Mark 8–9

Feeding 4,000

8In ^lthose days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He summoned ^mthe disciples ⁿand said to them, ²“I have compassion ^oon the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them home hungry, ^pthey will collapse on the way, ^qand some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to fill ^rthese people?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” He asked them.

“Seven,” they said. ⁶Then He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke ^sthe loaves, and kept on giving them to His disciples to set before the people. So they served the loaves to the crowd. ⁷They also had a few small fish, and when He had blessed them, He said these were to be served as well. ⁸They ate and were filled. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. ⁹About 4,000 men were there. He dismissed them ¹⁰and immediately got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. ^t

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

¹¹The ^uPharisees ^vcame out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign ^wfrom heaven ^xto test ^yHim. ¹²But sighing deeply in His spirit, ^zHe said, “Why does this generation ^ademand a sign? ^•I assure you: ^bNo sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³Then He left them, got on board the boat again, and went to the other side.

¹⁴They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵Then ^cHe commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast ^dof the Pharisees and the yeast of ^•Herod.” ^e

¹⁶They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. ¹⁷Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened? ^f18Do you have eyes, and not see, and do you have ears, and not hear? ^ghAnd do you not remember? ⁱ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”

“Twelve,” they told Him.

²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”

“Seven,” they said.

²¹And He said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” ^j

Healing a Blind Man

²²Then they came to Bethsaida. ^kThey brought a blind ^lman to Him and begged Him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting ^mon his eyes and laying His hands on ⁿhim, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people—they look to me like trees walking.” ^o

²⁵Again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw distinctly. He was cured and could see everything clearly. ²⁶Then He sent ^phim home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.” ^qr

Peter’s Confession of the Messiah

²⁷Jesus ^swent 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; ^tothers, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.” ^u

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

Peter ^vanswered Him, “You are the Messiah!” ^w

³⁰And He strictly warned ^xthem to tell no one about Him.

His Death and Resurrection Predicted

³¹Then ^yHe began to teach them that the Son of Man ^zmust suffer many things and be rejected ^aby the elders, ^bthe chief priests, and the scribes, ^cbe killed, and rise ^dafter three days. ^e32He was openly talking about this. So 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, ^fbecause you’re not thinking about God’s concerns, ^gbut man’s!”

Take Up Your Cross

³⁴Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself, ^htake up his cross, ⁱand follow Me. ^j35For whoever wants to save ^khis ^•life will lose it, ^lbut whoever loses ^mhis life ⁿbecause of Me ^oand the gospel ^pwill save it. ^q36For what does it benefit ^ra man to gain ^sthe whole world ^tyet lose ^uhis life? ^v37What can a man give in exchange for his life? ^w38For whoever is ashamed ^xof Me and of My words ^yin this adulterous and sinful ^zgeneration, ^athe Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory ^bof His Father ^cwith the holy ^dangels.” ^e

9Then He said to them, “^•I assure you: ^fThere are some standing here who will not taste death ^guntil they see the kingdom of God come in power.” ^h

The Transfiguration

²After ⁱsix days ^jJesus took Peter, James, and John ^kand led them up on a high mountain ^lby themselves to be alone. He was transformed ^mnin front of them, ³and His clothes ^obecame dazzling—extremely white ^pas no launderer on earth could whiten ^qthem. ⁴Elijah ^rappeared to them with Moses, ^sand they were talking with Jesus.

⁵Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, ^tit’s good ^ufor us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: ^vone for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— ⁶because he did not know what he should say, ^wsince they were terrified. ^x

⁷A cloud ^yappeared, overshadowing ^zthem, and a voice ^acame from the cloud: ^b

This is My beloved ^cSon; ^d

listen to Him! ^e

⁸Then suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.

⁹As ^fthey were coming down from the mountain, ^gHe ordered them to tell no one what they had seen ^huntil the Son of Man ⁱhad risen ^jfrom the dead. ^k10They kept this word ^lto themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹Then they began to question Him, “Why do the scribes ^msay that Elijah must come first?” ⁿ

¹²“Elijah does come first and restores ^oeverything,” ^pHe replied. “How then is it written ^qabout the Son of Man that He must suffer ^rmany things and be treated with contempt? ^s13But I tell you that Elijah really has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is written ^tabout him.”

The Power of Faith over a Demon

¹⁴When ^uthey came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputing ^vwith them. ¹⁵All of a sudden, when the whole crowd saw Him, they were amazed ^wand ran to greet Him. ¹⁶Then He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”

¹⁷Out of the crowd, one man answered Him, “Teacher, ^xI brought my son to You. He has a spirit ^ythat makes him unable to speak. ^z18Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I asked Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

¹⁹He replied to them, “You unbelieving ^ageneration! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰So they brought him to Him. When the spirit saw Him, it immediately convulsed the boy. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹“How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father.

“From childhood,” he said. ²²“And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroy ^bhim. But if You can do anything, have compassion ^con us and help us.”

²³Then Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can’? ^deEverything is possible ^fto the one who believes.” ^g

²⁴Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief.”

²⁵When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly coming together, He rebuked ^hthe unclean ⁱspirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf ^jspirit, ^kI command you: come out of him and never enter him again!”

²⁶Then it came out, shrieking and convulsing ^lhim ^mviolently. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” ²⁷But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him, ⁿand he stood up.

²⁸After He went into a house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

²⁹And He told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer ^o [and fasting].” ^pq

The Second Prediction of His Death

³⁰Then ^rthey left that place and made their way through Galilee, but He did not want anyone to know it. ^s31For He was teaching ^tHis disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man ^uis being betrayed ^vinto the hands of men. They will kill Him, and after He is killed, He will rise ^wthree days later.” ^x32But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him. ^y

Who is the Greatest?

³³Then ^zthey came to Capernaum. ^aWhen He was in the house, ^bHe asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” ^c34But they were silent, ^dbecause on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. ^e35Sitting down, He called the Twelve ^fand said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” ^g36Then He took a child, ^hhad him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷“Whoever welcomes ⁱone little child such as this in My name ^jwelcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent ^kMe.” ^l

In His Name

³⁸John ^msaid to Him, “Teacher, ⁿwe saw someone ^odriving out demons ^pin Your name, ^qand we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.” ^r

³⁹“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle ^sin My name who can soon afterward speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰For whoever is not against us is for us. ^t41And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink ^ubecause of My name, ^vsince you belong to the ^•Messiah ^w—I assure you: ^xHe will never lose his reward. ^y

Warnings from Jesus

⁴²“But whoever ^•causes the downfall of one of these little ones who believe in Me ^z—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone ^abwere hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. ⁴³And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. ^cIt is better for you to enter life maimed ^dthan to have two hands and go to ^•hell—the unquenchable fire, ^e[⁴⁴where

Their worm does not die,

and the fire is not quenched.] ^fgh

⁴⁵And if your foot causes your downfall, ⁱcut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame ^jthan to have two feet and be thrown into hell— [the…