Glory and Suffering Are Intertwined

In one paragraph

The message on February 28 came from Mark 9:1-13, the transfiguration of Jesus. The preacher walked through the passage verse by verse, showing how Mark uses this mountain scene to confirm again that Jesus is the Messiah, but one who comes through suffering rather than conquest. The central word from God the Father, "This is my dearly loved son, listen to him," was offered as the thing to carry...

Read together

1. Mark 9:1-13 the main passage for the evening, the transfiguration of Jesus
2. Mark 9:1 Jesus says some standing here will not die before they see the kingdom of God arrive in great power
3. Mark 9:2 six days later Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a high mountain
4. Mark 9:5 Peter exclaims it is wonderful to be there and suggests building three shelters
5. Mark 9:6 Peter did not know what else to say because they were all terrified
6. Mark 9:7 a cloud overshadowed them and a voice said this is my dearly loved son, listen to him
7. Mark 9:8 suddenly Moses and Elijah were gone and only Jesus remained
8. Mark 9:9-10 Jesus tells them to tell no one until the son of man rises from the dead, and they questioned what rising from the dead meant
9. Mark 9:11 disciples ask why teachers of the law say Elijah must return before the Messiah comes
10. Mark 9:12-13 Jesus says Elijah has already come and they chose to abuse him as scriptures predicted
11. Malachi 4:4-5 remember the law of Moses and the coming of the prophet Elijah before the great day of the Lord
12. Matthew 5:17 Jesus says he came not to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them
13. Deuteronomy 18:15-19 Moses foretells a prophet like himself whom the people must listen to, and God says he will require an account from whoever does not listen
14. John 16:33 Jesus says in this world you will have trials and sorrows but take heart because he has overcome the world
15. Mark 4 pay close attention to what you hear, the closer we listen the more understanding we will be given

Talk about it

1. The preacher said the disciples had their own picture of what the Messiah would look like, a conquering king who would overthrow the Romans, and that picture kept them from fully understanding what Jesus was actually doing. Where in your own life do you find yourself carrying a false expectation of what following Jesus should look like?
2. God the Father's voice from the cloud said simply, 'This is my dearly loved son. Listen to him.' What does it actually look like, in a normal week, to listen to Jesus, and what tends to get in the way of that for you?
3. The preacher pointed out that glory and suffering are intertwined all through this passage, and that following Jesus has always meant denying self and picking up a cross. How do you personally wrestle with that reality when you are in the middle of a hard season?
4. Kyle observed that if we truly believe something, we act on it, and that each of us probably has a spot where our belief and our actions do not yet line up. Where is that spot for you right now, and what would it look like to take a step toward closing that gap?
5. The preacher closed with Mark 4, that the closer we pay attention, the more understanding we are given. What is one practical way you could pay closer attention to what God is saying to you this week?