Like a commander addressing his soldiers. Full of clear vision and resolve.

I. THE AIM. (Ver. 38, Mark 9:1.) It is the overcoming of spiritual error and Satanic influence, and the establishment of the kingdom of God.

II. THE CONDITIONS OF ITS ATTAINMENT. (Ver. 34.) These are open to all. The multitude is addressed equally with the disciples. There appears to have been a disposition in many to join themselves to his fortunes. He therefore lays down the terms of his service, so that none may enter it without knowledge of its nature.

1. Self-denial.

2. Cross-bearing. Not quite identical with the preceding, although involving it. "A Christian," says Luther, "is a Crucian (Morison). His cross," each having some personal and peculiar grief, sorrow, death, through which he has to pass. This cross he is to take up voluntarily, and to carry, long ere it shall have to bear him.

3. Obedience and imitation. There can be no self-assertion or private end to be sought by individual believers. "The footsteps of Jesus." It is a cross even as the Master has to be crucified. The same spirit and plan of moral life must be shown. He is our law and our example.

II. INCENTIVES. (Ver. 35-Mark 9:1.)

1. Christ's example and inspiration. He says not "Go," but "Come." He goes before, and shows the way.

2. The endeavor to save the lower "self will expose to certain destruction the higher self;" and The sacrifice of the lower "self" and its earthly condition, of satisfaction will be the salvation of the higher "self." "Life," or "soul," is used here ambiguously. A moral truism; a paradox to the worldly mind. "It is in self-denial that we first gain our true selves, recovering our personality again" (Lange).

3. The value of this higher life cannot be computed. All objective property is useless without that which is the subjective condition of its possession. Righteousness is that which makes individuality and the spiritual nature precious, and imparts the highest value to existence. Every man has to weigh the "world" against his "soul."

4. Recognition of Christ on earth is the condition of his recognition of us hereafter. It is not merely that we are "not to be ashamed;" we are to "glory" in him. The recognitions, the "well done" of Heaven, the highest reward. Even here the great triumphs of truth confer honor upon those who have striven for them.

5. The triumphs of the kingdom of God are not long ]PGBR> deferred. Some of Christ's hearers lived to see the overthrow of Jerusalem and the universal diffusion of the gospel. The spiritual vision is purified to discern the progress of truth in the world. Those victories which Christian morals and spirituality have already won within the experience of living Christians are an ample and abundant reward. - M.

No ransom can purchase life. You may remember, as I do, the dying hours of a monarch who emphatically lived to pamper the flesh, to serve lusts and pleasures, but not for God or his fellow men. When he knew the fatal hour was approaching, he said to the medical men about him, "Oh, I would give any sum you name, if you would but give me another year of life." But it was of no use. They could not; they could but shake their heads and tell him that One only could give life, and when He saw fit He would take it away — God, even God. There is nothing in this world that a man can find, which will bribe death to stop away. Kings die, and their sceptre and crown roll in the dust, Philosophers succumb, and all their busy chambers of the brain, which have been occupied by deep researches, become occupied by the worms of the earth. The young man, glorying in his beauty and strength, succumbs to death, and his sun sets at noonday. And the pretty babe, which is just opening like a bud in all its infantine beauty — ah, how often does death lay its cold hand on that! There is no conceivable thing capable of saving a man, woman, or child, whom God has appointed to die. By the question in the text, our Lord means this; and He means more than this. He refers also to the life of the world to come. What ransom shall a man give for that life? There is such a ransom. There is One who has found a ransom. It is Jesus. He is the life of the world. He that hath the Son hath life. Have you found this ransom?

(R. W. Dibdin, M. A.)

What is the world, but the means of having food and raiment and ease, in greater variety and abundance than others have them — a distinction which, if viewed narrowly, is not worth half the pains and labour by which only it can be obtained. But what is the sold? It is the immortal and everlasting principle of all thought and feeling in man's nature — the subject in which abide all hope and fear, all joy and sorrow, all happiness and all misery. It is that part of our intellectual frame which cannot die, forget, cease to be conscious, or fly from itself; but which lives forever, either beloved and cherished by its Almighty Creator, or expelled from His presence in horror and despair. If threescore years and ten were to bring it to an end, and make all its thoughts perish; if, after death, there were no judgment; if the worm of remorse were to become extinct on the bed where the last breath goes forth, and to cease its gnawings with the mortal pains of the body, — then might we hesitate between the interests of the present and the future, and adopt the maxim of the atheist, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." But, as these things cannot be; as the soul, which sinneth and repenteth not, has to die a death which will never be completed, a death of horror and despair, of which the sighs and agony and groaning ascend up perpetually; the question which should now interest us the most is, "What shall we give in exchange for our souls?" We must, in the first place, present before God, on the altar of faith, the Atonement which He Himself has provided, the sole procuring cause of human salvation; we must offer up to Him a broken and contrite heart, weaned from the world, and devoted to His service; we must solicit His mercy with the tears of penitence and vows of reformation, entreating that His grace may be sufficient for us, and His strength made perfect in our weakness; — and these are the things which the Lord will accept in exchange for our souls.

