Mark Chapter 8
Who Is Jesus?
A. Feeding the four thousand.
(Mark 8:1-4) Jesus gives the disciples an opportunity for faith.
“In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar.’ Then His disciples answered Him, ‘How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?’”
a. Jesus declared, “I have compassion on the multitude.” This reveals His heart in contrast to the hardness of the religious leaders earlier in chapter 7. Where the Pharisees cared more about tradition than truth, Jesus demonstrated that His kingdom is marked by mercy. His compassion was not shallow pity, but a deep identification with their weakness. This reflects Hebrews 4:15, which says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” The multitude had sought Him for three days without food, showing a hunger for His word greater than their hunger for bread.
b. The disciples responded, “How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?” Their words reveal forgetfulness of Christ’s prior miracle of feeding the five thousand. Instead of remembering His past provision as a guarantee of His present help, they viewed the situation as impossible. This reflects Israel’s same unbelief in the wilderness. Psalm 78:19 records, “Yes, they spoke against God: They said, ‘Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?’” Just as Israel questioned God’s ability despite seeing His mighty works, so too did the disciples doubt after already witnessing Jesus multiply loaves and fish.
i. Jesus deliberately set the stage to test their faith. He could have performed the miracle immediately, but instead asked His disciples to confront the need. Faith must be exercised, not assumed. The test was whether they would connect His past work to their present problem. True faith recalls the history of God’s faithfulness and trusts that the One who provided before will provide again.
ii. Their failure serves as a warning to us. Spiritual amnesia is one of the great enemies of faith. When we forget what God has done, we begin to question what He can do. The disciples’ question, “How can one satisfy these people?” was essentially a denial of the sufficiency of Christ. Yet His power is never diminished by circumstances. Whether in the wilderness or in abundance, He remains the Bread of Life. As John 6:35 declares, “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’”
Who Is Jesus?
B. Feeding the four thousand.
(Mark 8:5-10) Jesus and the disciples feed the multitude.
“He asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ And they said, ‘Seven.’ So 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. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them. So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.”
a. Jesus asked, “How many loaves do you have?” This question was directed to the disciples personally. Unlike the feeding of the five thousand, where the loaves came from a boy (John 6:9), here the disciples themselves were required to surrender their own resources. The lesson is clear: Jesus often calls us to yield what we already possess, even if it seems insufficient, so that He might multiply it. This principle is echoed in 2 Corinthians 9:6, which says, “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
b. “So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.” This shows intentionality and order in Christ’s provision. He did not intend for them to receive a hurried snack, but a satisfying banquet. As Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.” The Good Shepherd leads His people not into scarcity but into His overflowing abundance.
c. “He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them.” Jesus alone performed the miracle of creation, but He delegated the distribution to His disciples. This is consistent with His pattern of involving His followers in ministry. God alone saves, but He uses human instruments to deliver the message of salvation. As 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 reminds us, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.”
d. “They also had a few small fish.” The delay in mentioning the fish suggests that the disciples may have held them back, uncertain if Christ could multiply them as He had done with bread. This illustrates how believers often hesitate to surrender everything to Christ until they see evidence of His power. Yet we are called to trust Him fully with all we possess. Proverbs 3:9-10 instructs, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”
i. As one commentator suggested, “Why were these not mentioned before? Could it be that they had been withheld by the doubting disciples until they saw how the bread was multiplied? Apparently, the fishes were blessed separately and then distributed as the bread had been.” This interpretation highlights human reluctance to give all to Jesus until we witness His power, but it also shows His patience in receiving what little we eventually yield.
e. “So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.” The word used for baskets here (spyris) indicates large hampers, not the smaller hand-baskets (kophinos) from the feeding of the five thousand. This further underscores the abundance of Christ’s provision. What began as scarcity ended with surplus. As Philippians 4:19 declares, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
i. Some critics dismiss this miracle as merely a retelling of the feeding of the five thousand. Their skepticism rests on the question of how the disciples could have forgotten Jesus’ prior miracle so quickly. Yet this overlooks the reality of human frailty. Even mature believers, having witnessed God’s faithfulness, can falter in trust when faced with new trials. This is why Hebrews 3:12 warns, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” The disciples’ doubt is not evidence of fabrication but of human weakness, which magnifies the grace and patience of Christ.
