Mark 8–9

Four Thousand are Fed

Matt. 15:32–38

8In those days, ^athe multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, ²“I have ^bcompassion 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?”

^5cHe 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 ^dhaving 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, ^10eimmediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Pharisees Seek a Sign

Matt. 15:39–16:4

^11fThen the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. ¹²But He ^gsighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, ^hno sign shall be given to this generation.”

¹³And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.

Disciples Do Not Understand

Matt. 16:5–12

¹⁴ⁱNow ¹the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. ^15jThen He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the ²leaven 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? ^kDo you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart ³still hardened? ¹⁸Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ^19lWhen 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, ^mwhen 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 ⁿyou do not understand?”

A Blind Man is Healed

²²Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a ^oblind man to Him, and begged Him to ^ptouch him. ²³So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when ^qHe 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, ⁴ “Neither go into the town, ^rnor tell anyone in the town.”

Peter’s Confession of Christ

Matt. 16:13–23; Luke 9:18–22

^27sNow 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, ^t“John the Baptist; but some say, ^uElijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to Him, ^v“You are the Christ.”

^30wThen He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

³¹And ^xHe began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be ^yrejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be ^zkilled, 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 ^arebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not ⁵mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Cost of Discipleship

Matt. 16:24–27; Luke 9:22–26

³⁴When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ^b“Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵For ^cwhoever 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? ^38dFor whoever ^eis 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.”

The Transfiguration

Matt. 16:28–17:3; Luke 9:27–36

9And He said to them, ^a“Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see ^bthe kingdom of God ¹present with power.”

^2cNow after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. ³His clothes became shining, exceedingly ^dwhite, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them. ⁴And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—⁶because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

⁷And a ^ecloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is ^fMy beloved Son. ^gHear Him!” ⁸Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

^9hNow as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰So they kept this word to themselves, questioning ⁱwhat the rising from the dead meant.

¹¹And they asked Him, saying, “Why do the scribes say ^jthat Elijah must come first?”

¹²Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And ^khow is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and ^lbe treated with contempt? ¹³But I say to you that ^mElijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

Demon-Possessed Son is Delivered

Matt. 17:14–21; Luke 9:37–42

¹⁴ⁿAnd when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. ¹⁵Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. ¹⁶And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

¹⁷Then ^oone of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. ¹⁸And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

¹⁹He answered him and said, “O ^pfaithless ²generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I ³bear with you? Bring him to Me.” ²⁰Then they brought him to Him. And ^qwhen he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

²¹So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”

And he said, “From childhood. ²²And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

²³Jesus said to him, ^r“If ⁴you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; ^shelp my unbelief!”

²⁵When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He ^trebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” ²⁶Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” ²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

^28uAnd when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁹So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but ^vprayer ⁵and fasting.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

Matt. 17:22, 23; Luke 9:43–45

³⁰Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. ^31wFor He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will ^xkill Him. And after He is killed, He will ^yrise the third day.” ³²But they ^zdid not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

Attitude of Servanthood

Matt. 18:1–5; Luke 9:46–50

^33aThen He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you ⁶disputed among yourselves on the road?” ³⁴But they kept silent, for on the road they had ^bdisputed among themselves who would be the ^cgreatest. ³⁵And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ^d “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶Then ^eHe took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷“Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and ^fwhoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”

^38gNow John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.”

³⁹But Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, ^hfor no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me. ⁴⁰For ⁱhe who is not against ⁷us is on ⁸our side. ^41jFor whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.

Warning About Hell

Matt. 18:6–9

^42k“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me ⁹to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck,…