Scripture

Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power.”

Observation

Jesus tells the crowd that they will see God’s kingdom arrive in great power.

The following week Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up to a high mountain. Jesus’ appearance is changed and his clothes become dazzling white. Moses, and Elijah appear and talk to Jesus.

Peter talks about building shelters to memorialise the event. Suddenly a cloud overshadows them and a voice says, “This is my dearly loved Son; listen to him.”

Then, just as suddenly, everything goes back to normal. They descend the mountain. Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what has happened.

Application

When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God coming in power, he was not talking about the end of the world or the Second Coming. This is about an event close in time, so that some of the people standing there would see it.

The two most common suggestions for the event are the resurrection of Jesus and the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he demonstrated God’s victory over death, The pouring out of the Holy Spirit, a few weeks later, transformed the disciples so radically that, within decades, Christians were a powerful voice in the Roman Empire.

When Jerusalem, particularly the Temple, was destroyed in 70 A.D. it marked, the end of the Old Covenant. The sacrificial system and the law were finished, and the death of Jesus superseded the endless sacrifices.

We are blessed to live in this time when the kingdom of God is advancing forcefully across the Earth.

Scripture

then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn fro your selfish ways, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, and for the sake of the good news, you will save it.”

Observation

At Bethsaida, the people beg Jesus to heal a blind, man. Jesus takes the man, leads him out of the village, and then spits on the man’s eyes to heal him. At first, the healing is incomplete, but then Jesus lays hands on him a second time and he can see normally

Jesus takes his disciples to a different region along the way he asks them, “Who do people say I am?” This leads to Peter’s confession, that Jesus is the Christ.

Jesus calls to the crowd and the disciples and says that anyone who wants to follow him, must turn from his wicked ways, take up his cross and follow him. To hang on to our life, we must give it up for the sake of Jesus and the good news. If we are ashamed of Christ, he will be ashamed of us on the day he returns.

Application.

I often feel that the church of the 21st century has softened the gospel and watered down the requirements of discipleship. Here Jesus gives us three steps for being a disciple.

1. We must turn from our selfish ways. Being a disciple means that we give up our old self-centred lifestyle and genuinely repent of our sins. This is not a matter of words, but of changed actions.

2. We must take up our cross. The man carrying a cross was a marked man. He was marked for execution and was already as good as dead. As Christians, we learn to put God’s way ahead of our own desires and ambitions and understand that God’s ways are better than our ways.

3. We must follow Jesus. He has a unique path for every person. For one person the path may lead to overseas missions For another it might lead to volunteering in an aged person’s home. We seek his path, not our own path.

We don’t die to ourselves for its own sake, but for his sake.

Listen

Lord, it seems odd to me that you were unable to completely heal the blind man immediately, What was this about?

Keith, you must remember that in my body of flesh, I was both human and divine. On this occasion, I missed a complicating factor. This man was blind bu both a physical cause, and by an evil spirit, When I first laid laid hands on him, the evil spirit left. But cataracts remained which meant that he could still only see partially

This actually happens quite often. Some illnesses, as you know, have multiple causes, and a quick prayer for healing is not enough. This is why Mark Virkler talks about healing as spiritual warfare.

Sometimes it is straightforward, but other times, there may be two or more steps required.