B. The Leaven of the Pharisees
(Mark 8:11-12) The Pharisees ask for a sign from heaven.
Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.”
a. Seeking from Him a sign from heaven: The Pharisees were not merely asking Jesus for another healing or deliverance such as He had already performed. They demanded something dramatic and undeniable in the heavens, perhaps like Elijah calling down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, as recorded in First Kings chapter eighteen verse thirty-eight, “Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust; and it licked up the water that was in the trench.” Their request reveals that they were not motivated by faith but by unbelief. They wanted a cosmic display that would force recognition, not a humble acknowledgment of His already clear authority.
i. Testing Him: The word “testing” could also be understood as “tempting.” Their intent was hostile, not neutral. In this way, the Pharisees mirrored the strategy of Satan during the wilderness temptation. In Matthew chapter four verses five through six it says, “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over you, and, In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Just as Satan demanded a sign of power apart from obedience, so too did these Pharisees.
b. He sighed deeply in His spirit: This demand caused Jesus grief and distress. The sigh was not merely physical but spiritual, born out of His sorrow over their hardened unbelief. Their refusal to accept the countless miracles already performed revealed what Bruce called “irreconcilable enmity, invincible unbelief, and coming doom.” Jesus knew that their rejection was not based on lack of evidence but on willful rebellion. The Pharisees’ hearts were so hardened that no amount of miraculous signs would bring them to repentance.
i. Their arrogance was displayed in demanding a “higher” miracle. In essence, they said, “What you have done so far is insignificant. Show us something that reaches our standard.” Yet in doing so, they were exalting their own criteria above God’s revealed work.
c. No sign shall be given to this generation: Jesus firmly denied their demand. His miracles were never designed as spectacles for unbelieving critics. Instead, they were acts of compassion and demonstrations of the kingdom of God. To seek a sign in arrogance is to misunderstand the purpose of miracles. Jesus made clear that hardened unbelief cannot be softened by additional signs. Faith does not come by sight of miracles but by hearing the Word of God, as Paul wrote in Romans chapter ten verse seventeen, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
i. Jesus later taught that the only sign left for such a generation would be the sign of Jonah, pointing to His death, burial, and resurrection (Matthew 12:39-40). The greatest sign God ever gave was the resurrection of His Son, yet even then many refused to believe.
ii. This passage warns us against the dangerous attitude of demanding proof from God on our terms. God has already provided ample evidence of His power, love, and authority in Christ. To reject that and demand more is not humility, it is rebellion.
(Mark 8:13-15) Jesus warns of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.
And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then He charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”
a. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees: When Jesus used the picture of leaven, He was not referring to common yeast but to the cultural practice of keeping a small piece of fermented dough from a previous batch and kneading it into a new lump. This “starter” would spread its influence throughout the entire dough, causing it to rise and puff up. Because of this, leaven became a powerful illustration of corruption, sin, and pride—something small and hidden that gradually spreads until it permeates the whole. In the same way, the false teaching and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, though subtle at first, could work its way through and corrupt an entire people.
i. This imagery was consistent with Jewish thought. At Passover, the Jews were commanded to remove all leaven from their houses as a symbol of purity. Exodus chapter twelve verse fifteen says, “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.” Leaven represented the pervasive and corrupting nature of sin.
ii. Paul later employed this same picture when addressing the church at Corinth. In First Corinthians chapter five verses six through eight, he wrote, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Just as Paul warned against tolerating sin in the church, Jesus warned against tolerating the corrupt influence of the Pharisees.
iii. Thus, when Jesus spoke of the “leaven of the Pharisees,” He was warning against their hypocrisy and legalism. Luke chapter twelve verse one records, “In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.’” Their self-righteous spirit, masked as devotion to God, was in truth a corrupting influence that could spread among His disciples if unchecked.
