First, we discussed the miracle of seven loaves and a few small fish feeding four thousand people. Because it is similar to the miracle of five loaves and two fish, we quoted the previous discussion. Second, we talked about the Pharisees’ unsuccessful request for a miracle and the prophecy that the Son of Man would be like Jonah, dead for three days and three nights. We briefly discussed Jonah’s miracle. Third, we talked about the meaning of guarding against the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod. Fourth, we talked about the details of Jesus spitting to heal the blind man. Fifth, we talked about Peter’s confessing Jesus as the Christ. From the text, we can see that the Greek word G4073 has two meanings, rock and small stone. Because it is a pun, Peter is just a small stone, not a rock. Sixth, we talked about Jesus’ first prophecy of resurrection after three days of death, and also mentioned the other two times. Finally, regarding the need to put to death the worldly life and have spiritual life, those with ears to hear should listen!
1. Seven loaves and a few small fishes to feed four thousand
“In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, “I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.” And His disciples answered Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” And He was asking them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and started giving them to His disciples to serve to them, and they served them to the people. They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. And they ate and were satisfied; and they picked up seven large baskets full of what was left over of the broken pieces. About four thousand were there; and He sent them away. And immediately He entered the boat with His disciples and came to the district of Dalmanutha.”(Mark 8:1-10)
The same incident is recorded in Matthew 15:32-39, but it says, “And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.”(Matthew 15:39) Therefore, the regions of Dalmanutha and Magadha refer to the same area.
This is similar to the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes, which is “…He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”(Matthew 15:36) This is not about blessing the loaves and fishes, but rather, like the breaking of bread, the representative broke His body to provide them with spiritual food. When we discuss Mark 8:19-21 later, we will know that our previous discussion in “1. The miracle of five loaves and two fish” under “1118 Five loaves and two fish, calm wind in sea, and spiritual food – John (6) 1-33” is correct. As we said in that article, it is obvious that they did not understand Jesus’ intention in the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes! Because we have discussed the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes in detail, we will not discuss the similar miracle of feeding four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fishes here. For those interested in this article, please visit the website “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click on “On spiritual understanding about life.”
2. The Pharisees asked for a miracle
“The Pharisees came out and began to argue with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, to test Him. Sighing deeply in His spirit, He said, “Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.””(Mark 8:11-12)
Jesus had already performed many miracles at that time; they simply wanted to find fault with Him. The request for a miracle is also recorded in Luke 11:29-32 and Matthew 12:38-42. The latter states very clearly, “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.”(Matthew 12:38-42)
The miracle of Jonah is clearly recorded in Jonah 1:1-2:10, which states, “And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.”(Jonah 1 :17) This prophecy is also clear here: “for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”(Matthew 12:40). This was also prophesied under different circumstances: “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” …”(Matthew 17:22-23) on
We know that Jesus truly died for three days. In the Book of Jonah, “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish, and he said, “I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me.
I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice.”(Jonah 2:1-2). Although some say Jonah merely cried from the depths of Sheol and did not die, if a person goes to Sheol, what else is there besides death? Therefore, Jonah died completely in the fish’s belly and then was resurrected. This is just like Lazarus in the New Testament who died and was resurrected; ultimately, he will die. Furthermore, according to “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent,” if Jonah had not been resurrected after three days, Jesus would not have said, “so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Of course, this is the only similarity; Jesus is immortal after His resurrection.
3. Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
“Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to Him, “Seven.” And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?””(Mark 8:13-21)
The same incident is recorded and clearly stated in Matthew 16:5-12: “How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The disciples thought it was because they had not brought bread, so Jesus said, “…You men of little faith, …”(Matthew 16:8) Please note that Jesus emphasized breaking. The rest of the Scripture is very clear, so I will not elaborate on it.
4. Jesus spits to heal the blind man
“And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly. And He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.””(Mark 8:22-26)
Notice that Jesus healing blind men used different methods in different occasions. For example, “When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.”(John 9:6-7) This time, the healing took place in two parts outside the village. Apparently, there was something wrong with the village, for “…He sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.””(Mark 8:26)
5. Peter recognizing Jesus as the Christ
“Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” And He warned them to tell no one about Him.”(Mark 8:27-30)
The same incident is briefly recorded in Luke 9:18-20 and also in Matthew 16:13-20, where Matthew 16:16-19 states, “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock (G4073) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.””(Matthew 16:16-19)
The controversial word is G4073. This word appears 16 times. Let’s first look at this verse, “…they were drinking from a spiritual rock (G4073) which followed them; and the rock (G4073) was Christ.”(1 Corinthians 10:4) Obviously, G4073 in this verse refers to Christ, the great Rock, the truly unshakable Rock. Let’s look at two other verses: ““Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock (G4073).”(Matthew 7:24-25) and “Other seed fell on rocky soil (G4073), and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.”(Luke 8:6). In these two passages, the rock is definitely not a large rock like Jesus. In comparison, it can only be described as a small stone. Therefore, the word G4073 has two meanings: rock and small stone.
So in this verse, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock (G4073) I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”(Matthew 16:18). Is this G4073 a rock or a small stone? This is clear from the agreement of God’s words through the Scriptures: “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”(1 Corinthians 3:11). So Peter is just a small stone, not a rock. This is a pun, also used in other places: “I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.”(Philemon 1:10-11). The name Onesimus means ‘useful.’
6. Prophecy of resurrection after three days
“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. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.””(Mark 8:31-33)
This is the first prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection after three days, also recorded in Matthew 16:21-23 and Luke 9:22. Although Jesus said, “…Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”(Matthew 16:17), when Peter considered only the will of man and not God, Jesus knew it came from Satan and rebuked Peter.
By the way, let’s mention two other prophecies. The second one is: “And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” …”(Matthew 17:22-23) The third time was when Jesus was going up to Jerusalem and said to the twelve disciples, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.”(Matthew 20:18-19)
7. Putting the worldly life to death and having the spiritual life
“And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.””(Mark 8:34-38)
The fact that Christians must bear the cross is also mentioned in Matthew 10:38-39 and Matthew 16:24-27. The latter further states, “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.”(Matthew 16:27) Yes, christians must have act of faith. Here, it says we must put to death the old self: “for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”(Romans 8:13). Putting to death the earthly life allows us to have spiritual life. When a person believes, they receive a new spirit and the indwelling Holy Spirit (see Ezekiel 36:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:19). The body’s redemption occurs at the Lord’s second coming (see 1 Corinthians 15:35-54). Since man is composed of a spirit, soul, and body (see 1 Thessalonians 5:23), it is the soul-life of the old self that we must put to death. Although the Bible does not use the terms “old self” or “soul-life,” as we have discussed above, they are definitely present in the Bible, just as the Bible does not use the term “Trinity” but definitely has the concept of God as a Triune God.
Luke 9:23-26 says the same thing. Luke 14:27-35 also says this, with saying, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:27) It gives an example to illustrate this point and finally ends, “…He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”(Luke 14:35) It is really a must to have ears that can hear.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
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