Reading for Today:
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Numbers 7:1
Chapter 7 1 And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it, and all the furniture thereof, and the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them and sanctified them;
–8:26
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Psalms 31:1-5
Chapter 31 1 In thee, O Jehovah, do I take refuge; Let me never be put to shame: Deliver me in thy righteousness. 2 Bow down thine ear unto me; deliver me speedily: Be thou to me a strong rock, A house of defence to save me. 3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; Therefore for thy name's sake lead me and guide me. 4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid privily for me; For thou art my stronghold. 5 Into thy hand I commend my spirit: Thou hast redeemed me, O Jehovah, thou God of truth.
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Proverbs 11:4-6
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath; But righteousness delivereth from death. 5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way; But the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them; But the treacherous shall be taken in their own iniquity.
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Mark 9:1-29
Chapter 9 1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand `by', who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power. 2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them; 3 and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. 4 And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid. 7 And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him. 8 And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves. 9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead. 10 And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean. 11 And they asked him, saying, `How is it' that the scribes say that Elijah must first come? 12 And he said unto them, Elijah indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things: and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be set at nought? 13 But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him. 14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. 15 And straightway all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. 16 And he asked them, What question ye with them? 17 And one of the multitude answered him, Teacher, I brought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit; 18 and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth, and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able. 19 And he answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him grievously; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child. 22 And oft-times it hath cast him both into the fire and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. 24 Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And having cried out, and torn him much, he came out: and `the boy' became as one dead; insomuch that the more part said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and raised him up; and he arose. 28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, `How is it' that we could not cast it out? 29 And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, save by prayer.
Notes:
Numbers 7:89 He spoke to him. With the completion of the tabernacle, the Lord communicated His word to Moses from the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies (see Lev. 1:1, Num. 1:1).
Psalm 31:5 Into Your hand. This is applied to both the lesser David and the Greater David (
Luke 23:46
46 And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost.
). Here it involves the common denominator of trust. This is a metaphor depicting God’s power and control (see v. 15a; contra. vv. 8, 15b).
Proverbs 11:4 day of wrath. Money buys no escape from death in the day of final accounting to God, the divine Judge (see Is. 10:3; Ezek. 7:19; Zeph. 1:18;
Luke 12:16
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
–21).
Mark 9:22 to destroy him. This demon was an especially violent and dangerous one. Open fires and unfenced bodies of water were common in first-century Palestine, providing ample opportunity for the demon’s attempts to destroy the child. The father’s statement added to the pathos of the situation. The boy himself was probably disfigured from burn scars, and possibly further ostracized because of them. His situation also created a hardship for his family, who would have had to watch the boy constantly to protect him from harm.
DAY 5: What was the purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration?
Matthew and Mark place the Transfiguration “six days” after Jesus’ promise that some disciples would “see the kingdom of God present with power”(
Mark 9:1
Chapter 9 1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand `by', who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power.
). Peter, James, and John, as the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, were allowed to witness this great event on “a high mountain” (
Mark 9:2
2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them;
), most likely Mt. Hermon, the highest mountain in the vicinity of Caesarea Philippi (see 8:27). Jesus was “transfigured,” meaning “to change in form” or “to be transformed,” in front of them. In some inexplicable way, Jesus manifested some of His divine glory to the 3 disciples (see 2 Pet. 1:16). The divine glory emanating from Jesus made even His clothing radiate brilliant white light (
Mark 9:3
3 and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.
). Light is often associated with God’s visible presence (see Ps. 104:2; Dan. 7:9; 1 Tim. 6:16; Rev. 1:14; 21:23).
Also appearing with Jesus were “Elijah…with Moses” (
Mark 9:4
4 And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
). They were symbolic of the Prophets and the Law, the two great divisions of the Old Testament. They “were talking with Jesus,” and the subject was His coming death (
Luke 9:31
31 who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
). Then “a cloud…overshadowed them” (v. 7). This is the glory cloud, Shekinah, which throughout the Old Testament was symbolic of God’s presence (Ex. 13:21; 33:18–23; 40:34, 35; Num. 9:15; 14:14; Deut. 9:33). And “a voice came out of the cloud,” which was the Father’s voice, saying, “This is My beloved Son”—repeating the affirmation of His love for the Son first given at Jesus’ baptism (
Mark 1:11
11 And a voice came out of the heavens, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I am well pleased.
). “Hear Him!” says the Father. Jesus, the One to whom the Law and Prophets pointed (see Deut. 18:15), is the One whom the disciples are to listen to and obey (see Heb. 1:1, 2).
From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.
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