The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (60 page)

9:2 Peter . . . James . . . John:
Three of Jesus' closest companions. See note on 5:37. •
Anagogically
(Rabanus Maurus,
Comm. in Matt.
5, 17): Christ took three disciples up the mountain to signify that those who in this life believe in the Holy Trinity will in the next life behold the three Persons of the Godhead in heavenly glory.
high mountain:
Traditionally identified with Mt. Tabor in lower Galilee. Theologically, this mountain is the New Covenant counterpart to Mt. Sinai, where Jesus manifests his divine splendor just as God revealed his glory to Moses (Ex 24:15-18) and Elijah (1 Kings 19:8-18) on Sinai (Horeb).
See note on Mt 17:1-8
. 
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9:4 Elijah with Moses:
Representatives of the prophets and the Law of the OT. Together they testify that Jesus is the foretold Messiah and mediator of the New Covenant (cf. Lk 24:2527; Jn 5:39; Rev 11:3-6). 
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9:5 three booths:
Small shelters in which the Israelites dwelt during the liturgical feast of Booths (Lev 23:39-43). Peter requests to build these shelters in his desire to prolong the heavenly experience. 
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9:7 listen to him:
This final injunction alludes to Deut 18:15. • Yahweh promised to raise up another prophet like Moses, so that just as Israel received instructions for worship and life issued through Moses, so they must obey the words of his prophetic successor. The Father uses this passage to identify Jesus as this Mosaic prophet (Jn 6:14; Acts 3:22). 
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9:10 rising from the dead:
The belief in a collective resurrection was accepted by many Jews during NT times (Dan 12:2; Jn 11:23-25; Acts 24:15). Only the Sadducees expressly denied it (12:18). The disciples are here perplexed that Jesus speaks of an individual resurrection, since they as yet had no clear understanding of a dying and rising Messiah (8:31-33). 
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9:11 first Elijah must come:
Elijahs reappearance was a common expectation based on the prophecy of Mal 4:5. • In context, God promised to send Elijah to prepare Israel for his scheduled arrival on the "day of the Lord". His mission was to restore family relationships (Mal 4:6) and the tribes of Israel (Sir 48:10). John the Baptist fulfills this prophetic role as the forerunner to Jesus (9:13).
See note on Mk 1:6
. 
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9:13 as it is written of him:
As Elijah suffered at the hands of King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel (1 Kings 19:1-10), so John the Baptist suffered martyrdom by Herod Antipas and his mistress Herodias (6:27). 
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9:17 a mute spirit:
Demon possession is sometimes manifested through sickness, seizures, and self-inflicted injuries (Mt 8:16; Mk 1:26; 5:2-5). These phenomena in no way diminish the spiritual dimension of the condition; they simply make it visible. The symptoms here resemble epilepsy (9:18). 
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9:23 All things are possible:
The issue is not whether Jesus
can
cure the boy, but whether his father is willing to believe it. The omnipotent power of God is more than sufficient for the task, but it must be sought with faith and prayer (9:29; Jer 32:17; Lk 1:37). This father, who struggles with "unbelief" (9:24), bids Jesus to stabilize his wavering faith (Lk 17:5; CCC 162, 2610). 
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9:30-32
Jesus foretells his Crucifixion and Resurrection a second time. The prophecy is still confusing and frightening to the disciples (9:32).
See note on Mk 8:31-33
. 
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9:33 Capernaum:
Jesus' Galilean residence. See note on 1:21. 
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9:35 servant of all:
Greatness in God's eyes is measured by humility and service to others (Lk 22:24-27), a principle put into practice by Jesus (10:45). As future leaders of the Church, the apostles must shun aspirations for worldly honor and attention in order to serve Christ more faithfully and effectively (8:35; CCC 876, 896). 
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9:37 one such child:
An image of those who are weak and helpless. Welcoming them with affection is tantamount to serving both Jesus
(me)
and the Father
(him who sent me).
See note on Mt 25:40
. 
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9:42-48
Jesus uses hyperbole (overstatement) to emphasize that drastic measures are needed to avoid sin (CCC 1861, 2284-87). Because public sin can embolden others to sin likewise, the consequences that await those who cause scandal are worse than drowning by the weight of a
great millstone
(9:42). Because grave (mortal) sins merit
hell
(9:43, 45, 47), avoiding them requires us to take action so serious that it can be compared to bodily dismemberment (Mt 5:29-30).
• Morally
(St. John Chrysostom,
Hom. in Matt.
59): severing bodily limbs signifies the amputation of intimate friends. When close companions drag Christians away from holiness, they must be cut away. It is better for us to enter heaven without them than to maintain their company in everlasting misery. See word study:
Hell
(page 35). 
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9:49 salted with fire:
Probably a reference to the trials and temptations that face believers. Given the preceding context (9:42-48), it may include the purifying suffering of penance needed to avoid sin and turn away from impure habits. Such fire is meant to test the genuineness of our Christian commitment and lead us to perfection (Sir 2:5; 1 Pet 1:6-7; CCC 1430-31). In the end, those refined by the temporal fires of this world will be spared the unquenchable fires of the next. 
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10:1 the region of Judea:
Jesus turns from his ministry in Galilee and northern Gentile territory (1:14; 5:1; 7:24; 8:27) to head southward toward Jerusalem (10:32; Lk 9:51).
beyond the Jordan:
Also called Perea, the region governed by Herod Antipas and the location of John the Baptist's ministry (Lk 3:13).
See note on Mk 6:14
and
Mt 19:1
. 
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10:2 to test him:
The Pharisees lay a trap for Jesus as part of a strategy to eliminate him (3:6). They anticipate he will deny the legality of
divorce
and so draw upon himself the wrath of Herod Antipas and his unlawful mistress, Herodias. For it was well known that Herod, the ruler of this territory, and his consort had abandoned their spouses in order to remarry. Because John the Baptist had been executed for condemning their unlawful union (6:17-19) as he ministered in this very region (10:1), the Pharisees hope Jesus will meet the same fate as John by making the same outspoken mistake.
See note on Mk 6:18
. 
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Word Study

