Mark 9:25-32, Living in the “Already but Not Yet” (4)

Here are a couple more thoughts from the story in Mark 9.

o   9:25-27: “healing.”  Jesus cast out the demon, and He also may have brought the boy back to life.  Healing and exorcism are significant in the “already but not yet” world.  In Christ’s kingdom people will live long lives as in the days of the patriarchs.  The lion will lay down with the lamb. Men will beat their swords into plows.  But that is not the world we live in today.  ABNY!  But should I expect God to always heal if I have faith?  The following is from  an Australian pastor named David Shaw (from the Gospel Coalition web page) that said what I would say here, so I will use his words.

For example, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead—once. Poor Lazarus eventually died again, and Jesus didn’t bring him back the next time. Such is life in the already-not-yet kingdom: Yes, Jesus reigns, but we nevertheless await the full consummation of that reign where sin, evil, and death will be defeated once and for all. Consequently, faith simultaneously believes that God desires healing and can heal (James 5), and that even if He doesn’t, His grace is sufficient (2 Cor. 12). The Christian must hold that tension because to veer to either side leads one to despair (I don’t have enough faith) or hopelessness (God is powerless to help me)—neither of which is true.

o   9:28-29: “prayer and fasting.”  We now come back to the inability of the disciples to deal with the boy, and what Jesus says is amazing.  The disciples’ problem was that, in addition to the authority Christ had given them, they needed to fast and pray.  What is amazing is that this is exactly what we have been given in this ABNY age. The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up (Jas. 6:15).

·       9:30-32, the practical application.  Jesus had said these words before (8:31-33), and now we see that He was teaching the disciples about these words.  What He was saying was not just a “put it on your calendar” event.  This describes the lifestyle, the perspective we must have in the ABNY world in which we live.  The teaching would include what Jesus said in Mk. 8:34-38.  If you choose to follow Christ, it is all or nothing.  Deny yourself!  Take up your cross!  And follow Him to the place where that cross will be firmly planted.  Your life is not your own but it is His.  Lose it for His sake and the gospel’s and you will save it!

One thing we have seen in these illustrations of the ABNY life is that our Lord has provided all we need to live in His life.  We may still be waiting for a day when things will be “better,” but things are not now “hopeless” for the followers of Christ.  For us, what is essential is that we walk in faith, in the Spirit.  We will then have all Christ had available to do the will of His Father!

Mark 9:9-24, Living in the “Already but Not Yet” (3)

Having come down from the Mount of Transfiguration the four encountered a definite “already but not yet” (ABNY) situation.

·       Mark 9:14-29: With the transfiguration as a backdrop …

o   9:14-16: “contention.”  First, there was an argument going on with the Scribes.  Jesus asked them what it was about, and I am not sure if there was an answer.  All we see is that someone from the crowd mentioned the failed healing attempt by the other disciples.  Probably the Scribes jumped on this to deny Jesus’ was the Son of God.  In Jesus kingdom there will be no contention about who He is.  ABNY!

o   9:17-18: “ineptitude.”  The Twelve had been given authority by Christ to cast out demons (Mk. 6:7-13).  When the Twelve returned from that period of ministry they had experienced much “success.”  But here, they were unable to cast out this demon.  In Jesus kingdom demons will not be a problem, nor will sickness.  We will come back to this later.  ABNY!

o   9:19: “frustration.”  I hope this word is appropriate.  Jesus had “holy frustration.”  He is not frustrated that He had to perform another miracle and He was tired of all that.  He was frustrated with unbelief.  The Scribes continued to think they found weakness in Jesus.  The people had not gotten the point, after many signs and wonders, that Jesus was fully capable.  In His kingdom there will be no impatience, even with unbelief.  ABNY!

o   9:20-24: “if you can … help my unbelief.”  Jesus’ frustration is still present in the exchange with the father.  The father pleads with Jesus, “if you can.”  Jesus seems to respond by saying there is no “if you can” with Me!  All things are possible to him who believes.  The response of the father, in my view, shows “repentant faith.”  “I do believe, but my faith is not very strong.  Help my unbelief.”  In the ABNY world, faith is the issue, and we must be willing to acknowledge the struggle!  I believe we see this throughout the NT.  For example, Paul wrote to the Galatians because of their struggle in trusting Christ and His work versus the temptation to live our lives by the power of the flesh.  But there was no giving in on the matter.  Paul called them to faith and faith alone (Gal. 2:20).  The letter to the Hebrews deals with a struggle of faith, the struggle to be at rest in faith while suffering persecution.  But again, there was no giving in on the part of the writer.  Those Jewish believers were called to trust God (Heb. 12:1-2).

