Chapter 8

Chapter Eight Mk. 8:1. In those days, when a very great multitude had gathered and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them: Mk. 8:2. I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. Mk. 8:3. If I send them away to their homes hungry, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from far away. Mk. 8:4. His disciples answered Him: from where could anyone obtain bread here in the wilderness to feed them? Mk. 8:5. And He asked them: How many loaves do you have? They said: Seven. Mk. 8:6. Then He commanded the multitude to recline on the ground; and taking the seven loaves and giving thanks, He broke them and gave them to His disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the multitude. Mk. 8:7. They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He commanded that these also be set before them. Mk. 8:8. And they ate and were satisfied; and they gathered up seven baskets of leftover fragments. Mk. 8:9. And those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away. The Lord had already performed a similar miracle before. He works wonders now as well, having a fitting occasion for it. And the occasion was this: the people had been with Him for three days, and the food supply they had taken for the journey had run out entirely. For the Lord did not always perform miracles over food, lest people think the crowd followed Him for the sake of food. He would not have worked miracles now either, had the people not apparently faced danger from lack of food. But look also at the disciples, how they are still without understanding and do not yet have faith in His power, even though they had already seen miracles! However, the Lord does not reproach them, teaching us as well not to attack the inexperienced too harshly, but to forgive them as those who do not yet understand. Consider also that Christ does not wish to send anyone away hungry, but desires to satisfy all with His gifts, and especially those who have stayed with Him three days, that is, those who have been baptized. Since baptism is called illumination and is performed with three immersions, those illuminated by baptism prove to be of three days. The Lord takes "seven loaves," by which I mean seven most spiritual words, for the number seven is an image of the Spirit. The Spirit brings all things to completion, and our life and this present age are completed in the number seven. The illuminated eat and are satisfied and leave a surplus, since they cannot contain all the thoughts of God. Earlier, in the miracle of the five loaves, twelve baskets of surplus remained, for there were five thousand, who signify those enslaved to the five senses; therefore they could not eat much but were satisfied with little, which is why much remained in surplus. But here, from seven loaves, seven baskets remained with only a small surplus, since the crowd was four thousand, who signify those established in the four virtues; and therefore they, being stronger, ate much and left little, for they could not consume only what is more spiritual and profound, and this is what the seven baskets signify. From the account under consideration, learn also this: that we must be content with only what is necessary and ask for nothing more. For behold, these people, having eaten and been satisfied, did not take the leftover bread with them, but the disciples took it, just as it was with the aforementioned baskets. So too must we be content with what is given, according to our need. Mk. 8:10. And immediately entering into the boat with His disciples, He came into the region of Dalmanutha. Mk. 8:11. The Pharisees came out, began to argue with Him, and demanded from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. Mk. 8:12. And He, sighing deeply, said: Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation. After the miracle of the loaves, the Lord immediately departs to another place, fearing that the people, as a result of such a miracle, might revolt and decide to make Him king. And the Pharisees demand a sign from heaven, for example, to stop the sun or the moon, to bring down lightning, to produce a change in the air. They thought that He was unable to perform a heavenly sign, having the power to produce by the power of Beelzebub only earthly signs. But Jesus does not heed them, for another time has been appointed for signs from heaven — I mean the time of the second coming, when the powers of heaven shall be shaken and the moon shall not give its light; but the time of the first coming has nothing of the sort, but everything is filled with meekness. And therefore "no sign shall be given to this generation" from heaven. Mk. 8:13. And, leaving them, He again entered the boat and departed to the other side. Mk. 8:14. And the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have with them in the boat more than one loaf. Mk. 8:15. And He charged them, saying: Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Mk. 8:16. And they reasoned among themselves, saying: this is because we have no bread. Mk. 8:17. Jesus, perceiving this, says to them: Why do you reason about having no bread? Do you still not understand nor comprehend? Is your heart still hardened? Mk. 8:18. Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? Mk. 8:19. When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you take up? They say to Him: twelve. Mk. 8:20. And when the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets of leftover pieces did you collect? They said: seven. Mk. 8:21. And He said to them: How is it that you do not understand? The Lord leaves the Pharisees as incorrigible people. For one should linger where there is hope of correction, but where the evil is incorrigible, one must flee from there. The disciples forgot to take bread by a special dispensation of God, so that after Christ's stern rebuke they would become wiser and come to know the power of Christ. For when the Lord said that they should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, that is, the teaching of the Pharisees, they thought that the Lord was reminding them about the leaven of bread. And so He rightly reproaches them as not understanding the power of Christ, by which the Lord can create bread even out of nothing. He calls the teaching of the Pharisees and the Herodians leaven for the reason that it was bitter and filled with ancient malice. And everyone who has grown old in evil and cannot speak anything spiritual to sweeten the throat of the listener has within himself the leaven of ancient malice, that is, a teaching that is poisonous and leads those who accept it only to regret. But who were the Herodians? They were certain newly appeared teachers who said that Herod was the Christ and that one must believe in him. Mk. 8:22. And He comes to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man to Him and beseech Him to touch him. Mk. 8:23. He, taking the blind man by the hand, led him out of the village, and having spit on his eyes, laid His hands on him and asked him: do you see anything? Mk. 8:24. Looking up, he said: I see people walking about like trees. Mk. 8:25. Then again He laid His hands on his eyes and told him to look up. And he was restored and began to see everything clearly. Mk. 8:26. And He sent him away to his home, saying: Do not go into the village, nor tell anyone in the village. Bethsaida and Chorazin, it seems, suffered from great unbelief, for which Christ also reproached them, as He says: "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" (Mt. 11:21). Upon the Lord's arrival here, they bring a blind man to