Mark 9:1-29
How do you become a great Christian?
How do you live a godly life full of power and victory?
Well, it is by being humble and dependent. Why? Because I am not the Messiah. You are not the son of God. And however hard we try we can never be even the tiniest bit as glorious, powerful or wonderful as the Lord Jesus!
Mark’s gospel opens with these words: 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek) which means the Promised Rescuer. He is the one promised in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible, the one who will rescue us all from sin and death. Christ is not his surname but his job description. Jesus, saviour of the world!
And chapters 1-8 have been proving this remarkable truth. He has power to teach, power to heal, power over sickness, demons, even death! He even has power over creation – wind obeys him, the sea obeys him, he can even make food from nothing, feeding a crowd of 5000 and then 4000. And in 8:29 Jesus asks his disciples: “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”
He is Messiah, God’s the Promised Rescuer. And immediately Jesus starts teaching them how is he going to save us, and what it means to follow him. He must die. And we must die.
That’s what we saw last week. To save us Jesus needs to die. He will die in our place on the cross, a sacrificial lamb, taking our sins upon himself so that he can give us his righteousness. It’s new life for old. Our sinful rebellious life can be swapped for a new one! But that means giving up our old one, dying to self, and accepting the new one, living for Christ.
Is it worth it?
And how do we live it?
Those are the two questions tonight’s passage answers.
1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!
2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things. I believe. Help me in my unbelief.
1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus
We’re called to bank everything on Jesus. Being crucified does not involve holding something back for yourself! Losing your life is pretty final. These are the words Jesus uses. You cannot be a Sunday Christian. Jesus is Lord of all, or not Lord at all. There is nothing in all Creation over which Jesus does not say “this is mine!” – there is nothing in your life over which Jesus does not say “this is mine. This belongs to me”.
So, it’s a big risk. Are the promised rewards of eternal life, real life now, the best life now, the only way to live – are these backed up by anything?
If you pull out a kr100 note it’s backed by bank of Norway. If I’d pulled out a Zimbabwean dollar bill, you’d feel a little less secure. Or the bank of Greece or Spain! Can Jesus back up his promises? Is he right about his view of the Messiah?
Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!” 2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them… 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”
Follow me and be killed and I will give you life. It’s quite a challenge. This was really difficult for the disciples. They thought the Messiah would be some all-conquering hero, Rambo on a horse riding in to Jerusalem to free the Jews and throw the Romans out, power blasting from his hands. But instead Jesus is talking all about dying and suffering and being a sacrifice. Huh? Surely you’re wrong Jesus. Peter even says so! Mk 8:31–32 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
So this was a real brain twister for the disciples. And Jesus knew this. So he says some of you will SEE the Kingdom of God. And six days later, there is Peter, James and John, Jesus’ “inner circle” and they see the Glorified King. Jesus as he is.
Jesus is revealed in all his glory on the mountaintop. With him stands Moses, the Law-giver, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets: “the Law and the Prophets” being a way to describe the Old Testament. Them appearing with Jesus is saying “We testify to Jesus”. The Old Testament, the Holy Scriptures, say that “Jesus is right”. And to make it very clear, the Father says v7 This is my dearly loved son: listen to Him.
Jesus is God, LISTEN TO HIM. What he says about the Messiah is right. What he says about his death and resurrection is true. His words bring life, since he is the One who speaks life into existence. Listen to him.
Those words were for Peter, James and John, and those words are for us. We must listen to Jesus. His words are truth. True truth. No matter what we think we know about Jesus, we must put aside and really listen. Peter couldn’t hear what Jesus was saying because his own views about the Messiah were in the way. He couldn’t understand. He was blind. He had to keep listening.
And we must too. Keep reading. Keep reading what God actually says in his word, not what we think it says!
Because how often do we just “read” something without reading it. Our brain is extremely efficient – it likes to create heuristics: shortcuts for familiar tasks. The first time you drive to a new job, you notice everything along the way. You focus on the road. You notice the view. You see the flowers and trees and shops and people and everything. 3 weeks later you register none of that. You arrive home and you don’t remember the drive. Your brain has shifted into “repeat mode” (heuristics). The danger is when we do that to the Bible. It takes effort to read the Bible because our brain is lazy and just sees what it thinks is already there – it takes the short-cut! That’s why God repeatedly urges us to work hard, stay awake, beat our body into submission, make every effort. To hear his voice takes active effort on our part! The Holy Spirit doesn’t swan down and deposit wisdom in our minds! That’s why the apostles in the early church devoted themselves to teaching and preaching (and prayer!).
This is my dearly loved son – listen to him!
Strong words.
But why should we listen to him? Because he is what the whole Bible is pointing to, what the whole Old Testament, the Law and the prophets, Moses and Elijah, is building up to.
