Saturday Scripture: Mark 9-11

And we understand the text, committed to the sound teaching of the Word of Christ. Welcome to Scripture Saturday, brought to you by Literal Word. Download their free Bible app for Android or iPhone, or visit their website, literalword .com.

Here is Pastor Gabe reading from the book of Mark.

The Transfiguration and the Coming of the Kingdom

Mark chapter 9,. And Jesus was saying to them, Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here, who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God, after it has come with power.

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

Elijah appeared to them, along with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

For he did not know what to answer, for they became terrified. Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son, listen to him. All at once they looked around, and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead.

Meant.

They asked him, saying, Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first? And he said to them, Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that he will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?

But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come. And they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him. When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.

Faith, Unbelief, and Prayer in Deliverance

Immediately when the entire crowd saw him, they were amazed, and began running up to greet him. And he asked them, What are you discussing with them? And one of the crowd answered him, Teacher, I brought you my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute, and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth, and stiffens out.

I told your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it. And he answered them, and said, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to me.

They brought the boy to him. When he saw him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And he asked the father, How long has this been happening to him?

And he said, From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. And Jesus said to him, If you can, all things are possible to him who believes.

Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, I do believe. Help my unbelief. When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him, and do not enter him again.

After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out, and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him, and he got up.

When he came into the house, his disciples began questioning him privately, Why could we not drive it out? And he said to them, This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer. From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know about it, for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and when he has been killed, he will rise three days later.

But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him. They came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he began to question them, What were you discussing on the way? But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.

Greatness, Servanthood, and Stumbling Blocks

Sitting down, he called the twelve and said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. Taking a child, he set him before them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, Whoever receives one child like this in my name receives me, and whoever receives me does not receive me but him who sent me.

John said to him, Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us. But Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will be able to perform a miracle in my name and be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

For he who is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than having your two hands to go into hell into the unquenchable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than having your two feet to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out.

It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another. Mark 10. Getting up, he went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan.

Crowds gathered around him again, and, according to his custom, he once more began to teach.

Them.

Divorce, Creation, and the Sanctity of Marriage

Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing him, and began to question him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And he answered and said to them, What did Moses command you? They said, Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.

But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh, so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate. In the house the disciples began questioning him about this again. And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.

And if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery. And they were bringing children to him, so that he might touch them. But the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, Permit the children to come to me.

Do not hinder them. For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all. And he took them in his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man and the Cost of Discipleship

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher! What shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.

You know the commandments. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother. And he said to him, Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up.

Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, One thing you lack, go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. But at these words he was saddened and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

And Jesus looking around said to his disciples, How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples were amazed at his words, but Jesus answered again and said to them, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. They were even more astonished and said to him, Then who can be saved? Looking at them, Jesus said, With people it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God.

Peter began to say to him, Behold, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for my sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last first. They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful.

The Son of Man Will Be Delivered and the Way of True Greatness

And again he took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him, saying, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles.

They will mock him and spit on him and scourge him and kill him, and three days later he will rise again. James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.

And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you? They said to him, Grant that we may sit one on your right and one on your left in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? They said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you shall drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.

But to sit on my right or on my left, this is not mine to give you, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. Calling them to himself, Jesus said to them, You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over.

Them.

But it is not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Bartimaeus and the Mercy of the Son of David

Then they came to Jericho, and as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stopped and said, Call him here. So they called the blind man, saying to him, Take courage, stand up, he is calling for.

You.

Throwing aside his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. And answering him, Jesus said, What do you want me to do for you? And the blind man said to him, Rabboni, I want to regain my sight. And Jesus said to him, Go, your faith has made you well.

Immediately he regained his sight and began following him on the road. Mark. Chapter 11. As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one yet has ever sat.

Untie it and bring it here. If anyone says to you, Why are you doing this? You say, The Lord has need of it, and immediately he will send it back here. They went away and found a colt tied at the door outside in the street, and they untied.

It.

Some of the bystanders were saying to them, What are you doing, untying the colt? They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it, and he sat on it.

And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest! Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple, and after looking around at everything, he left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.

On the next day, when they had left Bethany, he became hungry. Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

He said to it, May no one ever eat fruit from you again! And his disciples were listening. Then they came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves.

And he would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. And he began to teach and say to them, Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a robber's den?

The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy him, for they were afraid of him, for the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. When evening came, they would go out of the city.

As they were passing by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. Being reminded, Peter said to him, Rabbi, look, the fig tree which you cursed has withered. And Jesus answered, saying to them, Have faith in God.

Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.

Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.

The Authority of Jesus and the Witness of John

They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and began saying to him, By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do these things?

And Jesus said to them, I will ask you one question, and you answer me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer me. They began reasoning among themselves, saying, If we say from heaven, he will say, Then why did you not believe him?

But shall we say from men? They were afraid of the people, for everyone considered John to have been a real prophet. Answering Jesus they said, We do not know. And Jesus said to them, Nor will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

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