Mark 9:23

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. JESUS (RETORTING UPON HIM), SAID UNTO HIM, IF THOU CANST BELIEVE: The man had said, "If Thou canst do any thing;" Jesus replies, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH - `My doing all depends on thy believing.' To impress this still more, He redoubles upon the believing: "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Thus, the Lord helps the birth of faith in that struggling soul; and now, though with pain and sore travail, it comes to the birth, as Trench, borrowing from Olshausen, expresses it. Seeing the case stood still, waiting not upon the Lord's power but his own faith, the man becomes immediately conscious of conflicting principles, and rises into one of the noblest utterances on record....

23._If thou canst believe. _“You ask me,” says he, “to aid you as far as I can; but you will find in me an inexhaustible fountain of power, provided that the faith which you bring be sufficiently large.” Hence may be learned a useful doctrine, which will apply equally to all of us, that it is not the Lord that prevents his benefits from flowing to us in large abundance, but that it must be attributed to the narrowness of our faith, that it comes to us only in drops, and that frequently we do not feel even a drop, because unbelief shuts up our heart. It is an idle exercise of ingenuity to prove Christ’s meaning to be, that a man can believe of himself: for nothing more was intended than to throw back on men the blame of their poverty, whenever they disparage the power of God by their unbelief. _All things are possible to him that believeth. _Christ undoubtedly intended to teach that the f...

14-29 The father of the suffering youth reflected on the want of power in the disciples; but Christ will have him reckon the disappointment to the want of faith. Very much is promised to our believing. If thou canst believe, it is possible that thy hard heart may be softened, thy spiritual diseases may be cured; and, weak as thou art, thou mayest be able to hold out to the end. Those that complain of unbelief, must look up to Christ for grace to help them against it, and his grace will be sufficient for them. Whom Christ cures, he cures effectually. But Satan is unwilling to be driven from those that have been long his slaves, and, when he cannot deceive or destroy the sinner, he will cause him all the terror that he can. The disciples must not think to do their work always with the same ease; some services call for more than ordinary pains....

Verse 23. _IF_ THOU _CANST_ BELIEVE] This was an answer to the inquiry above. I can furnish a sufficiency of _power_, if _thou_ canst but bring _faith_ to receive it. Why are not our souls completely healed? Why is not every demon cast out? Why are not pride, self-will, love of the world, lust, anger, peevishness, with all the other bad tempers and dispositions which constitute the mind of Satan, entirely destroyed? Alas! it is because we do not _believe_; Jesus is _able_; more, Jesus is _willing_; but we are _not_ _willing_ to give up our idols; we give not credence to his word; therefore hath sin a _being_ in us, and dominion over us....

See this passage explained in the notes at Matthew 17:14. Mark 9:14 QUESTIONING WITH THEM - Debating with the disciples, and attempting to confound them. This he saw as he came down from the mount. In his absence they had taken occasion to attempt to perplex and confound his followers. Mark 9:15 WERE GREATLY AMAZED - Were astonished and surprised at his sudden appearance among them. SALUTED HIM - Received him with the customary marks of affection and respect. It is probable that this was not by any “formal” manner of salutation, but by the “rush” of the multitude, a

EXPOSITION MARK 9:1 TILL THEY SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD COME WITH POWER. In St. Matthew 16:28 the words run thus: "Till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." In St. Luke 9:27, "Till they see the kingdom of God." All these evangelists connect their record of the Transfiguration with these predictive words—a circumstance which must not be lost sight of in their interpretation. The question, therefore, is whether or how far the Transfiguration is to be regarded as a fulfillment of these words. One thing seems plain, that the Transfiguration, if a fulfillment at all, was not an exhaustive fulfillment of the words. The solemnity of their introduction forbids us to limit them to a

JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, IF THOU CANST BELIEVE,.... As the man put an "if" on the power of Christ, Christ puts an "if" on the faith of the man; and tacitly suggests, that power was not wanting in himself, but faith in him; and should that cure not be performed, it would not be owing to any inability in him, but to his own incredulity. The Arabic version renders it, "what is this thy: saying, if thou canst do any thing?" What dost thou mean by it? Thou oughtest not to doubt of my power; there is no reason for it, after so many miracles wrought; upbraiding the man with his unbelief; and the Ethiopic version renders it thus, "because thou sayest, if thou canst": wherefore to show that power was not wanting in him, provided he had but faith, it follows, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH; that is, "to be done" to him, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions supply: for all things are not...

Mark 9:2. _And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus._ In the midst of all his sorrow and humiliation, our Lord let out some gleams of his glory, to remind us who he was even while he was here in the depths of his grief. He was still none other than the all-glorious Lord of heaven and earth, whose raiment, if he chose to make it so, would be whiter than snow, and brighter than the sun. Let us think of him with great love and gratitude as we see what glory he willingly laid aside for our sakes, and see how low he stooped who was in himself immeasurably high....

MARK 9:23 to. eiv du,nh| {B} The extreme compression of the sentence has given trouble to copyists. Not seeing that in to. eiv du,nh| Jesus is repeating the words of the father in order to challenge them, 16 a variety of witnesses have inserted pisteu/sai, which has the effect of changing the subject of the verb “can” from Jesus to the father. As a result the to, now seemed more awkward than ever, and many of these witnesses omit it. ------------------------- 16 Ver. Mark 9:22 “… if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us.” (23) And Je...

CHAPTER 9 _ 1. The Glory to Come foreshadowed in the Transfiguration. (Mark 9:1 .Matthew 17:1; Luke 9:28 .)_ 2. The helpless disciples and the secret of failure. (Mark 9:14. Matthew 17:14; Luke 9:37) 3. The second announcement of His death. (Mark 9:30 .Matthew 17:22;...