Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Mark: Chapter 9].
[Table of Contents]
[Previous] [Next]
9:1 {Till they see the kingdom of God come with power} (\he•s an
id•sin t•n basileian tou theou el•luthuian en dunamei\). In
8:38 Jesus clearly is speaking of the second coming. To what is
he referring in 9:1? One is reminded of Mr 13:32; Mt 24:36
where Jesus expressly denies that anyone save the Father himself
(not even the Son) knows the day or the hour. Does he contradict
that here? It may be observed that Luke has only "see the kingdom
of God," while Matthew has "see the Son of man coming"
(\erchomenon\, present participle, a process). Mark has "see the
kingdom of God come" (\el•luthuian\, perfect active participle,
already come) and adds "with power." Certainly the second coming
did not take place while some of those standing there still
lived. Did Jesus mean that? The very next incident in the
Synoptic Gospels is the Transfiguration on Mount Hermon. Does not
Jesus have that in mind here? The language will apply also to the
coming of the Holy Spirit on the great Day of Pentecost. Some see
in it a reference to the destruction of the temple. It is at
least open to question whether the Master is speaking of the same
event in Mr 8:38; 9:1.
9:2 {By themselves} (\monous\). Alone. This word only in Mark.
See on ¯Mt 17:1-8 for discussion of the Transfiguration. Lu
9:28 adds "to pray" as the motive of Jesus in taking Peter,
James, and John into the high mountain.
9:3 {Glistering, exceeding white} (\stilbonta leuka lian\). Old
words, all of them. Mt 17:2 has {white as the light} (\leuka
h•s to ph•s\), Lu 9:29 "white and dazzling" (\leukos
exastrapt•n\) like lightning. {So as no fuller on earth can
whiten them} (\hoia gnapheus epi t•s g•s ou dunatai hout•s
leuk•nai\). \Gnaph•\ is an old word to card wool. Note \hout•s\,
so, so white. Some manuscripts in Matthew add \h•s chi•n\, as
snow. Probably the snow-capped summit of Hermon was visible on
this very night. See on ¯Mt 17:2 for "transfigured."
9:4 {Elijah with Moses} (\Eleias sun M•usei\). Matthew and Luke
have "Moses and Elijah." Both, as a matter of fact were prophets
and both dealt with law. Both had mysterious deaths. The other
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/MR9.RWP.html (1 of 9) [28/08/2004 09:04:30 a.m.]
Word Pictures in the New Testament
(Mark: Chapter 9)