Chapter eight is a turning point in this gospel account. It is here, and only here, that you will find such a severe rebuke of his disciples by Jesus. It is also here in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus begins to tell his disciples about his impending crucifixion (8:31).
For all the emphasis on faith in this book, the disciples fail to get it. They just don’t understand. When Jesus hears them sniping at one another over the fact that they have no food, the Lord is seemingly infuriated. He has fed 9000 people from few resources with nineteen basket-fulls of food left over – and they are whining about having no food. Why didn’t they simply come to him?
We have much to learn from this text. The problems that pervade our lives and frighten us the most are problems Jesus can handle – if we will just take the matters to him, and resolve to be satisfied with his answer. That is the essence of faith, and the one thing God requires of His people.