b. The leaven of Herod: Jesus broadened the warning to include Herod. Whereas the Pharisees corrupted through religious hypocrisy, Herod represented political corruption, worldliness, and compromise with pagan power. Herod sought the kingdom in terms of political control and personal gain rather than submission to God. Both groups, though different in appearance, shared the same essential corruption—a false conception of God’s kingdom rooted in pride and self-interest.
i. This distinction is crucial. The Pharisees spiritualized the kingdom into a system of religious domination, while Herod politicized it into a quest for power and influence. Yet both forms were corruptions of the true kingdom Jesus came to establish, which is “not of this world” (John 18:36).
c. Take heed, beware: The double warning emphasizes vigilance. Jesus was not merely informing His disciples of a danger; He was urging them to be on guard against it. Just as leaven works silently and almost invisibly until the entire lump is affected, so too does the influence of pride, hypocrisy, or political compromise. The disciples needed to guard their hearts so that they would not adopt the mindset of the Pharisees or Herod in understanding the kingdom of God.
i. Jesus’ warning is timeless. Believers today must beware of the leaven of legalism on one hand and secular compromise on the other. Both corrupt the gospel, one by adding human traditions and works to it, the other by diluting it with worldly values.
(Mark 8:16-21) Jesus questions the twelve about their lack of understanding.
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “It is because we have no bread.” But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, “Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?” And they said, “Seven.” So He said to them, “How is it you do not understand?”
a. It is because we have no bread: The disciples immediately assumed Jesus’ warning about leaven had to do with their lack of food. They interpreted His words on a natural, material level and failed to grasp the deeper spiritual lesson. This exposes how easily even the most devoted followers of Christ can become consumed with physical needs and earthly concerns, forgetting the spiritual realities that matter most. In John chapter six verse twenty-seven, Jesus said, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” The disciples’ minds were still fixed on the bread that feeds the stomach rather than the Bread of Life who nourishes the soul.
b. Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Jesus rebuked His disciples for their spiritual dullness. They had witnessed miracle after miracle, yet they failed to connect the signs with their meaning. The Lord expected them to exercise discernment and recall His works, rather than remain in a state of confusion. Hebrews chapter five verse twelve rebukes immaturity in a similar way: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” Jesus was pressing His disciples to grow up spiritually, to move beyond surface-level thinking and grasp the truths He was teaching them.
c. Is your heart still hardened? This question pierces deeply. Hardness of heart is not merely ignorance but resistance to truth. It is a spiritual insensitivity that blinds one to God’s revelation. The prophet Isaiah described this condition in Isaiah chapter six verses nine through ten: “And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.’” Jesus was warning His disciples not to fall into the same hardened unbelief that characterized Israel’s history.
d. Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? Jesus applied Isaiah’s rebuke directly to His disciples. They had been granted physical eyes and ears, but they were failing to use their spiritual perception. Second Corinthians chapter four verse four describes this blindness in relation to unbelievers: “Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” Though the disciples were believers, their lack of faith and understanding was leaving them temporarily blinded to the full truth of who Christ was and what He was teaching.
e. Do you not remember? Jesus called them back to the foundation of memory. Faith is strengthened when we recall the past works of God. Forgetfulness of His providence leads to anxiety, but remembrance builds trust. Psalm seventy-seven verse eleven says, “I will remember the works of the Lord; surely I will remember Your wonders of old.” When the disciples thought only of their lack of bread, they forgot the miraculous feedings they had just witnessed. Jesus reminded them of the twelve baskets left over after the feeding of the five thousand, and the seven large baskets after the feeding of the four thousand. These were not mere leftovers; they were tangible testimonies of His sufficiency and power.
f. How is it you do not understand? Jesus’ final question was both corrective and pastoral. He did not want His disciples to remain in ignorance. His miracles were not random acts of compassion; they were lessons pointing to His divine identity and sufficiency. The disciples should have recognized that the One who multiplied bread for thousands could certainly provide for their small need in the boat. More importantly, they should have seen that Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life, the One who satisfies the deepest hunger of the soul.
i. John chapter six verse thirty-five records this truth: “And Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.’” Their lack of understanding was not just about bread but about the Person of Christ Himself.
