Mark 9:1-50

SUMMARY 8:14 to 9:50

The two miracles recorded in the preceding sectionthe cure of the blind man at Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), and the casting out of the obstinate demon (Mark 9:14-29)are additional demonstrations of the divine power of Jesus. They are not mere repetitions of former proofs, but they possess peculiar force in that the blind man was cured by progressive steps, each one of which was a miracle in itself, and in that the demon in question was one of peculiar power and obstinacy.

The foreknowledge of Jesus is again displayed in his two predictions concerning his own death (Mark 8:31-33; Mark 9:30-32), and with his foreknowledge, his predetermined purpose to submit to death at the hands of his enemies.

But the crowning argument of the section is contained in the account of the transfiguration. If the testimony of those who witnessed his scene is not false testimony, his divine majesty and his God-given right to be heard in all that he chooses to speak, are established beyond all possibility of a mistake.

End of Part First.

We have now reached the close of the first general division of Mark's narrative. Hitherto, after a few introductory statements in the first chapter (Mark 1:1-13), all the incidents which he records occurred in Galilee, or in the regions immediately adjoining, Now the writer leaves Galilee, and returns to it no more. (McGarvey)