Mark 9:7-8

Passage

A cloud overshadowed the disciples and Jesus.  Out of the cloud, the voice of the Lord spoke.  The Father told everyone that Jesus was His beloved Son and they should listen to Him.  Suddenly, the disciples were left alone with Jesus.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The voice of the Lord spoke.  Of course, we know that Jesus communed with the Father on a very regular basis.  But this time, the Father communed with Jesus and His inner circle.  As Jesus prepared to head to Jerusalem for the last time, the Father endorsed the act.  The Father confirmed what the disciples need to hear.  The Father Himself places a word of public approval upon the actions of His Messiah.

Why might Jesus and His disciples benefit from knowing that God approved of this path for Jesus?  How might the disciples benefit from this act even years after the crucifixion and the resurrection happened?  Why is it important in general for us to seek God’s will?

Second Thought:

The Father calls the Son “beloved.”  The word here for beloved is a derivation of the Greek word “agape,” which means “to love unconditionally.”  God is telling the disciples that Jesus is not just a special teacher, but rather one who is unconditionally loved by the Father.  This may seem like it goes without saying from our perspective.  Of course the Father unconditionally loved the Son, right?  However, where this becomes ultimately significant to us is in knowing that how the Father relates to the Son, the Father will also relate to those who a part of the Son.  Thus, if Jesus is God’s “beloved” then so also are those who are in Him.

What does it mean to you that God loved Jesus unconditionally?  Why did the Father love the Son unconditionally?  What does it mean to you that God loves you unconditionally?  Why does the Father love you unconditionally?

Third Thought:

God then gives a command: listen to Jesus.  I think there are two dynamics here at work.  The first is very much nuts-and-bolts.  Jesus is headed to Jerusalem.  He’s going to give some hard teaching.  In fact, remember the discourse between Jesus and Peter when Jesus told Him that He was going to die.  The disciples needed to be reminded that they should listen, even when it is hard.  The second reason is far more general.  It is easy to let the distractions in the world pull our focus off of Jesus.  We need to hear this reminder.  He should be the teacher in our life.  He should be the direction-giver.  He should be the one who leads us.  We need to listen to Him, not the rest of the world.

Why is it so easy to lose sight of Jesus in this world?  Why is it so easy to reject difficult teaching because it isn’t what we want to hear?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 9:9-10