Mark 8

Mark 8:1

T. Feeding of the Four Thousand (8:1-10) 8:1-9 This miracle resembles the feeding of the five thousand, yet notice the differences in the chart below:

THE FIVE THOUSANDTHE FOUR THOUSAND1. The people were Jews (see Joh_6:14-15). 1. The people were probably Gentiles (they lived in Decapolis). 2. The multitude had been with Jesus one day (Mar_6:35)2. This crowd had been with Him three days (8:2). 3. Jesus used five loaves and two fish (Mat_14:17)3.

He used seven loaves and a few small fish (8:5, 7). 4. Five thousand men, plus women and children were fed (Mat_14:21). 4. Four thousand men, plus women and children were fed (Mat_15:38). 5. The surplus filled twelve hand baskets (Mat_14:20)5. The surplus filled seven wicker baskets or hampers (8:8). The less Jesus had to work with, the more He accomplished and the more He had left over.

In chapter 7, we saw crumbs falling from the table to a Gentile woman. Here a multitude of Gentiles is fed abundantly. Erdman comments: The first miracle in this period intimated that crumbs of bread might fall from the table for the needy Gentiles; here they may be an intimation that Jesus, rejected by His own people, is to give His life for the world, and is to be the living Bread for all nations. There is a danger in treating incidents like the feeding of the four thousand as insignificant repetition. We should approach Bible study with the conviction that every word of Scripture is filled with spiritual truth, even if we can’t see it at our present state of understanding. 8:10 From Decapolis, Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee to the west side, to a place called Dalmanutha (Magdala in Mat_15:39).

Mark 8:11

U. The Pharisees Seek a Sign From Heaven (8:11-13) 8:11 The Pharisees were awaiting Him, demanding a sign from heaven. Their blindness and boldness were enormous. Standing in front of them was the greatest Sign of allthe Lord Jesus Himself. He was truly a Sign who had come from heaven, but they had no appreciation for Him. They heard His matchless words, saw His wonderful miracles, came in contact with an absolutely sinless ManGod manifest in the fleshyet in their blindness asked for a sign from heaven! 8:12, 13 No wonder the Savior sighed deeply! If any generation in the history of the world was privileged, it was the Jewish generation of which those Pharisees were a part. Yet, blind to the clearest evidence that the Messiah had appeared, they asked for a miracle in the heavens rather than on earth. Jesus was saying, There won’t be any more signs. You’ve had your chance. Getting into the boat again, they sailed eastward.

Mark 8:14

V. The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod (8:14-21) 8:14, 15 During the journey the disciples had forgotten to take bread along. Jesus was still thinking of His encounter with the Pharisees, however, when He warned them against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Leaven in the Bible is a consistent type of evil, spreading slowly and quietly and affecting everything it touches. The leaven of the Pharisees includes hypocrisy, ritualism, self-righteousness and bigotry. The Pharisees made great outward pretensions of sanctity but were inwardly corrupt and unholy. The leaven of Herod may include skepticism, immorality and worldliness. The Herodians were conspicuous for these sins. 8:16-21 The disciples completely missed the point. All they could think of was food. So He directed nine rapid questions to them. The first five reproved them for their obtuseness. The last four rebuked them for worrying about the supply of their needs as long as He was with them. Had He not fed five thousand with five loaves, leaving twelve baskets over? Yes! Had He not fed four thousand with seven loaves, leaving seven hampersful over? Yes, He had. Then why did they not understand that He was abundantly able to supply the needs of a handful of disciples in a boat? Didn’t they realize that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe was in the boat with them?

Mark 8:22

W. Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida (8:22-26) This miracle, found only in Mark, raises several interesting questions. First, why did Jesus lead the man out of the town before healing him? Why didn’t He heal by simply touching the man? Why use such an unconventional means as saliva? Why didn’t the man receive perfect sight immediately? (This is the only cure in the Gospels which took place in stages.) Finally, why did Jesus forbid the man to tell about the miracle in the town? Our Lord is sovereign and is not obligated to account to us for His actions.

There was a valid reason for everything He did, even though we might not perceive it. Every case of healing is different, as is every case of conversion. Some gain remarkable spiritual sight as soon as they are converted. Others see dimly at first, then later enter into full assurance of salvation.

