⁴⁵ Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷ When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰ because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Feeding the large crowd of people probably took several hours. Since this started rather late in the day, it must have been near dusk when Jesus made His disciples get into their boat and head toward Bethsaida.

6:45    Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  As soon as the crowd had been fed and the disciples had picked up the scraps, Jesus immediately got his disciples and the crowd moving. His sudden desire to dismiss the crowd and send the disciples off in their boat is explained in John’s Gospel. Upon seeing (and participating in) the miracle of multiplied loaves and fish, the people “intended to come and make [Jesus] king by force,” so Jesus “withdrew again to a mountain by himself” (John 6:15 ). Jesus’ kingdom would not be an earthly one, and he didn’t want the enthusiasm of the crowd to deter him or his disciples from fulfilling their true mission. Before the crowd could become an unruly mob, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida.” It was getting late in the day, so Jesus dismissed the crowd with a few final words before going up to the mountainside by himself (6:46).

Exactly where the disciples were going causes some confusion if one compares the Gospel accounts. Mark records that Jesus told the disciples to go “to the other side, to Bethsaida. According to Matthew 14:22, Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat and go on ahead to “the other side.” According to Luke 9:10, Jesus and the disciples were in Bethsaida for the feeding of the five thousand. According to John 6:17, the disciples “set off across the lake for Capernaum” (). One solution is that two communities were named Bethsaida. Luke 9:10 identifies Bethsaida (near Julias) on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. The reference in Mark 6:45 identifies Bethsaida as a village (near Capernaum) on the western shore.^[1]

Again, we see the word immediately. In this case, there is an even greater sense of urgency as Jesus “made His disciples get into a boat.” The Greek verb translated as “made” actually means that He compelled them to get moving. The reason for Jesus’ urgent command is not given in Mark’s gospel but in John’s. There, we discover that after the people ate their fill, they conspired to make Jesus their political deliverer: “Jesus realized that the people intended to take him by force and make him king. So he returned to the mountain by himself” (John 6:15).

They got into their boat and headed for Bethsaida. There is some confusion about this specific location. According to Luke’s gospel, the crowd of five thousand had been fed in a deserted place in the region of Bethsaida. So, why would one try to reach Bethsaida by sea if he were already located so near it by land? From ancient histories and geographies, it has been surmised that Bethsaida Julius on the east side of the Jordan river extended to the west side of the river and was known as Bethsaida Galilee, which would pinpoint their destination near Capernaum,⁹ which is mentioned in John’s gospel: “¹⁶When evening came, his disciples went to the sea. ^17aThey got into a boat and started to cross the sea to the city of Capernaum” (John 6:16–17). We may conclude that Jesus sent the disciples away toward Bethsaida Galilee near Capernaum. In other words, the disciples were returning to the home base.

Meanwhile, Jesus remained behind to send the huge crowd of people away, which must have been quite a task. None of the disciples were present to observe just how Jesus handled this farewell, so the text is silent on the details. It is interesting to note that, facing the conspiracy of those who sought to make Him king, Jesus sent His disciples away and handled it Himself.^[2]

This is the second major boat scene in which the disciples have a significant encounter with Jesus (cf. 4:35–41; 8:14–21). This story appears in Matthew (14:22–33), Mark, and John (6:16–21), but not in Luke. The focal point of the story is the disciples’ failure to understand Jesus’ identity.

After the hunger of the crowd had been satisfied, Jesus immediately sent his disciples away before he dismissed the crowd. Why should he do that? Mark does not tell us but most probably we have the explanation in John’s account. John tells us that after the crowd had been fed there was a move to take Jesus and to make him king. That was the last thing Jesus desired. It was that very way of power that once, finally and for all, he had rejected at the time of his temptations. He could see it coming. He did not want his disciples to be infected and caught up in this nationalistic outburst. Galilee was the hotbed of revolution. If this movement was not checked, there might well emerge amongst the excitable people a rebellion which would wreck everything and lead to disaster for all concerned. So Jesus sent away his disciples lest they too should become inflamed by this movement, and then he calmed the crowd and bade them farewell.

When he was alone, he went up into a mountain to pray. Thick and fast the problems were descending upon him. There was the hostility of the orthodox people; there was the frightened suspicion of Herod Antipas; there were the political hotheads who would make him a nationalistic Messiah against his will. At this particular time there was many a problem on Jesus’ mind and many a burden on his heart.