Mark 9:2-13, Living in the “Already but Not Yet” (2)

Jesus, in His incarnation, lived in a “not yet” context.  As He lived His life, He was training up His disciples to live in an “already but not yet” existence.  The Scriptures tell us that Christ has been crowned with glory and honor, and yet not all things are subject to Him (Heb. 2:8-9).  The Scripture also tell believers in Christ that we are children of God, and yet it has not been made known what we will be like when we see Christ (1 John 3:1-3).  We live in an “already but not yet” context.

Having come down from the mountain, the next few stories give us a glimpse, not only of the fact of this context, but also how to live in this context. 

·       Mark 9:9-10: “until.” 

An “already but not yet” life will, of necessity, have some “untils.”  There will simply be many things that must wait until the “not yet” becomes reality.  For Peter, James and John, Jesus had to remind them that the current message has not changed.  “You have seen something amazing.  But the plan going up on the mountain is still the plan as we come down.  We are still going to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will suffer, die, and be resurrected.”  As Jesus said, after His resurrection they would be free to preach the exalted Christ, the coming King of glory.  As we live in our context we need to stay on message.  The gospel that saves is still the message that looks back to Jerusalem, but that also looks forward to the glorious return of Christ. 

·       Mark 9:11-13: Elijah “has come … is coming.” 

The question asked by the three disciples is only asked because it involves “already but not yet.”  As Jesus said, the Scribes were right, that Elijah must come first.  This comes from the closing two verses of the OT, Mal. 4:5-6.  Elijah was to come and restore the nation before the Messiah came to establish His kingdom.  But the reason the Scribes raised this point is that they used it to deny that Jesus was the Messiah.  After all, if He was, then Elijah should already have shown up, and he hadn’t come.  Jesus does not deny this, in that He affirms, Elijah is coming.

But then Jesus does say that Elijah has also come.  He is speaking, of course, of John the Baptist, who had come in the spirit and power of Elijah, and had served as the forerunner for Jesus in calling the nation to repentance. 

There are important things to learn about living in the “already but not yet.”  For one thing, the Scriptures speaks of a life to come, and because this life has not yet come we may find it difficult to understand how the prophecies will be worked.  Even with Jesus’ explanation I suspect the three were still confused.  Reconciling Jesus’ suffering with His glory was difficult before His resurrection.  But at the same time, we are helped immensely by the fact that, even if we do not fully understand it, the future that is promised is real.  Elijah will come!  Jesus will be exalted!  All will be subject to Him!  And we shall be like Him!

Psalm 47, Living in the “Already but Not Yet” (1)

“Already but Not Yet” is a way some have described the present living situation for believers in Christ.  The phrase refers to the fact that Christians are already subjects in the Kingdom of God, but at the same time the Kingdom of God is not fully manifested here on earth.

Since we are using this terminology, we should remember how the Bible refers to the “Kingdom of God.”  On the one hand, God rules in all things.  “The earth is the LORD’s and all it’s fullness” (Ps. 24:1-2).  Psalm 47 states this clearly, calling all the people of earth to give praise, For the LORD (YAHWEH, the God of Israel) Most High is awesome; He is a great King over all the earth (47:2). 

But the Psalm goes on to say, He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.  He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves (47:3-4).  This indicates that the King of all the earth was working through an earthly expression of His Kingdom, the nation of Israel (descendents of Jacob).  He intended to rule through the earthly king of Israel who would rule according to the law of God (Dt. 17:14-20). 

Today, the Kingdom of God on earth exists in what we call a “mystery” form (Mark 4:11).  We have positionally been transferred into the kingdom of His Son (Col. 1:13).  Day by day, we are learning to live as proper subjects in the Kingdom of God.  We are learning that the Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking (Rom. 14:17); it is not just about words but is expressed when the King’s power is evident in our lives (1 Cor. 4:20).  We are, in this sense, still entering the Kingdom of God, as we go through the sufferings of this life (Ac. 14:22).  At the same time, the Kingdom of God is our hope, something we will inherit after this life (1 Cor. 6:9-10; 15:50; Gal. 5:21).  Believers are to walk worthy of God, who calls you into His kingdom and glory (1 Th. 2:12; cf. 2 Th. 1:5).  The futuristic references tell us that a day is coming when God’s Kingdom will be worldwide, under the authority of Christ who will rule from the throne of David (Psalm 2; Rev. 11:15; 19:16). 

