Mark 8:16

And they reasoned one with another, saying, We have no bread.

Mark did not include Christ's repetition of his remarks concerning leaven, by which repetition he opened their eyes to the real meaning (see my Commentary on Matthew, pp. 241-242); but it is clear here, no less than in Matthew, that their failure to understand was due not to any fault of the Lord but to themselves. If Christ had meant "bread," he would have said "bread." His use of "leaven" in connection with the Pharisees and Herod Antipas required the term to be understood figuratively.