For some hours he was alone amidst the hills with God. As we have seen, this must have happened about mid-April, and mid-April was the Passover time. Now the Passover was deliberately fixed for the full moon, as Easter still is. The Jewish night ran from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. and it was divided into four watches—6 p.m. to 9 p.m., 9 p.m. to 12 midnight, 12 midnight to 3 a.m., and 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus looked from the mountainside out across the lake. The lake was only four miles across at that point, and in the light of the moon it lay stretched out before him. The wind was up and he saw the boat, with his men in it, having a hard struggle to reach the other side.

See what happened. Immediately Jesus saw his friends in trouble his own problems were set aside; the moment for prayer was past; the time for action had come; he forgot himself and went to the help of his friends. That is of the very essence of Jesus. The cry of human need to him surpassed all other claims. His friends needed him; he must go.

What happened we do not know, and will never know. The story is cloaked in mystery which defies explanation. What we do know is that he came to them and their storm became a calm. With him beside them nothing mattered any more.

When Augustine was writing about this incident he said, “He came treading the waves; and so he puts all the swelling tumults of life under his feet. Christians—why afraid?” It is the simple fact of life, a fact which has been proved by countless thousands of men and women in every generation, that when Christ is there the storm becomes a calm, the tumult becomes a peace, what cannot be done is done, the unbearable becomes bearable, and men pass the breaking point and do not break. To walk with Christ will be for us also the conquest of the storm.^[3]

45–46. Jesus made his disciples go on ahead to Bethsaida, although according to Mark 6:53 they did not go to Bethsaida, but to Gennesaret. Bethsaida was located somewhere close to where the Jordan enters the northeast portion of the Sea of Galilee.³⁶ Gennesaret may refer to a plain on the west shore (southwest of Capernaum)³⁷ or to a small village (probably ancient Chinnereth, Josh 19:35) located on the plain. Presumably the storm had something to do with their altered destination.

Jesus went alone to pray on a mountain. This is the second portrayal of Jesus praying alone in Mark. In the first, Mark 1:35, he sought solitude in a desert place early in the morning. Now he seeks solitude once again, but on a mountain, and in the late evening. The reference in v. 48 to the fourth watch of the night indicates that Jesus prayed extensively—the fourth watch was from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m.³⁸

6:46    After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.  Jesus “dismissed” the crowd, but then also decided to “leave” them—apparently it wasn’t easy for Jesus to get away. The disciples had been instructed to meet him in Bethsaida. So Jesus went alone up on a mountainside to pray. Jesus wanted time to pray and communicate with his Father. During his ministry on earth, Jesus was in constant prayer with the Father—he may often have gone off alone to pray, so his desire to do so may not have surprised the disciples, who left in the boat as instructed. Mark recorded three specific times when Jesus went off alone to pray: (1) after the successful ministry in Capernaum where he healed many sick and demon-possessed people (1:35); (2) here, after he fed more than five thousand people; (3) in Gethsemane, just prior to his arrest, trial, and crucifixion (14:32–42).

Jesus had just left a crowd that wanted to make him their king. Popularity was a temptation in itself, for it could threaten to turn Jesus away from his mission—death on the cross to accomplish salvation. His prayer on the lonely mountainside may have focused on fulfilling the mission of suffering when it seemed (at least humanly) more credible to accept their offer of kingship. Jesus, in his humanity, may have continued to face the temptation to turn away from the difficult path and take the easier one. He constantly sought strength from God. Going into the wilderness, alone with the Father, helped Jesus focus on his task and gain strength for what he had to do.

He came treading the waves, and so he puts the swelling tumults of life under his feet. Christians, why afraid? Augustine^[4]

47–50. Mark says that Jesus saw the disciples struggling to row against the wind and that he “went towards them” (). It therefore seems strange for him to say that Jesus “intended to pass by them” (v. 48, ).³⁹ Many recent interpreters do not interpret “he intended to pass them by” in a literal sense. Instead, they understand Mark to be using language based upon the appearances of God in Exod 33:19–23; 34:6; and 1 Kgs 19:11. In these cases God “passes by” Moses and then Elijah as part of a revelation of himself to them. It is argued that this phrase as well as Jesus’ walking on the water is intended to draw a parallel between Jesus and God.⁴⁰ Interestingly, Job 9:8, 11 also juxtaposes the ideas of God “passing by” and “treading on the waves.” In my opinion the reference to Jesus walking on water is intended as a parallel to God’s sovereignty over the waves (Job 9:8; 38:16; Ps 77:20; Sir 24:5–6). But the reference to Jesus’ intention to “pass them by” is more problematic. I am inclined to agree with some of the older commentators who took the phrase literally.⁴¹ Jesus knew the disciples would weather the storm and he did not plan to stop at the boat.

