Mark 9:15

ἐξεθαμβήθησαν, were utterly amazed, used by Mark only in N. T., here, and in Mark 14:33 and Mark 16:5 in connections which demand a very strong sense. What was there in common in the three situations: the returned Master, the agony in the garden, and the appearance of the angel at the resurrection? A surprise; which, whether sorrowful or joyful, always gives a certain emotional shock. The Master reappears, when He is not looked for, when He is needed, and when His name is being taken in vain, perhaps not without a certain sympathy on the part of the volatile crowd not accustomed hitherto to miscarriage of attempts at healing when the name of Jesus was invoked. In that case their feeling would be a compound of confusion and gladness ashamed and yet delighted to see Him, both betrayed in their manner.