Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:
(Mark 8:1) In those days the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, (2) "I have compassion on the multitude because they have now been with me three days and have nothing to eat."
At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had gone from the borders of Tyre and Sidon back to the Sea of Galilee through the borders of Decapolis. It was in the days He was there that a great multitude of people were with Him and had apparently been listening to Him teach for three days. He called His disciples to Him and told them that He had compassion on the multitude of people because they had been with Him so long and had nothing to eat.
(3) "And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them came from far."
Jesus told His disciples He did not want to send the people away back to their houses being so hungry as they might faint on the way, as some of them had come quite far.
(4) And His disciples answered Him, "From where can a man satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"
Remarkably, the disciples asked where they could get bread enough to satisfy the multitude out there in the wilderness. Had they not remembered how Jesus had fed so recently the five thousand? And even if this event had actually happened chronologically before the other, then they had forgotten at that time how Jesus fed the multitude.
(5) And He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."
Jesus asked them how many loaves they had, and they answered they had seven. For the first time I see significance in the number of loaves, seven. Seven has a spiritual meaning in the Bible; it represents completeness and fullness, even perfection. Even in the feeding of the five thousand, they had five loaves and two fishes equaling seven. In both instances, they had the perfect number to feed the multitudes.
(6) And He commanded the people to sit down on the ground, and He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, and broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
Jesus instructed the people to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves of bread and gave thanks for them. He then broke the bread and gave it to the disciples to set before the people, which they did.
(7) And they had a few small fish; and He blessed and commanded to set them also before them.
The disciples also had a few small fish, and Jesus took those, blessed them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
(8) So they ate and were filled, and they took up of what was left seven baskets.
The people ate and were filled, and when the disciples took up the leftovers, there were seven baskets full. Again that number of perfection. At the feeding of the five thousand, they had twelve baskets remaining. Twelve, of course, represents the twelve tribes of Israel and also means perfection and completeness.
(9) And those who had eaten were about four thousand; and He sent them away.
This time Jesus had miraculously fed four thousand. After they had eaten and were filled, He sent them away.
(10) And immediately He entered in a ship with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
After the multitude left, Jesus got onboard a ship, as they had been on the seashore. He and His disciples sailed to the region of Dalmanutha which was a city in the coasts of Magdala, which is where Matthew said they had sailed to in his account.
(11) And the Pharisees came forth and began to question Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.
The Pharisees there came to Jesus to question and test Him. They asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.
(12) And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek after a sign? Verily, I say to you there shall be no sign given to this generation."
Jesus sighed deeply in His soul, saddened by the hardness of the Pharisees' hearts, knowing they only sought to test Him, as they had already seen so many signs. He told them there would be no sign given to them. In Matthew's account, Jesus had added except for the sign of Jonah, which referred to His being in the tomb three days and then rising.
(13) And He left them, and entering into the ship again, departed to the other side.
Jesus left the Pharisees and returned to the ship and sailed toward the other side of the sea.
(14) Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they more than one loaf in the ship with them.
The disciples had forgotten to take bread with them on the ship, which apparently was their usual practice, as they might be at sea for days.
(15) And He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
Jesus spoke to the disciples, having just left the Pharisees, telling them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. In Matthew's account, Jesus had said the Pharisees and the Saducees. It is very probable He had said to beware of them all.
(16) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "Because we have no bread."
The disciples reasoned among themselves that it was because they had forgotten bread that Jesus was talking about food.
(17) And when Jesus knew it, He said to them, "Why do you reason, because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive, neither understand? Is your heart yet hardened?"
Jesus knew what they were saying and asked why they reasoned that He was talking about food. He asked if they still didn't understand and if their hearts were still too hard to perceive what He was talking about.
(18) "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?"
Jesus seemed quite exasperated with His disciples and continued, asking if they had eyes but could not see; they had eyes to see physically, but failed to see with their spirits and understand. He asked if they had ears but could not hear, meaning their spiritual ears that failed to hear. Jesus asked them if they didn't remember; they had seen and heard countless things from Him and should have been able to comprehend the spiritual things.
(19) "When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve."
Jesus then questioned the disciples about the recent miracles they had just witnessed. He asked about the time He broke five loaves of bread and fed five thousand with it. He asked how many baskets of leftovers they took up after the people had eaten their fill. They answered twelve.
(20) "And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."
Jesus then asked them about the most recent time He had just fed four thousand with seven loaves; how many baskets of leftovers had they taken up then? They answered seven.
(21) And He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"
Jesus asked His disciples how it was that they did not understand. His point was, of course, that they had no need to be worried about bread, and He certainly wouldn't be concerned about bread, the food, so why was it they had reasoned among themselves that He would be talking about food? How was it they couldn't understand He was talking about spiritual bread? The leaven He had been talking about was the false spiritual leaven of the hypocrites which like leaven would spread throughout the heart and soul and even a population.
(22) And He came to Bethsaida, and they brought a blind man to Him and beseeched Him to touch him.
Jesus came to Bethsaida, a fishing town on the Sea of Galilee. The account in John tells us it was the city of Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Some people brought a blind man to Him and begged Him to touch the man.
(23) And 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.
Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of town. He was either avoiding vain praise and glory, or perhaps because of the unbelief and hardened hearts of the people in this place, He did not wish to perform a miracle in their presence. Jesus was not about vain show, but did have mercy on and wish to heal this man. When they were out of town, Jesus spit on the blind man's eyes and put His hands on him and asked if he saw anything.
(24) And he looked up and said, "I see men as trees, walking."
The blind man told Jesus he could see men who looked like trees walking. From a distance, they all looked the same, but because of their motion, he was able to distinguish the men from the trees.
(25) After that He put His hands again on his eyes, and made him look up; and he was restored and saw every man clearly.
Jesus put His hands on the man's eyes again, and this time when the man looked up, his vision was perfectly restored and he could see every man clearly. Once again, we see Jesus heal in a different way. He could have merely spoken and the man would have been healed. He could have been healed the moment Jesus touched him. Why was this done in stages? I believe it was to show us there was no magic formula; we do not have to have Jesus physically touching us to heal us. Sometimes Jesus might use doctors to heal, and it might be a gradual healing, but the same miraculous result may occur. In addition, it was an illustration of spiritual blindness. A sinner is blind to the truth, and through the effects of religion and the Holy Spirit, begins to see, but at first not clearly. At first doctrines may seem mysterious and he cannot totally comprehend them. However, as he is converted and becomes a new man and has the Holy Spirit to guide him in all truth, he soon can see distinctly.
(26) And He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town nor tell anyone in the town."
Once again Jesus charged a recipient of His miraculous healing not to tell anyone about it, to go to his house and not to go into town. Once again we can assume that Jesus did not wish to give more fuel to the fire of the Pharisees' jealousy and bring their action before its time.
(27) And Jesus went out and His disciples into the towns of Caesarea Philippi, and by the way He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Whom do men say that I am?"
Then Jesus and His disciples went into the towns of Caesarea Philippi, so called because it was ruled by Philip the Tetrarch. On the way He asked His disciples whom men said that He was.
(28) And they answered, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets."
They answered by saying some said He was John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah, as they were expecting Elijah to come before the Messiah, and still others thought He was one of God's prophets, either one of the past come again, or a new prophet raised up by God.
(29) And He said to them, "But whom do you say that I am?" And Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."
Jesus then asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter answered that He was the Christ. In the account in Matthew, Jesus told Peter that he was blessed to know that because he could not have known by "flesh and blood," but only by Father God in heaven.
(30) And He charged them that they should tell no man about Him.
Jesus commanded His disciples not to tell anyone that fact, at least for the time being. He didn't want the people trying to set Him up as a king which was what many were expecting the coming Messiah to be, and He didn't want to provoke the anger of the scribes and Pharisees to try to destroy Him before His time.
(31) And He began to teach them that the Son must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Jesus then began to teach His disciples about what was to happen to Him on earth. He was going to have to suffer at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He would be killed, but after three days, He would rise again.
(32) And He spoke that word openly. And Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him.
Jesus spoke very openly and honestly to His disciples about what was to happen to Him. However, Peter, not liking what he was hearing about Jesus's suffering and death, took Him aside and began to argue that fact with Him. The account in Matthew told us Peter said that it would not happen that way to Him.
(33) But when He had turned about and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you don't savor the things that are of God, but the things that are of men."
I'm sure, as quite a surprise to Peter, Jesus turned and rebuked him, even seemingly called him Satan. In fact, Jesus was speaking to Satan who must have prompted Peter to say what he did. He told him he didn't speak the things of God, but only the selfish feelings of man; for, of course, we know God had a much greater purpose in mind.
(34) And when He had called the people to Him, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."
Jesus then called the people to Him that had been close by as they always seemed to be around Jesus. He also called His disciples to Him to hear this truth, that whoever desired to follow Him must be prepared to deny themselves of their worldly and selfish desires. They must deny their own wills and embrace the will of God, no matter what the painful consequences.
(35) "For whoever will save his life shall lose it, but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, he shall save it."
Jesus went on to tell them that whoever tried to save his own life by his own means would lose it. However, whoever gave up his life and his will for the sake of Christ and the gospel, he would save his life, even have an eternal life.
(36) "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
Jesus then asked rhetorically what good was it if a man had all the money and power and means to gain the entire world, but lost his soul in the process.
(37) "Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Jesus then posed another question, just what would a man give in exchange for his soul? All the riches and power in the world would only be a temporary thing, a blip in eternity. Was man willing to give his eternal soul in exchange for a brief worldly gain?
(38) "Whoever 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 comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
One of the reasons that the Jews rejected Jesus was that they were expecting a king to come save them in the traditional sense. Had He indeed come clothed in royal robes, He would probably have had a huge following, but most of them would have been hypocrites. Jesus came to the world in a lowly manner that the world might be saved by receiving His message and accepting His gift of redemption, not by adoration to a worldly king. If any man was ashamed of Him and His words because He was not a rich and beautiful worldly king, then he would be lost and condemned when the Lord returned to gather His saints. Jesus came in opposition to the ruler of the darkness of this world who deceives with worldly riches and power, so why would He have come in worldly riches and power? Salvation is in Him and His words alone, not in any worldly riches, power, or fame. Anyone who rejected that seemingly lowly person and message would be eternally lost. And should He die a lowly miserable death, words Peter had rejected, it did not diminish Him and His word; in fact, as Peter and all the disciples would learn, it is what brought salvation and victory over death when Jesus would triumphantly rise again.
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