(30) And he charged them.—On the assumption of a connection between the writer of this Gospel and St. Peter (see Introduction), the omission of the promise to the latter, recorded so fully by St. Matthew, may fairly be regarded as an evidence of the humility of the Apostle, who shrank from what might seem to savour of self-assertion. read more
(31-33) And he began to teach them.—See Notes on Matthew 16:21-23. The points peculiar to St. Mark are, (1) that our Lord “spake that saying openly”—the absence of any reticence in this announcement of apparent failure was what startled the disciples; and (2) the graphic touch that as He rebuked Peter, He turned and looked, not on that Apostle only, but on the whole company of the disciples. read more
The Compassion of the Christ Mark 8:1-2 So spake the Christ; so wrote the Holy Spirit; short, simple words, 'I have compassion'; pregnant with strength and with comfort for the toiling and heaving crowds of each succeeding age. There was nothing attractive then, even as there is nothing attractive now, in an eastern crowd. The motive power of the miracle was the eternal love of God manifest in the flesh. I. Observe how Christ takes the disciples into His confidence. Then, as now, He demanded... read more
CHAPTER 8:27-32 (Mark 8:27-32)THE CONFESSION AND THE WARNING"And Jesus went forth, and His disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and in the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist: and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. And He asked them, But Who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him. And He began to... read more
Chapter 8 1. The feeding of the Four Thousand. (Mark 8:1-9 . Matthew 15:32-39 ) 2. The Pharisees ask a sign. (Mark 8:10-13 .Matthew 16:1-4; Matthew 16:1-4 ) 3. The Warning against the leaven of the Pharisees. (Mark 8:14-21 .Matthew 16:5-12; Matthew 16:5-12 .) 4. The healing of the blind man. (Mark 8:22-26 ) 5. Peter’s Confession. (Mark 8:27-30 . Matthew 16:13-16 ; Luke 9:18-20 ) 6. The first announcement of His coming rejection and death. (Mark 8:31-33 .Matthew 16:21-23; Matthew... read more
8:30 {7} And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.(7) Christ has appointed certain times for the preaching of the gospel, and therefore here defers it to a more appropriate time, lest sudden haste should rather hinder than further the mystery of his coming. read more
8:31 {8} 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.(8) All that Christ suffered for us he suffered not unwillingly, neither as being unaware, but foreknowing it and willingly. read more
REACHING A CRISIS The topics or events of the present lesson: · The Four Thousand Fed (Mark 8:1-9 ); · The Leaven of the Pharisees (Mark 8:10-21 ); · The Blind Man of Bethesda (Mark 8:22-26 ); · Peter’s Confession (Mark 8:27-38 ); · The Crisis of the Transfiguration (Mark 9:1-13 ); · The Lunatic Healed (Mark 9:14-29 ); · Christ’s Predication of His Death (Mark 9:30-32 ); · Ambition Rebuked (Mark 9:33-37 ); · Sectarianism Rebuked (Mark 9:38 ); · Future Retribution (Mark 9:42-50 ) In the second... read more
Feeding the Four Thousand [An Analysis] Mark 8:0 Here we have a special exemplification of the philanthropic spirit of Christ. In Christ, philanthropy was not a sentiment but a controlling power, not a dream but a fact Some of the more striking suggestions of this paragraph are these: (1) Two different methods of dealing with social problems, "send the multitude away;" that is one method, "give ye them to eat;" that is another. We often have the remedy at hand while we fruitlessly seek it afar... read more
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John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 8:1-38
Feeding the Four Thousand. The Sign from Heaven. Healing of a Blind Man. Confession of Peter1-10. Feeding the four thousand (Matthew 15:32). See on Mt.11-13. A sign from heaven sought (Matthew 16:1). See on Mt.14-21. A warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod (Matthew 16:4). See on Mt.22-26. A blind man healed at Bethsaida (peculiar to Mk, and selected, like the healing in Mark 7:32, for its unusual features). The man was healed in stages, probably because his faith was... read more