Mark 8–9

8TH CHAPTER

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand—Matthew 15:32–39

¹About that time there was once again a large crowd with nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ²“I feel sorry for the people. They have been with me three days now and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them home before they’ve eaten, they will become exhausted on the road. Some of them have come a long distance.” 

⁴His disciples asked him, “Where could anyone get enough bread to feed these people in this place where no one lives?” 

⁵Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” 

They answered, “Seven.” 

⁶He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves and gave thanks to God. Then he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples to serve to the people. ⁷They also had a few small fish. He blessed them and said that the fish should also be served to the people. ⁸The people ate as much as they wanted. The disciples picked up the leftover pieces and filled seven large baskets. ⁹About four thousand people were there. Then he sent the people on their way. 

¹⁰After that, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat and went into the region of Dalmanutha. 

The Pharisees Ask for a Sign from Heaven—Matthew 16:1–4

¹¹The Pharisees went to Jesus and began to argue with him. They tested him by demanding that he perform a miraculous sign from heaven. 

¹²With a deep sigh he asked, “Why do these people demand a sign? I can guarantee this truth: If these people are given a sign, it will be far different than what they want!” 

¹³Then he left them there. 

The Yeast of the Pharisees—Matthew 16:5–12

He got into a boat again and crossed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. ¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to take any bread along and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 

¹⁵Jesus warned them, “Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod!” 

¹⁶They had been discussing with one another that they didn’t have any bread. 

¹⁷Jesus knew what they were saying and asked them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you don’t have any bread? Don’t you understand yet? Don’t you catch on? Are your minds closed? ¹⁸Are you blind and deaf? Don’t you remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces?” 

They told him, “Twelve.” 

²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many large baskets did you fill with leftover pieces?” 

They answered him, “Seven.” 

²¹He asked them, “Don’t you catch on yet?” 

Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man

²²As they came to Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus. They begged Jesus to touch him. ²³Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. He spit into the man’s eyes and placed his hands on him. Jesus asked him, “Can you see anything?” 

²⁴The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees walking around.” 

²⁵Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes a second time, and the man saw clearly. His sight was normal again. He could see everything clearly even at a distance. ²⁶Jesus told him when he sent him home, “Don’t go into the village.” 

Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus—Matthew 16:13–20; Luke 9:18–21

²⁷Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?” 

²⁸They answered him, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” 

²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 

Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah!” 

³⁰He ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 

Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 16:21–23; Luke 9:22

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He taught them that he would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but after three days he would come back to life. ³²He told them very clearly what he meant. 

Peter took him aside and objected to this. ³³Jesus turned, looked at his disciples, and objected to what Peter said. Jesus said, “Get out of my way, Satan! You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.” 

What It Means to Follow Jesus—Matthew 16:24–28; Luke 9:23–27

³⁴Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples. He said to them, “Those who want to follow me must say no to the things they want, pick up their crosses, and follow me. ³⁵Those who want to save their lives will lose them. But those who lose their lives for me and for the Good News will save them. ³⁶What good does it do for people to win the whole world yet lose their lives? ³⁷Or what should a person give in exchange for life? ³⁸If people are ashamed of me and what I say in this unfaithful and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of those people when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” 

9TH CHAPTER

¹He said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Some people who are standing here will not die until they see the kingdom of God arrive with power.” 

Moses and Elijah Appear with Jesus—Matthew 17:1–8; Luke 9:28–36

²After six days Jesus took only Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain where they could be alone. 

Jesus’ appearance changed in front of them. ³His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone on earth could bleach them. ⁴Then Elijah and Moses appeared to them and were talking with Jesus. 

⁵Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it’s good that we’re here. Let’s put up three tents—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶(Peter didn’t know how to respond. He and the others were terrified.) 

⁷Then a cloud overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud and said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 

⁸Suddenly, as they looked around, they saw no one with them but Jesus. 

⁹On their way down the mountain, Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what they had seen. They were to wait until the Son of Man had come back to life. ¹⁰They kept in mind what he said but argued among themselves what he meant by “come back to life.” ¹¹So they asked him, “Don’t the experts in Moses’ Teachings say that Elijah must come first?” 

¹²Jesus said to them, “Elijah is coming first and will put everything in order again. But in what sense was it written that the Son of Man must suffer a lot and be treated shamefully? ¹³Indeed, I can guarantee that Elijah has come. Yet, people treated him as they pleased, as Scripture says about him.” 

Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Boy—Matthew 17:14–20; Luke 9:37–43a

¹⁴When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them. Some experts in Moses’ Teachings were arguing with them. ¹⁵All the people were very surprised to see Jesus and ran to welcome him. 

¹⁶Jesus asked the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “What are you arguing about with them?” 

¹⁷A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son. He is possessed by a spirit that won’t let him talk. ¹⁸Whenever the spirit brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes exhausted. I asked your disciples to force the spirit out, but they didn’t have the power to do it.” 

¹⁹Jesus said to them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” 

²⁰They brought the boy to him. As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into convulsions. He fell on the ground, rolled around, and foamed at the mouth. 

²¹Jesus asked his father, “How long has he been like this?” 

The father replied, “He has been this way since he was a child. ²²The demon has often thrown him into fire or into water to destroy him. If it’s possible for you, put yourself in our place, and help us!” 

²³Jesus said to him, “As far as possibilities go, everything is possible for the person who believes.” 

²⁴The child’s father cried out at once, “I believe! Help my lack of faith.” 

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he gave an order to the evil spirit. He said, “You spirit that won’t let him talk, I command you to come out of him and never enter him again.” 

²⁶The evil spirit screamed, shook the child violently, and came out. The boy looked as if he were dead, and everyone said, “He’s dead!” 

²⁷Jesus took his hand and helped him to stand up. 

²⁸When Jesus went into a house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we force the spirit out of the boy?” 

²⁹He told them, “This kind of spirit can be forced out only by prayer.”^a

Jesus Again Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life—Matthew 17:22–23; Luke 9:43b–45

³⁰They left that place and were passing through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was ³¹because he was teaching his disciples. He taught them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over to people. They will kill him, but on the third day he will come back to life.” 

³²The disciples didn’t understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him. 

Greatness in the Kingdom—Matthew 18:1–5; Luke 9:46–48

³³Then they came to Capernaum. While Jesus was at home, he asked the disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?” ³⁴They were silent. On the road they had argued about who was the greatest. 

³⁵He sat down and called the twelve apostles. He told them, “Whoever wants to be the most important person must take the last place and be a servant to everyone else.” ³⁶Then he took a little child and had him stand among them. He put his arms around the child and said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me. Whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” 

Using the Name of Jesus—Luke 9:49–50

³⁸John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone forcing demons out of a person by using the power and authority of your name. We tried to stop him because he was not one of us.” 

³⁹Jesus said, “Don’t stop him! No one who works a miracle in my name can turn around and speak evil of me. ⁴⁰Whoever isn’t…