Week 6: Different Ways to Hear -Mark 9:2-13

"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." -James 1:22

My high school art teacher had an assignment. She created a tower of things. It had a ladder, boxes, toys, fabric, and small stuff like fruit, flowers, and paint cans. We each sat around the structure and had to draw what we saw. No two pictures were the same because no two artists had the same perspective.

I always thought it would have been interesting if after our first drawing we would have moved over one chair. By moving seats we would have noticed elements of the sculpture we hadn't seen before. The change in location would have given us a new perspective that helped us see more of what had always been in front of us.

What would happen if we changed our Bible reading perspective? We often read the Bible one or two ways. Either we silently read the passage by ourselves or in group settings someone reads to us. Both are good ways to "listen to the word" but they are not the only possibilities. You can read it out loud, you could listen to an audio version, you could read it slowly thinking about each word, you could write out a portion of the passage, or you could change translations. This week I challenge you to read the daily Scripture in at least three different ways.

Here are six ways you can read this passage:

1) Read Mark 9:2-13 out loud and slowly. What did you hear?
2) Read Mark 9:2-13 silently and slowly. What did you see?
3) Write out a portion of the passage. What did you feel?
4) Listen to Mark 9 (you can stop it after verse 13). What did you hear?
5) Read Mark 9:2-13 in NIV? What did you see?
6) Read Mark 9:2-13 in NLT? What did you see? 

Questions about your reading:

What main insight do you have about this passage after reading it different ways?
After reading different ways, which method did you prefer? Why?
What are some other ways you could read Scripture this week?

Mark 9:2-13The Message (MSG)

2-4 Six days later, three of them did see it. Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain. His appearance changed from the inside out, right before their eyes. His clothes shimmered, glistening white, whiter than any bleach could make them. Elijah, along with Moses, came into view, in deep conversation with Jesus.

5-6 Peter interrupted, “Rabbi, this is a great moment! Let’s build three memorials—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah.” He blurted this out without thinking, stunned as they all were by what they were seeing.

7 Just then a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and from deep in the cloud, a voice: “This is my Son, marked by my love. Listen to him.”

8 The next minute the disciples were looking around, rubbing their eyes, seeing nothing but Jesus, only Jesus.

9-10 Coming down the mountain, Jesus swore them to secrecy. “Don’t tell a soul what you saw. After the Son of Man rises from the dead, you’re free to talk.” They puzzled over that, wondering what on earth “rising from the dead” meant.

11 Meanwhile they were asking, “Why do the religion scholars say that Elijah has to come first?”

12-13 Jesus replied, “Elijah does come first and get everything ready for the coming of the Son of Man. They treated this Elijah like dirt, much like they will treat the Son of Man, who will, according to Scripture, suffer terribly and be kicked around contemptibly.”