The FaithOfJesus2 Daily Devotional

Focus:

kjv@Revelation:14:12 @ Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

( FaithOfJesus thread begun by rRandyP )

Today's Verse:

kjv@Mark:9:2-13

kjv@Mark:9:2 @ And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.

kjv@Mark:9:3 @ And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

kjv@Mark:9:4 @ And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

kjv@Mark:9:5 @ And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

kjv@Mark:9:6 @ For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

kjv@Mark:9:7 @ And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

kjv@Mark:9:8 @ And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

kjv@Mark:9:9 @ And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

kjv@Mark:9:10 @ And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.

kjv@Mark:9:11 @ And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

kjv@Mark:9:12 @ And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.

kjv@Mark:9:13 @ But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.

Today's notes:

Context:

Before - take up his cross and follow
After - this kind but by prayer and fasting

Key Concepts:

What is God's righteousness observed doing?:

Confirming Jesus to a few of the disciples by great prophet, by established messianic figure, by glory, by cloud previously known to guide Israel and by direct voice.
Charging them through Jesus not to speak of this moment till after His rising from the dead.
Explaining how much of the prophecy traditionally looked for has already been fulfilled.

What does this tell us about God's righteousness?:

It is important for these particular men at this particular point in their development to see these things revealed now, even though they are forbidden to tell anyone other until the time again is right. It is better for the others to be told this by these men at that certain time instead of seeing it for themselves. For all others it moves the event from the realm of observable truth to the realm of faith. The burden of faith is upon these few men's future testimony. This testimony is not required for saving faith given everything else presented/observed, it does however round everything else off at the edges.
This is more than just Jesus' claim about Himself, it is the Father's claim made upon Him. Yet only three actually saw such claim made and for us it makes for our faith to be based upon these men's claim of this claim; this by purpose.
Man has gotten caught in a endless cycle of looking for the fulfillment of prophecy without seeing that prophecy now has for sometime been fulfilling itself all around them. Not all of the pieces that men are looking for are interpreted correctly and certain items of the prophecy have been made disproportional to the rest. Plus the fact that there are certain things that man is just not willing to see. As clearly as the prophecy has been laid out, it nearly requires looking back having gone through it to see how precisely it was fulfilled. These are not the first prophecies to have evidenced this human tendency, no other set of past prophecies were observed being fulfilled until they had been fulfilled complete. Yet in the grand scheme of everything it is righteous for God to use this vehicle announcing ahead of time what would be to happen and how.

How is man reacting?:

The disciples perplexity over resurrection still is concerning.

Notes:

Possible reasons for God to make this claim upon Jesus before only a few people:

A sense of fairness upon all those present and future who will not be able to observe this themselves.
Suggesting an importance that God gives to faith that man is yet to consider.
Three witnesses to an event are consistent with all Jewish law.
The heart of man still would be able to twist such evidence a direction HE did not want it to go.
The risk of suspicion from HIS critics is no greater than everything else HE does.
At this stage of the plan, the event serves more as a historical marker in the ministry of Jesus, a turning point fully toward the cross ahead. It serves that purpose first and as a an article of faith only in conjunction with the resurrection.

Key Messages:

What does this say about our present condition?

There is the sense within us that our intelligence should be enough to figure all of these things out; what has happened previous, what is happening now, what needs to happen in the future, who is who and the effect that they are having. It is therefore concluded that God should be working to the strengths of our intelligence, it would be almost foolish of HIM to not be. Paul stated the wisdom of God is foolishness to man kjv@1Corinthians:1:19-31 and has placed HIS wisdom in the trust and reverence in Jesus alone. We have been shown in so many directions where our intelligence is faulty and corrupted. It looks as though God must first work with our faith and trust before being able to straighten out our intelligence.

Further Resources:

Comment Board:Mark:9:2-13
index:FAITHOFJESUSDEVOTION - Devotional Index
strkjv@Mark:9:2-13 rwp@Mark:9:2-13 mhcc@Mark:9:2-13
FaithOfJesus2 - Devotion Index

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