The fourth watch of the night begins at 3:00 a.m. When the disciples saw Jesus, it was dark and the wind and the waves were up. Their guess that they were seeing a ghost is probably what many modern people would suppose in similar circumstances. It was not easy to dismiss as a figment of the imagination, for they all saw it.

The middle portion of Jesus’ assurance, “It is I” (ἐγώ εἰμι, egō eimi), could be translated “I am.” It is commonly interpreted as an allusion to God’s declaration of his identity in Exod 3:14: “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”⁴² However, “It is I” is a perfectly natural reply to the supposition that he was a ghost.⁴³ “It’s not a ghost,” Jesus implied. No, “it is I.”

Jesus saw the disciples struggling against the wind. This storm was not as intense as the one they had previously experienced (Mark 4:35–41). Yet it seems that the stormy north winds drove the disciples off course and made their voyage longer and more difficult than they anticipated.¹⁰

Jesus came to them “between three and six o’clock in the morning.”¹¹ The disciples were emotionally and physically exhausted. They had left the shore at sunset, and a new day would soon dawn. Earlier, under Jesus’ direction, they had searched for a place to rest when the huge multitude of people followed them. Because of the opposing north wind, they were unsuccessful in their efforts to span the short distance to Capernaum.

Jesus, seeing their struggle, walked on the water toward them and “wanted to pass by them.” We may ask, “Why would He see their struggle and approach them only to pass by?” In the translation of this phrase, the word παρελθειν (parelthain) from the Greek text actually comprises a compound of two root words that could be translated “come alongside” or “come next to.” In context, therefore, the phrase might be better understood, “he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to come alongside them.” It would have been uncharacteristic for Jesus to recognize such a need only to turn His back and ignore the situation.^[5]

6:48–50       He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them.  The disciples took down the sails and tried to keep control of the boat by strenuous rowing. For the entire night they fought the storm, able to row only about three or four miles (John 6:19).

As Jesus prayed on the mountainside, he saw the disciples straining at the oars. Jesus’ concern for the disciples reminds us that our Lord sees us straining at the oars of our work and responsibilities. He does not desert us; he comes to meet our needs.

 About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake.  From evening until the fourth watch of the night (between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m.), the disciples had been out on the sea, much of that time “straining at the oars,” fighting a strong head wind and rough seas. Jesus, seeing their plight, went out to them, walking on the lake. While some might try to explain away this miracle by saying Jesus was simply on the shore, Mark clearly states that Jesus walked on the lake. Not only that, but he had walked a great distance. John records that the disciples had gone three or four miles by the time Jesus came to them (John 6:19).

The Old Testament often describes God’s control over the seas. Jesus walking on the sea was an unmistakable picture of his identity and power (see Job 9:8; 38:16; Psalm 77:19; Isaiah 43:16).

He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified.  Much confusion surrounds the phrase he was about to pass by them. While the text sounds like Jesus meant to walk on by and leave the disciples to their fate, obviously that was not the case because he did help them. Theories on the meaning of this phrase include:

• Jesus “meant to pass beside” them to reassure them with his presence. This was meant to be a display of his divine glory, such as is recorded in Exodus 33:19, 22; 1 Kings 19:11.
• Jesus “was about to pass by” as he waited for the disciples to see him and call out to him for help. He wanted them to confess their need. This is compared to Luke 24:28–29 when, on the Emmaus Road, Jesus made as if to go on, and the two disciples urged him to remain with them.
• The phrase was written from the disciples’ standpoint (from Peter’s eyewitness account) that, when they saw Jesus, it appeared to them that his intention was to “pass by them.”
• Most likely, the phrase simply means Jesus “intended to pass their way,” that is, to go to them, which is exactly what he did.

In any case, Mark once again focused on the human perspective. When they all saw Jesus walking on the water, the disciples thought he was a ghost; so they screamed in terror. They thought they had left Jesus back on the mountainside. The Greek word for “ghost” used here is phantasma, meaning an apparition or specter. The word was associated with magic and charms. The word differs from pneuma, also sometimes translated “ghost”; pneuma meant a disembodied spirit of someone who had died (Luke 24:37). Jesus was (as far as they knew) alive and well, so they were terrified by what they saw. Once again, Jesus was doing the unexpected, the impossible, and they were terrified.^[6]

51–52. In 4:39, Jesus rebuked the wind and it ceased. Here, it ceased when he entered the boat. Presumably the disciples’ amazement concerned both the walking on water and the wind ceasing. On the prior occasion, when Jesus calmed the storm, they were terrified and asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him!” In this second boat scene Mark seems to expect them to know the answer and not to be so astounded. He explains that they were astounded because “they had not understood about the loaves.” As indicated in the introductory comments to the feeding of the five thousand, Mark gives special importance to the miraculous feedings as particularly important pointers to Jesus’ identity.

