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Mark chapter 8

English Standard Version

1In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2"I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away." 4And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" 5And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." 6And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation." 13And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.
14Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." 16And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." 20"And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." 21And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?"
22And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?" 24And he looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees, walking." 25Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
27And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" 28And they told him, "John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets." 29And he asked them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Christ." 30And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
31And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."
34And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel 's will save it. 36For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
New International Version

1During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2"I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance."
4His disciples answered, "But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?"
5"How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied.
6He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. When he had taken the seven loaves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. 7They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. 8The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 9About four thousand were present. After he had sent them away, 10he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came and began to question Jesus. To test him, they asked him for a sign from heaven. 12He sighed deeply and said, "Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it." 13Then he left them, got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
14The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 15"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod."
16They discussed this with one another and said, "It is because we have no bread."
17Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember?
19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied.
20"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven."
21He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
24He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don’t even go into the village."
27Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
28They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."
29"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Messiah."
30Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns."
34Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."
New American Standard Bible

1In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus summoned His disciples and *said to them, 2I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me for three days already and have nothing to eat. 3And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.' 4And His disciples replied to Him, 'Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?' 5And He was asking them, 'How many loaves do you have?' And they said, 'Seven.' 6And He *directed the people to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve, and they served them to the people. 7They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He told the disciples to serve these as well. 8And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. 9About four thousand men were there; and He dismissed them. 10And immediately He got into the boat with His disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11And the Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, demanding from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. 12Sighing deeply in His spirit, He *said, 'Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!' 13And leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side.
14And the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15And He was giving orders to them, saying, 'Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.' 16And they began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17And Jesus, aware of this, *said to them, 'Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet comprehend or understand? Do you still have your heart hardened? 18HAVING EYES, DO YOU NOT SEE? AND HAVING EARS, DO YOU NOT HEAR? And do you not remember, 19when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?' They *said to Him, 'Twelve.' 20When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?' And they *said to Him, 'Seven.' 21And He was saying to them, 'Do you not yet understand?'
22And they *came to Bethsaida. And some people *brought a man who was blind to Jesus and *begged Him to touch him. 23Taking the man who was blind by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting in his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, 'Do you see anything?' 24And he looked up and said, 'I see people, for I see them like trees, walking around.' 25Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. 26And He sent him to his home, saying, 'Do not even enter the village.'
27Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, 'Who do people say that I am?' 28They told Him, saying, 'John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.' 29And He continued questioning them: 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and *said to Him, 'You are the Christ.' 30And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
31And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead. 32And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, 'Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but on man’s.'
34And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, 'If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? 38For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.'
Christian Standard Bible

1In those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called the disciples and said to them, 2"I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a long distance."
4His disciples answered him, "Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed these people?"
5"How many loaves do you have?" he asked them. "Seven," they said. 6He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. 7They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. 8They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. 10And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign from heaven to test him. 12Sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, "Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation." 13Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
14The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15Then he gave them strict orders: "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." 16They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17Aware of this, he said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts? 18Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear? And do you not remember?
19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?" "Twelve," they told him.
20"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?" "Seven," they said.
21And he said to them, "Don’t you understand yet?"
22They came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?"
24He looked up and said, "I see people—they look like trees walking."
25Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26Then he sent him home, saying, "Don’t even go into the village."
27Jesus 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?"
28They answered him, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets."
29"But you," he asked them, "who do you say that I am?" Peter answered him, "You are the Messiah." 30And he strictly warned them to tell no one about him.
31Then he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and rise after three days. 32He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns."
34Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me and the gospel will save it. 36For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life? 37What can anyone give in exchange for his life? 38For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
New Living Translation

1About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, 2I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. 3If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.'
4His disciples replied, 'How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?'
5Jesus asked, 'How much bread do you have?' 'Seven loaves,' they replied.
6So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. 7A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.
8They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 9There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. 10Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.
11When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.
12When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, 'Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.' 13So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake.
14But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, 'Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.'
16At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, 'Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18‘You have eyes — can’t you see? You have ears — can’t you hear?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
19When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?' 'Twelve,' they said.
20And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?' 'Seven,' they said.
21Don’t you understand yet?' he asked them.
22When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. 23Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, 'Can you see anything now?'
24The man looked around. 'Yes,' he said, 'I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.'
25Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Don’t go back into the village on your way home.'
27Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, 'Who do people say I am?'
28Well,' they replied, 'some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.'
29Then he asked them, 'But who do you say I am?' Peter replied, 'You are the Messiah. '
30But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
33Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. 'Get away from me, Satan!' he said. 'You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.'
34Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37Is anything worth more than your soul? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.'
King James Version

