Mark Chapter Eight
Feeding the Four Thousand, 8:1-9.
(Matt. 15:32-38)
1-9.—The account of this miracle is so nearly identical with that given by Matthew that no remarks additional to those already given are deemed necessary. See the parallel in Matthew.
In Dalmanutha. A Sign Demanded, 10-12.
(Matt. 15:39-16:4)
10. into the parts of Dalmanutha.—Matthew says, "into the coasts of Magdala." (Matt. 15:39.) "The coasts" (τὰ ὅρια) of Magdala were the lands lying in the vicinity of Magdala, which was a town of Considerable size. "The parts" (τὰ μέρη) of Dalmanutha were the suburbs of the place, or the lands immediately adjoining it. If we suppose Dalmanutha to have been a village "in the coasts" of Magdala, and Jesus to have been in the immediate vicinity of the former, we have the exact conception furnished by the accounts when combined. Mark, as usual, is more specific than Matthew in regard to the locality.
11. the Pharisees came forth.—Matthew represents the Sadducees as participating in this conversation.
tempting him.—See the note on Matt. 16:1.
12. he sighed deeply.—The excessive depravity exhibited by this demand for a sign in the midst of overwhelming demonstrations of divine power, seems to have moved Jesus to an unusual degree. The tone of his answer, especially as reported by Matthew, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas," is like that of the final sentence of doom on a wicked world. It was wrung from an unwilling heart by the demands of justice.
no sign be given.—No sign such as they demanded; that is, "a sign from heaven." Mark, in his brevity, omits the exception named by Matthew. (See Matt. 16:4, and the note there.)
Argument of Section 7 This section contains an account of three more remarkable miracles—the expulsion of a demon from the Gentile woman's daughter; the restoration of speech and hearing to the deaf stammerer; and the feeding of four thousand men with seven barley loaves and a few small fishes. By these the divine power of Jesus is once more exhibited. The section also exhibits the tenderness of his compassion in his dealing with the Gentile woman and the hungry multitude, and his judicial indignation against hypocrisy in his conversation with the Pharisees. These are attributes of character which, though they do not prove their possessor to have been superhuman, are necessary to that perfection of character which must be found in the Son of God.
Tour to Cæsarea Philippi, 8:13-9:50
The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, 13-21.
(Matt. 16:5-12)
15. the leaven of Herod.—On the leaven of the Pharisees, see the note under Matt. 16:12. The leaven of Herod was a corrupting political influence. They had need to be guarded against this, because the disputes of political partisans are not only corrupting to those who indulge them, but they impair the influence of men whose business it is to guide all parties in the way of holiness. The apostles adhered strictly, throughout their career, to the rule of action here given.
19, 20. how many baskets.—Mark here gives in its exact form, no doubt, a conversation which Matthew puts into a slightly different form for the sake of abbreviation. (Comp. Matt. 16:9, 10.)
21. that ye do not understand.—Mark leaves the subject without saying, as Matthew does, whether the disciples finally understood the remark or not; but he takes it for granted that his readers would understand it.
For other remarks, see notes on the parallel in Matthew.
Cure of a Blind Man at Bethsaida, 22-26
22. Bethsaida.—This is not the Bethsaida in which Peter, Andrew, and Philip had formerly resided (see note, Matt. 11:21), but another Bethsaida, afterward called Julias, which was situated on the east bank of the Jordan, just above its entrance into the lake of Galilee. (See Smith's Dictionary, Art. Bethsaida, 2.) This is evident from the fact that the company of Jesus had crossed from the west to the northeast side of the lake, in approaching the place. (Mark 8:10, 13; comp. note, Matt. 16:5.)
23. led him out of the town.—Here we see once more the desire of privacy which Jesus had manifested from the time of his tour to the vicinity of Tyre. (Mark 7:24, 33, 36.) He led the man on through the town, in the direction of his own journey, to heal him outside.
spit on his eyes.—Again the act of spitting precedes the act of healing, as in the cure of the deaf stammerer. (Mark 7:33.) But now he spits on the man's eyes, the part which is to be cured. The man's eyes were probably sore, suggesting the application of saliva for its known power to soften and soothe the part thus affected.
