Mark 9
BSASBJesus is shown in glory on the mountain, and the Father tells the disciples to listen to His Son. Then He comes down to a suffering boy, a father’s struggling faith, and a second warning of the cross. The chapter ends with lessons on humility, welcome, and the seriousness of sin.
Mark 9:1
Jesus promises that some of those listening will see God’s kingdom come with power before they die. Christians have often linked this to the glory seen on the mountain just after, or to the resurrection and what followed. Either way, the kingdom is no mere idea.
BSA: power (“miraculous ability, divine strength”): The kingdom comes not as talk but as God’s own strength breaking into the world.
See also: Matthew 16:28.
Mark 9:2-3
Six days later, Jesus takes his three closest disciples up a high mountain. His appearance is changed before them, and His clothes shine whiter than any human cleaner could make them. For a moment they see the glory that belongs to Him.
BSA: transfigured (“transformed, changed in form”): The change came from within Jesus; His hidden glory showed through.
Greek: μετεμορφώθη (metemorphōthē, G3339) — “was changed in form.” This is the root of our word ‘metamorphosis’. It describes a real change shining out from within, not a trick of light.
See also: 2 Peter 1:16-18.
Mark 9:4
Moses, who gave the Law, and Elijah, the great prophet, appear and talk with Jesus. The Law and the Prophets stand beside Him and point to Him. Luke tells us they spoke of His coming departure in Jerusalem.
See also: Luke 9:30-31.
Mark 9:5-6
Peter wants to stay and build three shelters, one for each of the great figures. He speaks out of fear, not understanding. His wish is kind but misses the point: Jesus is not one among equals.
BSA: shelters (“tabernacles, tents”): The word recalls Israel’s tent of worship and the festival of booths, so Peter may have been reaching for a way to honor this holy moment.
Mark 9:7
A cloud, the sign of God’s presence, covers them, and the Father speaks. He calls Jesus His beloved Son and tells them to listen to Him. Moses and Elijah are honored, but it is Jesus they must now hear.
BSA: Listen (“hear, obey”): True listening means obeying, not merely hearing.
See also: Psalm 2:7; Deuteronomy 18:15.
Mark 9:8
The vision ends as suddenly as it began. Only Jesus remains with them. The glory fades, but He stays, and He is enough.
BSA: Suddenly (“without warning, unexpectedly”): The moment passes at once; the disciples cannot hold on to the vision.
Mark 9:9-10
Jesus tells the three to say nothing until He has risen from the dead. They do not yet understand the cross, so they could not rightly explain the glory. They puzzle over what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.
BSA: admonished (“gave strict orders to”): This was a firm command, not a polite request.
Mark 9:11-13
The disciples ask about the teaching that Elijah must come first. Jesus says the promised Elijah has already come and was mistreated, pointing to John the Baptist. The Son of Man, too, must suffer and be rejected. Glory and suffering belong together in God’s plan.
BSA: restores (“brings back to a state of wholeness, renovates”): The forerunner’s work was to prepare hearts so that God’s people could be made whole again.
See also: Malachi 4:5-6; Matthew 17:12-13.
Mark 9:14-16
Coming down, Jesus finds a crowd and the scribes arguing with the other disciples. The people run to Him with awe. He asks what the argument is about, as one ready to take up the problem Himself.
BSA: awe (“fear, reverence”): The crowd sensed something of His greatness as He came into view.
Mark 9:17-18
A father explains his son’s condition. A spirit has robbed the boy of speech and throws him into violent seizures. The disciples tried to drive it out but could not. It is a picture of helpless need.
BSA: mute (“speechless, unable to speak”): The spirit shut the boy’s mouth, leaving him unable to cry out for himself.
Mark 9:19
Jesus grieves over the lack of faith around Him, in the crowd, the scribes, and even His followers. His words show weariness at their unbelief, yet He does not turn away. He says, ‘Bring the boy to Me.’.
BSA: put up (“endure, bear”): Jesus is patient with weak faith, though it costs Him.
Mark 9:20-22
At the sight of Jesus the spirit throws the boy into a fit. Jesus calmly asks how long this has gone on. The father tells of years of suffering and pleads, ‘If You can do anything, have compassion on us.’ His hope is thin but real.
BSA: compassion (“pity, sympathy”): The father appeals to Jesus’ heart, not only His power.
Mark 9:23-24
Jesus repeats the father’s ‘If You can?’ and says that all things are possible to one who believes. The father’s cry is one of the most honest prayers in Scripture: he does believe, yet he asks for help with his unbelief. Jesus accepts that mixed faith.
BSA: unbelief (“lack of faith, spiritual weakness”): The man admits his weakness and brings it to Jesus rather than hiding it.