(Bp. Russell.)

What would a man not give? If he had the whole world, would he not willingly give it, provided he really knew, believed, or felt, that otherwise he would be utterly lost? King Richard, in Shakespeare, says, "My kingdom for a horse!" How many kingdoms would be surrendered — if man were not utterly infatuated — for the safety of the soul? The Saviour has gone forward in thought, and takes His standpoint in eternity. It is from that standpoint that He puts His question. It is implied that the time will come, in the experience of the persistently infatuated, when kingdom upon kingdom — were they available — would be an insufficient exchange for the soul.

(J. Morison, D. D.)

"I was called upon," says an American clergyman, "some years ago, to visit an individual, a part of whose face had been eaten away by a most loathsome cancer. Fixing my eyes on this man in his agony, I said, 'Supposing that Almighty God were to give you your choice, which would you prefer, your cancer, your pain, and your sufferings, with a certainty of death before you, but of immortality hereafter; or health, prosperity, long life in this world, and the risk of losing your immortal soul?' 'Ah, sir!' said the man, 'give me the cancer and the pain, with the Bible and the hope of heaven, and others may take the world, long life, and prosperity.'"

Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs, a pious minister, mentions the case of a rich man who, when he lay on his death bed, called for his bags of money; and, having laid a bag of gold to his heart, after a little he bade them take it away, saying, "It will not do; it will not do."

"What is the value of this estate?" said a gentleman to another with whom he was riding, as they passed a fine mansion surrounded by fair and fertile fields. "I don't know what it is valued at; I know what it cost its late possessor." "How much?" "His soul, Early in life, he professed faith in Christ, and obtained a subordinate position in a mercantile establishment. He continued to maintain a reputable religious profession, till he became a partner in the firm. Then he gave less attention to religion, and more and more to business; and the care of this world choked the Word. He became exceedingly rich in money, but so poor and miserly in soul, that none would have suspected he had ever been religious. At length he purchased this large estate, built a costly mansion, and then sickened and died. Just before he died, he remarked, "My prosperity has been my ruin!"

The dying tell us that earthly possessions cannot satisfy us in death. Philip II of Spain cried, "O would God I had never reigned! O that I had lived alone with God! What doth all my glory profit, but that I have so much the more torment in death." Albert the Good said, "I am surrounded with wealth and rank, but if I trusted only to them, I should be a miserable man." Salmasius declared, "I have lost a world of time. Oh, sirs! mind the world less, and God more." Bunsen exclaimed, "My riches and experience is having known Jesus Christ. All the rest is nothing."

Elias, Elijah, Herod, Jesus, John, PeterBethsaida, Caesarea Philippi, Dalmanutha, Decapolis, Sea of GalileeBuy, Exchange, Return, Soul1. Jesus feeds the people miraculously;
10. refuses to give a sign to the Pharisees;
14. admonishes his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod;
22. gives a blind man his sight;
27. acknowledges that he is the Jesus who should suffer and rise again;
34. and exhorts to patience in persecution for the profession of the gospel.

Mark 8:37

     5242   buying and selling
     5413   money, attitudes
     5766   attitudes, to life
     5974   value

