Глава 9

1–13. Transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ. – 14–29. Healing a demon-possessed youth. – 30–32. Repetition of the prediction of death and resurrection. – 33–50. About the attitude of students towards each other: humility, love. Conversation about temptations. Mark 9:1. And he said to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power.” These words represent the conclusion to the Lord's speech contained in Mark 8:34–38. The Evangelist Matthew expresses himself much more specifically than Mark (and with him Luke). He speaks specifically about the coming of Christ as a powerful King, and Mark speaks about the coming of the Kingdom of God in general. The following must be said about the fulfillment of this prophecy of Christ. The Kingdom of God is “in power,” i.e. the spread of the Gospel throughout the world of that time (Rom.1:8; Col.1:6; 1Thess.1:8) was seen by some of those who were listeners of Christ. They saw how the Kingdom of God penetrated into the hearts of people, renewing them and supplying them with new vital forces - in a word, revealing all its miraculous power. Mark 9:2. And after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John, and led them alone up to a high mountain, and was transfigured before them. The story of the Transfiguration of Christ that begins here is generally similar to the story of Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 17:1–13), but it also has some peculiarities. Mark 9:3. His clothes became shining, very white, like snow, as a bleacher on earth cannot bleach. Without mentioning the “change in the face of Christ” (cf. Matt. 17:2), the Evangelist Mark speaks in particular detail about the clothes of Christ, which were illuminated with extraordinary light. This light itself was of heavenly origin, as can be seen from the fact that, says the evangelist, the shine of clothes cleaned by a whitener “on earth” could not be compared with it. Mark 9:4. And Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and talked with Jesus. The Evangelist Mark puts Elijah in first place (and not Moses, like Matthew), perhaps because further there is a conversation about Elijah (verse 11 et seq.). Mark 9:5. At this Peter said to Jesus: Rabbi! It’s good for us to be here; We will make three tabernacles: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. "Rabbi" This word in meaning is equal to the expression: Lord (Matthew 17:4; cf. John 20:16: “Rabbi”). “It’s good for us to be here” - correctly: “it’s good that we are here!” Mark 9:6. For I didn’t know what to say; because they were in fear. Peter was accustomed to acting as the representative of the apostles. But now he couldn’t find anything to say, because what had happened had filled him with fear. His speech shows that he and the other disciples were not yet able to imagine their Teacher in His glory. Mark 9:7. And a cloud appeared overshadowing them, and from the cloud came a voice saying: This is My beloved Son; Listen to him. Mark 9:8. And, suddenly looking around, they saw no one else with them, except Jesus alone. Mark 9:9. When they came down from the mountain, He commanded that they should not tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man rose from the dead. Mark 9:10. And they kept this word, asking each other what it meant to be raised from the dead. “Kept that word.” It is very likely that this is an allusion to the silence that the disciples had to observe in relation to the great event on the mountain (cf. verse 9). Evangelist Luke directly says that the apostles “kept silent” about what happened (Luke 9:36). “What does it mean”... The apostles were perplexed, of course, not about the resurrection of the dead in general, but about the resurrection of the Messiah, Who, according to them, should not have died (cf. John 12:34). Mark 9:11. And they asked Him: How come the scribes say that Elijah must come first? The idea behind the disciples' question is this. The scribes, who spoke a lot about the signs of the coming of the Messiah, drew the attention of their listeners to the prophecy of Malachi, according to which, before the coming of the Messiah, Elijah the prophet should appear and prepare the Jews to receive the Messiah (Mal. 4: 5 et seq.). Now the disciples have already seen Elijah - he came from heaven and, therefore, will certainly prepare the Jews to accept Christ when Christ deigns to reveal Himself to the world. Why else would Christ suffer and die? Who will raise a hand against Him if Elijah prepares everyone for faith in Christ? Mark 9:12. He answered and said to them: It is true that Elijah must come first and arrange everything; and the Son of Man, as it is written about Him, must suffer many things and be humiliated. The Lord here repeats the disciples’ question, revealing its meaning. “If it is true that Elijah must prepare the Jews to accept Me as the Messiah, then how - this is the essence of your bewilderment - can one reconcile with this what is said in Scripture about the Son of Man, precisely