See also: Luke 17:5.
Mark 9:25-27
Jesus commands the spirit to leave and never return. It shrieks and shakes the boy, who lies as if dead. Then Jesus takes him by the hand and lifts him up. It is a small picture of resurrection.
BSA: helped him to his feet (“lifted him up, raised him”): The verb of raising looks ahead to Jesus’ own rising from the dead.
Greek: ἤγειρεν (ēgeiren, G1453) — “raised up.” This is the same verb used elsewhere for rising from sleep and for resurrection, so the scene quietly echoes the hope of new life.
Mark 9:28-29
In private the disciples ask why they failed. Jesus says this kind comes out only by prayer. Their strength was not their own; it depended on constant reliance on God. Some manuscripts add ‘and fasting.’.
BSA: prayer (“and fasting, devotion to God”): Some ancient copies add fasting, showing the call to deep dependence on God.
Mark 9:30-32
Jesus quietly passes through Galilee, teaching His disciples. For the second time He says He will be handed over, killed, and rise after three days. They do not understand and are afraid to ask. The cross is still too hard for them to take in.
BSA: delivered (“handed over, surrendered”): He would be given up into human hands, yet this was within God’s plan.
See also: Isaiah 53:6.
Mark 9:33-34
At Capernaum Jesus asks what they had been discussing. They fall silent, because they had been arguing about which of them was greatest. Just after hearing about His suffering, they were thinking of their own rank.
BSA: arguing (“disputing, reasoning”): It was not a casual chat but a real dispute over status.
Mark 9:35
Jesus sits, as a teacher would, and calls the Twelve. In His kingdom greatness is turned upside down: whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
BSA: servant (“attendant, minister”): The word is of someone who waits on others, the opposite of seeking rank.
Greek: διάκονος (diakonos, G1249) — “servant, one who waits on others.” It describes practical, hands-on service, such as waiting at table. Jesus makes this the mark of greatness.
See also: Mark 10:43-45.
Mark 9:36-37
Jesus holds a little child in His arms and says that welcoming such a child in His name is welcoming Him, and so welcoming the Father. In that world a child had little standing. Jesus puts the lowliest at the center.
BSA: welcomes (“receives with open arms, gives a hearty reception to”): It means warm, active hospitality, not mere tolerance.
Mark 9:38-40
John reports that they tried to stop a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name because he was not one of their group. Jesus tells them not to stop him. Someone working in His name will not quickly speak against Him, and whoever is not against them is for them.
BSA: name (“authority, character, reputation”): To act in Jesus’ name is to act on His authority and for His cause.
See also: Numbers 11:27-29.
Mark 9:41
Even a cup of water given to a follower of Christ, because that person belongs to Him, will not go unrewarded. Small kindnesses done for His sake matter to Him.
BSA: reward (“wage, payment for service”): God does not overlook the smallest act of kindness done for His people.
See also: Matthew 10:42.
Mark 9:42
Jesus gives a stern warning against leading a believing child, or any humble believer, into sin. The punishment pictured, a heavy millstone around the neck and the sea below, is better than facing God’s judgment for such harm. He cares fiercely for the weak.
BSA: stumble (“sin, apostatize”): The picture is of a trap that makes a believer fall away from trusting Him.
Greek: σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalisē, G4624) — “cause to trip or fall.” It comes from a word for the trigger of a trap, so it means setting a snare that catches a believer’s feet.
Mark 9:43-48
Jesus speaks in strong pictures: anything that leads you into sin, even something as dear as a hand, foot, or eye, is worth giving up rather than losing life. Hell is described by words from Isaiah, with a worm that does not die and a fire that is not put out. Jesus is not asking for self-injury but for deadly seriousness about sin. Verses 44 and 46 are absent from the oldest manuscripts.
BSA: hell (“Gehenna, the place of eternal punishment, the valley of fire”): The name comes from a valley outside Jerusalem and became a picture of final judgment.
Greek: γέεννα (geenna, G1067) — “Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom.” It names a real valley south of Jerusalem that came to stand for God’s final judgment.
See also: Isaiah 66:24; Matthew 5:29-30.
Mark 9:49-50
Everyone will be salted with fire. Many Christians understand this as the testing and purifying that God brings. Disciples are to be like good salt, a preserving and flavoring influence, and to live at peace with one another. This brings the chapter back to the disciples’ quarrel over rank.
BSA: salted (“seasoned, preserved”): Salt keeps food from spoiling, so the picture is of being kept pure through trial. peace (“live harmoniously, reconciled”): Shared life as disciples should show reconciled relationships.
See also: Matthew 5:13; Colossians 4:6.