Hell
(Mk 9:43)

Geenna
(Gk.): "Gehenna", the valley directly southwest of Jerusalem. Jesus refers to it 11 times in the Gospels as a dreadful symbol of hell. Two associations are made with Gehenna, one drawn from the OT and the other from Jesus' contemporary setting. (1) Gehenna is a Greek rendering of the Hebrew place-name "Valley of the sons of Hinnom". It was the site of a frightful Canaanite cult that worshipped the idols of Molech and Baal by burning children in sacrifice (Jer 7:30-32; 19:1-6; 32:35). (2) In the NT period, Gehenna served as a smoldering garbage dump where refuse burned continually. Jesus evokes these associations to teach us that hell is not a place of purgation or purification, but one of fiery punishment (Mt 5:22; 18:9; 23:33). In the afterlife, the bodies and souls of the wicked will suffer in hell for eternity (Mt 10:28; 25:41, 46). Other biblical passages corroborate this horrifying prospect (Is 33:14; 66:24; Jude 7; Rev 20:10).

10:4 a certificate of divorce:
Moses permitted Israelite laymen to divorce their wives under the Old Covenant (Deut 24:1-4). This was a temporary legal concession tailored to the weaknesses of Israel (10:5). Jesus now revokes Mosaic divorce legislation by returning to God's original intention for every married couple: lifelong monogamy (10:6-9). See essay:
Jesus on Marriage and Divorce
at Mt 19. • Divorce is one of many concessions that Yahweh made for Israel in Deuteronomy. This is seen by a careful reading of the Pentateuch, which distinguishes the Levitical covenant ratified at Mt. Sinai (Ex 1924; Lev 27:34) from the Deuteronomic covenant that was ratified 40 years later on the plains of Moab (Deut 1:1-5; 29:1). There are, in fact, many laws distinctive to Deuteronomy that are absent in earlier Mosaic legislation: cultic worship was confined to a single, central sanctuary (Deut 12:11), genocidal warfare was permitted for the first time (Deut 20:16-17), animals once sacrificed at the sacred Tabernacle could now be slaughtered in profane contexts (Deut 12:15-24), allowance was made to collect interest on money loaned (Deut 15:3; 23:20), and the grim reality of divorce was tolerated and regulated (Deut 24:1-4). These and other laws indicate that Deuteronomy was a less than perfect law that lowered the standards of covenant faithfulness for wayward Israel (Ezek 20:25). It was always a temporary and concessionary arrangement designed to permit lesser evils in order to avoid greater ones. 
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