(Mark 8:22-26) Blind eyes are opened.
Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Then He sent him away to his house, saying, “Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.”
a. Then He came to Bethsaida: Bethsaida was one of the towns that had experienced many of Jesus’ mighty works, yet persisted in unbelief. In Matthew chapter eleven verse twenty-one Jesus pronounced judgment on it, saying, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” By taking the blind man out of the town, Jesus not only created a more private setting for the miracle but also distanced the man from the unbelief that marked Bethsaida.
b. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town: This personal act shows the compassion and tenderness of Christ. He did not heal the man in a crowd to make a spectacle, but He took him by the hand, guiding him personally. This illustrates how Christ deals with individuals, meeting them personally and directly in their need. Isaiah chapter forty-two verse sixteen echoes this tenderness: “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”
c. When He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him: Jesus used a physical means in connection with the miracle. This was not because His power required it, but because He often condescended to human weakness, connecting His divine work to physical touch or visible actions that the sufferer could perceive. Some, like Adam Clarke, suggested that the spittle may have been used in a natural way to soften the eyelids, which could become stuck together in certain cases of blindness. Yet the miracle itself was entirely dependent on Christ’s power, not on the means. The physical act gave reassurance, but the healing came from the Lord alone.
d. He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”: This is unique in all of Jesus’ recorded healings. At first, the man received partial sight, able to distinguish shapes and movement but not clarity. This “incomplete” stage was intentional, pointing to a deeper lesson. Just as the disciples had eyes but did not yet fully see or understand (Mark 8:18), so this man’s gradual healing was a living illustration of spiritual growth. Many times, the Lord opens spiritual eyes progressively. First we see dimly, and then more clearly as we continue to look to Christ. First Corinthians chapter thirteen verse twelve speaks of this reality: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.”
e. Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly: Unlike other miracles that were immediate and complete, this one occurred in stages. The man went from blindness, to blurred vision, to full clarity. This teaches that spiritual illumination often unfolds progressively. The disciples, who had just been rebuked for their lack of perception, would later come to full understanding of Christ and His mission after His resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. John chapter sixteen verse thirteen explains this progressive work: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”
f. Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town: Jesus strictly warned the man not to return to Bethsaida or spread the report there. This was not to hide His power, but to prevent further hardening of the people who had already rejected His works. The Lord had already pronounced judgment on Bethsaida for its stubborn unbelief, and this miracle was not meant to add to their condemnation. Instead, Jesus withdrew His signs from places of hardened resistance and directed His revelation toward those prepared to receive it. This principle is consistent with Matthew chapter seven verse six: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”
i. This miracle therefore illustrates both the patience of Christ in healing spiritual blindness and the danger of persistent unbelief. Those who receive the Lord’s touch grow into clarity, but those who persist in rejecting Him remain in darkness.
C. Jesus reveals His mission.
(Mark 8:27-30) Peter confesses Jesus as the Messiah.
“Now 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?’ So they answered, ‘John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’ Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.”
a. “Who do men say that I am?” Jesus did not ask this question because He was unsure of His identity or because He needed affirmation from others. His question was pedagogical, designed to lead His disciples into deeper reflection about His true nature. Jesus already knew their hearts and the thoughts of men (John 2:24-25 says, “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man”). Instead, He asked the question to sharpen the contrast between the misconceptions of the crowd and the revelation of the truth that His disciples were beginning to receive. This method of questioning was common in rabbinical teaching, forcing the student to state his understanding rather than simply listen passively.
b. “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets”: The answers reveal the confusion of the multitudes. Some said He was John the Baptist, though they ministered at the same time and even together (John 3:22-23). Others compared Him to Elijah, perhaps recalling Malachi 4:5, which prophesied that Elijah would come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Others saw Him as one of the prophets, a man raised up with a divine message for a corrupt nation. While these answers show respect for Jesus as a great figure, they fell short of the truth. To call Him a prophet was to honor Him, but it still missed His divine identity.