Because in him is revealed God himself. Elijah and Moses are the only two people to whom God revealed himself. On the mountain of God, they asked to see him, and God passes before them. He showed Moses his glory, and then gave him his word – and he said to Elijah… well, nothing. He didn’t speak in a still small voice. That’s a poor translation. It’s a deafening silence. He’d already spoken through Moses, and Elijah needed to listen. But now! Here are Peter, James and John on the mountainside seeing the glory of Jesus revealed, and they are to LISTEN TO HIM. This is something new, fulfilling Moses. Jesus is Almighty God, revealed in his glory before them. Here then is the Name of God, his very nature, standing before them in human form.
Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!
2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things.
Mk 9:24 “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”
We’ve got quite a cast of characters here in this story:
The disciples, the demon-possessed boy, the father, Jesus, the crowd, and the teachers of the religious Law. When Jesus comes down the mountain there is a massive argument going on. The religious leaders are arguing with the disciples, and the reason is soon apparent – they were not able to cast out the demon (v18). We don’t know what the religious people were saying, but they were probably calling out the disciples as fakes, fraudsters. And, in this case, they were right.
Listen to Jesus in v19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
What was the disciples’ problem? They were trying to do this miracle by themselves. They thought that by virtue of their position as Jesus’ disciples that they had power. It was idolatry: they replaced Jesus with themselves as their authority and power. Just as in Exodus when Moses comes down the mountain and sees the people of Israel engaged in idolatry – worshipping a golden calf, now Jesus comes down the mountain and sees his disciples, his people, worshipping their own power and position.
If that seems to you a bit of a stretch, or a bit harsh on the disciples, have a look at the context of this story. 8:14 Don’t be like the Pharisees. 9:34 the disciples argue about who is greatest. V38 John silenced someone because they weren’t following them! 10:35 James and John want to have the top positions. 10:13-17 the contrast of the rich young ruler depending on his own efforts for salvation, and the children dependant on others.
They could not cast out the demon because they did not pray. They did not declare their dependence on Jesus. They did not ask him to do what they could not. They did not wait for Jesus. They probably did not even use Jesus’ name. They probably hadn’t really understood who Jesus was. Maybe they thought that he was just a man like them, blessed by God, and as they were in the inner group, soon they would have the same power. They were like the rich young ruler, like the Pharisees, great in their own eyes – instead of like children, asking Dad for help.
So while the disciples are engaged in an idolatrous power-play, being rightly rebuked by the religious leaders, and generally making a mess of things because of their big heads, their arrogance. The father of the boy, however, prays. Where? Have a look at v24. Jesus has just called him out on his lack of belief “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” That is prayer! “I believe; help my unbelief!” I can’t do it. I need help.
Prayer is a declaration of dependence. God I can’t do this. God I need you.
And that is why prayer is so vitally important. Not to give God information, like God’s sitting up in Heaven waiting for the daily news bulletin from Daniel, with no idea what’s going on! This is the Creator and sustainer of the Universe we’re talking about, the one who rules by absolute decree, where a hair on your head does not fall without him knowing, where he knows the words that you are going to speak even before you speak them. Prayer is not for God’s sake, to impress him or whatever. No, prayer is for our sake.
Every time we pray we declare to ourselves, to the spirit world, to the watching universe, to those around us, that we are dependent on God. We cry “I believe; help my unbelief!” Jesus, we need you.
In the Batman movie “The Dark Knight” we find a couple of people dressing up like Batman to take on criminals. Of course, these guys aren’t Batman. They don’t have the training, they don’t have the gadgets, they don’t have the skills. And so, when they go up against the baddies, they lose. They’re not Batman. They might have a similar costume, they might be pretending they’re Batman – but they are not. They need the real Batman to come and rescue them!
The disciples here are dressing up like Jesus, pretending they’re Jesus. But they’re not. They need the real Jesus to come and rescue them.
If the disciples had prayed, declared their dependence on Jesus, they would have been able to cast the demon out. They would have been great! But they were arrogant, tried to do it in their own strength, and so were caught out.
Application: If we want to be great in the Kingdom of God, do great things for God, we need to start by humbling ourselves in prayer before the only one who truly is great: Almighty God.
Impossible application: We don’t need God to be great in his kingdom. I can live a good Christian life without God.
Possible application: Find times for regular prayer. Set aside time each day to read the bible and pray. Pray after dinner with your children. Pray with you wife. Have times of extended prayer (I’ve found walking in the forest helps me to concentrate. Notodden is great for this – so much beautiful nature!).
Plan to pray – make it part of your schedule, otherwise you won’t.
1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!
2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things. I believe. Help me in my unbelief.
Following Jesus means in humility dying to myself, to my own greatness. It means living every day dependant on him. What next Lord. My Dad starts each day with “The answer is “Yes” Lord. Now what’s the question”. There’s a man dependent on God. And I know first-hand goring up in their home that he is a man who is great in the Kingdom, a man who really does follow Jesus.
So let’s do the same. Let’s read our Bibles, making sure we carefully listen to Jesus. And let us say “Yes! Lord” to whatever he calls us to obey.
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