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
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 8:15
Jesus evidently used the leaven in the loaf of bread as an object lesson to illustrate the pervasive corrupting teaching of the Pharisees and of Herod. Leaven was a common metaphor for corruption in both Jewish and Hellenistic circles. [Note: Lane, p. 280.] The teaching of the Pharisees was that Jesus received His authority from Satan rather than from God (Mark 3:22; cf. Mark 7:8-13). It was a denial of His role as God’s anointed Servant, Messiah. The teaching of Herod Antipas, what he believed... read more