i. Both John the Baptist and Elijah were men of bold confrontation who spoke against the corruption of their day, calling Israel to repentance. To identify Jesus with them shows that the people recognized His authority and courage, but it also revealed their limited perspective. They expected a reformer or a political deliverer, not the incarnate Son of God.
ii. Their answers illustrate how men can admire Jesus without truly knowing Him. Many still do this today, respecting Jesus as a great teacher, a moral leader, or a prophet, but refusing to acknowledge Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
c. “But who do you say that I am?” This is the most critical question that Jesus asks, and it cuts through all speculation and public opinion. It is not enough to know what others say about Christ. Every individual must answer personally. Salvation is not based on the opinions of the crowd but upon personal faith in who Jesus truly is. Romans 10:9 says, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Each person must answer Christ’s question for himself, for this is the question upon which eternity hangs.
d. “You are the Christ”: Peter, speaking as the representative of the twelve, makes a clear and bold confession. The title “Christ” (Greek, Christos) means “the Anointed One” and corresponds to the Hebrew word “Messiah.” This was not a casual statement, but a confession that Jesus was the promised Deliverer foretold in the Law and the Prophets.
i. Yet even this confession was susceptible to misunderstanding. Many in that day associated the Messiah with political power, expecting Him to overthrow Rome and establish a kingdom by force. While Peter’s words were correct, his understanding was incomplete, as the following verses show. Later, Peter would even rebuke Jesus for speaking of His coming suffering and death, revealing that he was still thinking of a conquering king rather than a suffering Savior.
ii. Nevertheless, Peter’s confession was the foundation of true discipleship. To confess that Jesus is the Christ is to acknowledge Him as God’s chosen King, the fulfillment of promise, and the One to whom all allegiance is due. First John 5:1 affirms this truth: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.”
e. “Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him”: Jesus restrained His disciples from publicly proclaiming His Messiahship at this point because the people’s expectations were shaped by misconceptions. They longed for a political savior, not the Suffering Servant foretold in Isaiah 53. To announce Him openly as Messiah before the cross would have inflamed political zeal and hindered His mission. Jesus had to first teach His disciples the true nature of His mission—that He came to die for sin, not to conquer Rome. Only after His death and resurrection would the full proclamation of His Messiahship be appropriate (Acts 2:36 says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ”).
(Mark 8:31–32a) Jesus reveals His mission plainly: to come and die, and then rise again.
And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly.
a. That the Son of Man must suffer many things: Here Jesus declared openly what had only been hinted at before, that His mission as the Messiah required rejection, suffering, and death. The word “must” is important, for it reveals divine necessity. His suffering was not accidental nor the result of unforeseen circumstances, but it was foreordained by the counsel of God. The prophets had long foretold this reality. Isaiah wrote, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:3–12).
i. The necessity of His suffering was rooted in two great facts: the sin of man and the love of God. Man’s rebellion required a sacrifice, and God’s holiness demanded justice, but God’s love provided the substitute. As Paul wrote, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
ii. This was not a defeat but the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan. Peter later declared, “Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:23–24).
b. He spoke this word openly: This plain teaching marked a turning point in Jesus’ ministry. Previously He had hinted at His death, such as when He spoke of the sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:40), but now He declared it directly. This announcement shocked His disciples because it contradicted their expectations of a triumphant Messiah who would conquer Rome and restore Israel.
i. To them, the thought of a suffering Messiah was inconceivable. Wessel observed, “A suffering Messiah! Unthinkable! The Messiah was a symbol of strength, not weakness.” The disciples had envisioned the Messiah in terms of political and military power, not sacrifice and shame.
ii. William Barclay explained that in Jewish thought the Messiah was often envisioned as a figure of immense, even supernatural strength, who would come crashing into history to destroy Israel’s enemies and exalt the nation. Some expected Him as a king in David’s line, while others pictured Him as a heavenly conqueror. But Jesus revealed the true mission of the Messiah: not first to conquer by force, but to conquer through suffering, death, and resurrection.
iii. This moment revealed a fundamental clash between man’s expectations and God’s plan. As Paul wrote, “For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (First Corinthians 1:22–24).
