Mar 8 | HCSB | STEP | In those days there was again a large crowd , and they had nothing to eat . He summoned the disciples and said to them ,

Mark 8

Feeding 4,000

1 In ^a those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He summoned ^b the disciples ^c and said to them, 2 “I have compassion ^d on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, ^{▼▼Or fasting} they will collapse on the way, ^f and some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples answered Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to fill ^g these people?”

5 “How many loaves do you have?” He asked them.“Seven,” they said. 6 Then He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke ^h the loaves, and kept on giving them to His disciples to set before the people. So they served the loaves to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and when He had blessed them, He said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were filled. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About 4,000 men were there. He dismissed them 10 and immediately got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. ^{▼▼Probably on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee}

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

11 The ^j ^{▼▼Pharisee(s): In Judaism a religious sect that followed the whole written and oral law}Pharisees ^l came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign ^m from heaven ⁿ to test ^o Him. 12 But sighing deeply in His spirit, ^p He said, “Why does this generation ^q demand a sign? ^{▼▼I assure you: This is a phrase used only by Jesus to testify to the certainty and importance of His words; in Mt, Mk and Lk it is literally Amen, I say to you, and in Jn it is literally Amen, amen, I say to you.}I assure you: ^s No sign will be given to this generation!” 13 Then He left them, got on board the boat again, and went to the other side.

14 They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then ^t He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast ^u of the Pharisees and the yeast of ^{▼▼Herod/Herodians: The name of the Idumean family ruling Palestine from 37 b.c. to a.d. 95; the main rulers from this family mentioned in the NT are: Herod Antipas(4 b.c.-a.d. 39) son of Herod the Great; ruled one-fourth of his father's kingdom (Galilee and Perea); killed John the Baptist and mocked Jesus; Herod I (37 b.c.-4 b.c.) also known as Herod the Great; built the great temple in Jerusalem and massacred the male babies in Bethlehem; Herod Agrippa I (A.D. 3744) The grandson of Herod the Great; he beheaded James the apostle and imprisoned Peter; Herod Agrippa II (A.D. 52ca 95) The great-grandson of Herod the Great; he heard Paul's defense. Herodians were political supporters of Herod the Great and his family}Herod.” ^w

16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened? ^x 18 Do you have eyes, and not see, and do you have ears, and not hear? ^{y
,} ^z And do you not remember? ^aa 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”“Twelve,” they told Him.

20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”“Seven,” they said.

21 And He said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” ^ab

Healing a Blind Man

22 Then they came to Bethsaida. ^ac They brought a blind ^ad man to Him and begged Him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting ^ae on his eyes and laying His hands on ^af him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people – they look to me like trees walking.” ^ag

25 Again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw distinctly. He was cured and could see everything clearly. 26 Then He sent ^ah him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” ^{▼▼Other mss add or tell anyone in the village
,} ^aj

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

27 Jesus ^ak went out with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

28 They answered Him, “John the Baptist; ^al others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” ^am

29 “But you,” He asked them again, “who do you say that I am?”Peter ^an answered Him, “You are the ^{▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".}Messiah!” ^ap

30 And He strictly warned ^aq them to tell no one about Him.

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

31 Then ^ar He began to teach them that the ^{▼▼Son of Man: The most frequent title Jesus used for Himself; Dn 7:13}Son of Man ^at must suffer many things and be rejected ^au by the elders, ^av the ^{▼▼chief priest(s): A group of Jewish temple officers that included the highpriest, captain of the temple, temple overseers, and treasurers}chief priests, and the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes, ^ay be killed, and rise ^az after three days. ^ba 32 He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

33 But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan, ^bb because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, ^{▼▼Lit about the things of God} but man’s!”

Take Up Your Cross

34 Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, ^bd take up his cross, ^be and follow Me. ^bf 35 For whoever wants to save ^bg his ^{▼▼life/soul: The Greek word psyche can be translated life or soul.}life will lose it, ^bi but whoever loses ^bj his life ^bk because of Me ^bl and the gospel ^bm will save it. ^bn 36 For what does it benefit ^bo a man to gain ^bp the whole world ^bq yet lose ^br his life? ^bs 37 What can a man give in exchange for his life? ^bt 38 For whoever is ashamed ^bu of Me and of My words ^bv in this adulterous and sinful ^bw generation, ^bx the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory ^by of His Father ^bz with the holy ^ca angels.” ^cb