Mark 8

Mark 8 is the eighth of the sixteen chapters of the Gospel of Mark. It follows chapter 7, which recounts Jesus healing the sick as he traveled through Gentile territory and the Decapolis. Peter's confession and the first passion prediction, beginning at verse 27, are commonly read as the turning point at which the Galilean ministry gives way to the journey toward Jerusalem.

Outline

• Verses 1–10 Jesus feeds a crowd that has been with him for three days, using seven loaves and a few small fishes. About four thousand people eat, and seven baskets of leftover fragments are gathered (Feeding of the Four Thousand). He then goes to the region of Dalmanutha.
• Verses 11–13 When the Pharisees demand a sign from heaven, he declares that no sign will be given to this generation.
• Verses 14–21 He warns against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. When the disciples reason among themselves about having no bread, he reminds them of the feeding of the five thousand and of the four thousand.
• Verses 22–26 At Bethsaida he heals a blind man by laying his hands on the man's eyes twice.
• Verses 27–30 On the way to Caesarea Philippi, Peter confesses, "Thou art the Christ."
• Verses 31–33 For the first time he teaches that the Son of Man must suffer, be killed, and after three days rise again. He rebukes Peter, who tries to dissuade him.
• Verses 34–38 He teaches that whoever would follow him must deny himself and take up his cross.

Key Verses

• Mark 8:29, "Thou art the Christ": the first time a disciple confesses who Jesus is.
• Mark 8:31: the first prediction of the passion and resurrection.
• Mark 8:34, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross": widely quoted as a summary of the way of discipleship.

People and Places

• Jesus
• Peter: one of the Twelve Disciples, who in this chapter makes the confession on behalf of the disciples.
• Herod: generally understood here to be Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee.
• Dalmanutha: a place on the shore of the Sea of Galilee whose exact location is unknown. The parallel passage in Matthew names it Magadan (rendered "Magdala" in the KJV).
• Bethsaida: a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
• Caesarea Philippi: a city at the southern foot of Mount Hermon, near the headwaters of the Jordan River. It is distinct from Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast.
• John the Baptist and Elijah: figures with whom people compared Jesus.

Interpretive Considerations

• Some scholars regard the feeding of the four thousand and the Feeding of the Five Thousand as different traditions of a single event. The text, however, clearly distinguishes the two in verses 19–20.
• The two-stage healing of the blind man appears only in Mark. It is placed between a scene of the disciples' lack of understanding and Peter's confession, and some interpreters therefore read it as depicting the disciples' gradual coming to sight.
• The parallel passage in Matthew 16 adds the saying "upon this rock I will build my church." The Catholic Church takes this as a basis for papal primacy, while Protestants generally understand the rock to be Peter's confession or Christ himself. This saying does not appear in Mark.
• Other parallel passages are Matthew 15–16 and Luke 9:18–27. The phrase in verse 38, "when he cometh in the glory of his Father," is read in connection with the Second Coming.

In the Korean Church

Verse 34 is frequently cited in discipleship training materials and in sermons for Lent and Holy Week.