We have taken time to consider this, when the passage we have come to in Mark (9:9-32) does not even have a reference to the “Kingdom of God.”  Why, you might ask?  It is because we have a great illustration of Jesus living in the kind of world where He is who He was shown to be on the mountain, in His transfiguration (already!), but continues in His incarnation to live in the “not yet.” 

One thing I wish to say concerning the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God is this: the NT never tells us to “advance the kingdom of God.”  In this age, we have joined out Lord in His work which is to “build His Church” (Mk. 16:18).  We are called to do what “edifies” (builds up) the Church (1 Cor. 14:26), which is at it’s core, making disciples and teaching them (Mt. 28:19-20). 

Psalm 50

This “Psalm of Asaph” (one of the 3 musical directors appointed by David) issues a strong call to repentant faith in the context of a reminder of God’s ultimate judgment of all of humanity.  It reveals to us the most relevant of truth about God, that “God Himself is Judge” (v6) of all the earth (v1).  God alone is the one who can make the perfect distinction between His “saints” (v5) and “the wicked” (v16). 

·         V1-3 describe the One to whom all give account.  All are called, “from the rising of the sun to its going down” to be judged from Zion, “the perfection of beauty”.  Notice that God “shall not keep silent”.  This judgment is definite, a fire that cannot be diminished.

·         V4-6: The call first is for God’s own people who are defined as “those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”  This is a precise description of the saints of any age.  A blood sacrifice was always essential for man to come to God, from the very beginning (Gen. 3 when God clothed Adam and Eve with the skin of an animal; Gen. 4 when God accepted the sacrifice of Abel) to this very day when men put their trust in the once-for-all blood sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22).  The bringing of a sacrifice was a demonstration of faith.  The worshiper brought the lamb to God’s representative, the priest.  As an act of faith the worshiper placed his hand on the animal as it was killed.  So today believers place their faith in Christ alone.  As Abraham promised Isaac (Gen. 22:8), God has provided Himself the Lamb. 

·         V7-11: God says “I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices.”  That means He has accepted the sacrifice of the saints.  There were times in Israel’s history when God rejected the sacrifices they brought because they were just going through the motions.  They lived in sin with no desire to repent; there was no faith.  Faith alone saves, but it is faith in a fitting sacrifice, always looking to the work of Christ!

·         V12-15: It is not that God is hungry.  That is ridiculous.  Again, the issue is the heart-faith of the worshiper.  Their offering must be true thanksgiving and a recognition that the LORD is the Most High God.  These are His people, the ones He will deliver and who will truly glorify Him. 

·         V16-21:  Contrary to His people are “the wicked”.  God will also judge them; He will “rebuke” them.  They misunderstood His seeming silence or patience as an indication that they were on a good footing with God.  Many people think that way today.  But these ones who “cast My words behind” themselves and whose actions and words are evil, these ones must consider their ways for they will someday stand before their Judge.

·         V22-23: Here is the thing for us to think about today.  Here is the truth.  There is no deliverance for those who have forgotten God!  But whoever glorifies God through a praiseworthy sacrifice, that one will know “the salvation of God.”  When the Bible speaks of judgment it is very black and white.  There are only two possibilities because it comes down to the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. 

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36).

1 Peter 4:12-5:4, A Glimpse of the King In His Glory (3)

We got a start in answering the “why” question about the transfiguration.  Here are three purposes that I see that were fulfilled in that awesome scene.

1.    The transfiguration was God’s seal of approval to Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus was the Christ (Mark 8:29).  Peter’s suggestion of three tents was contrary to his confession a week earlier.  But the Father made it clear that above all others ever on earth, even above the greats Elijah and Moses, Jesus spoke for the Father!  As we noted, this what one thing Peter himself declared, that the affirmation of Jesus by the Father tells us that what we have from Christ, the New Testament, is to be heard and heeded.  Hear Him!

