far as to identify himself with both of these ‘least’: welcoming the child, wrapping them in our arms, is like receiving Jesus; and even an insignificant gift – a cup of water, not to mention spiritual warfare – is noted and rewarded by the same Father who is delivering Jesus into the hands of men.
• Notice the link between these two examples: in my name. This is part of Jesus’ training for the 12 – you will be acting in my name.
• The emphasis in the child story is more on imitating Jesus than it is on becoming like a child. The lesson for the 12 is to welcome the least, the last, with open arms, with warmth, with gladness.

Application

• God is the agent behind Jesus’ coming death and resurrection: this unexpected plan is God’s idea, his intention, his means of vanquishing sin and death, and of securing resurrection. We should stand in awe of God’s redemptive plan, and of Jesus’ faithful obedience.

Dealing with Doubts

Evangelical Free Church of Chico
February 28th, 2010:
Mark 9

Dealing with Doubts
Pastor Lou Diaz
Listen

9.14-32 OIA

Observations

• Who: Jesus, Peter, James, John; disciples, scribed, great crowd, man and possessed son; spirit
• When: immediately after the transfiguration, and Jesus’ teaching on Elijah, and resurrection
• Where: down from the mountain
• What: argument with the scribes; crowd’s amazement; man’s crisis with son; disciples failure to cast our demon; Jesus’ exasperation with the ‘faithless generation’; conversation with the man as the boy is in torment; Man’s confession of belief/unbelief; Jesus’ comments on faith to the man; Jesus’ comments about prayer to the disciples
• Connections: people’s amazement; conflict with scribes; possessed child, without hope, like the demoniac or Jairus’ daughter or the woman; Again like Jairus and the woman, Jesus recognized, responded to, and strengthened faith; Jesus rebukes spirit; Jesus raises the boy by the hand, like Jairus’ daughter; privately teaching disciples
• Contrasts: mountaintop transfiguration/troubled real life; belief/unbelief; spiritual inability/prayer; boy’s hopeless situation/lifted up; crowd/privately;
• Responses to Jesus:
• Amazement
• Simultaneous belief/unbelief
• Spirit obeys after a struggle
• Boy is healed
• Disciples ask about their failure, and learn about prayer

Interpretation

• This story is reminiscent of Exodus 32 and 34 where Moses comes down from Mt Sanai; the disarray of the crowds and disciples may refer to the scene in Ex 32; the amazement may refer to Moses’ glowing face and the Israelites’ amazement.
• Faithless generation: the only other reference to generation is when Jesus says that some in this generation will not taste death…. Difficult to make sense of this saying: is Jesus referring to the disciples’ failure to deal with the demon? Or with the crowd? Or both? In part I think this comment continues Jesus’ teaching about his imminent death, emphasizing to the disciples that soon he will be gone, and then what will they do when faced with an impossible ministry situation?
• Why this conversation with the father while the boy rolls about on the ground? It seems that Jesus, while intending to heal the boy, is at the same time working on the father’s faith. As in the narratives about the sick woman and Jairus, Jesus uses a crisis to develop faith. Again Jesus acts to heal even though faith is not complete or perfect, responding to and strengthing faith simultaneously.
• In a few pages Jesus will again refer to God’s ability to do the impossible: when the disciples are amazed at the difficulty of the rich entering heaven; and in the reference to even a mustard seed of faith can move mountains.
• The coming stories refer to children several times: here, recivieng like a child, reference to the disciples as children…worth watching this theme develop!
• Why Jesus’ comments on prayer, that some demons come out only after prayer? I think that here Jesus is preparing the disciples for many ministry situations they will face after Jesus leaves, situations that are beyond their ability, that are impossible for them, where they try and fail: how should they deal with this? By prayer.
• So it is worth meditation on what Jesus means by prayer. In this case it seems to be more that reciting the Lord’s prayer; it seems to refer to a lifestyle of dependence, of realizing that only God can do the impossible, and that we must rely on him in our confrontation with ministry needs beyond our abilities or experience. We, like the father, can identify: we believe; help our unbelief. 

Application

• Jesus has authority to deal with the most hopeless of human suffering.
• Jesus can use crisis to act on minimal faith, and build that faith at the same time.
• God can do the impossible; we enter into the miraculous by prayer.

9.14-32 Discussion Prompts

Introduction

• Was there a time this past week when you felt the God say to you – listen to me about…?

 The Text: Mark 9.14-32, Page 21.1-29

• Read the text aloud to each other.

Discussion Questions:

• What are all the things we can learn about Jesus from this story: What was it like to come from the mountaintop experience of the transfiguration to this situation? Why the comment about the faithless generation? Why this conversation with the man while the boy suffers? Why take the boy by the hand?
• What is this event like for the father? What do you think life has been like for this man, his son, his wife, his other children? How does this man demonstrate faith? How lack of faith?
• Look at this story from the perspective of the disciples, the three who were on the mountain, and those waiting below. What do they learn about themselves? What do they learn about faith? What do they learn about prayer?

