I have seen a few thoughts on what "coming in great power" refers to; (1) some suggest Jesus' transfiguration, which immediately follows the opening paragraph of chapter 9, (2) Jesus resurrection and Ascension, or (3) the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
The Kingdom of God that is being referred to is the new teachings and principles Jesus brought and delivered to the people. That is sometimes referred to as "The Way" or Jesus' way of seeing God and the things taught in the past. So, it might say that the Kingdom of God or Jesus' Way will be expressed in great power. This could mean that Jesus' Way had only begun and that it's impact had not yet been fully realized. As we have seen over time, it has grown from a small movement to a worldwide faith and belief.
It is written that Jesus' work had developed a following but that after Jesus' death and resurrection and the introduction of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, many of those who were actual witnesses to His work on earth saw the Kingdom multiply by ten times what it had been.
Matthew writes in chapter 16 verse 28 that some of them standing there will not die "until they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom." As in Mark, the very next thing that is told in Matthew is Jesus transfiguration. Considering Matthew's choice of words, we might consider that the Son of Man would come in power before some of them prior to their death. In my thought process, it leads us to Jesus' transfiguration.
Six days following Jesus' speech to the disciples and crowds, Jesus took Peter, James and John (these may be who Jesus referred to as seeing the Son of Man coming in power before their death) up to a high mountain. Jesus was alone on the mountain with the three and was transfigured on the 7th day following His predictions. We read "transfigured" often and think of it as Jesus glowing due to the comments of His clothing being more brilliant than even bleach can make them. However, to be transfigured means to change into another form. We can use the term "metamorphosis" to describe this, as well. He was not simply changed in appearance nor were just His clothes changed, but His body was changed into the way He would appear when He returns one day in all His glory. They actually saw Him as He will appear when He comes again to reign on earth.
So, Jesus had been transformed into how He will appear when He returns, and then is miraculously joined by Elijah and Moses (Matthew listed them as Moses and Elijah) and began talking. The significance of Jesus being joined by Moses and Elijah is that Moses and Elijah were significant leaders carrying our God's rule over Israel. This can lead us to understand that Moses and Elijah, each in their own time, carried out God's rule, and now Jesus would do the same thing on a very different level and with greater authority.
The entire event terrified the three disciples. Peter said that it was good for them to be there to see such things. The building of three tents may imply that Peter felt they were all equal and that they would be there for some time.
Suddenly, a cloud appeared and the powerful voice of God spoke instructed they be obedient to Jesus and that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. That statement from God took away any misconception that Jesus, Moses and Elijah were equal. Clearly Jesus was above all as the Son of God. The cloud vanished and so did Moses and Elijah. This event may also express that Jesus alone is the ruler of all things and that the time and rule of Moses and Elijah has ceased. All these things were meant as confirmation that Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus led them back down the mountain and told them to not speak of what they saw until He had risen from the dead. It is written that they didn't understand what He meant by "risen from the dead." They did understand what it meant for someone to be risen from the dead but perhaps they didn't understand why Jesus applied it to Himself. The confusion might stem from the idea that they didn't believe He would die.
The disciples asked about the coming of Elijah. Jesus replied that it is true that Elijah must come first to restore all things. So, if he does that, why is it that the Son of Man must suffer? The fact is that Elijah had already come but the people abused him as was written in the Scriptures. That may explain why the Son of Man must suffer. So in my mind, Elijah came to bring a new spirit to man but was more or less rejected and abused. Even with all that he had done, the need for Jesus, the Messiah, sill existed.
When Jesus and the three met up with the rest of the disciples, He walked right into the middle of an argument over the healing of a man's son. The problem seemed to be that the man brought his son to see Jesus but in His absence, he gave the boy to the disciples to heal but they couldn't. Jesus called them faithless leading us to see the lack of faith was the problem with accomplishing the healing. Jesus had given them the power to heal as we read earlier.
Jesus asked for the boy and when he was brought to Him, the boy went into convulsion and fell to the ground. This had been going on since he was little. The father asked Jesus to help if He could. I imagine Jesus must have been startled and relied, "What do you mean if I can?" Then followed with, "Anything is possible if a person believes." To me, this again makes the statement that Jesus can do any and all things but as we saw when He was in His hometown, faith is required. I believe Jesus can do anything. I also believe that He has the power to even override a lack of faith. I believe that He is willing and will do anything if we do our part in believing in Him and what He can do. To me, Jesus is saying I can do anything but to apply my power, I want to see you believe. If you don't, then I won't do it. I don't see it as being a matter of what is more powerful, Jesus or a lack of belief . I see Jesus as being all powerful always and it being more an issue about an attitude of faith or unbelief in Him than an issue of power.
Jesus then commanded the evil spirit to come out and it did, leaving the boy limp. As usual, the naysayers began a rumbling that the boy had died, implying Jesus had failed. Jesus went on to help the boy up for all to see that he had been healed.
The disciples asked why they weren't able to heal him and Jesus replied that the kind of demon they encountered in the boy could only be taken away by prayerful trust, faith and confidence in the power of God. Their faith had fallen short of what was needed to accomplish this healing. It might imply, because of the word "prayer," that they had begun to rely on "their" power, forgetting that the power came from God.
Jesus and the disciples left that area so that Jesus could be alone with them and teach them more thigns. He found such a place and told them He would be betrayed, given over to those who wanted to stop His mission and minsitry. These enemies would then kill Him but they should not worry because three days later He would rise from the dead. As we mentioned earlier, they didn't understand because their view of the Messiah, of Him, was not one who would die but one who would reign. Perhaps because they couldn't heal the boy they were afraid to do something that Jesus would consider a lack of faith again, by asking what He meant. So, they did not ask what He meant.
