Feeding the Four Thousand(A)

In those days, (B)the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, “I have (C)compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”

Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”

(D)He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”

And they said, “Seven.”

So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. They also had a few small fish; and (E)having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10 (F)immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees Seek a Sign(G)

11 (H)Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He (I)sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, (J)no sign shall be given to this generation.”

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod(K)

13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 (L)Now [a]the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 (M)Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the [b]leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.”

17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? (N)Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart [c]still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 (O)When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?”

They said to Him, “Twelve.”

20 “Also, (P)when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?”

And they said, “Seven.”

21 So He said to them, “How is it (Q)you do not understand?”

A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida

22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a (R)blind man to Him, and begged Him to (S)touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when (T)He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

24 And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”

25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, [d]“Neither go into the town, (U)nor tell anyone in the town.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ(V)

27 (W)Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”

28 So they answered, (X)“John the Baptist; but some say, (Y)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to Him, (Z)“You are the Christ.”

30 (AA)Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(AB)

31 And (AC)He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be (AD)rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be (AE)killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He (AF)rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not [e]mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Take Up the Cross and Follow Him(AG)

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, (AH)“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For (AI)whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 (AJ)For whoever (AK)is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 8:14 NU, M they
  2. Mark 8:15 yeast
  3. Mark 8:17 NU omits still
  4. Mark 8:26 NU “Do not even go into the town.”
  5. Mark 8:33 setting your mind on

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

During those days another large crowd gathered. They had nothing to eat. So Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. If I send them away hungry, they will become too weak on their way home. Some of them have come from far away.”

His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where can anyone get enough bread to feed them?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied.

He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Then he broke them and gave them to his disciples. They passed the pieces of bread around to the people. The disciples also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for them too. He told the disciples to pass them around. The people ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. About 4,000 people were there. After Jesus sent them away, 10 he got into a boat with his disciples. He went to the area of Dalmanutha.

11 The Pharisees came and began to ask Jesus questions. They wanted to test him. So they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12 He sighed deeply. He said, “Why do you people ask for a sign? What I’m about to tell you is true. No sign will be given to you.” 13 Then he left them. He got back into the boat and crossed to the other side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

14 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread. They had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. And watch out for the yeast of Herod.”

16 They talked about this with each other. They said, “He must be saying this because we don’t have any bread.”

17 Jesus knew what they were saying. So he asked them, “Why are you talking about having no bread? Why can’t you see or understand? Are you stubborn? 18 Do you have eyes and still don’t see? Do you have ears and still don’t hear? And don’t you remember? 19 Earlier I broke five loaves for the 5,000. How many baskets of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

20 “Later I broke seven loaves for the 4,000. How many baskets of pieces did you pick up?”

“Seven,” they answered.

21 He said to them, “Can’t you understand yet?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him. They begged Jesus to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand. Then he led him outside the village. He spit on the man’s eyes and placed his hands on him. “Do you see anything?” Jesus asked.

24 The man looked up. He said, “I see people. They look like trees walking around.”

25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened so that he could see again. He saw everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him home. He told him, “Don’t even go into the village.”

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say one of the prophets.”

29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Tells About His Coming Death

31 Jesus then began to teach his disciples. He taught them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He taught them that the elders would not accept him. The chief priests and the teachers of the law would not accept him either. He must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke clearly about this. Peter took Jesus to one side and began to scold him.

33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples. He scolded Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You are not thinking about the things God cares about. Instead, you are thinking only about the things humans care about.”

You Must Pick Up Your Cross

34 Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples. He said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must say no to themselves. They must pick up their cross and follow me. 35 Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me and for the good news will save it. 36 What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? 37 Or what can anyone trade for their soul? 38 Suppose anyone is ashamed of me and my words among these adulterous and sinful people. Then the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”