How can we better understand "rising from the dead" in Mark 9:10 today? \Setting the Scene: Confusion on the Mountain\ - After witnessing Jesus’ transfiguration, Peter, James, and John walked down the mountain with Him. - Mark writes: “So they kept this matter to themselves, debating what it meant to rise from the dead” (Mark 9:10). - Their confusion is striking because Jesus had already spoken plainly: “The Son of Man must suffer many things … be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). - The disciples were devout Jews who knew of future resurrection (Daniel 12:2); their struggle was tying that hope to the immediate, personal promise that Jesus Himself would rise first. \What Jesus Had Already Revealed\ - Repeated predictions: • Mark 8:31 – first clear announcement. • Mark 9:31 – restated on the way through Galilee. • Mark 10:34 – reiterated en route to Jerusalem. - Pattern: suffering ➜ death ➜ resurrection. Each time, Jesus treats rising as a literal, historical event that would follow a literal, historical death. \Old Testament Roots of Resurrection\ - Isaiah 26:19 – “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise.” - Job 19:25-26 – “I know that my Redeemer lives … in my flesh I will see God.” - Daniel 12:2 – “Many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.” These passages formed the backdrop for any talk of rising from the dead. The disciples knew them but had never seen them fulfilled; hence their astonishment that the timetable was now. \Jesus’ Literal, Bodily Resurrection\ - Luke 24:39 – “See My hands and My feet … a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.” - Acts 2:32 – “God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.” - 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – Christ “was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” The New Testament treats the resurrection as an objective, bodily reality verified by eyewitnesses. Spiritualizing it away empties the gospel of its power (1 Corinthians 15:14-17). \Why the Resurrection Matters Today\ 1. Guarantees our justification (Romans 4:25). 2. Confirms Jesus’ identity as Son of God (Romans 1:4). 3. Supplies power for daily living—“the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19-20). 4. Anchors future hope—“because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19). 5. Shapes mission—“we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). \Living in the Light of Resurrection Hope\ - View death as defeated enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). - Mourn with hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). - Pursue holiness, knowing our bodies matter and will be raised (1 Corinthians 6:13-14). - Serve steadfastly: “your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Rising from the dead in Mark 9:10 is no metaphor. It is the hinge of redemptive history, the pledge of our future resurrection, and the engine of present discipleship. |
    |