(Mark 8:32b-33) Peter rebukes Jesus; Jesus rebukes Peter.
“And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’”
a. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him: Peter’s intent may have been rooted in love and loyalty, yet his words became an instrument of Satan’s opposition. This demonstrates that even the most devoted followers can unwittingly be used by the adversary. It is important to note that Satan does not always work through overt evil but often through misguided sincerity and human reasoning that contradicts God’s revealed truth. Peter, seeking to protect Christ from suffering, failed to recognize that he was actually resisting the very mission of God.
i. Matthew provides further detail: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven’” (Matthew 16:17–19). This sequence reveals Peter’s spiritual high point in confessing Jesus as the Christ, followed almost immediately by a spiritual low point in resisting Christ’s mission.
ii. The progression is sobering:
Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8:29).
Jesus commended Peter, telling him that his confession was revealed by God (Matthew 16:17).
Jesus then taught of His impending suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection (Mark 8:31).
Peter, confident in his own spiritual discernment, contradicted Christ.
Peter rebuked the very Lord he had just confessed as Messiah.
This serves as a warning that confidence in one’s personal ability to “hear from God” must always be measured against the authority of Scripture. What Peter said did not align with the Word of God, nor did it submit to the authority of Christ.
b. Get behind Me, Satan! Jesus’ sharp rebuke was entirely appropriate. Just moments before, Peter was a mouthpiece for divine revelation, but now he had become an unwitting tool of Satan. The adversary’s strategy was clear: to discourage Jesus from going to the cross. This is consistent with Satan’s earlier temptation in the wilderness, where he sought to divert Christ from the path of suffering (Matthew 4:8–10). Jesus, unwavering in His mission, silenced the satanic suggestion immediately.
“And the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve”’” (Matthew 4:8–10).
Just as He did in the wilderness, Jesus resisted any attempt to avoid the cross.
c. You are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men: Jesus exposed the root of Peter’s error. Peter’s thinking was shaped more by human expectations of glory, strength, and political deliverance than by God’s redemptive plan. He envisioned the Messiah as the conqueror, not the suffering Servant foretold in Isaiah 53. His failure demonstrates how quickly one can slip into a worldly perspective if not anchored in God’s Word.
i. Isaiah’s prophecy highlights the true mission of the Messiah: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3–5).
ii. Peter, with a sincere but misguided heart, illustrates how easy it is to confuse human zeal with divine wisdom. His rebuke was a clear example of the “leaven” of worldly thinking that Jesus had warned about earlier: “Then He charged them, saying, ‘Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod’” (Mark 8:15). Just as leaven spreads subtly and pervasively, so worldly notions of strength and triumph threatened to corrupt the disciples’ understanding of Christ’s true mission.
(Mark 8:34) In light of His mission, Jesus warns those who want to follow Him.
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
a. Let him deny himself, and take up his cross: For the disciples, it was already staggering to hear that Jesus, the Messiah, would suffer, be rejected, and die on a cross. But now Jesus declared that anyone who wanted to follow Him must walk the same path. Discipleship is not merely about learning His teachings, but about embracing His way of life and death.
b. Deny himself, and take up his cross: Everyone in the Roman world understood the imagery. The cross was not a symbol of religious devotion, but an unrelenting instrument of execution. It had no purpose other than death.
i. The cross was not about ceremonies, traditions, or pious feelings. It was a one-way ticket to death. In our modern era, the cross has been sanitized, turned into jewelry or ritual, but in Jesus’ day it was a horror. If Jesus were speaking today, He might have said, “Walk into the execution chamber daily and follow Me,” or “Sit down in the electric chair daily and follow Me.” The message was clear: following Jesus meant dying to self completely.
ii. “Cross bearing does not refer to some irritation in life. Rather, it involves the way of the cross. The picture is of a man, already condemned, required to carry his cross on the way to the place of execution, as Jesus was required to do.” (Wessel) This is not about trivial hardships or inconveniences, but about embracing death to self for the sake of Christ.
