MARK 8:27 TO MARK 9:1. THE GREAT CONFESSION, AND THE FIRST VIEW OF THE CROSS. Here opens a new section of the gospel. The tendency to seek retirement with the Twelve, pronounced from Mark 6:31 onwards, now dominates the story. Jesus devotes Himself to traming the Twelve in the shadow of the Cross. T... [ Continue Reading ]
MARK 9:1 is added here though not necessarily spoken on this occasion. Menzies and others question its genuineness in its present form. If it conflicts with Mark 13:30, some simpler saying must have been modified by those who lived to see nearly the whole generation pass away.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE TRANSFIGURATION AND THE COMING OF ELIJAH. After an interval, defined with curious exactness as six days, which may reflect the influence of Exodus 24:16, the three most intimate disciples of Jesus receive a Divine endorsement of His Messianic claim in a vision on a mountain-top (probably a slope... [ Continue Reading ]
THE HEALING OF THE DEMONIAC BOY. This story is told in greater detail by Mk. than by Mt. or Lk., who omit the conversation between Jesus and the boy's father (Mark 9:20). Perhaps they wished to avoid representing Jesus as asking a question for information (Mark 9:21). In any case, they lose genuine... [ Continue Reading ]
FURTHER PREDICTION OF THE PASSION. Jesus now journeys through Galilee, avoiding public attention. Mk. explains the desire for privacy as due to the purpose of Jesus to devote Himself to the disciples. Some scholars suggest that the necessity of avoiding a collision with Herod may have been the real... [ Continue Reading ]
A CONVERSATION WITH THE TWELVE. This section illustrates the kind of teaching which Jesus gave in private to His disciples. It may embody fragmentary recollections of a particular discussion, but more probably Mk. has strung together utterances and incidents belonging to different occasions, the con... [ Continue Reading ]