Mark 9 (ESV)
9:1 And he said to them, “ Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
The Transfiguration
2 And1 after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one2 on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, “ Rabbi,3 it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “ This is my beloved Son;4 listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.
9 And5 as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “ Why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “ Elijah does come first to restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit
14 And6 when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “ What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “ Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “ O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “ How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “ From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘ If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out7 and said, “ I believe; help my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “ You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “ He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “ Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “ This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”8
Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection
30 They9 went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “ The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Who Is the Greatest?
33 And they10 came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “ What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “ If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “ Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us
38 John11 said to him, “ Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,12 and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “ Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because13 you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.
Temptations to Sin
42 “ Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,14 it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell,15 to the unquenchable fire.16 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘ where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.17 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Footnotes
Mark 9 Commentary
In Mark 9, Jesus tells His disciples that some will witness the kingdom of God in power (Mark 9:1). On a mountain, He is transfigured before Peter, James, and John, appearing with Moses and Elijah. A voice from heaven declares Him God’s beloved Son and commands them to listen to Him (Mark 9:2-7). Afterward, Jesus tells them to remain silent about the vision until after His resurrection (Mark 9:9-10).
Back in the valley, Jesus delivers a boy from a destructive spirit after his father expresses both faith and doubt. He teaches that such spiritual power requires prayer (Mark 9:14-29). As they travel, Jesus predicts His death and resurrection, but the disciples do not understand. When they argue about greatness, He teaches that the greatest must become a servant and welcomes a child as a model of true humility (Mark 9:30-37).
Jesus affirms that those acting in His name are not enemies and warns against causing others to stumble. He calls for serious repentance from sin and urges His followers to live in purity, humility, and peace (Mark 9:38-50).
Context
Mark 9 is part of the second major movement of the Gospel of Mark. The first movement (Mark 1-8) focuses on Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee (his teaching, miracles, and growing fame). This culminates in Peter’s confession in Mark 8:29: “You are the Christ.” That moment marks a turning point.
From that point on, including Mark 9, Jesus begins to redefine what it means for him to be the Messiah. He begins to speak explicitly about his coming suffering, death, and resurrection (Mrk 8:31; Mrk 9:31). This is in sharp contrast to the disciples’ expectations of a conquering king.
Mark 9, then, is part of this unfolding revelation: Jesus is not only the Christ, but a suffering Son of Man. The disciples are struggling to grasp this. Their confusion, failures, and ambitions (especially in chapter 9) highlight how radically different Jesus’ mission is from what they envisioned.
The Transfiguration
The Transfiguration takes place high upon a mountain (most think Mt. Hermon or Mt. Tabor). Across ancient Near Eastern cultures, mountains were considered sacred spaces. They were the dwelling places of the gods. High places were seen as ideal locations for worship because they were believed to be closer to the heavens. In Scripture, God takes that cultural idea and reorients it theologically. Mountains are not places where humans ascend to find God; they are places where God descends to reveal Himself.
In Mark 9, the inner circle (Peter, James, & John) get a foretaste of Christ’s glorified state. God’s words remind us of Jesus’ baptism.
At Jesus’ baptism (Mrk 1:11), the Father declares:
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Now, at the Transfiguration (Mrk 9:7), the voice from the cloud says:
“This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
While the baptism focuses on affirming Jesus personally, the Transfiguration is directed toward the disciples. The shift in address signals a turn in the narrative focus, from who Jesus is to how the disciples must respond. The command “Listen to him” is a deliberate echo of the words of Moses (Deut 18:15). On the mountain, with Moses (representing the Law) and Elijah (representing the Prophets), the Father singles out Jesus as the one to whom all Scripture pointed. The Law and the Prophets do not rival Jesus; they testify to Him.
- Jesus is the greater Moses
- Jesus fulfills both the Law and the Prophets
- Jesus is the climactic revelation of God (Heb 1:1-2)
Jesus is about to say some really difficult things, and His inner circle must understand that it is their duty to listen with an open heart. At this point in Mark’s Gospel, the disciples are struggling with Jesus’ predictions of suffering. Peter had just rebuked Jesus for saying he would be killed (Mrk 8:32), and Jesus responded sharply with “Get behind me, Satan.” The Transfiguration is a mercy to them. The Father’s voice affirms that the Son’s path of humiliation will lead to exaltation. The disciples must listen, even when they don’t yet understand.
