Mark 8:14 kjv
Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
Mark 8:14 nkjv
Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.
Mark 8:14 niv
The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.
Mark 8:14 esv
Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Mark 8:14 nlt
But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat.
Mark 8 14 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mark 6:41-44 | ...he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people... and they gathered up twelve baskets full... | Preceding miracle: feeding of 5,000, abundance. |
| Mark 8:6-9 | ...took the seven loaves... broke them... gave to the disciples to set before the crowd... they ate and were satisfied... and took up seven baskets full... | Immediately preceding miracle: feeding of 4,000, abundance. |
| Mark 8:16-21 | Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?" | Jesus rebukes their lack of understanding directly tied to this event. |
| Mark 6:52 | For they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. | Previous instance of spiritual dullness regarding Jesus' provision. |
| Matt 6:25-33 | "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink... For the Gentiles seek after all these things... But seek first the kingdom of God..." | Jesus teaches against worry for physical provisions. |
| Lk 12:29-31 | "And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink... For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them." | Similar teaching on God's provision and not worrying. |
| Deut 8:3 | "that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." | Spiritual provision is more important than physical. |
| Lk 4:3-4 | The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'" | Jesus' reliance on God's word over physical needs during temptation. |
| Ps 37:25 | I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. | God's faithfulness in providing for His people. |
| Ps 78:19-20 | They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He struck the rock so that water gushed out, and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread...?" | Israel's doubting God's provision despite past miracles. |
| Jn 6:26-27 | Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves." | People seeking Jesus for physical rather than spiritual reasons. |
| Jn 6:35 | Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." | Jesus is the ultimate spiritual sustenance. |
| Ex 16:15-16 | When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat." | Manna: God's miraculous provision of bread in the wilderness. |
| Neh 9:15 | You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water for them from the rock for their thirst... | Recalling God's faithfulness in providing during the Exodus. |
| Heb 4:13 | And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. | God's full knowledge, which means He knows their physical needs. |
| Phil 4:19 | And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. | Assurance of God's abundant supply for believers. |
| Lk 24:25 | And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" | Jesus' rebuke of disciples for slow understanding. |
| Isa 6:9-10 | And he said, "Go, and say to this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'" | Prophecy of spiritual blindness, echoes disciples' state. |
| Rom 1:21 | For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. | Consequences of not acknowledging God's power and goodness. |
| Jer 5:21 | "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not." | Another prophetic condemnation of spiritual blindness. |
| Hos 13:6 | When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud, and then they forgot me. | Connection between satiety and forgetting God. |
Mark 8 verses
Mark 8 14 Meaning
Mark 8:14 describes a seemingly mundane oversight by the disciples: they had neglected to bring sufficient bread for their journey, possessing only one loaf. This simple logistical error, however, becomes a crucial setup in Mark's narrative for Jesus to reveal the spiritual dullness of His disciples. It immediately follows two massive miraculous feedings performed by Jesus, making their forgetfulness and anxiety about physical provisions particularly striking and a profound indictment of their lack of spiritual perception and trust in His divine power. The passage underscores their preoccupation with earthly concerns rather than grasping the boundless capacity of Jesus as provider and the implications of His teaching.
Mark 8 14 Context
Mark 8:14 occurs in a critical part of Jesus' ministry, immediately following the second miraculous feeding of a multitude (Mark 8:1-10) and preceding Jesus' warning against the "leaven of the Pharisees and Herod" (Mark 8:15ff). The narrative underscores a profound disjunction between the disciples' firsthand experience of Jesus' supernatural power and their continued lack of faith and spiritual perception. Having just seen thousands fed with minimal provisions and abundant leftovers, their subsequent worry about having only "one loaf" highlights their failure to grasp Jesus' identity as a boundless provider. This spiritual dullness sets the stage for Jesus' exasperated questioning and the subsequent revelation of Peter's confession, quickly followed by Peter's misunderstanding of the suffering Messiah. The context overall points to the disciples' slow spiritual growth and the immense challenge Jesus faced in opening their hearts and minds to His true mission and divine capabilities.
Mark 8 14 Word analysis
- Now (Kai, Καὶ): A simple connective particle, often translated as "and," "but," or "now." Here, it marks a transition to a new scene immediately after the great miracle, drawing a subtle contrast with what just transpired.
- the disciples (hoi mathētai, οἱ μαθηταὶ): Jesus' followers, those who are meant to learn and understand from Him. Their role is central, making their lapse of memory significant.