24, 25. men as trees.—He had not been born blind, or he would not have known how trees appear as distinguished from men; but having lost his sight, when it was partially restored he received distorted vision of the men about him, so that they appeared tall and rough in their outline like trees. Another touch of the hand of Jesus completed his restoration. Jesus adopted this method of cure to give variety to the manifestations of his power by showing that he could heal in part and by progressive steps, as well as by his more usual method of effecting a perfect cure at one word. This cure was not less miraculous than others, but rather more so: for it was really the working of two miracles, each effecting instantaneously all that was intended by it.
26. Neither go... nor tell.—If the man had gone into the town seeing, or had told persons living in the town what had occurred, the whole population might have gone out in pursuit of Jesus, and thus the privacy which he was seeking to maintain would have been broken up. It was for this reason that Jesus told him to neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
Conversation near Cæsarea Philippi, 27-30
(Matt. 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21)
27-30.—This conversation if much more fully reported by Matthew, and the reader is referred to the notes on Matt. 16:13-20, for comments and explanations.
First Prediction of His Death, 31-33.
(Matt. 16:21-23; Luke 9:22)
31. after three days.—This paragraph also is more fully reported by Matthew, and demands no remarks here except in reference to one striking difference in phraseology. In reporting the predicted time of the resurrection, Matthew has it, "the third day" (Matthew 16:21), and Mark, "after three days." As Jesus can have used only one of the two expressions, we know not which, the writer who uses the other must have regarded it as an equivalent. This circumstance contributes to the proof abundantly furnished in the Scriptures, that the two expressions were equivalent in Jewish usage. (See the discussion of this usage under Matt. 12:40.)
Necessity for Self-sacrifice, 8:34-9:1.
(Matt. 16:24-28; Luke 9:23-27)
34. had called the people.—Notwithstanding the efforts of Jesus to secure privacy, it seems from this verse that the people were about him. Perhaps they were only the people of the neighborhood through which he was passing. Matthew fails to mention the presence of any but the disciples.
The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark.
(Matt. 15:32-38)
1-9.—The account of this miracle is so nearly identical with that given by Matthew that no remarks additional to those already given are deemed necessary. See the parallel in Matthew.
In Dalmanutha. A Sign Demanded, 10-12.
(Matt. 15:39-16:4)
10. into the parts of Dalmanutha.—Matthew says, "into the coasts of Magdala." (Matt. 15:39.) "The coasts" (τὰ ὅρια) of Magdala were the lands lying in the vicinity of Magdala, which was a town of Considerable size. "The parts" (τὰ μέρη) of Dalmanutha were the suburbs of the place, or the lands immediately adjoining it. If we suppose Dalmanutha to have been a village "in the coasts" of Magdala, and Jesus to have been in the immediate vicinity of the former, we have the exact conception furnished by the accounts when combined. Mark, as usual, is more specific than Matthew in regard to the locality.
11. the Pharisees came forth.—Matthew represents the Sadducees as participating in this conversation.
tempting him.—See the note on Matt. 16:1.
12. he sighed deeply.—The excessive depravity exhibited by this demand for a sign in the midst of overwhelming demonstrations of divine power, seems to have moved Jesus to an unusual degree. The tone of his answer, especially as reported by Matthew, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonas," is like that of the final sentence of doom on a wicked world. It was wrung from an unwilling heart by the demands of justice.
no sign be given.—No sign such as they demanded; that is, "a sign from heaven." Mark, in his brevity, omits the exception named by Matthew. (See Matt. 16:4, and the note there.)
Argument of Section 7 This section contains an account of three more remarkable miracles—the expulsion of a demon from the Gentile woman's daughter; the restoration of speech and hearing to the deaf stammerer; and the feeding of four thousand men with seven barley loaves and a few small fishes. By these the divine power of Jesus is once more exhibited. The section also exhibits the tenderness of his compassion in his dealing with the Gentile woman and the hungry multitude, and his judicial indignation against hypocrisy in his conversation with the Pharisees. These are attributes of character which, though they do not prove their possessor to have been superhuman, are necessary to that perfection of character which must be found in the Son of God.