those prophecies that speak of the hostility of the Jews towards the Messiah, of His great suffering and humiliation?” Mark 9:13. But I tell you that Elijah also came, and they did to him as they wanted, as it was written about him. To put an end to the misunderstanding in which the disciples were, Christ says: “Yes, so it is said! But I explain to you that even with Elijah himself, My forerunner, who has already come, people who were hostile to Me acted cruelly. They did with him what they wanted - exactly as the Scriptures predicted about the Son of Man, about the attitude of people towards Him.” Mark 9:14. When he came to the disciples, he saw a lot of people around them and scribes arguing with them. The story of the Evangelist Mark about the healing of a demon-possessed youth is much more detailed than the story of Matthew (Matthew 17:14–21). First of all, he reports that the people and scribes argued with the disciples of Christ when Christ came to the disciples after the Transfiguration. The dispute, of course, was about whether the real miraculous power was given by Christ to the disciples. The disciples, it turned out, were unable to heal the youth brought to them. Mark 9:15. Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were amazed, and they ran up and greeted Him. The people were amazed, or, more correctly, they were struck by surprise mixed with fear (ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι). He was amazed by the unexpected appearance of Christ and, perhaps, by some remnants of the radiance that was on the face of Christ during the Transfiguration. Mark 9:16. He asked the scribes: What are you arguing with them about? The Lord asks what the scribes argued with the people (“with them”) about. But the scribes are silent: obviously, they spoke ill of Christ and are now ashamed to repeat their speeches to the people. Mark 9:17. One of the people answered: Teacher! I brought to You my son, possessed by a dumb spirit: Then the boy’s father makes a statement on behalf of the people. He explains that the demon deprived the boy of the power of speech and plunged him into epilepsy. Mark 9:18. wherever he grabs him, he throws him to the ground, and he emits foam, and grinds his teeth, and becomes numb. I told Your disciples to drive him out, but they could not. Mark 9:19. Answering him, Jesus said: O faithless generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I tolerate you? Bring him to Me. Mark 9:20. And they brought him to Him. As soon as the demoniac saw Him, the spirit shook him; he fell to the ground and lay there, emitting foam. Mark 9:21. And Jesus asked his father, “How long ago did this happen to him?” He said: since childhood; Like a doctor, Christ asks the father how long his son has been sick. The Lord does this for the purpose of bringing the father to the realization of how difficult the situation of his son is and how helpless he has been until now. Mark 9:22. and many times the spirit threw him into both fire and water to destroy him; but, if you can, take pity on us and help us. The boy’s father does not have a strong enough faith in Christ, although he himself brought his son to Him. He says: “if you can do anything...” Mark 9:23. Jesus said to him: if you can believe as much as possible, all things are possible to him who believes. Then the Lord inspires in the father the need to believe in Him. “If as much” ... It would be more correct to translate: “what does this mean: if as much as you can?” (the word “believe” is not read in the best codes). For a believer, everything is possible, i.e. if you have real faith, you will receive everything you need, and not just “something” or “something.” Mark 9:24. And immediately the boy’s father exclaimed with tears: I believe, Lord! help my unbelief. The father understood the reproach contained in Christ’s words and began to confess his lack of faith, asking Christ to strengthen him in faith. Mark 9:25. Jesus, seeing that the people were running, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him: the spirit is dumb and deaf! I command you, come out of it and do not enter it again. Mark 9:26. And, screaming and shaking him violently, he went out; and he became as if dead, so that many said that he was dead. Mark 9:27. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him up; and he stood up. Mark 9:28. And when Jesus entered the house, His disciples asked Him privately: Why could we not drive him out? Mark 9:29. And he said to them: This generation cannot come out except through prayer and fasting. Those who brought the sick man obviously warned the people, who only now began to gather in crowds to Christ. Now, in the face of a whole crowd of people, the Lord found it useful to perform a miracle of healing the boy: the crowd should not think that this healing seemed difficult for Him, as it was difficult for the apostles. There were no other reasons that forced Christ now to perform healing, for example, fear of the Pharisees and scribes, who allegedly could incite the