In this area of the Bible, Jesus first feeds the 4000 followers using just 7 loaves of bread. After he dismisses them, he is quizzed by the Pharisees, who demand a sign from God, but Jesus says he won't do it.
[83% of Americans identify themselves as Christians.]
Jesus tells the apostles to watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees, and the apostles tell him they have no bread. Jesus chides them for not yet understanding his lesson and reminds them that he has fed 5000 people with few loaves of bread, then 4000 with few loaves of bread.
[Only 3 in 10 Americans actually attend a religious service at least once a week;
most of those are Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons]
Jesus heals a blind man, gradually, and talks about how he must suffer and be killed, then rise again. Peter tries to talk to him about this, and Jesus snaps at him: "Get behind me, Satan," he says, telling Peter that Peter has only human concerns, not those of God.
[52% of the people that attend church at least one time per week say that there are no clear standards for what is right and wrong, and that it depends on the situation.]
After all that, Jesus tells the apostles:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
[Over the last 50 years, the best-selling book in the world has been the Bible; number 2 is a book of quotations from Mao Tse Tung. Number 3 is the Harry Potter series.]