They reached their destination and settled in. Jesus had heard them talking on the road and asked them what they had been discussing. They must have been embarrassed because they didn't answer. They had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. Jesus knew this and called all twelve of them together and He sat down. His sitting depicted the common approach of a teacher beginning another teaching session. Being Jews, they had grown up with all the rankings in government and in the temples, such as some being a "priest" and others being a "high priest" and so on. So, this thinking would be common for people in their day. Jesus teaching and life was an exhibition contrary to that kind of thinking but one they had not yet fully grasped. Jesus put it bluntly, whoever wanted to be the greatest would, in fact, have to be the least. As Jesus said it, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else." To me, this says that one who lives to serve others is greater than the one who is served. (A saying I tell myself all the time from a book I once read is, "There is no greater calling than to be of service to others." I think it helps this teaching of Jesus come to life. Don't we all have times when we just get tired of serving others? Don't we sometimes have the words, "I want to be served too," run through our mind? When thoughts like that start bothering me, I try to put that teaching in the forefront of my mind and continue serving the best I can.)
Jesus drove home His point by taking a little child and telling them that anyone who welcomed a little child such as He was holding, welcomed Him and in turn, welcomes the Father who sent Him. As I reflect on how children were viewed back then, I remember reading that if a child was unruly he/she could be stoned. I also remember when little children were being brought to Jesus to be blessed the disciples tried to chase them away. (Mark 10:13-15) The disciples rebuked or scolded them suggesting that Jesus was doing things too important to be bothered with children such as those. Jesus was telling them that to take someone considered to be as lowly as a child and welcome them and care for them would be as if they were caring for Jesus and the Father. (Here is an interesting observation. Here we are in chapter nine and Jesus has just taught them that to be great you had to be the least. He went on to say that caring for the one who has little significance (such as a child) is a Godly thing to do. This way of thinking would make them great among those who thought differently. We then go right into the very next chapter and see the disciples chasing children away. It must have been a hard teaching for them to learn and understand. Maybe also for us today?) If Jesus teaches that caring for the least in society pleases God greatly, as if they were caring for Jesus and the Father, then I ask you, what would we be doing to Jesus and the Father if we dismissed those of little worldly status as not worth our effort or time? What would they be feeling and thinking of us if we made such a choice?
The disciples went to Jesus after seeing a person who wasn't part of their group cast out a demon. It was as if they felt Jesus had given them the power to do such things and this person, who was not a "real authorized" person was doing things he should not be. It might appear that they felt they were part of a special group and should be the only ones doing healing or casting out demons.
Jesus instructed them to leave him alone as this person is not against them but on their side. Such a person will not be able to take a position against them. If anyone does miracles in Jesus' name, or even gives a cup of water to a follower of Jesus, they will be rewarded. There is no requirement that a person has to be part of their group to serve in such a manner. Jesus went on to tell them that discouraging anyone from following their trust and faith in Him is wrong. To treat them in such a way could cause them to turn from Jesus completely. Jesus uses the words "little ones" which means those, like little children, who are still growing in their faith. If they were to do such things, it would be better for them to drown themselves in the sea.
Jesus follows that instruction, teaching them that if there is anything in their life that would cause them to fall away, they should cut it off (or get rid of it) such as a hand, eye or foot. It is extremely important to get rid of whatever it might be that would lead them astray. His comments may have started by referring to their wrong attitude about the children but then continuing onto getting rid of anything and everything that would lead them in the wrong direction. The truth of the matter is that it is better to give up such things and enter eternal life as a disciple of Christ rather than to live life clutching on to things that will eventually lead you away from Christ and into the fires of hell.
Jesus then spoke about something common that they all knew about. He talked about the qualities of salt and the fact that salt is good. Salt is good for seasoning, making something tasteful and pleasant. We might even say that salt makes things better. For salt to improve something, it must retain the qualities that make salt, salt. If salt lost the qualities that make it salt, how could you make it salt again? You can't. Once the qualities of salt are lost, it is no longer salt. In fact salt that has lost it's ability to do what it is intended to do gets discarded.
Just as salt is applied to make something better, Jesus told them, everyone will be salted with fire. So, just as salt is applied to bring out the flavor of something, everyone will be salted (or seasoned) to bring out our flavor. Here, I come up with two concepts. One is that to be seasoned with salt, or in our case fire, will improve us and make us better. So then hardships (or fires) will make us better. Another is that just like salt will bring out the flavor of something, fire will bring out our flavor. So when we are salted with fire, who we truly are will be brought out and we will be distinguished as followers or not.
Personally, considering all the things that the disciples would soon endure, I believe that the salting by fire teaches that those fires (or trials and hardships) seasoned them, making them better and more tasteful to God. We are told, in a variety of places in Scripture, of the positive impact of hardships in our lives and, in my mind, this agrees with such thinking.
So, that being said, we are to live with the qualities of salt in our lives. We are to make things we are applied to better. We are to live with an enriching way about us. We are looking at the concept of being flavorful or flavorless. For me, this takes me to the scripture about being hot or cold but not lukewarm. (Revelation 3 starting at verse 15). It makes me think of being flavorful. That flavor could be good or bad (hot or cold) but not flavorless. At that point we each have a choice as to what flavor we want to be. A pleasing flavor or one that is distasteful. We can also be tasteless (lukewarm) and one that gets spit out.
Chapter nine ends with the instruction to live in peace with each other.
WE ARE NOW IN OCTOBER AND OUR STUDY MOVES ON TO MARK, CHAPTERS 10, 11, 12 AND 13.