Lent Gospel is a campaign for people to read through the whole of Mark’s Gospel during Lent, in 40 short readings. Helpful notes on each day's reading are available from www.usefulbible.com/lent-gospel; and you can download the whole series in PDF or Kindle format (it's free - just right-click on the links then select ‘save as...’ to download). Of course, it doesn’t have to be for Lent... why not begin now?
Last part: Confession – Day 18 – Mark 8:22-38
· Read: Mark 9:1-13
Only a few days had passed since Peter made his bold confession of faith. On that occasion, Jesus had mentioned that he would receive his Father’s glory. Now was the right time for a small group of disciples to glimpse what that meant.
The glory of God is something often mentioned but rarely experienced in the Old Testament. It appeared only at the most sacred and holy moments in Israel’s history – sometimes indicating God’s favour; sometimes acting because of an impending judgement.
People often believed that, as sinners, they would die if they saw God’s glory. But there were people who saw it and lived. They reported that the glory was beautiful and wonderful. It seemed like an intense light. After the experience, they often described God’s greatness, majesty and honour. And they spoke about God’s mercy and the forgiveness of sins.
The disciples did not only see the glory on Jesus. They also saw Moses and Elijah, the Old Testament prophets, who were in agreement with Jesus. Perhaps at that moment they were caught up into heaven.
And the disciples also heard the voice of God the Father. He too was in complete agreement with Jesus.
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Next part: Liberate – Day 20 – Mark 9:14-32 |
© 2012, Keith Simons.