“And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.”
They discussed this with one another and said, it is because we have no bread — the disciples completely misunderstand the metaphor: Jesus is using leaven figuratively, and they interpret it literally, connecting it to their bread shortage. The discussion among themselves rather than asking Jesus directly repeats the disciples' characteristic failure to seek understanding from the source. The misunderstanding of the leaven warning is the disciples' response to a teaching moment — they talk about bread while Jesus is talking about spiritual corruption.
Church Fathers on Mark 8:16
After that our Lord had worked the miracle of the loaves, He immediately retires into another spot, lest on account of the miracle, the multitudes should take Him to make Him a king.
Now in Matthew we read that He entered into the parts of Magdala [ed. note: Magedam]. But we cannot doubt that it is the same place under another name; for several manuscripts even of St. Mark have only Magdala.
The Pharisees, then, seek a sign from heaven, that He, Who had for the second time fed many thousands of men with a few loaves of bread, should now, after the example of Moses, refresh the whole nation in the last time with manna sent down from heaven, and dispersed amongst them all.
Read all 15 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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