- had forgotten (epelathonto, ἐπελάθοντο): From
epilanthánomai(ἐπιλανθάνομαι), meaning "to forget," "to neglect," "to lose awareness of." This isn't intentional disobedience, but an oversight, a lapse in vigilance. The perfect tense implies a past action with ongoing effect; they had forgotten and remained in that state of forgetfulness. It indicates their human frailty and preoccupation. - to take (labein, λαβεῖν): Infinitive of
lambanō, meaning "to take," "to grasp," "to receive." This action was a common preparation for travel. - bread (artous, ἄρτους): Plural. Refers to the ordinary loaves, the staple of daily life. The plural form implies general provisions for sustenance.
- and they had (ouk eichon, οὐκ εἶχον, combined with "only one loaf" later to form a contrast): Literally "not they had" with a singular loaf. Imperfect tense, indicating continuous possession in the past, or continuous lack of plural bread.
- only one (ei mē hena, εἰ μὴ ἕνα): Literally "except one." This emphasizes the scarcity from their perspective. It intensifies their perceived dire situation.
- loaf (arton, ἄρτον): Singular. A single piece of bread. The direct contrast with the previously abundant loaves is striking.
- with them (meth' heautōn, μεθ' ἑαυτῶν): With themselves; highlighting their self-reliance or self-sufficiency, which proves utterly inadequate without Jesus.
- in the boat (en tō ploiō, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ): Their confined setting, emphasizing the immediate context of their perceived need and their closeness to Jesus who could provide.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread: This highlights the profound irony and their spiritual shortsightedness. Fresh off witnessing Jesus multiply loaves for thousands on two separate occasions, their fundamental concern for physical sustenance, easily supplied by Jesus, shows their deep misunderstanding of His power and presence. It reveals a pattern of memory lapse regarding divine provision.
- and they had only one loaf with them in the boat: This stark statement underscores their perceived scarcity and vulnerability. Their limited human provision stands in stark contrast to the divine abundance just displayed. It sets the stage for Jesus' subsequent exasperated question, drawing attention to their focus on what they don't have, rather than who they do have. Their concern is intensely practical, but spiritually devoid, given the recent miracles.
Mark 8 14 Bonus section
The seemingly trivial detail of having "only one loaf" in Mark 8:14 accentuates the incredible disconnect between the disciples' physical experience and their spiritual understanding. The two recent feeding miracles yielded a combined total of nineteen baskets of leftovers (twelve from 5,000 and seven from 4,000), representing immense superabundance. For the disciples to then worry about having one loaf speaks volumes about their persistent difficulty in truly internalizing the implications of Jesus' divine power and identity. This serves Mark's broader theological theme of emphasizing the disciples' lack of full comprehension until much later in the narrative, highlighting the reality of human fallibility even among those directly taught by the Lord. It underscores that repeated exposure to miraculous signs does not automatically translate into deep spiritual understanding or unwavering faith without the intervention of the Spirit. This moment prepares for Jesus' direct, sharp questioning about their perception and hardening of heart in Mark 8:17-21, setting a somber tone for their spiritual progress despite privileged proximity to the Messiah.
Mark 8 14 Commentary
Mark 8:14 serves as a critical bridge in Mark's narrative, connecting the grand demonstrations of Jesus' power to feed multitudes with the profound spiritual blindness of His closest followers. Their "forgetting to take bread" is more than a simple oversight; it represents a deep failure of memory and perception regarding Jesus' divine identity and capability. This mundane concern over a single loaf, immediately after witnessing the abundance generated by Christ twice over, dramatically exposes their hardened hearts (Mark 6:52, 8:17) and their slow understanding (Mark 8:17, 8:21). It highlights a core human tendency to trust in visible, finite resources rather than the infinite, unseen power of God. Jesus' immediate challenge about "the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod" is rooted in this moment, prompting them to look beyond the literal bread to grasp spiritual truths and warnings against deceptive doctrines that mirror their own physical anxieties. The disciples' lapse here offers a powerful reminder that spiritual insight is not guaranteed even for those closest to Christ without an active openness of heart and a deliberate recalling of His past provisions and teachings. It exemplifies that one can witness incredible signs of God's power and still miss the fundamental truth of who God is and how He provides.
For example, this verse practically illustrates how individuals, even after experiencing clear divine intervention or provision, can quickly default to human anxiety and resource-consciousness, forgetting God's power. It warns against a short spiritual memory.