Marcus: Chapter 8

One day there is again a great crowd without anything to eat. He calls his students and says to them — I am worried for the crowd, because they have stayed near me for three days already, and they do not have anything to eat. If I send them away to their own homes without eating, some of them will be lost on the way; some of them have come from far away.

His students answer him — From where could these be fed bread, here in an empty place?

— How many [loaves of] bread do we have? he asks.

— Seven, they say.

He passes the word to sit down on the ground, and takes the seven [loaves of] bread and gives thanks. He breaks [them] and gives [them] to his students to serve, and they serve the crowd. He has a few little fish, and giving praise, he says — Serve these also.

And they eat and are fed, and they pick up seven bags of scraps. They are around four thousand. He dismisses them. Then getting on the boat with his students, he goes to [their] part of the anchorage.

The Separatists come out and begin to investigate him. They seek a sign from the sky regarding him, and they test him. Sighing in his æther, he says — Why does this kindred seek a sign? Amen I say to you, if this kindred were given a sign…

He leaves them and boards the boat again, and he goes away to the other side. They have forgotten to bring bread, and only have one [loaf of] bread in the boat with them. He admonishes them, saying — Pay attention, and look away from the yeast of the Separatists, and the yeast of Herod.

They discuss amongst themselves [the fact] that they have no bread. Knowing [this], he says to them — Why are you discussing [the fact] that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive, nor grasp [this]? Do you have calcified hearts? Having eyes, do you not see, and having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember when I broke the five [loaves of] bread with the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps you picked up?

— Twelve, they say to him.

— And the seven [loaves] with the four thousand, how many bags of scraps did you pick up?

And they say to him — Seven.

He says to them — Do you not yet grasp it?

He goes to Beth-Tsaida. They bring to him a blind [person], and beg him to grasp him. Taking the blind one’s hand, he leads him outside the village, spits in his eyes, lays his hands on him, and asks him — Do you see anything?

He looks up and says — I see people, for I see [things] like trees walking around.

Again he lays his hands on his eyes. Staring, he is restored, and sees everything shining. And he sends him to his house, saying — Do not go into the village.

Yoshua and his students go out to the area of Caesareia of Philippos, and on the way he questions his students, saying to them — Who do people say I am? They tell him, saying — Yohanan the abluter, others Elias, and others one of the prophets.

— But you, he asks, who do you say I am?

Petros says to him in response — You are the Chosen One.

He orders them not to speak about him.

He begins to teach them that it is necessary for the Human One to endure much, and be convicted by the elders and the archpriests and the scholars, and be killed, and after three days awaken.

He speaks freely. Petros takes him aside and begins to admonish him. But he turns and looks at his students, and admonishes Petros, and says — Get behind me, Accuser, because you are not considering the [things] of God, but [things] of humans.

He calls the crowd [together] with his students, and he says to them — If [any]one wishes to follow me, they must deny themselves, and set up the stake of their [impalement], and follow me.

— Whoever wishes to save their own self will destroy it, but whoever destroys their self because of me and the Welcome Message will save it. For how does it help a person to gain the whole cosmos but be made to lose their self? What payment [could] a person give for their self?

Whoever is ashamed of me and my ideas among this unfaithful and failing kindred, the Human One will be ashamed of when he comes with his father’s acknowledgement and the sacred messengers.

— Amen, he says, I say to you that there are some standing here who will indeed not taste death until they see the kingdom of God coming in power.

Chapter 9