Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 49
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that person when he returns in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.”
9
Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth,
some standing here right now will not die
before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in
great power!”
The Transfiguration
2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and
John, and led them up a high mountain to be
alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance
was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach
could ever make them. 4 Then Elijah and Moses
appeared and began talking with Jesus.
5 Peter exclaimed, “Rabbi, it’s wonderful for
us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials*—one for you, one for Moses, and one
for Elijah.” 6 He said this because he didn’t really
know what else to say, for they were all terrified.
7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and
a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly
loved Son. Listen to him.” 8 Suddenly, when they
looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone,
and they saw only Jesus with them.
9 As they went back down the mountain, he
told them not to tell anyone what they had seen
until the Son of Man* had risen from the dead.
10 So they kept it to themselves, but they often
asked each other what he meant by “rising from
the dead.”
11 Then they asked him, “Why do the teachers of religious law insist that Elijah must return
before the Messiah comes?*”
12 Jesus responded, “Elijah is indeed coming first to get everything ready. Yet why do the
Scriptures say that the Son of Man must suffer
greatly and be treated with utter contempt?
13 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and
they chose to abuse him, just as the Scriptures
predicted.”
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
14 When they returned to the other disciples,
they saw a large crowd surrounding them, and
some teachers of religious law were arguing
with them. 15 When the crowd saw Jesus, they
were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to
greet him.
16 “What is all this arguing about?” Jesus
asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up
and said, “Teacher, I brought my son so you
could heal him. He is possessed by an evil
spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 And whenever
this spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to
the ground. Then he foams at the mouth and
9:5 Greek three tabernacles. 9:9 “Son of Man” is a title
Jesus used for himself. 9:11 Greek that Elijah must come
first? 9:18 Or becomes weak. 9:19 Or said to his disciples.
9:25 Greek unclean. 9:29 Some manuscripts read by prayer
and fasting.
M AR K 9
grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.* So I asked
your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they
couldn’t do it.”
19 Jesus said to them,* “You faithless people!
How long must I be with you? How long must I
put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil
spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent
convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing
and foaming at the mouth.
21 “How long has this been happening?” Jesus
asked the boy’s father.
He replied, “Since he was a little boy. 22 The
spirit often throws him into the fire or into
water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and
help us, if you can.”
23 “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked.
“Anything is possible if a person believes.”
24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe,
but help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil*
spirit. “Listen, you spirit that makes this boy
unable to hear and speak,” he said. “I command
you to come out of this child and never enter
him again!”
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy
into another violent convulsion and left him.
The boy appeared to be dead. A murmur ran
through the crowd as people said, “He’s dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped
him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 Afterward, when Jesus was alone in the
house with his disciples, they asked him, “Why
couldn’t we cast out that evil spirit?”
29 Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out
only by prayer.*”
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
30 Leaving that region, they traveled through
Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he
was there, 31 for he wanted to spend more time
with his disciples and teach them. He said to
them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed
into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed,
but three days later he will rise from the dead.”
32 They didn’t understand what he was saying,
however, and they were afraid to ask him what
he meant.
The Greatest in the Kingdom
33 After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in
a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were
you discussing out on the road?” 34 But they
didn’t answer, because they had been arguing
about which of them was the greatest. 35 He sat
down, called the twelve disciples over to him,
and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take
last place and be the servant of everyone else.”
36 Then he put a little child among them.
Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,