1In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
2I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat: 3And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far. 4And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? 5And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people. 7And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them. 8So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away. 10And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
11And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him. 12And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
13And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
14Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. 15And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. 17And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? 19When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. 21And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
22And he cometh to Bethsaida: and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. 23And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw aught. 24And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. 26And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
27And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elijah; and others, One of the prophets. 29And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
31And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. 34And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 35For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. 36For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
New King James Version

1In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, 2“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.”
4Then His disciples answered Him, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”
5He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.”
6So 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. 7They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. 8So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. 9Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, 10immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”
13And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
16And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “ It is because we have no bread.”
17But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
19When 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, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.”
21So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
22Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.
24And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”
25Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
27Now 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?”
28So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”
29He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
30Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
31And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”
34When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38For whoever 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.”

What does Mark chapter 8 mean?

Mark 8 runs in a loose parallel of Mark 6:31–7:37. Jesus performs a mass feeding (Mark 8:1–9; Mark 6:31–44), publicly disagrees with the religious leaders (Mark 8:10–21; Mark 7:1–23), and performs a healing miracle that the Old Testament associates with the Messiah (Mark 8:22–26; Mark 7:31–37).

Jesus had taken His disciples—apparently more than just the Twelve—into Gentile territory, presumably in an attempt to find a quiet place to teach. In Mark 7, they traveled northwest of Capernaum to the region of Tyre (Mark 7:24), then continued farther north to Sidon (Mark 7:31). Now they are in the district east of the Sea of Galilee.

While in Tyre, Jesus had set a tableau to show that He has come for the Gentiles as well as the Jews, even if said Gentiles interrupt their private meeting. Now, He continues the theme by serving a meal for a mixed group of four-thousand-plus Gentiles and Jews in Decapolis. The Pharisees had condemned the disciples for neglecting to wash their hands before meals in case the food had touched something unclean (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus provides food for Gentiles—the worst of all unclean things. The disciples, however, wonder how they will feed all the people, having forgotten that Jesus fed an even larger crowd outside Bethsaida (Mark 6:31–44).

From Decapolis, Jesus and the disciples return by boat to the west coast of the Sea of Galilee. The Pharisees renew their attack, demanding a sign that Jesus' authority comes from God and not Satan (Mark 3:22). They do not mean the miracles Jesus has performed, but something that unquestionably proves He is the Messiah come to liberate Israel. In Mark's account, Jesus leaves them with nothing, but in Matthew Jesus tells them they haven't read the signs they've already received, and they won't get another except one related to Jonah (Matthew 16:1–4).

Jesus promptly takes His disciples back to the boat. He tries to express to the disciples that the beliefs of the Pharisees and Herod's followers are like tiny bits of leaven that, if they're not careful, will permeate their belief systems, as a little yeast makes a whole loaf of bread rise. The disciples completely miss the point and translate His warning into frustration that they have forgotten to bring more than one loaf of bread. Jesus drops the larger message and reminds them that He is more than capable of turning a single loaf of bread into a meal for all of them.

In Bethsaida, Jesus heals a blind man—another miracle that is identified in the Old Testament as a sign of the Messiah. The disciples respond by declaring that Jesus is the Messiah. Unfortunately, they don't know what the Messiah is. Jesus clearly explains that the Messiah's eternal reign as prophesied in the Old Testament will not come yet. First, He will have to die and be resurrected. Next, His followers will have to be willing to make a similar sacrifice.

Mark 8 is a kind of fulcrum in the ministry of Jesus. Next, James, John, and Peter will witness His transfiguration. In chapters 9 and 10, He will again warn them of His impending sacrifice. Chapter 11 begins with the Triumphal Entry which marks the beginning of Passion Week. Throughout this time, Jesus will intensify His teaching to prepare the disciples for their roles in the early church. Eventually, they will begin to understand.
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