 Application reflections

• Are we facing any impossible situations where we are beyond our capabilities? How do we apply Jesus’ words about prayer in these situations?
• Have you had an experience like this father’s: a crisis where your faith has been stretched to the max? What did you learn about faith, and prayer in that experience?
• Is there a sense in which we share Jesus’ exasperation of pursuing God’s purposes in the midst of significant resistance?

Pray

 

 

Seeing Jesus in a New Light

Evangelical Free Church of Chico
February 21st, 2010:
Mark 9:1-13

Seeing Jesus in a New Light
Pastor Lou Diaz
Listen

OIA 9.2-13

Observations

• Who: Jesus, Peter, James, John; Moses and Elijah; voice from the cloud
• When: six days after Jesus’ teaching on coming after him
• Where: on a high mountain
• What: Jesus is transfigured and meets with Moses and Elijah; a voice speaks about Jesus identity and the proper response to Jesus’ teaching; the three are terrified, and question in their hearts about the resurrection, and about scribal scriptural interpretation; Jesus reveals the meaning of OT scripture about Elijah, and the suffering of the Son of Man.
• Connections: Jesus intentionally reveals more of himself to Peter, James and John; Moses and Elijah, mentioned before, appear personally; a voice speaks confirming Jesus identity and purpose, cf chapter 1; disciples fearful and confused; more discussion about the resurrection; command to silence
• Contrasts: people’s understanding of Christ/disciple’s view; Peter’s revelation/Jesus’ rebuke; disciples/crowds; save/lose; profit/forfeit; life/death; death/power.
• Responses to Jesus:
• Terror
• Voice expresses love, confirms Jesus’ words
• Disciples’ question Jesus about how to interpret OT prophesy 

Interpretation

• Six days: compare Exodus 24.15-16: Moses and Joshua were on Mt Sinai for six days while the glory of the Lord covered the mountain like a cloud.
• Moses and Elijah are arguably the two most significant figures in Israel’s history: Moses, leader of the exodus, Israel’s redeemer, met God face to face, received the Law, interceded between Israel and God in the wilderness, offered his own life for Israel’s guilt…; Elijah of multiple miracles, conquered Ahab and Jezebel’s pagan idolatrous priests, never died…
• After his unexpected announcement of Messiah’s suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection, Jesus invites the Three to witness a conference with Moses and Elijah; Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to accomplish what Israel has failed to accomplish: initiate the Kingdom of God, the rule and reign of God for all peoples.
• After this gathering between Jesus and two men who have been ‘dead’ for thousands of years, a voice speaks: this is my beloved son: listen to him!; and when the cloud clears, only Jesus is present. God has spoken: Listen to Jesus! He has my love, and is accomplishing my purposes, purposes which began with Moses and Elijah, and are now being fulfilled: LISTEN TO HIM!
• Kernaghan writes: “Jesus words take to new formulation of relationship between God and human: lose life for my sake…is covenant language… transfiguration subordinates the Mosaic covenant to the judgments and promises of the Son of God’ 172
• Elijah has come: Mark seems to think that John the Baptist has fulfilled the role of Elijah: in chapter 1 John appeared in clothes like Elijah’s, a prophet in the wilderness; John was abused by Herod and Herodias: Herod a double minded man like Ahab; Herodias a evil manipulator like Jezebel: they did to John whatever they wished.
• Mark makes a point about Jesus’ authority over prophetic interpretation: Jesus claims the authority to identify John with Elijah; he also claims the authority to re-interpret Messiah’s role: the suffering Son of Man.
• How is it written about the Son of Man? Jesus’ interpretation of prophesy here is something new, something un-anticipated by the scribes, as well as by the disciples: Jesus’ messiah is not the victorious restored of Israel’s political glory; instead he has come as one who suffers.
• This story clearly emphasizes Jesus’ authority to define his messianic intentions: he will suffer, die, and be raised. It emphasizes Jesus’ authority to define what discipleship looks like: if anyone would come after me they must participate with me in suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection.
• The point of this story: LISTEN TO HIM

Application

• God confirms Jesus’ understanding of his mission: to suffer, be rejected, be killed, and be raised.
• God confirms Jesus’ call to discipleship.
• Jesus’ authority supercedes that of Moses and Elijah: Jesus has authority to interpret the Old Testament Law in terms of a suffering messiah, a redeemed who is victorious over enemies by overcoming evil with good, a messiah who couquers death now with the sword, but by himself submitting to the sword.
• Who could have predicted God’s unbelievable plan for redemption: to give his own beloved Son!