8 It was during that time that another large crowd gathered, and they had nothing to eat. Yeshua called his talmidim to him and said to them, ² “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them off to their homes hungry, they will collapse on the way; some of them have come a long distance.” ⁴ His talmidim said to him, “How can anyone find enough bread to satisfy these people in a remote place like this?” ⁵ “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. They answered, “Seven.” ⁶ He then told the crowd to sit down on the ground, took the seven loaves, made a b’rakhah, broke the loaves and gave them to his talmidim to serve to the people. ⁷ They also had a few fish; making a b’rakhah over them he also ordered these to be served. ⁸ The people ate their fill; and the talmidim took up the leftover pieces, seven large basketsful. ⁹ About four thousand were there. ¹⁰ After sending them away, Yeshua got into the boat with his talmidim and went off to the district of Dalmanuta.

¹¹ The P’rushim came and began arguing with him; they wanted him to give them a sign from Heaven, because they were out to trap him. ¹² With a sigh that came straight from his heart, he said, “Why does this generation want a sign? Yes! I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³ With that, he left them, got into the boat again and went off to the other side of the lake.

¹⁴ Now the talmidim had forgotten to bring bread and had with them in the boat only one loaf. ¹⁵ So when Yeshua said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves from the hametz of the P’rushim and the hametz of Herod,” ¹⁶ they thought he had said it because they had no bread. ¹⁷ But, aware of this, he said, “Why are you talking with each other about having no bread? Don’t you see or understand yet? Have your hearts been made like stone? ¹⁸ You have eyes — don’t you see? You have ears — don’t you hear? And don’t you remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Twelve,” they answered him. ²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect?” “Seven,” they answered. ²¹ He said to them, “And you still don’t understand?”

²² They came to Beit-Tzaidah. Some people brought him a blind man and begged Yeshua to touch him. ²³ Taking the blind man’s hand, he led him outside the town. He spit in his eyes, put his hands on him and asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ He looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like walking trees.” ²⁵ Then he put his hands on the blind man’s eyes again. He peered intently, and his eyesight was restored, so that he could see everything distinctly. ²⁶ Yeshua sent him home with the words, “Don’t go into town.”

²⁷ Yeshua and his talmidim went on to the towns of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked his talmidim, “Who are people saying I am?” ²⁸ “Some say you are Yochanan the Immerser,” they told him, “others say Eliyahu, and still others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ “But you,” he asked, “who do you say I am?” Kefa answered, “You are the Mashiach.” ³⁰ Then Yeshua warned them not to tell anyone about him. ³¹ He began teaching them that the Son of Man had to endure much suffering and be rejected by the elders, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers; and that he had to be put to death; but that after three days, he had to rise again. ³² He spoke very plainly about it. Kefa took him aside and began rebuking him. ³³ But, turning around and looking at his talmidim, he rebuked Kefa. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said, “For your thinking is from a human perspective, not from God’s perspective!”

³⁴ Then Yeshua called the crowd and his talmidim to him and told them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him say ‘No’ to himself, take up his execution-stake, and keep following me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it. ³⁶ Indeed, what will it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? ³⁷ What could a person give in exchange for his life? ³⁸ For if someone is ashamed of me and of what I say in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.