people against Christ (Bishop Michael). Mark 9:30. Coming out from there, they passed through Galilee; and He didn't want anyone to find out. Mark 9:31. For He taught His disciples and told them that the Son of Man would be delivered into the hands of men and they would kill Him, and after He was killed He would rise again on the third day. Mark 9:32. But they did not understand these words, and were afraid to ask Him. Evangelist Mark notes that this time Christ passed through Galilee unrecognized, because His activity here was already approaching the end. The miracle that He performed after the Transfiguration was the last in Galilee. From now on, the people must seek admonition not from Christ, but from the apostles. Christ devoted all of His time on this journey to preparing His disciples for their future activities (taught them) and, moreover, especially instilled in them the idea of ​​His imminent violent death. If in Mark 8:31 Christ also spoke about the death awaiting Him, then there He spoke about it as something that must happen (“must”), but here He speaks about His death as a fact that, one might say, is already ready to happen (“The Son of Man will be betrayed”). “They did not understand” (cf. Matt. 17:23). Mark 9:33. Came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house, he asked them: What did you talk about among yourself on the way? Mark 9:34. They were silent; because along the way they argued among themselves who was the greatest. Mark 9:35. And he sat down, called the twelve and said to them: whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. Mark 9:36. And he took the child, placed him in the midst of them, and, embracing him, said to them: Mark 9:37. whoever receives one of these children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me. Evangelist Mark notes that Christ held this conversation with his disciples in Capernaum. In all likelihood, the evangelist, who mentioned Capernaum only in the history of the discovery of Christ’s activity in Galilee (Mark 1:21, 2:1), now mentions this city in order to hint that the Galilean activity of Christ has come to an end. The Lord, according to the Evangelist Mark, wants to give his last honor to the house of Simon, where He has always found a warm welcome. "I asked them". Thus, it is clear from here that the question of the disciples, reported by the Evangelist Matthew (Matthew 18:1), was preceded by the question with which Christ addressed them. From the Gospel of Mark it is clear that the disciples reasoned with each other about which of them was superior. Their silence testifies to the fact that they were ashamed, realizing that their conversation, which they had among themselves, was still known to Christ. Silently, so to speak, they confessed their sin before Him. "Hugging him" According to a more reliable translation: “took him in his arms.” There is some disconnect between verses 36 and 37. It is in verse 37 that we are obviously talking about children in a figurative sense, that is, about Christians who, in their humility, are like children and generally occupy unseen places in the Church. And in verse 36 we are talking about an ordinary child. Probably, the evangelist here shortens the speech of Christ, who undoubtedly explained to the apostles that by child He means humble people. This is the only way to explain the appearance of the expression: “one of such children” (verse 37). Mark 9:38. At this John said: Teacher! We have seen a man who casts out demons in Your name, and does not follow us; and they forbade him because he did not follow us. Mark 9:39. Jesus said: Do not forbid him, for no one who has done a miracle in My name can quickly speak evil of Me. Mark 9:40. For whoever is not against you is for you. Mark 9:41. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you are Christ’s, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward. Listening to Christ’s speech about condescension towards people at the first stage of Christian life, the Apostle John remembered a recent case in which Christ’s disciples acted, apparently, contrary to the basic view contained in the just quoted words of Christ (verse 37). They forbade one person to cast out demons in the name of Christ, because this person, perhaps due to some timidity, did not join the circle of Christ’s disciples. The apostles, so to speak, considered working miracles in the name of Christ to be their personal advantage, and they were annoyed that someone else, who obviously had not received authority from Christ, nevertheless performed the same miracles as they did. Christ inspires them so that when they meet this miracle worker another time, they should not repeat their act towards him. Such a person cannot soon become hostile to Christ: he sees in Him the Messenger of God. Then Christ points out that in the present situation of the disciples, when representatives of the Jewish people are clearly hostile to Christ and the apostles, one thing is dear to the disciples, if one of the people does not go against them - this means that such a person sympathizes with them in the depths of his soul, otherwise he, of course, would have followed his leaders, the scribes and Pharisees. Previously it was a different matter. Then, when the sympathy of the people was on the side of Christ (Matthew 12:23), direct following of Christ was required, and whoever was not with Him was clearly hostile to Him (Matthew 12:30). Finally, if the one who gave the disciple of Christ a cup of water does not lose his reward, then, of course, the one who works miracles in His name has a much greater right to the reward and, therefore, has a greater right to use the miraculous powers brought to earth by Christ, i.e. glorifies Christ (cf. Matthew 10:42). Mark 9:42. