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9
1 Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth: some standing here won't die before they see the kingdom of God having come with power.”
2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him, and led them up a high mountain to be by themselves. His appearance totally changed. 3 His clothes shone a brilliant white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses appeared in front of them as well, talking with Jesus.
5 Peter spoke up and said, “Rabbi, it's great for us to be here! We should make three shelters—one each for you, Moses, and Elijah.” 6 (He really didn't know what to say because they were all so frightened!)
7 Then a cloud covered* Or, “overshadowed.” them, and a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the one I love. Listen to him.”
8 Then, all of a sudden, as they were watching, there was nobody. Only Jesus was with them.
9 As they came down the mountain Jesus instructed them not to tell anyone what they'd seen until the Son of man had risen from the dead. 10 They kept this to themselves, but they did argue with each other over what it meant to rise from the dead.
11 “Why do the religious teachers state that Elijah has to come first?” they asked him.
12 “It's true that Elijah comes first to prepare everything,” Jesus replied. “But why then does it say in Scripture that the Son of man has to suffer so much and be treated with contempt? 13 However, I tell you that Elijah has come, and they abused him in whatever way they wanted, just as Scripture said they would.”
14 When they returned to the other disciples, they saw them surrounded by a large crowd and some religious teachers arguing with them. 15 As soon as the crowd saw Jesus they were in total awe, and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” Jesus asked them.
17 One of the people in the crowd answered, “Rabbi, I brought my son to you. He has an evil spirit that prevents him speaking. 18 Whenever he has a seizure it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and he becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out of him, but they couldn't do it.”
19 “You unbelieving people!” Jesus responded. “How long must I remain here with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring him over here to me!”
20 So they brought him to Jesus. When the evil spirit saw Jesus it immediately sent the boy into convulsions and threw him on the ground, where he rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has he had this?” Jesus asked the boy's father.
“Since he was small,” the father replied. 22 “Often it throws him into the fire to burn him to death, or throws him into water to drown him. Please have mercy on us and help, if you can.”
23 “Why do you say,† Implied. Jesus was asking why the man said to him, “if you can,” which suggested doubt as to what Jesus could do. ‘if you can?’ ” replied Jesus. “Whoever trusts has every power!”
24 “I do trust in you,” the man shouted out right away. “Help me not to distrust you.”
25 Jesus, seeing that the crowd was closing in,‡ Or, “running together.” This word is only used once in the New Testament. commanded the evil spirit, “Spirit that causes deafness and dumbness, I order you to come out of him and never return.”
26 The spirit screamed and threw the boy into severe convulsions. Then the spirit came out of the boy and left him for dead—to the extent that many of the people said, “He's dead.”
27 But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him up, and he got to his feet.
28 Later, when Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him in private, “Why couldn't we drive the evil spirit out?”
29 “This kind can't be driven out except by prayer,” Jesus told them.
30 They left and passed through Galilee. Jesus didn't want anyone to know where he was 31 because he was teaching his disciples.§ In other words, he wanted to spend time teaching his disciples. “The Son of man will be betrayed to human authorities,” he told them. “They will kill him, but three days later he will rise again.” 32 They didn't understand what he meant and were too afraid to ask him about it.
33 They arrived at Capernaum, and once they were inside the house where they were staying, Jesus asked them, “What were you talking about on the way?” 34 But they didn't say anything because they had been arguing over who was the most important.
35 Jesus sat down and called the twelve disciples together. “If anyone wants to be first, he has to be the very last, the servant of everyone else,” he told them. 36 He took a small child and had the child stand right in the middle of them. Then he picked up and hugged the child, and told them, 37 “Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me doesn't welcome me but the One who sent me.”
38 John said to Jesus, “Rabbi, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him because he wasn't one of us.”
39 “Don't stop him,” Jesus replied. “For no one who is doing miracles in my name can curse me at the same time. 40 Anyone who is not against us is for us. 41 Anyone who gives a cup of water to you in my name, because you belong to Christ, won't lose their reward, believe me.
42 But if anyone leads one of these little ones who trust in me into sin, it would be better for them if they were thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around their neck. 43 If your hand leads you to sin, cut it off! It's better to enter eternal life as a cripple than to go with both hands into Gehenna* The word used here is Literally, “Gehenna,” sometimes translated “hell” or “hellfire.” Gehenna was the place outside of Jerusalem where fires were lit to dispose of rubbish by burning. “Hell” is a concept that is derived from Nordic and Anglo-Saxon mythology and does not adequately convey the meaning here., into the fire that can't be put out. 44 † Verse 44 is not found in the early manuscripts. 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It's better to enter eternal life lame than to be thrown into Gehenna still having two feet. 46 ‡ Verse 46 is not found in the early manuscripts. 47 If your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out! It's better to enter the kingdom of God with just one eye than to be thrown into Gehenna still having both eyes, 48 where the worm doesn't die and the fire never goes out. 49 Everybody will be ‘salted’ by fire. 50 Salt is good, but if it loses its taste, how could you make it salty again? You need to be like salt, and live in peace with one another.”

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*9:7 Or, “overshadowed.”

†9:23 Implied. Jesus was asking why the man said to him, “if you can,” which suggested doubt as to what Jesus could do.

‡9:25 Or, “running together.” This word is only used once in the New Testament.

§9:31 In other words, he wanted to spend time teaching his disciples.

*9:43 The word used here is Literally, “Gehenna,” sometimes translated “hell” or “hellfire.” Gehenna was the place outside of Jerusalem where fires were lit to dispose of rubbish by burning. “Hell” is a concept that is derived from Nordic and Anglo-Saxon mythology and does not adequately convey the meaning here.

†9:44 Verse 44 is not found in the early manuscripts.

‡9:46 Verse 46 is not found in the early manuscripts.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher