These small group studies of the gospel of Mark 8:34-9:9 contain commentary, cross-references, Bible study discussion questions, and applications to encourage life change. Visit our library of inductive Bible studies for more practical studies on this and other books of the Bible you can use in your small group.
Mark 8:34-9:9 Bible Study – Cost of Discipleship and Transfiguration
Outline
I. Cost of being a true disciple (34-38)
II. Jesus’ transfiguration (9:1-9)
I. Cost of being a true disciple (34-38)
Discussion Questions
• Who could be Jesus’ disciple?
• Had the disciples denied themselves and taken up their cross to follow Jesus? Have you?
• List as many of qualifications or signs of being a disciple mentioned in the gospels you can think of.
• What do verses 35-37 mean? What principle can we learn here?
• How might we try to “save our life?” What things might we do if we lose our life for His sake?
• What will you give in exchange for your soul? Are you for sale?
• Is there anything that you are not willing to let go of for the sake of following Christ?
• What does verse 38 have to teach us about confessing Christ in front of people?
• What does this verse say about those who are afraid to identify with Christ?
• In what kind of situation are you afraid to identify with Christ?
Cross-References
Luke 14:25-35 – In this passage, Jesus shares with the disciples the cost of being a true disciple.
Luke 9:23 – And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
John 8:31-32 – So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
John 13:34-35 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Luke 6:40 – A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.
John 15:8 – By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. He summoned the crowd – This phrase makes it seem like Jesus as getting ready to teach them something important. Indeed, He was. The very next passage is one of the key passages on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
2. If anyone wishes to come after Me –
Mark 8:34 – If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Reflect – What might the crowd have thought that following Jesus meant?
Perhaps the crowd thought that following Jesus meant witnessing miracles and receiving benefits such as free food. Jesus is going to show them that there is a cost to following Him. It requires real commitment and sacrifice.
Following Jesus is more than just saying the words or enjoying the good gifts He gives.
Jesus often gave similar warnings.
Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Reflect – Do you want to follow after Jesus? Would a neutral observer of your life believe that you are following Him?
3. He must deny himself…and follow Me –
Denying oneself and following Jesus are integral components of what it means to be a disciple. It requires sacrifice. It requires submitting our goals, desires, plans, and our very lives to Christ. Jesus should be the Lord of our life.
While salvation is free because we cannot earn it, there is a very real cost to following Christ. There will be some things that we want to do, which Christ will say “No, you cannot.”
A true disciple doesn’t merely follow Christ when he feels like it or when he wants the same thing that Christ does. For example, confessing our sins to God is something we should do, but we also want to receive forgiveness. In this case, our will often aligns with God’s.
At times it may be more difficult to forgive others. When Jesus tells us to forgive the person who has hurt us deeply our flesh might say, “I don’t want to.” It is when our will is out of alignment with his that we have a decision to make.
Do we want to follow Christ?
If the answer is “yes” then the only way to do that is to obey His will instead of our own.
To put it another way, as sheep we are called to follow the Shepherd and His way instead of going our own way.
Isaiah 53:6 – All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Denying ourselves doesn’t necessarily mean giving up all the things that we like and becoming a monk. It doesn’t mean we inflict pain or discomfort on ourselves for no reason. It doesn’t mean I can’t eat the cake because it is too enjoyable and God doesn’t want me to have anything nice. Martin Luther came to see the senselessness of practicing self-abasement and torture as a means to please God.
Reflect – What does it mean to deny yourself?
It means that we are called to subject our will to His. If my desire conflicts with His, then I say, “Yes, Lord” and deny my own desire.
If God asks me to move to a rural area, I have to be willing to say “Yes, Lord.” If I am overweight and I know God wants me to honor Him with my body then I may need to say “No” to the cake.
Every day there are many opportunities to apply this. What choices did you face today where there was a cost to following Christ?
Some daily choices include giving up our time to pray and read the Word, giving up our “rights” by showing patience or compassion to those who don’t deserve it, and giving up ourselves to serve others and love the unlovable.
Jesus’ disciples were not perfect. They had many weaknesses and flaws. But did they deny themselves in order to follow Christ? Absolutely.
Application – Consider if any of your desires are taking priority over God’s. Is there anything you need to give up to align your will with His?
4. Take up his cross –
This phrase is often misunderstood. In that culture, a cross was not yet a symbol of grace, salvation, or forgiveness. It was a symbol of death. The Romans performed many crucifixions so the Jews listening to Jesus would have been very familiar with it. Most had personally witnessed someone hanging on a cross.
Jesus is saying, “To follow Me, you have to be prepared to die.” Following Jesus could cost them their lives. For the crowds listening to Jesus, it was a shocking statement. Most of them believed that the Messiah would be a political hero and after saving them from their enemies set up a glorious kingdom. Now Jesus was telling them that signing up on the dotted line to become His disciple would likely cost them their life!
John 15:18 – If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Jesus warned them that it was not going to be all roses. All of the disciples except for John did indeed give their lives for Jesus. Many other Christians in the early church did as well, starting with Stephen (Acts 7).
The crowds would have been stunned by this statement. If following Jesus resulted in death, they might ask, “What is the point?”
Once while in a restrictive Asian country, I was at a Bible study for seekers. A young lady attendee asked why she should believe in Jesus if it meant that she would face persecution.
Reflect – How would you answer her question?
Another guy asked if he believed in Jesus would Jesus help him immigrate to New Zealand.
How would you answer this question?
Many people consider whether to believe in God based on what they can gain from it, rather than its truth. The person asking about New Zealand admitted he didn’t care about the truth of the Bible, just about immigrating successfully. Similarly, people often want to know what they can get from believing in Christ. Jesus responds clearly: “If you believe in Me, it may cost you your life.” On its surface, this isn’t a very appealing offer. However, in the next verse, there’s more to the story.
5. You will gain eternal life –
Mark 8:35 – For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
This verse shows that there is a certain irony in following Christ. You have to give up your life in order to gain it.
I think it is helpful to understand a verse by giving an example from our everyday life. I have two daughters. Although I teach them to share, shockingly they don’t always do it. From time to time, I can hear one of them shouting, “It’s mine!” When I hurry into the room, one girl is running away from her sister with her hands clenched around a toy. She desperately wants to keep this toy for her own and is not willing to share.
What do you think I will do in this situation?
If both of them are at fault, I take the toy, explaining that neither of them can have it because they are both being selfish. This is what this verse is talking about. The best way to get joy is not by putting yourself first, but it is by putting others first. Ironically, you get joy by giving it away.
Many people go through their lives saying, “I will not deny myself. It is my life, my money, my house, my career, and my time. I will use them how I want to because I earned them!” Jesus says that this person loses his life. His soul has been forfeited and sold because he lives his life for himself rather than for God whom he was created to serve. The harsh reality is that his money cannot be taken with him. His house will collapse and rot one day. He will have all the time in the world as he spends eternity receiving justice for his selfishness and remembering how he wasted his time on his own desires (Luke 12:13-21).
But there is another choice.
Going back to my example, sometimes my daughters play nicely together. I have seen them happily sharing and rolling a car back and forth. It looks like when they roll the car away, it is gone and they lose their chance to play with it. But then it is rolled back. Because they “give up” this car they can keep playing with it. And their fun and joy can be all the more because they have someone to share it with.
If we deny ourselves (Romans 12:1-2), that is the evidence that our relationship with God is real. Not only do we have eternal life, but this life on earth can be filled with joy
Acts 20:35 – In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Looking out for number one will not give you joy. The word JOY can be taken as an acronym.
J – Jesus
O – Others
Y – Yourself
To have true joy, you should put Jesus first, others second, and yourself last.
6. Verse 36 –
Mark 8:36 – For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Suggested reading – Luke 12:13-21 – Parable of the Rich Fool
This verse reminds me of many famous, evil rulers in history (Herod the Great, Hitler, etc.) They spent their entire lives killing and scheming to further their own ambitions. For a time, they gained power and wealth, but it cost them their soul.
However, Jesus’ statement here doesn’t only apply to evil dictators. It applies to everyone, from the poorest farmer in rural Vietnam to rich Russian oligarchs. Unfortunately, a love of money and materials has corrupted many people.
Once I had some dinner guests. While enjoying the nice meal that my wife made, one of the guests openly admitted to scamming people by selling fake eggs (Yes, in some Asian countries that is a real thing). It wasn’t shared as a past indiscretion that she was ashamed of. Instead, she was bragging about her creative entrepreneurial ability! We tried to use questions to get her to see that this was wrong. She told us that she personally would not eat them. And when asked if her customers knew they were fake, she laughed, “If they knew they were fake, they wouldn’t buy them!” Even though she would admit that she wouldn’t want to be scammed in this way, she saw no issue in scamming others.
Why did she do it? Money. Perhaps she earned $50 or $500. The same lady also said that she purposely added a little bit of water into bottles when taking them to the recycling place because she could sell them for more due to their larger weight.
The last time she went there, she sold bottles for $8. Probably only $1 of that was due to water added to the bottles. She sold her integrity for $1.
It is possible for rich or poor people to love money and sell their integrity for it.
The verse says that even if we gain the whole world, it is not worth giving up our soul for. Here is logic.
A. The world is not enough to give up your soul for.
B. If the world is not enough to give up your soul for, then nothing short of the world is enough either.
Satan actually offered Jesus the world in exchange for worshiping him. Jesus refused (Matthew 4:1-11).
Satan is using the same temptation to snare many people today. Sometimes he promises the world, immense power, riches, or fame. Other times, he offers a dollar.
Hopefully we would not take either.
Application – What will you give in exchange for your soul? Are you for sale? Will you give up your integrity for $1? $100? $10,000? A true disciple of Christ should be willing to put God first no matter how much it costs them. Take some time to prayerfully evaluate your life. Is there any are that you are comprising your integrity for financial gain? Confess it and do what is necessary to come back to the right path.
Suggested Movie – I recommend watching the movie Flywheel. It shows this verse in action.
7. Verse 38 –
Mark 8:38 – For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
This verse is very clear and very sobering. If we deny Christ before people, He will deny us before the Father. Are you ashamed of your belief in Christ? A true disciple is not ashamed of this.
Romans 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Jesus has been sharing to the crowds the cost of discipleship. So far we have seen many principles.
• We should deny ourselves
• We should be willing to follow Christ even to death
• We should give up our own time, money, and ambitions to follow Christ.
In this verse, one more is added.
• We should openly confess our belief in Christ in front of others. Do not hide it. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
II. Jesus’ transfiguration (9:1-9)
Discussion Questions
• Who was Jesus saying this to (9:1)?
• What does it mean that some of them would not die until they saw the kingdom of God after it had come with power?
• Why does the author put this statement right before the transfiguration, which happened 6 days later?
• What does the word transfigured mean?
• What did his brilliant white garments represent?
• Why do you think Elijah and Moses appeared then?
• What does this teach us about what the kingdom of God may be like?
• Why did Peter suggest building three tabernacles? What do you think of this suggestion?
• Since verse 6 says he did not know what to say, what should he have done?
• What should you do when you don’t know what to say?
• What do we learn about Jesus from this passage?
• Why might He have revealed Himself to those three disciples in this way? Which was Jesus’ normal figure?
• What did Jesus tell them when they were descending the mountain? Why do you think He told them this?
• How does this passage affect your view of Christ? What should do based on what we learn of Christ here?
Cross-References
Hebrews 1:3 – He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high
John 17:4-5 – I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Revelation 21:23-25 – And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
Proverbs 11:12 – Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
but a man of understanding remains silent.
James 1:19 – Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1. Jesus predicts the transfiguration –
Mark 9:1 – And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”
In this verse “see the kingdom of God” seems to be a reference to the transfiguration. That is why Mark records this event right after this statement, even though it happens six days later.
Peter, James, and John would witness a taste of the kingdom of God. They would Jesus in His glory like no one else on earth ever had.
2. Jesus took three key disciples with him to the mountain –
Mark 9:2 – Jesus took with him Peter and James and John.
In this verse, we can see Jesus spent more personal time with these three disciples than with the others. Because a person’s time is limited, it is not possible to spend every moment with every disciple. Sometimes choices have to be made. Jesus invested more time in these three than He did in the twelve and more time in the twelve than He did in the seventy.
Application – Your time is limited. You cannot invest equal time in every one. Who is God calling you to invest more time in?
3. He brought them up on a high mountain by themselves –
Often the deepest interactions were personal ones far away from the crowds. We need to have those private times alone with Christ away from others. Sometimes we need to even get away from our family members to spend deep, personal time with the Lord.
As a father of four children, I know this can be difficult to do, especially as they are homeschooled. Many times, I am in my room reading or studying Scripture or praying and they come in to talk.
Reflect – Do you have a regular time of retreat to spend in deeper communion with the Lord? If not, is there anything practical you can do to move toward that goal?
4. He was transfigured before them –
Mark 9:2-3 – And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one on earth could bleach them.
His figure was changed. He didn’t look the same. Certain aspects of His divine nature and glory were allowed to shine through (perhaps it was some of this glory that Jesus is said to have emptied Himself of in Philippians 2). These three disciples were allowed to see Jesus as He really was. And He was amazing.
His glory radiated from His very clothing, which turned into the purest white imaginable. This pure white shows Jesus’ perfect and holy nature. He truly was the Lamb of God in whom there is no spot or blemish. Although He had lived on the earth for over thirty years, none of the filth, sin, and corruption of the earth tainted Him even slightly.
This passage reminds us that while Jesus is man, He is also God. He is the God-man. In addition, it shows us His holiness, righteousness, and glory.
5. Elijah and Moses appeared and were talking with Jesus –
Mark 9:4 – And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Remember that Jesus said they would see the kingdom of God. This is a taste of how the kingdom of God functions. It shows us one key insight. These were saints who had died. Yet here it seems that they are very familiar with Jesus and have a close relationship with Him. They could talk with Jesus face-to-face like a friend. Likely, they had many such conversations with Jesus in heaven.
One supporting verse for this is in John.
John 8:56 – Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.
It is evident that Jesus and Abraham also had friendly conversations together before Jesus came to earth at the incarnation.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). This verse is very exciting to me. It means that one day we too will have the opportunity to see and talk with Jesus face-to-face. We can have conversations together and talk with Him just as talk with your friends.
Reflect – How does it challenge and motivate you to know you can talk with Jesus like this one day?
6. Peter suggests building three tabernacles –
Mark 9:5-6 – And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.
We see in this passage that they were terrified. This brings to mind the statement in the Chronicles of Narnia that Aslan is “not a tame lion, but a good lion.” Jesus’ divine glory is spectacular and terrifying at the same time.
Peter suggests building three tabernacles.
Reflect – What do you think about his suggestion?
This is yet another example of Peter’s propensity for speaking before thinking.
What should have done since he didn’t know what to say?
There is always one good choice when we don’t know what to say and that is to say nothing. It is certainly better to say nothing than to say something foolish.
Proverbs 17:27-28 – Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
I read an article about being silent, which had some good points in it. One point the author made was that he had tuned out political debates. He said that politicians debating each other sought to answer as fast as they could. In the process, they didn’t actually have time to think about the issues and give a reasoned response.
Application – Practice the art of listening. Don’t be in a hurry to jump in to a conversation.
James 1:19 – Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak…
7. God the Father speaks –
Mark 9:7 – And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.”
An amazing event became even more shocking. God spoke. The full extent of His command was simple. Listen to Jesus. These words are recorded in Scripture for us and are still just as applicable today. Listen to Jesus.
There are many voices in the world. Many people give us suggestions or commands.
I can remember taking my son as a baby on the metro. He was fussy and crying. A friendly neighborhood aunty told us the problem, “Have you tried feeding him?”
We will always have competing voices and ideas vying for our attention. The world is an increasingly chaotic place. In the midst of all of this chaos, let us listen to Jesus.
John 10:27 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
8. Jesus prophesied His resurrection –
Mark 9:9 – And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Here is another example of Jesus telling the disciples He would rise from the dead. He told them what was going to happen and didn’t keep them in the dark.
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