The new revelation about Jesus, which those who "have eyes to see" will see, is that Jesus has the power to give them bread. He has power to satisfy the hungry crowds, eventually by eucharistic bread, a sign both of love shared in a community and of God's transcendent presence through Jesus' gift of himself.
The new, third stage in discipleship begins with their being sent out on mission (6:7-13). Mark, unlike Matthew, makes of this a separate stage in the disciples' development. Jesus is bringing them closer to the secret of his own mission so that they will be able to answer the question of who he is. The traditional materials that follow will show how they are to be his missionaries.
Mark surrounds this traditional material (multiplication of loaves, question about ritual purity) with two scenes that take up the question of Jesus' identity, thus forming an inclusion around it. At the beginning of this section is the implied question of Herod. "Now that his [Jesus] name was well known... some were saying he is John the Baptist risen from the dead... others, that he is Elijah, others again that He is a prophet." Herod, for whom Jesus is a question, replies: "It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead" (6:14-16). At the end of the section, we hear Jesus' own question to his disciples: "Who do you say I am?" (cf. 8:27-30).
By the use of this question at the beginning and end of this whole section, Mark seems to be saying that the themes and stories within this inclusion answer the question of Jesus' identity. Peter and the disciples will eventually be able to say, "You are the Christ," once they have participated in the multiplication of bread and once they have assisted at a key controversy between Jesus and the Pharisees, namely, the controversy over ritual purity: "What truly makes a person impure is not what goes into the stomach, but what comes from the heart" (7:21-23).
As we showed above, throughout this section Jesus himself instructs the disciples and makes it clear to them that "bread" is the key. The final story of the section, just before Peter's confession of faith, is the cure of a blind man. This emphasizes, first, the disciple's spiritual blindness -- they cannot see that the miracle of bread enlightens them about Jesus' power to come walking on water (6:52); nor can they see how the bread Jesus gives is the "sign" which the Pharisees ask for (8:11-13); but they cannot see because of their entanglement with the laws of ritual purity (7:1-13).
Secondly, they, along with the blind man, can be cured. Jesus "leads the blind man outside the village, puts spittle on his eyes and lays his hands on him." This is only partially effective, so "Jesus again laid his hands on the man's eyes and he saw clearly." Once the disciples discover that they are blind to all the signs Jesus is giving, they too will begin the slow process of coming to see -- that is, by professing faith in him. This is a new stage of faith. In theological terms, a believer already possesses signs of what God is doing -- sacramentally in worship, for example, or existentially in a community's works of love -- yet he or she asks for signs as the Pharisees did, or does not understand the signs that are given. Once this blindness is acknowledged, the believer begins to see. He or she begins to understand the main sign Jesus gives of himself, that is, bread, and with this knowledge can answer the question of who Jesus is.
Lessons in Living by Faith
After the climax of the Gospel, the "central pivot," 8:27-9:13, when Peter professes faith in Jesus, there are three new moments. The purpose of the second half of Mark's Gospel and the content of the three moments of faith after a faith commitment has been made is, first of all, to demonstrate a balance, or equilibrium, between the triumphant, glorious Jesus of the first half of the Gospel and a suffering, defeated Jesus in the second half.
Jesus, historically, dies a tragic death in Jerusalem. Although throughout his mission he conquers disease and demons, he is seemingly overcome by the forces of jealousy and evil. The three prophecies of the passion show clearly, and prepare in advance, an interpretation that understands that Jesus himself is aware of the resistance to God's kingdom, of the resistance to those who commit themselves to preaching it, and of the real evil behind this resistance. He speaks of the eventuality of suffering to his disciples because his mission and vocation are not only to overcome sin and death for himself, but to share his interpretation of suffering with them. Thus in this second half of the Gospel three new stages are needed in which the disciples learn in advance how to face suffering.
The content of this new teaching in the second half of Mark's Gospel is not theoretical but practical. It involves a deep commitment to be with Jesus, to follow him, as he fulfills his Father's will. The vocabulary of chapters 9 and 10 emphasizes this, as we see especially in 10:32: "They were on the road... Jesus was walking on ahead; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive." At the very beginning of this fourth section (that is, 8:31-10:32), Jesus describes the conditions of discipleship (8:31-32) and Peter misunderstands him; Jesus then tells Peter to "get behind him." The lesson on suffering is difficult to accept, and the only way to learn it is to abandon human ways of thinking and accept God's way of thinking, as it is revealed in Jesus.
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