Mark, chapter eight

1 ¶ In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them,
2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
He is going to repeat His former miracle but with fewer people.
4 And his disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?
This is how our flesh is. I can remember how God, one day, delivered me from something that should have happened to me and then a few months later I was fretting about another seemingly impossible situation that I had created and was doubting that God would help me. The Hebrews who came through the Red Sea also forgot His miracle when faced with something else unpleasant.
Psalm 78:17 And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust. 19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.
6 And he commanded the people to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and brake, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and they did set them before the people.
7 And they had a few small fishes: and he blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.
Here, He publicly has fed people again. This wasn’t secret.
Acts 26:26 For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner.
The five thousand in Mark 6 are representative of God feeding Israel in that 12 baskets of fragments are taken up signifying the 12 tribes. Here, the feeding of four thousand represents His gift to all men as He feeds them with 7 baskets remaining, seven being the number of God’s perfection and completion. God has fed us with His words and we are fools to disregard them and to not feed on them every single day.
9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
10 ¶ And straightway he entered into a ship with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
They just had gotten a sign but now they want to get Him to say something or do something to get Him to do wrong by their book.
12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
He knows they don’t want the truth. I, personally, think a generation refers to our polluted heritage.
Genesis 6:9 These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
1John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
I know you are going to say, “But, Eve said she had gotten a man from the Lord”. Well, we know how easily deceived Eve was and how willing she was to make excuses. See my commentary on Genesis, chapter 4.
13 And he left them, and entering into the ship again departed to the other side.
14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
A hardened heart has to do with not understanding or being willing to understand what God is showing you or teaching you. The consequences of a hardened heart become worse and worse sin. Read Romans 1:16-32.
19 When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
Why would you ever doubt that God would provide for you when you have already seen His miracles? He has already provided for you at various times. Why doubt Him now?
Philippians 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Matthew goes on to show us what the leaven of the Pharisees is.
Matthew 16:11 How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? 12 Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
This is the false doctrine of the fundamentalist and the liberal who twist the scriptures to justify their personal convictions. In this passage, the mention of the political, Herod, shows that you must watch out for the doctrine of political religionists, today, who would have the President appear on the big screen at their conventions to give his blessing and to get their votes.
Both fundamentalist and liberal want a messiah for President. They want a Pastor to lead the nation, leading it into a worse state than we have now.
22 ¶ And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
23 And 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 upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
Here is the first time where Jesus heals in steps. There are many who teach that this is a type of the Christian who is growing. You don’t see everything clearly at first.
Others say, that, as men are like trees all through the Bible, that you are better off seeing them as trees and not to be fooled by their outward appearance.
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Ezekiel 20:46 Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; 47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. 48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
Ezekiel 31:2 Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness? 3 Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
We know from the Bible that Jesus didn’t have to even touch the man to heal him so there must be a purpose in doing it this way, for our sake. Perhaps, the Lord wanted him to see the spiritual side before he saw the physical side.
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
He’s not looking for the publicity here. They’d miss the point anyway.
27 ¶ And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Here is an argument people make for reincarnation but Jesus dismisses this with the present tense. Here are some other passages that are twisted and used to justify “Christian reincarnation”.
John 9:1 ¶ And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
But, the Bible dismisses this idea very clearly.
Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Notice the pre-telling here of the gospel and the post-telling in these verses;
1 Corinthians 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The apostles were dull in their thinking because, like a modern Christian, their thinking had been corrupted by all of the false things they had been taught by Biblically illiterate preachers and commentators who had rejected READING the Bible in preference for reading about the Bible. By not permitting God to change their hearts through His words they elected to worship intellect and scholarship, theirs and others. Modern Christians are for the most part humanists. It’s amazing what a fundamentalist can accomplish without Christ.
32 And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Peter, like Satan, wants Jesus to forsake His mission. Modern Christians also like to twist God’s purpose to suit their own. You can see something from God and then the next second be deceived by Satan. Of course, the next frightening possibility is that Satan was in Peter and that even Christians can have a possession. Look to the evil spirits that dwell in you and have dwelt in you since you were a child. Let the Holy Spirit fill you with His power so that there is no room for their work. We should all ask the Lord to rebuke Satan and unclean and evil spirits in our minds and bodies, in our workplaces and homes, and even in our church. The Pastor who takes it on himself to rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus Christ is asking for his congregation to be infested with devils as the Bible clearly states;
Zechariah 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Jude 8 ¶ Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
One sure way to prevent a revival from breaking out is to challenge Satan yourself and not ask God to rebuke him. Another way is to preach a sermon to the congregation under the pretense of a prayer to God and talk people out of pleading with God to save them.
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Self worship is the curse of most Christians. We seek to serve our flesh through food, comfort of living, pleasure, and entertainment. In fact, it appears to be the focus of our lives. We are running errands for a corpse. Our lives have no value because we have made a god of our flesh, which will die forever one day in its present form, and although our body will be redeemed and united with our soul and spirit in heaven, its present form, for all its miraculous abilities and components, is dying. We fundamentalists even glory in whatever suffering we can cause our flesh to appear spiritual, thereby glorifying ourselves and not Christ. When I hear a Christian say that they deliberately stayed up most of the night to pray and they didn’t mind being exhausted because they were doing it for the Lord I want to puke because they were, in fact, doing it for themselves, their own feeling of spirituality, and those feelings of superiority that a Pharisee so smugly holds.
1Corinthians 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Read His Book and allow Him to change your affections and your hearts and quit trying so hard to do things in the flesh, thinking yourself so spiritual. What we have done is to create ministries and edifices that must be fed like our flesh and we can’t even begin to give preeminence to the Holy Spirit because we have chained ourselves to the demands of our carnal worship.
Oliver Cromwell is said to have noted that most of what we call faith is merely our own carnal reasoning and imagination.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
We are to subordinate every thought to Christ. Do you honestly think, oh spiritual man, that you can do that yourself?
2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Here is a classic example of the Bible defining itself. Soul is self identity. It is self, self awareness, our emotions and intellect.
Luke 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
“Himself” is inserted in Luke for “his own soul” in Mark. I once heard a Biblically illiterate preacher with a PH.D., which means nothing in regard to spiritual discernment by the way, say that spirit and soul were the same thing. These fools are everywhere in Christianity. Make it up as we go along because we have rejected the word of God like Peter has just done. Get thee behind me, Satan.
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Doctrinally, this is a Tribulation statement. When Christ returns in glory, the church will be the holy angels that had already been raptured and enjoyed the marriage feast of the lamb, that are come to judge and to reign with Him for a thousand years. But, practically and inspirationally, this is a great statement that should give us all pause. Are you ashamed of Jesus Christ?