Do you ever have moments like this? Where do we need to listen to Jesus even when we don’t fully understand? With Christ, suffering and glory are inseparable. If we follow Jesus up to the mountain, we must also be willing to follow Him down into the valley.
The Desperate Father
Speaking of not understanding, Mark picks up on this theme in the very next story. This is one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture. Every good father can relate to the desperation this man feels about his son. It is the tension of belief and unbelief.
Too many times in the church, we expect people to change overnight, or we throw out familiar Bible verses and expect people to immediately trust God. You will have times when you doubt God’s power in your life. You are going to doubt His love. You are going to doubt His presence. We all struggle with doubt!
The pinnacle of the story occurs when Jesus challenges this father’s doubt. With incredible humility and honesty, the father cries out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” It almost sounds like a contradiction, until you reflect on your own life and realize this phrase describes the wrestling match all of us have had or are currently having with God. I believe in God’s power, but I’m also conscious of my unbelief.
“While men have no faith, they are unconscious of their unbelief; but, as soon as they get a little faith, then they begin to be conscious of the greatness of their unbelief.”
Charles Spurgeon
When you read this story, you can just feel the emotion and the tension in the father’s voice. You can feel the power struggle of his heart and his mind. It feels like my mind. Maybe it feels like your mind? Jesus didn’t expect the father to have perfect faith before the healing took place. He just needed a tiny mustard seed of faith from this man. What did the father have? He admitted he was powerless. He believed in God. He believed that his son mattered to Jesus. And that set him up to witness the power of Jesus!
What if instead of telling people, “You just need to trust God,” or “You just need to have more faith,” we told people, “Just pray an honest prayer to God.” What if we told people it’s human to have doubts? By doing that, we are encouraging authentic searching. When you read the father’s words, has there ever been a more humble, authentic prayer uttered in Scripture? In the end, Jesus healed the boy despite the father’s imperfect faith.
Once again, Mark is teaching us that it is not the size or strength of our faith that matters most. It is the object of our faith. Faith is not measured by intensity, but by dependence on the One who is faithful.
Humility & Repentance
After healing the demon-possessed boy, Jesus begins traveling through Galilee and deliberately avoids public ministry in order to teach His disciples privately. He tells them plainly that the Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, killed, and after three days, rise again. Yet the disciples do not understand His words and are afraid to ask Him for clarification. Instead, they begin arguing among themselves about who is the greatest.
This reveals how far their hearts still are from the way of the kingdom. In response, Jesus calls them together and teaches that true greatness is found in becoming a servant of all. He brings a child into their midst, a figure of social insignificance in that culture, and declares that welcoming one such as this in His name is equivalent to welcoming Him and the One who sent Him. This moment reorients the disciples away from ambition and toward humility, signaling that the path of the Messiah is not upward toward status but downward into service and sacrificial love.
John then raises a concern about someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who is not part of their group. Jesus corrects him, teaching that those who act in His name, even if they are outside the immediate circle, are not enemies. This moment broadens the disciples’ understanding of how God works and warns against tribalism in ministry.
Jesus follows with a solemn teaching on sin, emphasizing the danger of causing others, especially those who are spiritually vulnerable, to stumble. He uses vivid imagery to warn that it is better to lose a hand, a foot, or an eye than to allow sin to lead one into eternal judgment. This is not a literal command for mutilation, but a metaphor stressing the severity of sin and the urgency of repentance.
Jesus concludes by urging His followers to have salt in themselves, which implies moral integrity, covenant faithfulness, and preserving influence in the world. He also commands them to live at peace with one another. These teachings call the disciples, and all who follow Christ, to take personal holiness seriously, to welcome the lowly with genuine love, and to pursue unity in the community of faith.
