Jesus has compassion on the crowds. Jesus has compassion and care for people. The people are hungry, and he's worried they will faint - so he provides for their need. Jesus' compassion is practical; he doesn't just care about our spiritual health, but the little mundane things as well.
Jesus is a good shepherd; he gives people what they need. He will provide the masses with food and then, in the next breath, directly and intentionally offend them! The church, as Christ's body, must always be reminding people of their sin and call them to faith and repentance. The church cares about the practical things, like Jesus; but also cares about the ultimate things (again: like Christ).
Signs and wonders (miracles) are a form of communication: a sign pointing to something wonderful! Jesus isn't a showman; he isn't doing miracles for popularity. The point of miracles isn't just to help people, or show his power; miracles confirm the authenticity of his teachings and point the way to the in-breaking Kingdom of God.
In the Reformed world, we like to pat each other on the back and point to all the problems outside us: Arminianism, charismatic Pentecostalism, Catholicism, transgenderism, Zionism - but we ignore the sins in our own camp. We pride ourselves on being "right" (or so we think) and speak and think poorly of those with other convictions or practices. This breeds a form of legalism - "You must be a five point Calvinist or you're going to hell!" - and results in an anemic and fragile Christian life.
The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod refers to their pride and unbelief; yeast (or leaven) spreads through a whole loaf of bread and makes it rise. Similarly, pride and unbelief in one's heart will spread until our hearts are darkened, and we can't perceive and understand spiritual things. This results in a hardened heart that is closed off to the reality of the gospel. Jesus asks the people "Do you not see? Do you not understand?" in an echo of the OT prophets, putting the people in the place of the Israelites who rejected the messages of the prophets.
A Blind Man Healed and Peter's Confession: Mark 8.22-30
Jesus heals a blind man in two stages: first, he spits in the man's eye. The man says he can still somewhat see, but it isn't great. Jesus then touches the man's eyes, and he's healed completely. We know Jesus can heal someone immediately, so what's this about? One explanation is that this is an intentional picture of sanctification: our sanctification doesn't happen all at once but comes in stages. The onward march of sanctification is herky-jerky.
Another explanation is that this is a picture of the revelation happening with the disciples: they are dull but slowly coming around to perceive Christ, in bits and pieces, as the divine Messiah. This second explanation makes sense with the next episode, in which the disciples talk about how people are debating who Jesus is - a prophet? John the Baptist? Elijah? - but it is Peter whose eyes are opened and who exclaims, "You are the Christ!"
The Cost of Following Christ: Mark 8.31-38
Jesus explicitly tells his disciples that he will be rejected by Israel's leadership and will be killed - but he'll rise again after three days. Jesus rebukes Jesus to his face and is in turn rebuked and called "Satan." The name Satan can mean Adversary, and here Jesus identifies Peter as his adversary. Peter had a moment of clarity just before, acknowledging his Messiahship, but now his vision is clouded again. He expects, like most good Jews, that the Messiah will lead a political revolution and establish Israel as the world's imperial ruler.
Jesus then begins talking about beating the cross: following Christ will cost you friends, family, comfort, worldly opportunities, and much more. Peter expected that following Jesus would put him on the front lines of a politically triumphant movement; Jesus clarifies that it involves bearing one's cross, carrying one's own execution stake. Having just established that he would die, Jesus now hints at what that entails: Roman crucifixion. In legendarium foreshadowing, Peter would indeed carry his own cross (Peter was allegedly crucified upside down).
Those who follow Jesus must be willing to lose "their life." This means we need to be willing to lose prestige and popularity. We need to be willing to be hated by those who are deceived by sin and the Devil, whose hearts are hardened; we need to be okay with being a loser. If we cannot stomach that, we cannot be saved. Jesus says that those who are ashamed of him and his words will be put to shame when he comes in glory with the angels.
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