February 6
Mark 9: The King and Three Children
Genesis 39; Mark 9; Job 5; Romans 9
This chapter as a whole portrays Jesus much differently than the effete, Jesus-is-my-boyfriend of modern evangelicalism. It begins with the Transfiguration (2-13). Jesus and the inner three disciples climb to the top of a mountain. From various geographic hints, I think it’s Mount Hermon. This is important because Mt. Hermon was the geographic center of all the giant activity in the Old Testament - yes, those giants, who descended from the Nephilim of Genesis 6. This detail will become more important in a moment.
For now, Jesus is robed in radiant, intense light (3). He is then somehow visited by Moses and Elijah, and they chat (4). Luke’s version tells us that they wanted to talk about Jesus’ “exodus” (Luke 9:28-36). Peter is filled with fear and talks nonsense to compensate. Then a cloud overtakes them. Whenever this happens in the Old Testament, it is a sign of three things: God’s glory, His presence and His pleasure. It is usually related to the temple - see 1 Kings 8:10-13. And so it is here: God has built a new temple in his Son, and Moses and Elijah are here for its “christening.”
These two are apt representatives for all the Law and the Prophets. The entire Old Testament looked forward to Christ. The temples looked forward to him, the new temple. All the priests looked forward to this one Great High Priest. And all the sacrifices looked forward to him. Perhaps that’s what Elijah and Moses want to talk about, like Isaac to his father Abraham: but where’s the lamb?
So what will this king of glory do?
It is no coincidence that the in the next scene Jesus releases a boy from an “unclean spirit” (14-29) because his followers are unable, even by invoking his name. This story is unique in that Jesus diagnoses the kind of spirit by asking the father how long it’s been happening. Since childhood, he says. It’s as if Jesus knows the spirits and their kinds from of old.
As I said above, it is my view that the “unclean spirits” are the spirits of the offspring of the unholy union between defecting angels and human women, again in Genesis 6. Thus it seems no coincidence that when the spirit sees water and fire (22), it convulses and wants to destroy the boy. After all, they were destroyed in the flood and their destination is Hades.
No wonder it convulses at the sight of Jesus. He is their conqueror. So how do we respond to him? We must relate to this great King with the faith of child (35-37), remembering that he oversees us with a jealous, vengeful love (47). A lifestyle of repentance is required 47-48).