EmmDev 2025-07-31 [Moments with Mark] Reaching Faith

Reaching Faith

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him. "What are you arguing with them about?" he asked. A man in the crowd answered, "Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." "O unbelieving generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me." So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." " 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark9:14-24)

As soon as they came down from the mountain top, Jesus and the three disciples were immediately thrust into a messy and heart-breaking situation.

A man had brought his son, who was suffering from demon possession (some suggest an extreme form of epilepsy, but it is clear that an evil and destructive force is at work here.) The disciples had tried to exorcise the evil spirit and had failed.

At that point the finger-pointing would begin: "You don't have enough faith", or "There is still hidden sin in your life", or "There is a generational curse that needs to be broken", or "This is God's will."

The father is desperate, the disciples are flummoxed and Jesus is disappointed at their lack of faith (more on that tomorrow). Jesus asks them to bring the boy and the reaction of evil to the Holy Son of God is immediate and dramatic. Could this partly be due to the close encounter that Jesus had with His Father - that He was still aglow with the glory of God?

When Jesus inquires as to the extent of the affliction the father affirms that it has been a long and destructive ordeal and this causes him to desperately plead "Please, if you can do anything...?"

This seems to strike a chord in Jesus and repeating the father's plea, He affirms "Everything is possible for him who believes."
At first this looks like the same old story - your prayers aren't being answered because you don't have enough faith. BUT the father's answer and the immediate deliverance Jesus provides shows us something different.

The father doesn't have great faith. He has some faith and a bunch of unbelief. He's not trying to bluff God or practice the power of positive thinking. He's coming to God just as he is. No pretences, just desperate reaching faith.

(Tomorrow we'll see what the real problem was...)

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EmmDev 2025-07-30 [Moments with Mark] Coming down from the Mountain

Coming down from the Mountain

Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what "rising from the dead" meant. And they asked him, "Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?" Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him." (Mark9:8-13)

There are three things to think about today:
1. Coming down the mountain
2. Rising from the dead and waiting
3. Elijah

Transfiguration moments are "mountaintop" moments. You'll remember from yesterday's devotion that Peter was so enamoured with the moment that he wanted to build shelters for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah and just stay there. He doesn't even think about where he and the other two disciples will stay! But while we may want to stay on the mountaintop, we have to come down to the valley.

The purpose of renewal on the mountaintop is to strengthen us for life in the valley. So too, our times of worship on a Sunday and our devotions during the week are not mountaintops to linger on, but times to gain perspective and strength so that we can serve and work in the valley. But we do need the mountaintops!

Jesus tells them to keep the matter to themselves until the Son of Man has risen from the dead. This is a continuation of the "Messianic Secret" that we've seen in Mark's gospel. Discretion about Jesus' true identity was necessary so that He could complete His mission without being mobbed or misunderstood. He had come to seek and save. Being seen as a "Military Messiah" would have hindered that.

It's significant that after being transfigured (which confirmed that He was the Son of God), Jesus again refers to Himself as the Son of Man --- a title that emphasizes His mission to suffer and die for our sins. The disciples still hadn't grasped the full plan: that Jesus would die and rise again. So, when He referred to "rising from the dead," they were confused. But waiting to speak of what they had seen until the right time meant it would all make much more sense later.

Sometimes, on the mountaintop, God reveals things to us that are not for immediate sharing. There is a time to wait before speaking.

Their question about Elijah is very pertinent.
The last two verses of the Old Testament are:
"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." Malachi 4:5--6

The expectation was that the end-times and the coming of the Messiah would be inaugurated by the reappearance of someone like Elijah, who would bring a spiritual awakening.

In Jesus' understanding, John the Baptist is the Elijah figure. The problem with the traditional view was that people expected the coming of the Messiah to be a glorious and victorious event. But Jesus points them instead to the prophecies of a rejected Messiah. As evidence, He reminds them that John was arrested and beheaded - and that a similar fate awaited the Messiah Himself.

This is a sobering piece.
The key takeaways are:

1. We need to come down from the mountain, but we need the mountaintops too.
2. Some things we learn on the mountain aren't for immediate use; we must wait for the right time.
3. Jesus, the Son of God, knew that He would have to die as the Son of Man because He had come to seek and save humankind.
4. The triumphalistic expectations around Elijah (John the Baptist) and the Messiah (Jesus) had to be tempered with the understanding that He would pay a price to save us.

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EmmDev 2025-07-29 [Moments with Mark] Transfigured

Transfigured

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There He was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters--one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and a voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to Him!" Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. (Mark9:2-8)

The Transfiguration is a significant moment in the gospels.
Here are some key perspectives:

1. It is a confirmation of the confession Peter made that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law (represented by Moses) and He is the hope of the prophets (represented by Elijah).
2. It speaks of the importance of setting aside time and making an effort to be in the Father's presence. While He was always in the Father's presence, this is a moment of retreat. Jesus deliberately sets aside time to be with the Father in solitude and natural wonder.
3. This moment is an important "tank-filling" or time of renewal for Jesus. His true identity has been declared, His intention to go to the cross has been made known, and He has unequivocally called people to follow Him. The Kingdom of God has come, and now Jesus must go to the cross. This moment strengthens Him.
4. The Father affirms Jesus with an audible public voice from heaven. The other times this happens are at His baptism and in the week before the crucifixion.
5. This is shared with only three disciples. It is a holy, precious and intimate moment.

So, the Transfiguration is a key symbol of Jesus' Divine Nature. It is a foundational event at a significant stage in Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, and a profound moment of strengthening and divine affirmation for Jesus.

But I want to apply it a little differently:
If Jesus needed to retreat and be with the Father, how much more do we?

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul talks about how Moses' face glowed after he had spent time with God on Mount Sinai. The glory faded, and Moses wore a veil either to stop the Israelites from being scared of his luminous face, or to hide the fact that the glory was fading.

In verse 18 Paul writes:
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Like Moses, whose face glowed after being with God, and like Jesus, whose glory shone as He brought His frail humanity into communion with His Father - we also can shine with God's glory.

Many of us are running on empty, even though the stakes are high.
Let's learn from Jesus:
- Take time
- Retreat
- Keep it intimate
- Spend time in the Father's presence and with His Word

And I believe we'll be reminded:
"You are My child and I love you."
And I think our faces will shine!

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