iii. Martin Luther once said, “Every Christian must be a Crucian,” meaning that every follower of Christ must embrace the cross in a way that far surpasses superficial gestures. Luther mocked monks who carried wooden crosses on their backs, thinking this act made them holy. True cross-bearing is not outward show, but inward surrender.
c. Jesus makes deny himself equal with take up his cross. The two are not separate commands but expressions of the same truth. To deny self is to surrender all claims to one’s own life, rights, and ambitions, just as a condemned man carrying his cross had no future of his own.
i. “Denying self is not the same as self-denial. We practice self-denial when, for a good purpose, we occasionally give up things or activities. But we deny self when we surrender ourselves to Christ and determine to obey His will.” (Wiersbe) In other words, self-denial is occasional and selective, but denying self is total and permanent.
ii. Denying self means living as an others-centered person, putting Christ and His will above everything else. Jesus is the perfect example, as the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:5-8, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
iii. Peter later echoed this truth when he wrote in 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.” To deny self is to walk in the steps of the Savior, bearing reproach and hardship, even to the point of death if necessary.
iv. This is discipleship in its simplest and purest form: Jesus carried a cross and walked toward death, and those who follow Him must be prepared to do the same.
(Mark 8:35–9:1) Why we must take up our cross and follow Jesus.
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is 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.” And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.”
a. Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it: Jesus makes clear that true discipleship is costly. Those who cling to their own lives, seeking safety, comfort, and self-preservation above obedience, will ultimately forfeit true life. But those who surrender their lives to Christ and the gospel will gain eternal life. The paradox is that life is only found when it is willingly laid down for Him. This principle is echoed in John 12:24–25, where Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” Just as a seed is not destroyed when it is buried but is instead released into its full potential, so the believer finds true life through dying to self and following Christ.
b. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Jesus presses the issue with eternal perspective. Even if a man were to gain all earthly riches, power, and glory, none of it could ransom his eternal soul. Psalm 49:7–8 declares, “None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him—for the redemption of their souls is costly, and it shall cease forever.” No possession, achievement, or worldly success can purchase salvation. Even the richest man who ever lived would die bankrupt without Christ. Jesus Himself was tempted with this false exchange in Luke 4:5–8, which says, “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”’” Jesus refused Satan’s counterfeit and chose obedience to the Father, securing the true inheritance of the kingdom. He calls His followers to the same perspective.
c. For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed: Following Jesus requires courage and identification with Him in a hostile world. The world that rejected Christ still scorns His name, and disciples must be willing to stand with Him even when despised. Paul affirmed this same truth in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” To shrink back in shame is to deny Him, and Christ warns that He will deny such a person before the Father. Jesus will return not in weakness, but “in the glory of His Father with the holy angels,” a clear reference to His second coming in power and judgment (Revelation 19:11–14). Those who were not ashamed to confess Him will share in His glory, while those who denied Him will face His judgment. This sharp warning underscores the eternal stakes of discipleship.
d. Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power: Jesus concludes with a promise of hope. Discipleship is not only about crosses, suffering, and loss—it is also about glimpses of glory. This promise was fulfilled in the immediate sense by the transfiguration (Mark 9:2–8), where Peter, James, and John saw Christ in His divine glory, a foretaste of His coming kingdom. Peter later recalled this event in 2 Peter 1:16–17, saying, “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” In a broader sense, the disciples would also witness the power of the kingdom in the resurrection, at Pentecost, and in the explosive spread of the gospel through the church. These events were proofs that Christ’s kingdom was advancing and that the way of the cross leads to the glory of the crown.
This passage is one of the most profound calls to discipleship in all of Scripture. Jesus teaches that the cost of following Him is everything, yet the reward is eternal life and sharing in His glory. The principle is clear: self-preservation leads to loss, but surrender to Christ leads to salvation. The values of heaven stand in direct opposition to the values of this world, and Christ’s call to take up the cross is a summons to live with eternity in view.
