The kingdom of God has come with power

Mark 9:1-29 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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.”

² 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; ³ and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴ Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.⁵ 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.”⁶ For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. ⁷ Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” ⁸ All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.

⁹ 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. ¹⁰ They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant. ¹¹ They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”¹² 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? ¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him. ¹⁶ And He asked them, “What are you discussing with them?” ¹⁷ And one of the crowd answered Him, “Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute; ¹⁸ 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.” ¹⁹ 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!” ²⁰ 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. ²¹ And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² 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!” ²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” ²⁴ Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” ²⁵ 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.” ²⁶ 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!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up. ²⁸ When He came into thehouse, His disciples began questioning Him privately, “Why could we not drive it out?” ²⁹ And He said to them, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”

Today’s text begins saying:  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.”  In Luke 17:21 Jesus says:  “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  In Acts 1:8 Jesus says:  “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”   So, we too will not taste death until we have seen the kingdom of God has come in power. Jesus taught us that we should pray: Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  We have received the power of the Holy Spirit to release the kingdom of God that is within us; that we might be the answer to the Lord’s prayer.  

The text continues:  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!”    The power of the kingdom of God is accompanied by the revelation from God that Jesus is His Son. Even more, the power of the kingdom of God is meant to reveal that Jesus is the Son of God.  In Matthew 16:13-19 it says:  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”    Through the revelation, from God the Father, that Jesus is the Christ, we are given not only power, but the very keys to the kingdom of heaven. We are given the keys to fulfill the prayer of Jesus; that we might bind and loose on earth as it is in heaven.

The rest of today’s text is an account of a father who brings his son to Jesus for healing. Within the account, we see two of the keys to the kingdom of heaven revealed to us. Along with the knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the text says:  “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 his 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.”  There are many accounts of those who came to Jesus for healing saying if You are willing. Here though the father says if You can. Jesus says: “All things are possible to him who believes.”  Believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that He can do all things is vital to receiving the power of the kingdom of God in our lives. It is a key to the kingdom of heaven given by Jesus. The text continues:   Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”  That uncertain declaration of belief was enough for Jesus.    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.”     Prayer is another key to the kingdom of God. It is not that prayer changes God’s mind about things. In Numbers 23:19, God says:  “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  It is not that we inform God of things through our prayers. He is omniscient; all knowing. In Matthew 6:8 before teaching the disciples the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said:  “Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”  Jesus said this kind cannot come out by anything but prayer. Yet He did not stop to pray. Jesus lived a life of prayer, not to change the Father’s mind, not to inform Him of needs, but rather to know the Father’s heart. In John 5:19 Jesus says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”   The necessity of prayer; its value as a key to the power of the kingdom of heaven, is that we, like Jesus, would become one with the Father and know His heart, so that when we are faced with a situation on earth we can call forth the power of the kingdom of God, that it would be on earth as it is in heaven, according to His will.

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit; that You have given the revelation that Jesus is the Christ; the Son of God. That by knowing; believing and praying, all things are possible. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.