Tour to Cæsarea Philippi, 8:13-9:50
The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, 13-21.
(Matt. 16:5-12)
15. the leaven of Herod.—On the leaven of the Pharisees, see the note under Matt. 16:12. The leaven of Herod was a corrupting political influence. They had need to be guarded against this, because the disputes of political partisans are not only corrupting to those who indulge them, but they impair the influence of men whose business it is to guide all parties in the way of holiness. The apostles adhered strictly, throughout their career, to the rule of action here given.
19, 20. how many baskets.—Mark here gives in its exact form, no doubt, a conversation which Matthew puts into a slightly different form for the sake of abbreviation. (Comp. Matt. 16:9, 10.)
21. that ye do not understand.—Mark leaves the subject without saying, as Matthew does, whether the disciples finally understood the remark or not; but he takes it for granted that his readers would understand it.
For other remarks, see notes on the parallel in Matthew.
Cure of a Blind Man at Bethsaida, 22-26
22. Bethsaida.—This is not the Bethsaida in which Peter, Andrew, and Philip had formerly resided (see note, Matt. 11:21), but another Bethsaida, afterward called Julias, which was situated on the east bank of the Jordan, just above its entrance into the lake of Galilee. (See Smith's Dictionary, Art. Bethsaida, 2.) This is evident from the fact that the company of Jesus had crossed from the west to the northeast side of the lake, in approaching the place. (Mark 8:10, 13; comp. note, Matt. 16:5.)
23. led him out of the town.—Here we see once more the desire of privacy which Jesus had manifested from the time of his tour to the vicinity of Tyre. (Mark 7:24, 33, 36.) He led the man on through the town, in the direction of his own journey, to heal him outside.
spit on his eyes.—Again the act of spitting precedes the act of healing, as in the cure of the deaf stammerer. (Mark 7:33.) But now he spits on the man's eyes, the part which is to be cured. The man's eyes were probably sore, suggesting the application of saliva for its known power to soften and soothe the part thus affected.
24, 25. men as trees.—He had not been born blind, or he would not have known how trees appear as distinguished from men; but having lost his sight, when it was partially restored he received distorted vision of the men about him, so that they appeared tall and rough in their outline like trees. Another touch of the hand of Jesus completed his restoration. Jesus adopted this method of cure to give variety to the manifestations of his power by showing that he could heal in part and by progressive steps, as well as by his more usual method of effecting a perfect cure at one word. This cure was not less miraculous than others, but rather more so: for it was really the working of two miracles, each effecting instantaneously all that was intended by it.
26. Neither go... nor tell.—If the man had gone into the town seeing, or had told persons living in the town what had occurred, the whole population might have gone out in pursuit of Jesus, and thus the privacy which he was seeking to maintain would have been broken up. It was for this reason that Jesus told him to neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
Conversation near Cæsarea Philippi, 27-30
(Matt. 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21)
27-30.—This conversation if much more fully reported by Matthew, and the reader is referred to the notes on Matt. 16:13-20, for comments and explanations.
First Prediction of His Death, 31-33.
(Matt. 16:21-23; Luke 9:22)
31. after three days.—This paragraph also is more fully reported by Matthew, and demands no remarks here except in reference to one striking difference in phraseology. In reporting the predicted time of the resurrection, Matthew has it, "the third day" (Matthew 16:21), and Mark, "after three days." As Jesus can have used only one of the two expressions, we know not which, the writer who uses the other must have regarded it as an equivalent. This circumstance contributes to the proof abundantly furnished in the Scriptures, that the two expressions were equivalent in Jewish usage. (See the discussion of this usage under Matt. 12:40.)
Necessity for Self-sacrifice, 8:34-9:1.
(Matt. 16:24-28; Luke 9:23-27)
34. had called the people.—Notwithstanding the efforts of Jesus to secure privacy, it seems from this verse that the people were about him. Perhaps they were only the people of the neighborhood through which he was passing. Matthew fails to mention the presence of any but the disciples.
The New Testament Commentary: Vol. I - Matthew and Mark.