2.    It was also the Father’s way of encouraging the Son as He began to make His way to Jerusalem.  Pilgrim’s need to have a glimpse of where they are headed on their “pilgrimage.”  Some of my favorite Psalms are the “Pilgrim Psalms” (Ps. 120-134).  The pilgrim grows tired of this world (120) and begins the journey to Jerusalem.  But the road will be difficult, so God promises to be his help (121).  The first thing God does is to remind him of where he is headed (122).  Jerusalem is home to the temple on Mt. Moriah, the place of God’s dwelling.  And it is the place of David’s throne on Mt. Zion.  This brings hope to the pilgrim for the journey.  He can say along with Paul, I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).  This reminder of the “glory” would be an encouragement for Christ as His humiliation reaches the depths of death, even the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8).

3.    Our Lord’s own words in Mark 9:1 indicate that the event was a demonstration (or illustration) of the promised kingdom of God. This seems logical, for the disciples were confused about the kingdom because of Jesus’ words about the cross. (We must not be too hard on them because the prophets were also confused—1 Peter 1:10–12.) Jesus was reassuring them that the Old Testament prophecies would be fulfilled, but first He had to suffer before He could enter into His glory (note especially 2 Peter 1:12–21).  The scene on (perhaps) Mt. Hermon, where Jesus is in glorious array, and He is conversing with Elijah and Moses, it not strange.  It is the way it will be in eternity.  Those OT saints (and the millions we have never heard of) will be there.  Life will go on in ways similar to this life, only without sin and death.  We know that Christ, in His glorified body, enjoyed grilled fish by the Sea of Galilee.  The OT tells us the future kingdom will have many nations there.  Physical, social, political and geographical aspects of this world will be present in the age to come.  What happened on the “holy mountain” tells us the future is real.  It should encourage us as we continue in this life to know the joys of the one to come. Amen!

2 Peter 1:12-21, A Glimpse of the King In His Glory (2)

Three disciples saw Jesus transfigured.  Then they witnessed Jesus in conversation with Elijah and Moses.  The presence of these two is not just because they represent the Law and the Prophets.  Elijah is tied to the onset of Christ’s earthly kingdom as we will note later in this passage (9:11-13).  Malachi 4:5-6 prophesied he would come and restore the nation through his preaching.  We have also noted the connection between Jesus and Moses.  It is interesting that this is the first time we know of when Moses is in the “Promised Land.”  He was forbidden by the LORD to enter in the time of Joshua.  Luke tells us that the conversation was about Jesus’ “exit” (either His death or more likely His ascension). 

The topic of the conversation is not important to Mark.  What is important is Peter’s response, when he couldn’t think of anything else to say, suggesting they build three tabernacles in honor of the three men.  This leads to an audible response from God the Father who again speaks in favor of His Son: This is My beloved Son; hear Him!  The Father had spoken at Jesus baptism (Mk. 1:11) and would speak once more shortly before His crucifixion (Jn. 12:28).  Peter, for all his frequent misspeaks, reminds us of this in 2 Pt. 1:18: We heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.  He then adds a profound application of the Father’s words: And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts (1:19),  The transfiguration is an amazing scene and event.

·       Why?  The purpose of this event requires that we go back to Mk. 9:1 for a moment.  Jesus seems to indicate it is about “the kingdom of God” in a powerful display.  What is Jesus talking about here?  I suppose the most popular view is that Jesus was talking about the transfiguration when He speaks of some in the crowd not dying before they see the kingdom in power.  That is possible, although I think it’s a little strange.  It is quite possible that no one in the crowd died before that event, and of course, only three actually saw it.  Some say it refers to Jesus’ resurrection, that this was a powerful display of God’s kingdom, defeating death.  A few see the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD as fulfilling Jesus’ words, but I’m not sure that fits.  Some say it refers to the second coming of Christ, but none of the people there that day will be alive for that display of power.  I see the beginning of the Church on the day of Pentecost as fulfilling Jesus’ words, a view held by some.  The Church is not the earthly Kingdom of Christ, but it is, as we have noted previously in Mark 4, the “mystery form” of the Kingdom of Christ.  Perhaps the point is that they will not have to wait for the second coming of Christ to see the Kingdom of God in a powerful form.  The Church certainly fits that description!