Mark 8:34-37

     8120   following Christ

Mark 8:35-37

     5020   human nature
     8302   love, abuse of

Mark 8:36-37

     4030   world, behaviour in
     8780   materialism, and sin

Mark 8:36-38

     2426   gospel, responses

Mark 8:37-38

     6646   eternal life, gift

The Religious Uses of Memory
'Do ye not remember!'--Mark viii. 18. The disciples had misunderstood our Lord's warning 'against the leaven of the Pharisees,' which they supposed to have been occasioned by their neglect to bring with them bread. Their blunder was like many others which they committed, but it seems to have singularly moved our Lord, who was usually so patient with His slow scholars. The swift rain of questions, like bullets rattling against a cuirass, of which my text is one, shows how much He was moved, if not …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Patient Teacher, and the Slow Scholars
'And when Jesus knew It, He saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? 18. Having eyes, see ye not? having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?'--Mark viii. 17,18. How different were the thoughts of Christ and of His disciples, as they sat together in the boat, making their way across the lake! He was pursuing a train of sad reflections which, the moment before their embarkation, had caused Him to sigh …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Gradual Healing of the Blind Man
'And Jesus cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto Him, and besought Him to touch him. 23. And He took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on his eyes, and put His hands upon Him, He asked him if he saw ought. 24. And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. 25. After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.'--Mark viii. 22-25. This miracle, which is only recorded …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Cross, and Ours
'And Jesus went out, and His disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? 28. And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. 29. And He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. 30. And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him. 31. And He began to teach them, that the Son of Man must suffer many …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Mark viii. 34, "If any Man Would Come after Me, Let Him Deny Himself," Etc. And on the Words 1
1. Hard and grievous does that appear which the Lord hath enjoined, that "whosoever will come after Him, must deny himself." [3157] But what He enjoineth is not hard or grievous, who aideth us that what He enjoineth may be done. For both is that true which is said to Him in the Psalm, "Because of the words of Thy lips I have kept hard ways." [3158] And that is true which He said Himself, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." [3159] For whatsoever is hard in what is enjoined us, charity makes …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Mark viii. 5, Etc. , Where the Miracle of the Seven Loaves is Related.
1. In expounding to you the Holy Scriptures, I as it were break bread for you. Do ye in hunger receive it, and break [3135] forth with a fulness of phrase from the heart; and ye who are rich in your banquet, be not meagre in good works and deeds. What I deal out to you is not mine own. What ye eat, I eat; what ye live upon, I live upon. We have in heaven a common store-house; for from thence comes the Word of God. 2. The "seven loaves" [3136] signify the seven-fold operation of the Holy Spirit; the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Profit and Loss
We shall divide our text, and consider, in the first place, the gain a man would get if he gained the whole world; in the second place, the fearful loss if a man should lose his soul; and then, afterwards, we will try to finish up by some practical lesson. 1. In the first place, WHAT IS A MAN PROFITED IF HE SHOULD GAIN THE WHOLE WORD? Many Christian people, who do not exactly talk common sense, sum this all up by saying, that to gain the whole world is to gain nothing at all. Perhaps they are right, …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

The Measure of Sin.
7th Sunday after Trinity. S. Mark viii. 2. "I have compassion on the multitude." INTRODUCTION.--In to-day's Gospel we see the tender compassion of our Lord for those who came into the wilderness to hear Him. This is only one example out of many of His great love and mercy: and indeed "His mercy is over all His works." "Thou, O Lord," says David, "art full of compassion and mercy, long-suffering and truth." This is a verity of which we are so convinced that it is quite possible we may overlook …
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

Religious Dangers
(Preached at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, 1861, for the London Diocesan Board of Education.) St. Mark viii. 4, 5, 8. And the disciples answered him, From whence can a man satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? . . . How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. . . . so they did eat and were filled; and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. I think that I can take no better text for the subject on which I am about to preach, than that which the Gospel for this …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

The Cause of Spiritual Stupidity.
How is it that ye do not understand?'--ST. MARK viii. 21. After feeding the four thousand with seven loaves and a few small fishes, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus, having crossed the lake, was met on the other side by certain Pharisees, whose attitude towards him was such that he betook himself again to the boat, and recrossed the lake. On the way the disciples bethought them that they had in the boat but a single loaf: probably while the Lord was occupied with the Pharisees, one …
George MacDonald—Unspoken Sermons

The Final Controversies in Jerusalem
177. The early Christians were greatly interested in the teachings of Jesus and in his deeds, but they thought oftenest of the victory which by his resurrection he won out of seeming defeat. This is proved by the fact that of the first two gospels over one third, of Luke over one fifth, and of the fourth gospel nearly one half are devoted to the story of the passion and resurrection. This preponderance is not strange in view of the shock which the death of Jesus caused his disciples, and the new …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Prayer --The All-Important Essence of Earthly Worship
Where the spiritual consciousness is concerned--the department which asks the question and demands the evidence--no evidence is competent or relevant except such as is spiritual. Only that which is above matter and above logic can be heard, because the very question at issue is the existence and personality of a spiritual and supernatural God. Only the Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit. This must be done in a spiritual or supernatural way, or it cannot be done at all.--C.L. Chilton The …
Edward M. Bounds—The Reality of Prayer