Mark 8:27

X. Peter’s Great Confession (8:27-30) The last two paragraphs of this chapter bring us to the high water mark of the training of the twelve. The disciples needed to have a deep, personal appreciation of who Jesus is before He could share with them the pathway ahead and invite them to follow Him in a life of devotion and sacrifice. This passage brings us to the heart of discipleship. It is perhaps the most neglected area in Christian thought and practice today. 8:27, 28 Jesus and His disciples sought solitude in the far north. On the way to Caesarea Philippi, He opened the subject by asking what public opinion said of Him. In general, men were acknowledging Him to be a great manequal to John the Baptist, Elijah or other prophets. But man’s honor is actually dishonor. If Jesus is not God, then He is a deceiver, a madman, or a legend. There is no other possibility. 8:29, 30 Then the Lord pointedly asked the disciples for their evaluation of Him. Peter promptly declared Him to be the Christ, that is, the Messiah, or the Anointed One. Intellectually, Peter had known this. But something had happened in his life so that now there was a profound, personal conviction. Life could never be the same again. Peter could never be satisfied with a self-centered existence. If Christ was the Messiah, then Peter must live for Him in total abandonment.

Mark 8:31

Y. The Servant Predicts His Death and Resurrection (8:31-38) Thus far we have watched the Servant of Jehovah in a life of incessant service for others. We have seen Him hated by His enemies and misunderstood by His friends. We have seen a life of dynamic power, of moral perfection, of utter love and humility. 8:31 But the path of service to God leads on to suffering and death. So the Savior now told the disciples plainly that He must (1) suffer; (2) be rejected; (3) be killed; (4) rise again. For Him the path to glory would lead first to the cross and the grave. The heart of service would be revealed in sacrifice, as F. W. Grant put it. 8:32, 33 Peter could not accept the idea that Jesus would have to suffer and die; that was contrary to his image of the Messiah. Neither did he want to think that his Lord and Master would be slain by His foes. He rebuked the Savior for suggesting such a thing. It was then that Jesus said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. Not that Jesus was accusing Peter of being Satan, or of being indwelt by Satan. He meant, You are talking like Satan would. He always tries to discourage us from wholly obeying God. He tempts us to take an easy path to the Throne. Peter’s words were Satanic in origin and content, and this caused the Lord’s indignation. Kelly comments: What was it that so roused our Lord? The very snare to which we are all so exposed: the desire of saving self; the preference of an easy path to the cross. Is it not true that we naturally like to escape trial, shame, and rejection; that we shrink from the suffering which doing God’s will, in such a world as this, must ever entail; that we prefer to have a quiet, respectable path in the earthin short, the best of both worlds? How easily one may be ensnared into this! Peter could not understand why the Messiah should go through all this path of sorrow. Had we been there, we might have said or thought yet worse. Peter’s remonstrance was not without strong human affection. He heartily loved the Savior too. But, unknown to himself, there was the un judged spirit of the world. Note that Jesus first looked at His disciples, then rebuked Peter, as if to say, If I do not go to the cross, how can these, My disciples, be saved?8:34 Then Jesus said to them in effect, I am going to suffer and die so that men might be saved. If you desire to come after Me, you must deny every selfish impulse, deliberately choose a pathway of reproach, suffering and death, and follow Me. You may have to forsake personal comforts, social enjoyments, earthly ties, grand ambitions, material riches, and even life itself. Words like these make us wonder how we can really believe that it is all right for us to live in luxury and ease. How can we justify the materialism, selfishness, and coldness of our hearts? His words call us to lives of self-denial, surrender, suffering, and sacrifice. 8:35 There is always the temptation to save our lifeto live comfortably, to provide for the future, to make one’s own choices, with self as the center of everything. There is no surer way of losing one’s life. Christ calls us to pour out our lives for His sake and the gospel’s, dedicating ourselves to Him spirit, soul, and body. He asks us to spend and be spent in His holy service, laying down our lives, if necessary, for the evangelization of the world. That is what is meant by losing our lives. There is no surer way of saving them. 8:36, 37 Even if a believer could gain all the world’s wealth during his lifetime, what good would it do him? He would have missed the opportunity of using his life for the glory of God and the salvation of the lost. It would be a bad bargain. Our lives are worth more than all the world has to offer. Shall we use them for Christ or for self? 8:38 Our Lord realized that some of His young disciples might be stumbled in the path of discipleship by the fear of shame. So He reminded them that those who seek to avoid reproach because of Him will suffer a greater shame when He returns to earth in power. What a thought! Soon our Lord is coming back to earth, this time not in humiliation, but in His own personal glory and in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels. It will be a scene of dazzling splendor. He will then be ashamed of those who are ashamed of Him now. May His words ashamed of Me … in this adulterous and sinful generation speak to our hearts. How incongruous to be ashamed of the sinless Savior in a world that is characterized by unfaithfulness and sinfulness!