Mark 6:45-52

⁴⁵ Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.

⁴⁶ And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.

⁴⁸ Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

⁴⁹ And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out;

⁵⁰ for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

⁵¹ Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

⁵² For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

Also found in Matthew 14:22-33 and John 6:14-21.

evening came (v.47) — 6 p.m.

straining (v.48) = being harassed, distressed, from the word for “torture.”

fourth watch (v.48) — between 3 and 6 a.m.

Between nine and twelve hours must have elapsed since Jesus left the disciples. he had left them at about 6:00 p.m. and rejoined them between 3:00 and [6:00] a.m. the next morning. All this time they were fighting the storm, and He was praying. — Thomas, page 104.

on the sea (v.49) — The Greek indicates contact. Jesus was walking on the surface of the water as we walk on the ground.

would have passed them by (v.48) — Not that He wanted to pass by them, as some commentaries have it. The Greek indicates that He desired to go to the side of them, near them, to be beside them. The same Greek word is used in Acts 24:7, translated “came by.”

The reason Jesus went out to the disciples, was, not to pass by and leave them to their fate, but to come near and help them in their difficulty, which thing He proceeded to do. — Wuest, page 137.

__________

ghost (v.49) — The word for “spirit” [ghost] here is not pneuma, referring to a disembodied individual who had died, but phantasma “an apparition, a specter.” The word was associated with magic and charms, thus with the system of Satan. When Luke (Luke 24:37) reports the fact of our Lord’s post-resurrection appearance to the disciples, he uses the word pneuma, for there they thought they had seen some person come back from the dead. But to have somebody walk on the sea, that would be magic to them. — Wuest, pages 137-138.

cried out (v.49) = shrieked in terror, screamed

troubled (v.50) = agitated, filled with inner commotion

good cheer (v.50) = good courage

It is I (v.50) — the pronoun is emphasized. “It is I and nobody else.”

do not be afraid (v.50) = lit. “Stop being afraid.”

the wind ceased (v.51) — The verb [means] “to grow weary or tired,” hence, “to cease from violence, cease raging.” The noun form means “beating, toil, weariness.” … The sea sank to rest as if exhausted by its own beating.” — Wuest, page 138

and marveled (v.51) — not in some texts

they had not understood about the loaves (v.52) — When the considered the miracle of Jesus walking on water, they did not think back to the miracle they had seen the evening before, when He fed the multitude. It would be natural to conclude that someone able to multiply food could also walk on water, but they did not do this.

heart was hardened (v.52) — become dull, lost the power of understanding, become callous.