Mark 8
New King James Version
Feeding the Four Thousand(A)
8 In those days, (B)the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2 “I have (C)compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 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.”
4 Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”
5 (D)He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven.”
6 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. 7 They also had a few small fish; and (E)having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9 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.”
Mark 8
The Voice
8 Once again a huge crowd had followed them, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called His disciples together.
Jesus: 2 These people have been with Me for three days without food. They’re hungry, and I am concerned for them. 3 If I try to send them home now, they’ll faint along the way because many of them have come a long, long way to hear and see Me.
Disciples: 4 Where can we find enough bread for these people in this desolate place?
Jesus: 5 How much bread do we have left?
Disciples: Seven rounds of flatbread.
6 So, as before, He commanded the people to sit down; and He took the rounds of flatbread, gave thanks for them, and broke them. His disciples took what He gave them and fed the people. 7 They also had a few small fish, which, after He had spoken a blessing, He likewise gave His followers to pass to the people. 8 When all had eaten their fill and they had gathered up the food that remained, seven baskets were full.
9 On this occasion, there were about 4,000 people who had eaten the food that Jesus provided. Jesus sent the crowd home; 10 then, immediately, He got into a boat with His disciples and sailed away. Upon their arrival in Dalmanutha in the district of Magdala, 11 they were met by Pharisees—ready with their questions and tests—seeking some sign from heaven that His teaching was from God.
Jesus (sighing with disappointment): 12 Why does this generation ask for a sign before they will believe? Believe Me when I say that you will not see one.
13 He left the Pharisees and sailed across to the other shore.
14 The disciples had forgotten to buy provisions, so they had only one round of flatbread among them. 15 Jesus took this moment to warn them.
Jesus: Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about and discussed it among themselves.
Some Disciples: 16 What?
Other Disciples: He’s saying this because we have run out of bread.
Jesus (overhearing them): 17-19 Why are you focusing on bread? Don’t you see yet? Don’t you understand? You have eyes—why don’t you see? You have ears—why don’t you hear? Are you so hard-hearted?
Don’t you remember when I broke the five rounds of flatbread among the 5,000? Tell Me, how many baskets of scraps were left over?
Disciples: Twelve.
Jesus: 20 And how many were left when I fed the 4,000 with seven rounds?
Disciples: Seven.
Jesus: 21 And still you don’t understand?
22 When they came into Bethsaida, a group brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged Him to touch the man and heal him. 23 So Jesus guided the man out of the village, away from the crowd; and He spat on the man’s eyes and touched them.
Jesus: What do you see?
Blind Man (opening his eyes): 24 I see people, but they look like trees—walking trees.
25 Jesus touched his eyes again; and when the man looked up, he could see everything clearly.
26 Jesus sent him away to his house.
Jesus (to the healed man): Don’t go into town yet. [And don’t tell anybody in town what happened here.][a]
Bethsaida is the hometown of at least three of Jesus’ emissaries—Peter, Andrew, and Philip—and possibly James and John as well. Jesus performs many miracles there, most notably the feeding of the 5,000. However, this miracle—the healing of the blind man—is the only miracle in all the Gospels that is done in stages instead of instantly.
Of course, there’s no way to know for sure why Jesus chooses to heal this man partly before He heals him entirely. Jesus frequently links faith, or lack of faith, with the healings. Bethsaida is a town He criticizes for its lack of faith (Matthew 11:21–22). So it’s likely He wants to demonstrate to His disciples that their inability to see His purpose can be healed, too, even if it takes time.
27 As He traveled with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi, He posed an important question to them.
Jesus: Who do the people say that I am?
28 They told Him about the great speculation concerning His identity.
Disciples: Some of them say You are John the Baptist,[b] others say Elijah, while others say one of the prophets of old.
Jesus (pressing the question): 29 And who do you say that I am?
Peter: You are God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
Jesus: 30 Don’t tell anyone. It is not yet time.
31 And He went on to teach them many things about Himself: how the Son of Man would suffer; how He would be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes; how He would be killed; and how, after three days, God would raise Him from the dead.
32 He said all these things in front of them all, but Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him.
Peter represents the best and worst in humanity. One day, Peter drops everything to become a follower of Jesus; the next, he’s busy putting his foot in his mouth. Peter is always responding to Jesus, frequently making mistakes, but never drifting far from Jesus’ side. In this passage, Peter verbalizes God’s word and Satan’s temptation—almost in the same breath. Peter thinks he understands who Jesus is, but he still has a lot to learn about what Jesus has come to do.
Jesus (seeing His disciples surrounding them): 33 Get behind Me, you tempter! You’re thinking only of human things, not of the things God has planned.
34 He gathered the crowd and His disciples alike.
Jesus: If any one of you wants to follow Me, you will have to give yourself up to God’s plan, take up your cross, and do as I do. 35 For any one of you who wants to be rescued will lose your life, but any one of you who loses your life for My sake and for the sake of this good news will be liberated. 36 Really, what profit is there for you to gain the whole world and lose yourself in the process? 37 What can you give in exchange for your life? 38 If you are ashamed of Me and of what I came to teach to this adulterous and sinful generation, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father along with the holy messengers at the final judgment.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.