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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
owed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. 8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. 17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit; 18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to ithy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. 19 He answereth him, and saith, O faith less generation, how long shall 1 be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. 20 And they .brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21. -And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into’ the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, ail things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the chijd cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb .and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of nim, and enter no more into him. 26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.« ' LESSON TEXT: Mk. 9:2-8, 17*27. GOLDEN TEXT: “ Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mk. 9:24). DEVOTIONAL READING: 2 Pet. 1:12-21. Outline and Exposition I. O n the M ountain H H | | | (9:2-8) y I ^H E “HIGH mountain” was the I place of manifestation (vs. 2, 3). JL Here the Lord Jesus Christ re vealed His glory--the glory and the perfection of His humanity. Here was the supreme end of perfect human life, the majesty of what He was in Himself as the Son of man. As the Son of God, He could not be transfigured. The word comes from the same root as do the words “transformed” and “conformed” (cf. Rom. 12:2; 8:29). The glory of the Lord Jesus will be mani fested one day to all the saints when the body of humiliation is changed in to His glorious body (cf. Phil. 3:20, 21 ). This, “high mountain” was the place also of intercourse with some in the unseen world (v. 4). Moses represented the law, as its human founder and giver; Elijah represented the prophets, being the great reformer and vindica tor. While the disciples recognized these two men as they “appeared unto them,” the intercourse was between the Lord Jesus Christ and the two men; the disciples had no intercourse with them. And th,e two talked with Jesus of His approaching death upon the cross (cL Lk. 9:31). Indeed, Moses and Elijah themselves would have no place in heaven apart from the death
word that reached into thè spirit world and forced the foul demon to hear and to submit in spite of all that Satan could do. There occurred a seeming disaster when the child appeared as one dead, but Jesus at Once took the hand of the boy “ and lifted him up; and he arose” (v. 27), fully delivered from the demon who had controlled him for so long. What a relief to both the boy an d t h e father, and what teaching for the disciples! Unbelief gives Satan his power with us; Our full dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ brings about Satan’s sure defeat. Points and Problems 1. "And he was transfigured before them" (Mk. 9:2). The G r e e k word translated “transfigured” is the word from which we get the word “meta morphosis.” Our Lord underwent a metamorphosis on the mountain. His inner glory shone forth. The purpose of this experience was to give a pre view of Christ’s coming kingdom. Note that it took place (1) “ after six days.” A fter man’s days, the day of Christ w ill dawn. (2) Christ “was transfig ured.” He will come with power and great glory in His second advent. (3) “ Elias with Moses” appeared. In the day of His coming those who have died in Christ will be with Him (Moses) as well as those who will not pass through the experience of death (Elijah). (4) “Jesus only” will be the object o f the world’s worship and adoration in that day. 2. ”C faithless generation" (v. 19). When J e s u s came down from the mountain of transfiguration, He faced unbelief on every hand. The father of the boy who was in such dire need was not willingly unbelieving, but hav ing seen the failure of the disciples to help the needy at the foot of the mountain, he said wistfully to Jesus, "If thou canst do any thing.” Full faith had not yet come. The boy could not believe because he was under the dominion of the demon. Here was a tragic lack of faith. Then there was the unbelief of the disciples. Jesus had given them power over unclean spirits (Mk. 6:7), but they had not availed themselves of it. The marked contrast between the g l o r y of the mountain top and the gloom o f the valley was the contrast between faith and unbelief. 3. "How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said. Of a child" (v. 21). Let this solemn truth grip our hearts. It is possible for evil influence, fo r ,sin, and for Satan to possess the lives of children at a very tender age. We cannot say at just what age children reach accountabil ity. But it is never too soon to sur round them with those influences which will lead them to Christ. Tne devil will lose no time in filling their minds and hearts with his filth.
FOR* 1944 How about a New You for the New Year?—Bartlett. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Cor. 5:17). of Christ upon the cross. It is little wonder, then, that these two individ uals should be intensely interested in that “ decease which he should accom plish” (Lk. 9:31). This mountain was also the place of instruction for the disciples (vs. 5-8). Not knowing what to say, Peter made the mistake of putting the Lord Jesus Christ on the same plane with the two Old Testament worthies Tvs. 5, 6). But suddenly the disciples’ m i s t a k e n thoughts were corrected by the Voice from heaven (vs. 7, 8). Whatever Moses had said, and whatever the prophets had taught, from henceforth just one voice was to be heard, that of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was to be supreme. II. I n the V alley (9:17-27) This valley was the place of Satan’s power (vs. 17-19), Here was slavery of the worst sort. And here was suffer ing, controlled by the demon who tor mented the soul and body of this lad. Here, too, was helplessness, even on the part of the disciples, to whom ap peal had been made. Satan’s power triumphed, and no help was to be found in man. This valley was also the place of sorrow because of Satan’s power (vs. 20-24). No one can measure the grief of the father’s heart as he was forced to watch his son being tormented by the demon, while he himself was pow erless to afford any relief. What bitter disappointment must that father have had when he brought his child to the disciples and found they were as pow erless as he! One can almost hear the sob of that father’s heart and the ur gency of his cry to the Lord Jesus: “ Lord, I believe; help thou mine un belief” (v. 24). This valley was also tjie place of deliverance from Satan’s power (vs. 25-27). The deliverance came when the Lord was obeyed and the boy was brought to Him. Then cameThe divine B L A C K B O A R D LESSON
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