Eight Easter Lessons Learned at Emmaus. Luke xxiv. 13-35.
I.--When friends speak of good things, Jesus draws near. "These things" which concern Jesus. Even if men speak sorrowfully, if it is of Jesus they speak, He is nigh. If He were the subject of conversation more, His friends would have more of His company. If you are shy of Him, He will be shy of you. II.--Unbelief manufactures sorrow for the godly. Jesus said they looked "sad." It is a pity to employ unbelief; he does not know how to make a smile. When he tries it is a misfit. If the disciples …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Second Touch
"After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up."--Mark viii. 25. C. P. C. tr., Emma Frances Bevan, 1899 Lo! a Hand amidst the darkness Clasped mine own-- Led me forth the blind and helpless, Led me forth alone; From the crowd and from the clamour To a silent place; Touched mine eyes--I looked upon Him-- Saw Him face to face. Saw Him, as the dawning swiftly risen O'er the valleys grey; I had passed from midnight of my prison Forth into the day. Lo! again His mighty Hand hath …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen and Others (Second Series)

Epistle xxiii. To John, Bishop.
To John, Bishop. Gregory to John, Bishop of Prima Justiniana in Illyricum. It is clearly a manifest evidence of goodness that the consent of all should concur in the election of one person. Since, then, the account which we have received from our brethren and fellow-bishops declared that you are summoned to the position of priesthood by the unanimous consent of the whole council and the will of the most serene Prince, we have rendered thanks with great exultation to Almighty God our Creator, who …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The General Service to a Monk-Martyr.
At the Vespers, for O Lord, I have cried, the Stichera, Tone 6. Similar to: Of three days... Let us, O faithful, in dutifully praising the exploits of the wise abstainer and the pains of the soldier of Christ, cry out unto the Lord: Through his intercessions, O Christ the God, deliver us from every calamity. An abundance of the most noble peace will be given of God unto thee, O holy father (mentioned by name), that hast endured the frightful storm of torments, thou invincible warrior and intercessor …
Anonymous—The General Menaion

The Four Thousand
"In those days, when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with Me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way; and some of them are come from afar. And His disciples answered Him, Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place? And He asked them, How many loaves …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Leaven of the Pharisees
"And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with Him, seeking of Him a sign from heaven, tempting Him. And He sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. And He left them, and again entering into the boat departed to the other side. And they forgot to take bread; and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf. And He charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Men as Trees
"And they come unto Bethsaida. And they bring to Him a blind man, and beseech Him to touch him. And He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when He had spit on his eyes, and laid His hands upon him, He asked him, Seest thou aught? And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold them as trees, walking. Then again He laid His hands upon his eyes; and he looked stedfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. And He sent him away to his home, saying, …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Confession and the Warning
"And Jesus went forth, and His disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and in the way He asked His disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? And they told Him, saying, John the Baptist: and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. And He asked them, But Who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto Him, Thou art the Christ. And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him. And He began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

the Rebuke of Peter
"And He spake the saying openly. And Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.". . . . "But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.' And when He had called the people to Him, with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Zealous Protestants
Tuesday, May 3.--I rode to Birr, twenty miles from Atlone and, the key of the session house not being to be found, declared "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" in the street, to a dull, rude, senseless multitude. Many laughed the greater part of the time. Some went away just in the middle of a sentence. And yet when one cried out (a Carmelite friar, clerk to the priest), "You lie! You lie!" the zealous Protestants cried out, "Knock him down"; and it was not sooner said than done. I saw some bustle, …
John Wesley—The Journal of John Wesley

The Greatness of the Soul,
AND UNSPEAKABLENESS 0F THE LOSS THEREOF; WITH THE CAUSES OF THE LOSING IT. FIRST PREACHED AT PINNER'S HALL and now ENLARGED AND PUBLISHED FOR GOOD. By JOHN BUNYAN, London: Printed for Benjamin Alsop, at the Angel and Bible in the Poultry, 1682 Faithfully reprinted from the Author's First Edition. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. Our curiosity is naturally excited to discover what a poor, unlettered mechanic, whose book-learning had been limited to the contents of one volume, could by possibility know …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

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