Mark 8
8
1 In those days, again, when there was a great crowd, and they did not have anything to eat, calling together his disciples, he said to them:
2 "I have compassion for the multitude, because, behold, they have persevered with me now for three days, and they do not have anything to eat.
3 And if I were to send them away fasting to their home, they might faint on the way." For some of them came from far away.
4 And his disciples answered him, "From where would anyone be able to obtain enough bread for them in the wilderness?"
5 And he questioned them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."
6 And he instructed the crowd to sit down to eat on the ground. And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, he broke and gave it to his disciples in order to place before them. And they placed these before the crowd.
7 And they had a few small fish. And he blessed them, and he ordered them to be placed before them.
8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up what had been leftover from the fragments: seven baskets.
9 And those who ate were about four thousand. And he dismissed them.
10 And promptly climbing into a boat with his disciples, he went into the parts of Dalmanutha.
11 And the Pharisees went out and began to contend with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, testing him.
12 And sighing deeply in spirit, he said: "Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, if only a sign will be given to this generation!"
13 And sending them away, he climbed into the boat again, and he went away across the sea.
14 And they forgot to take bread. And they did not have any with them in the boat, except one loaf.
15 And he instructed them, saying: "Consider and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the leaven of Herod."
16 And they discussed this with one another, saying, "For we have no bread."
17 And Jesus, knowing this, said to them: "Why do you consider that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet know or understand? Do you still have blindness in your heart?
18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember,
19 when I broke the five loves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments you took up?" They said to him, "Twelve."
20 "And when the seven loaves were among the four thousand, how many baskets of fragments did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven."
21 And he said to them, "How is it that you do not yet understand?"
22 And they went to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to him. And they petitioned him, so that he would touch him.
23 And taking the blind man by the hand, he led him beyond the village. And putting spit on his eyes, laying his hands on him, he asked him if he could see anything.
24 And looking up, he said, "I see men but they are like walking trees."
25 Next he placed his hands again over his eyes, and he began to see. And he was restored, so that he could see everything clearly.
26 And he sent him to his house, saying, "Go into your own house, and if you enter into the town, tell no one."
27 And Jesus departed with his disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way, he questioned his disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"
28 And they answered him by saying: "John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others perhaps one of the prophets."
29 Then he said to them, "Yet truly, who do you say that I am?" Peter responded by saying to him, "You are the Christ."
30 And he admonished them, not to tell anyone about him.
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and by the high priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
32 And he spoke the word openly. And Peter, taking him aside, began to correct him.
33 And turning away and looking at his disciples, he admonished Peter, saying, "Get behind me, Satan, for you do not prefer the things that are of God, but the things that are of men."
34 And calling together the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone chooses to follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whoever will have chosen to save his life, will lose it. But whoever will have lost his life, for my sake and for the Gospel, shall save it.
36 For how does it benefit a man, if he gains the whole world, and yet causes harm to his soul?
37 Or, what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 For whoever has been ashamed of me and of my words, among this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he will arrive in the glory of his Father, with the holy Angels."
39 And he said to them, "Amen I say to you, that there are some among those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God arriving in power."
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Mark 8
8
A Meal for Four Thousand
1-3At about this same time he again found himself with a hungry crowd on his hands. He called his disciples together and said, “This crowd is breaking my heart. They have stuck with me for three days, and now they have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they’ll faint along the way—some of them have come a long distance.”
4His disciples responded, “What do you expect us to do about it? Buy food out here in the desert?”
5He asked, “How much bread do you have?”
“Seven loaves,” they said.
6-10So Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. After giving thanks, he took the seven bread loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his disciples so they could hand them out to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He pronounced a blessing over the fish and told his disciples to hand them out as well. The crowd ate its fill. Seven sacks of leftovers were collected. There were well over four thousand at the meal. Then he sent them home. He himself went straight to the boat with his disciples and set out for Dalmanoutha.
11-12When they arrived, the Pharisees came out and started in on him, badgering him to prove himself, pushing him up against the wall. Provoked, he said, “Why does this generation clamor for miraculous guarantees? If I have anything to say about it, you’ll not get so much as a hint of a guarantee.”
Contaminating Yeast
13-15He then left them, got back in the boat, and headed for the other side. But the disciples forgot to pack a lunch. Except for a single loaf of bread, there wasn’t a crumb in the boat. Jesus warned, “Be very careful. Keep a sharp eye out for the contaminating yeast of Pharisees and the followers of Herod.”
16-19Meanwhile, the disciples were finding fault with each other because they had forgotten to bring bread. Jesus overheard and said, “Why are you fussing because you forgot bread? Don’t you see the point of all this? Don’t you get it at all? Remember the five loaves I broke for the five thousand? How many baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”
They said, “Twelve.”
20“And the seven loaves for the four thousand—how many bags full of leftovers did you get?”
“Seven.”
21He said, “Do you still not get it?”
22-23They arrived at Bethsaida. Some people brought a sightless man and begged Jesus to give him a healing touch. Taking him by the hand, he led him out of the village. He put spit in the man’s eyes, laid hands on him, and asked, “Do you see anything?”
24-26He looked up. “I see men. They look like walking trees.” So Jesus laid hands on his eyes again. The man looked hard and realized that he had recovered perfect sight, saw everything in bright, twenty-twenty focus. Jesus sent him straight home, telling him, “Don’t enter the village.”
The Messiah
27Jesus and his disciples headed out for the villages around Caesarea Philippi. As they walked, he asked, “Who do the people say I am?”
28“Some say ‘John the Baptizer,’” they said. “Others say ‘Elijah.’ Still others say ‘one of the prophets.’”
29He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”
Peter gave the answer: “You are the Christ, the Messiah.”
30-32a Jesus warned them to keep it quiet, not to breathe a word of it to anyone. He then began explaining things to them: “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the elders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and after three days rise up alive.” He said this simply and clearly so they couldn’t miss it.
32b-33 But Peter grabbed him in protest. Turning and seeing his disciples wavering, wondering what to believe, Jesus confronted Peter. “Peter, get out of my way! Satan, get lost! You have no idea how God works.”
34-37Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?
38“If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I’m leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you’ll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels.”
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.