Mark 8

¹During those days, when another large crowd had gathered and had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ²“My heart goes out to this crowd, because they have already stayed with me for 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 from a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered him, “Where could anyone get enough bread to satisfy these people here in this desolate place?”

⁵He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”“Seven,” they said.

⁶He directed the crowd to recline on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and kept giving them to his disciples to distribute; and they served them to the crowd. ⁷They also had a few small fish. After blessing them, he said to serve these as well. ⁸They ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven large cargo-baskets of leftover fragments. ⁹There were about four thousand people. Then he sent them away. ¹⁰Immediately, he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹The 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 tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³Leaving them, he got back into the boat and went to the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵He began giving them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

¹⁶They began discussing with one another that they had no bread. ¹⁷Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Is your heart petrified? ¹⁸Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many small baskets full of fragments did you pick up?”“Twelve,” they told him.

²⁰“And when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large cargo-baskets full of fragments did you pick up?” They said to him, “Seven.”

²¹He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

²²They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³Taking the blind man by the hand, he led him outside the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, Jesus asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴Looking up, the man said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again. The man peered intently, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly from a distance. ²⁶Jesus sent him home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

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

²⁸They told him, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to him, “You are the Anointed One.” ³⁰And he strictly warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹Then he began to teach them that the Son of Mankind must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scholars of the law, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²He was saying this quite plainly. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³But turning and looking at his disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not thinking God’s thoughts, but human thoughts.”

³⁴Calling the crowd to him along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow behind me, let them disown themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake and for the sake of the good news will save it. ³⁶For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? ³⁷For what could a person give in exchange for their life? ³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Mankind will also be ashamed of them when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”