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and thrown into the sea. Mark 9:43. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than with two hands to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, Christ continues the interrupted speech about the attitude in which the apostles should stand towards those weak in the faith (see Matthew 18:5–6). Mark 9:44. where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out. (See comments on Isaiah 66:24). Blessed Theophylact by “worm” and “fire” understands the torments of conscience that a sinner will feel after death. This torment will continue forever. Mark 9:45. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life lame than to have two feet and be cast into hell, into the unquenchable fire. Mark 9:46. where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out. Mark 9:47. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than with two eyes to be cast into fiery hell, Mark 9:48. where their worm does not die and the fire does not go out. Mark 9:49. For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be salted with salt. Mark 9:50. Salt is a good thing; but if the salt is not salty, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace among yourselves. Verses 49–50 represent the so-called. crux interpretum. It is not clear why the Lord justifies His teaching on the need to avoid temptations by indicating the salting of everyone with some kind of fire and every sacrifice with salt. Due to the impossibility of giving a natural explanation for this text, found only in the Evangelist Mark, some scholars (for example, Könnecke in Beiträge z. Förder. Th. 1908, 1) make such a correction to this place. They rearrange the words of verse 50 to the beginning of verse 49 in place of the expression “for everyone will be salted with fire,” which seems inauthentic to these scholars. Thus, verse 49 looks like this: “salt is a good thing, for (see Lev. 2:13) every sacrifice is seasoned with salt.” Professor Bogdashevsky, however, finds this new attempt at interpretation leading nowhere, since it remains unclear the connection of the 49th verse with the 48th, and, moreover, has no basis in the most authenticated copies of the Gospel, in which our version of the 49th verse is the most accepted. According to Professor Bogdashevsky, the idea contained in verses 48 and 49 can be expressed in this way. “Do not be afraid,” says Christ, “of spiritual self-denial. To avoid temptations, do not spare a single member of your body that tempts you, for the path of My faithful disciple, as a true spiritual sacrifice to God, is the path of salting with fire, i.e. the fire of self-sacrifice, self-denial, spiritual purification. You generally need to have “salt” in yourself, i.e. Christian spirit, Christian always-on mood, Christian principles of faith and life, and once this “salt” loses its power in us, we can no longer influence others. There will be no peace between us, and we will argue about who is greater among us” (“Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy,” 1909, July–Aug., pp. 485–487). One can completely agree with this interpretation: one only needs to put verse 49 in connection with the entire section of verses 37–48. Indeed, it is very plausible that the Lord, at the end of his speech on temptations, returned to His main point - the need for humility for His disciples - and to prove this need, he pointed out that His disciples must go to perfection through various tests. Only we would prefer to express the thought of verses 49-50 this way: “Why are you afraid to sacrifice any affection? (cf. Matthew 5:29). After all, none of My followers can escape the fire of suffering that God will send to them so that they can be tempered in virtue. It was not in vain that in the Old Testament every sacrifice was salted with salt - this had a special spiritual meaning, since salt imparted a certain taste to the sacrificial meat. Likewise, the salt of self-sacrifice must be preserved in Christ’s followers, without which they cannot find favor with God. If this self-denial disappears, the Christian life will decline. And having self-denial, Christians will be able to have peace among themselves, without extolling themselves to each other about their advantages.” You might be interested in: