UST MARK Chapter 9

◄ MARK 9 ► ║ ═ ©

9 Then Jesus told his apprentices and the large group of people, “Some of you who are here with me will definitely see God powerfully establish his kingdom before you die. What I have said is true!”

2 Six days later, Jesus climbed up a tall mountain. He had Peter, James, and John go with him. No one else was with them. Then, the three apprentices saw Jesus change how he appeared. 3 His clothes became very bright white. They were whiter than anyone on earth could make them by bleaching them. 4 After that, Elijah and Moses, who were prophets from long ago, appeared to the three apprentices! These prophets were speaking to Jesus.

5 Peter responded by saying to Jesus, “Teacher, it is appropriate for all of us to be here. We should build three shelters. You, Moses, and Elijah can each use one.” 6 Peter said that because he and the other two apprentices were extremely afraid. So, he did not know how to respond to what he saw.

7 Then a cloud covered all of them! God spoke from the cloud, “This man is my Son, the one whom I love dearly. Do what he says.”

8 When the three apprentices looked around, suddenly, the only person whom they still saw with them was Jesus.

9 While they were walking down the mountain, Jesus told them that they should not tell anyone about what they had just seen until he, the Son of Man, had become alive again. 10 So they did not tell others about what had happened. However, they talked with each other about what it meant when Jesus said that he would become alive again.

11 Then those three apprentices asked Jesus, “The teachers of the Jewish law tell us that the prophet Elijah has to be here before the Messiah gets here. Are they right about that?”

12 Jesus replied, “Yes, the prophet Elijah must be here before the Messiah gets here. He will make everything as it should be. However, consider this: the prophets wrote in the Scriptures that people would reject me, the Son of Man, and hurt me very much. 13 That makes sense only because of what I am about to tell you. The prophet Elijah has already been here. Further, people treated him badly, just as the prophets wrote in the Scriptures about him.”

14 Then Jesus and those three apprentices arrived where the other apprentices were. They saw a large group of people around the other apprentices. Some teachers of the Jewish laws were debating with them. 15 As soon as Jesus arrived, the large group of people noticed him, and it surprised them very much. So, they hurried to him and said hello to him.

16 Then Jesus asked his apprentices, “What are you debating with the teachers of the Jewish law?”

17 A man in the large group of people replied, “Instructor, I came here to you with my son so that you would heal him. A demon controls him and keeps him from speaking. 18 Whenever the demon chooses, it makes my son fall down. Then, my son drools, grinds his teeth together, and becomes rigid. I asked your apprentices to force the demon out of him. However, they could not do it.”

19 Jesus replied to them, “You people who are alive right now do not believe! It is hard for me to live here with you. It is difficult for me to be patient with you.” Then he said to them, “Bring the man’s son to me!”

20 So, some people brought the man’s son to Jesus. As soon as the demon noticed Jesus, it shook the man’s son violently. He fell down and writhed around as he drooled.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

The boy’s father replied, “He has been like this since he was a child. 22 The demon also frequently makes him fall into fires and bodies of water in order to kill him. So, if you can do so, please pity us and help us!”

23 Jesus replied, “You should not talk about whether I can help you. God can do anything for people who trust him!”

24 As soon as Jesus said that, the boy’s father shouted, “I do trust God. Please help me trust him more!”

25 Then Jesus noticed that a large group of people was quickly assembling. So, he commanded the demon who was controlling the man’s son to stop doing so. He said, “You demon who are keeping this boy from speaking and hearing, I tell you to stop controlling him! You may not control him again.”

26 The demon shouted and shook the boy violently. Then it stopped controlling him. After that, the boy lay so still that he looked like a corpse. In fact, many people said that he was dead. 27 However, Jesus took hold of the boy’s hand and helped him get up. The boy stood up!

28 Later, Jesus entered a house, and only his apprentices were with him. They asked him, “Why could we not force out that demon?”

29 Jesus replied, “You can only force this type of demon out by praying and by not eating in order to please God.”

30 After Jesus and his apprentices left that area, they traveled through the region of Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone else to know where he was. 31 Jesus did not want people to know where they were because he was instructing his apprentices. He told them, “Somebody will help my enemies arrest me, the Son of Man. They will have people kill me. Then, three days after I die, I will live again.” 32 However, the apprentices did not understand what Jesus was telling them, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.

33 Then Jesus and his apprentices arrived at the town of Capernaum. When they were in the house where they were staying, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about while we were walking here?” 34 However, while the apprentices were walking, they had been arguing with each other about which one of them was the most important. So, they did not answer Jesus.

35 Then Jesus sat down. He called his 12 representatives to come close to him, and then he said to them, “If anyone wants God to consider him to be the most important person of all, he must consider himself to be the least important person of all, and he must serve everyone else.”

36 Then Jesus had a young child stand among them. He hugged the child, and he told his apprentices, 37 “When people, because they are my apprentices, welcome any young child such as this one here, it is the same as welcoming me. Further, when people welcome me, they are also welcoming God, who sent me here.”

38 John said to Jesus, “Instructor, we noticed someone who was forcing demons out of people. He claimed that he represented you as he did that. So, we told him to stop doing that, because he was not one of us apprentices.”

39 Jesus said, “People will not say bad things about me soon after doing something powerful while they claim to represent me. Because of that, do not tell that man to stop forcing demons out of people. 40 I say that because those who are not opposing us are supporting us. 41 As for those who offer you water to drink because they know that you are apprentices of me, the Messiah, God will most certainly reward them. What I have said is true.

42 On the other hand, suppose that an insignificant person who trusts me sinned because of certain people. God will punish those people so severely that they would prefer to have someone tie a heavy stone around their necks and cast them into the ocean. 43 Suppose that you sinned because you touched something. You should never do that again, even if you have to chop off your hands to make sure of it! You should respond that drastically because it is better for you to truly live without hands than to have both hands but end up in hell, which is like a fire that never goes out. 44 [In that place maggots feed on the people there forever, and the fires never go out.] 45 Suppose that you sinned because you went somewhere. You should never do that again, even if you have to chop off your feet to make sure of it! You should respond that drastically because it is better for you to truly live without feet than to have both feet but end up in hell. 46 [In that place maggots feed on the people there forever, and the fires never go out.]

47 Suppose that you sinned because you looked at something. You should never do that again, even if you have to remove your eyes to make sure of it! You should respond that drastically because it is better for you to participate in God’s kingdom with only one eye than to have both eyes but end up in hell. 48 In that place maggots feed on the people there forever, and the fires never go out.

49 Indeed, God will treat everyone like an offering that people season and burn.

50 Salt is very useful. However, if salt were to stop seasoning food well, you cannot make it season food well again. Be people who make this world better, just as salt makes food better. Also, live peacefully with each other.”

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