Him. But the faith of those who brought him was not pure, which is why the Lord leads the blind man out of the village, and only then heals him. He spits on the eyes of the blind man and lays His hands upon him, so that we may know that the Divine word and the action that follows the word can work miracles: for the hand is an image of action, and the spittle is an image of the word, since it comes forth from the mouth. But the blind man himself also did not have perfect faith. Therefore the Lord does not give him sight all at once, but gradually, as to a man whose faith is not complete, for healings are given in proportion to faith. He commands him not to enter the village, because the inhabitants of Bethsaida, as I said, were unbelieving, and that man among them would have harmed his own soul; He does not even allow him to tell anyone about what had happened to him, so that the unbelievers would not be subjected to greater condemnation. We too are often blind in soul, living in the village, that is, in this world; but when we go out of the village, that is, when we renounce the deeds of the world, Christ heals us; after healing, He tells us not to return again to the village, but to go home, and the home of each of us is heaven and the dwellings there. Mk. 8:27. And Jesus went out with His disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples: Who do people consider Me to be? Mk. 8:28. They answered: for John the Baptist; others – for Elijah; and some – for one of the prophets. Mk. 8:29. He says to them: but who do you say that I am? Peter said to Him in answer: You are the Christ. Mk. 8:30. And He charged them that they should tell no man about Him. He asks them about Himself, having led them far from the Jews, so that they would have no one to fear in confessing the truth. They answer that some take Him for John, others for Elijah; for many thought that John had risen, as Herod also supposed, and that upon his resurrection he had received the power of miracles, whereas during his lifetime John had not performed a single sign. Having thus asked them about the opinions of others, the Lord then asks them their own opinion as well, as if saying: those think of Me erroneously, but who do you consider Me to be? What then does Peter say? He confesses Him as the Christ, foretold by the prophets. But what the Lord said in response to Peter's confession and how He blessed him, Mark omitted, so as not to appear partial to Peter, his teacher. Matthew, on the contrary, told everything without omission. The Lord commanded them to tell no one, because He wished to conceal His glory, lest many be scandalized by Him and, in their unbelief, become liable to greater punishment. Mk. 8:31. And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mk. 8:32. And He spoke the word openly. But Peter, taking Him aside, began to rebuke Him. Mk. 8:33. But He, having turned around and looked at His disciples, rebuked Peter, saying: Get behind Me, Satan, because you are not thinking about the things of God, but the things of men. Having received from His disciples the confession that He is the true Christ, the Lord also revealed to them the mystery of the Cross. But He did not yet reveal it fully, for the apostles did not understand what He was saying, and did not comprehend what it means to rise again, but thought that it would be better for Him not to suffer at all. Therefore Peter begins to object, saying that it is pointless to give Himself over to death when He could simply not suffer. But the Lord, showing that His suffering would be for the salvation of them and of many, and that Satan alone does not want Him to suffer and save people, calls Peter "Satan" for his thoughts befitting Satan, for his not wanting Christ to suffer but contradicting Him; Satan means adversary. "Get behind Me," He says, that is, follow My will, do not contradict and do not be My adversary, but follow Me. Peter, according to the Lord's words, was thinking about "human things," for he was thinking in a fleshly manner, wanting the Lord to remain at ease, not to give Himself over to the Crucifixion, and not to endure affliction for the salvation of the world. Mk. 8:34. And having called the crowd together with His disciples, He said to them: whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Mk. 8:35. For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for My sake and the Gospel's will save it. Mk. 8:36. What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Mk. 8:37. Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? Since Peter was opposing Christ, Who desired to give Himself over to Crucifixion, Christ calls the people and speaks aloud, directing His words primarily against Peter: You do not approve of My taking the Cross, but I say to you that neither you nor anyone else will be saved unless you die for virtue and truth. Note that the Lord did not say: let him die even if he does not wish to die, but "whoever wishes." I, He says, compel no one. I call not to evil but to good, and therefore whoever does not wish it is not worthy of it. What does it mean to deny oneself? We will understand this when we learn what it means to deny someone else. Whoever denies another person — whether father, brother, or any member of the household — even if he watches him being beaten or killed, pays no attention and feels no sympathy, having become estranged from him. In the same way the Lord commands us also to despise our own body for His sake and not to spare it, even if we are beaten or reviled. "Take up your cross," it says, that is, a shameful death, for the cross was then regarded as an instrument of shameful execution. And since many robbers were also crucified, He adds that along with crucifixion one must also have other virtues, for this is what the words "follow Me" mean. Since the command to give oneself over to death would seem harsh and cruel, the Lord says that on the contrary it is most merciful; for whoever loses his soul, but for My sake — and not as a robber being executed or a suicide (for in that case the death would not be for My sake) — he, He says, will find his soul, while the one who thinks to save his soul will lose it, if during the time of torment he does not stand firm. Do not tell Me that this latter person will preserve his life, for even if he were to gain the whole world, it is all useless. Salvation cannot be purchased with any wealth. Otherwise, he who gained the whole world but lost his soul would give it all away when he is burning in the flames, and would thus ransom himself. But such a ransom is impossible there. Here the mouths of those who, following Origen, say that the condition of souls will change for the better after they have been punished in proportion to their sins are also stopped. Let them hear that there it is in no way possible to give a ransom for the soul, and to suffer only to the degree supposedly needed to make satisfaction for sins. Mk. 8:38. 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. It is not enough to have inner faith alone: a confession of the lips is also required. For since man is twofold, his sanctification must also be twofold, that is, the sanctification of the soul through faith and the sanctification of the body through confession. Therefore, whoever "is ashamed" to confess the Crucified One as his God, him He also "will be ashamed of," recognizing him as an unworthy servant of His, when He "comes" no longer in a humble appearance, not in the abasement in which He appeared here before and for which some are ashamed of Him, but "in glory" and with an Angelic host.