Mar 8 | EE | STEP | At that time, another large crowd had come to hear Jesus. The people had nothing to eat. Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them,

Mark 8

Jesus gives food to 4000 people

1 At that time, another large crowd had come to hear Jesus. The people had nothing to eat. Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them, 2 ‘I feel sorry for this crowd. They have been here with me now for three days and they do not have any food. 3 I do not want to send them back to their homes while they are hungry. They might fall down during their journey because they are weak. Some of them have travelled a long way to come here.’

4 The disciples replied, ‘This place is far from any houses. We cannot get enough bread to feed all these people.’

5 ‘How many loaves of bread do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘We have 7 loaves,’ they replied.

6 Jesus told the crowd that they should sit down on the ground. Then he took the 7 loaves in his hands and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and he gave the pieces to his disciples. The disciples gave the bread to the people. 7 The disciples also had a few small fishes, so Jesus thanked God for these. Then he told his disciples to give the fishes to the people too. 8 The people ate, and they all had enough food. After the people had eaten, there were still lots of small pieces of food. Jesus’ disciples filled 7 baskets with these pieces. 9 About 4000 people were there and ate the food. Then Jesus sent the people away. 10 Immediately, he got into the boat with his disciples. They all returned to the part of the country called Dalmanutha. ^{▼▼8:10 Dalmanutha is on the west shore of Lake Galilee. It is south of the flat part of the country called Gennesaret.}

11 Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They began to argue with him. They wanted to see him do something powerful. That would show them that God had really sent him. 12 Jesus cried with a low, sad sound. ‘People who are alive today want God to show them something powerful,’ he said. ‘But God will not do the powerful thing for them that they want. What I say is true.’ 13 Then Jesus left those Pharisees. He got back into the boat to go to the other side of the lake.

Jesus talks about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod

14 Jesus’ disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. They only had one loaf in the boat. 15 Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful. You must not let the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod spoil you.’ ^{▼▼8:15 People put yeast into flour and water when they want to make bread. The yeast grows and it causes the flour to become bigger. Then it is more like a loaf of bread. Then you can bake the bread and you can eat it. Jesus was not talking to them about the yeast that people use to make bread. He was talking about the things that the Pharisees taught to the people. See Matthew 16:12.}

16 The disciples began to talk to each other about this. ‘Jesus is saying this because we do not have any bread,’ they said.

17 Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing about the bread. You still do not understand my teaching. You seem unable to learn. 18 You are like people who have eyes but cannot see with them. You are like people who have ears but cannot hear with them. 19 Remember that I used 5 loaves of bread to feed 5000 men. How many baskets did you fill with pieces of food that were left?’

‘There were 12 baskets,’ they replied.

20 Jesus asked them, ‘I also used 7 loaves to feed 4000 people. That time, how many baskets did you fill with pieces of food?’

‘There were 7 baskets,’ they replied.

21 ‘You really should understand about me now,’ he said to them.

Jesus makes a blind man able to see

22 Jesus and his disciples came to a village called Bethsaida. Some people led a blind man to Jesus. They asked Jesus to touch the man. 23 Jesus took the blind man’s hand and he led the man out of the village. Jesus put water from his own mouth on the man’s eyes. And Jesus put his hands on the man. ‘Can you see anything?’ Jesus asked.

24 The man looked up. ‘I can see people,’ he replied. ‘But they seem like trees that are walking about.’

25 So Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes again. The man looked carefully and then his eyes were well. Now he could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told the man that he must go back to his house. Jesus said, ‘Do not even go into the village.’

Peter says who Jesus is

27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to visit some villages. They were near to the town called Caesarea Philippi. On the way, Jesus asked his disciples, ‘When people talk about me, who do they say that I am?’

28 They replied, ‘Some people say that you are John the Baptist. Other people say that you are Elijah. And some other people say that you are one of God’s prophets.’ ^{▼▼8:28 This is the same report that people told King Herod in Matthew 6:14-15.}

29 ‘But what do you think?’ Jesus asked them. ‘Who do you say that I am?’

Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’

30 Then Jesus said strongly to his disciples that they must not tell anybody about him. ^{▼▼8:30 The people were waiting for God to send someone special to them. They called this person the Messiah or the Christ. Jesus knew that the people had wrong ideas about this person. They thought that this person would save them from the Roman government. They thought that he would be a great soldier. So, Jesus wanted to teach the people what he, the Messiah, had come to do.}

Jesus tells his disciples how he would die

31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples about the things that must happen to the Son of Man. People would cause him to have great pain. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests, and the teachers of God’s Law would be against him. People would kill him. But after three days, he would become alive again. ^{▼▼8:31 Before this time, Jesus had not told anyone so clearly what would happen to him.}

32 What Jesus said was very clear. Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. Peter began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that.

33 Jesus turned round and he looked at his disciples. He said that Peter was not saying good things. He said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me! Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’ ^{▼▼8:33 Peter did not understand that God wanted Jesus to die for us. Satan wanted Peter to stop Jesus, so that Jesus would not obey God. That is why Jesus called him Satan.}

34 Then Jesus asked the crowd and his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘A person who wants to come along with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. And he must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come along with me. 35 Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me and God’s good news will have true life. 36 A person could get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, this would not be any good for him. 37 There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life. 38 People who are living today do not obey God. They are very bad. But you must not be ashamed of me or of my words. If you are, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you. One day he will return and God’s holy angels will be with him. He will have the beautiful power of his Father. He will be ashamed of you on that day if you are ashamed of him now.’