Instead of understanding, “their hearts were hardened.” In 3:5, Mark writes concerning the scribes who opposed Jesus that “he was grieved at their hardness of heart.” But it is not only Jesus’ opponents who suffer from this malady. Here in chapter 6 (cf. 8:17) it is also the disciples. In 10:5 Jesus attributes Moses’ permission of divorce to “your hardness of heart,” indicating that this condition existed in many from Moses’ day to his own. Mark’s reference to the disciples’ hardness of heart is his strongest indication yet of their failure to understand Jesus.

Evidently, the disciples did not entirely understand the miraculous event that had occurred earlier in the day when Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and fed a crowd of more than five thousand. Right before their eyes, Jesus performed a miracle that defied all logical explanation. Still, the disciples did not grasp it because “their minds were closed.” How could this be? Again, these men had just returned from a successful missionary journey. They had seen and done many wonderful things, yet somehow, they could not put it all together. Their minds could not link the Jesus Who called them with the Jesus Who taught with authority, raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead, calmed the winds and sea, fed a multitude, and walked on water. No wonder they were beside themselves with fear and wonder. They simply could not comprehend the significance of what they had seen. But who hardened their hearts? Was it the work of Satan? Was it the work of God? There is much evidence throughout the Book of Mark demonstrating how truly blind humankind is to the things of God. The blindness of hearts stained with sin is virtually a walk in total darkness.^[7]

6:51–52       Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down.  Jesus then climbed into the boat with the disciples. They must have been speechless as they helped Jesus into the boat. Then, as had occurred once before when the disciples had been tossed about by a storm at sea, the wind died down and the sea once again became calm (see also 4:39). Jesus had revealed to them his complete mastery over nature. (See Isaiah 51:9–16 for a dramatic description of God’s power over the sea.)

 They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.  The disciples had seen Jesus perform numerous healings, calm a raging sea, multiply food to feed over five thousand people, and walk to them on the water. Their responses to the last miracle had been fear and then amazement. While they had seen the miracles, they had not understood them. They had seen the loaves multiplied, but they didn’t realize who Jesus was and what he could do. Even after watching Jesus miraculously feed five thousand people, they still could not take the final step of faith and believe that he was God’s Son. If they had understood about the loaves (in other words, if they had learned what the miracle was meant to teach them), they would not have been amazed that Jesus could walk on water.

Mark explained that their hearts were hardened. Peter, Mark’s source for the story, probably felt a little sheepish as he recounted his and the disciples’ continued lack of belief. This was not merely misunderstanding; instead, it meant a hard-hearted refusal to believe (the word is used elsewhere only when describing unbelievers, see 3:5; 10:5). But why wouldn’t the disciples believe? Perhaps they simply couldn’t bring themselves to consider that this human being was actually God’s Son. Or maybe they thought that if and when the Messiah really did come, he wouldn’t choose them for followers. The disciples needed a good healthy dose of faith in order to be able to see and understand what their Master, the Messiah, so beautifully and amazingly continued to teach them.^[8]

^[1] Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 184–185.

⁹ John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Bible Knowledge Commentary (Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1983), 131.

^[2] Practical Christianity Foundation, Mark: Jesus Christ, Love in Action, The Easy-To-Read Commentary Series (Green Key Books, 2004), 166–167.

^[3] William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Mark, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 160–161.

³⁶ The exact location of Bethsaida is unknown. Some argue that there were two Bethsaidas: Bethsaida-Julias (Mark 8:23; Luke 9:10) and Bethsaida of Galilee (Mark 6:45 and other Gospel references). See McRay, Archaeology, p. 169; Rousseau and Arav, Jesus and His World, pp. 19–22.

³⁷ Gundry, p. 344.

³⁸ E.g., Guelich, p. 349. Cf. Brown, p. 606.

^[4] Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 185–186.

³⁹ The ’s “He was about to pass by them” obscures the intentional aspect of ἤθελεν (ēthelen), he “wanted or wished or intended” to pass by them.

⁴⁰ Guelich, pp. 350–351; Gundry, p. 336.

⁴¹ E.g., McGarvey, p. 305: “[Mark] pictures Jesus as walking in a direction which would have missed the vessel.”

⁴² Lane, p. 237; Gundry, p. 337.

⁴³ Although Gundry, p. 337, supports the view that Jesus’ statement is to be associated with the name of God, he questions “whether Mark’s original readers understood, or were expected to understand, this association.”

¹⁰ John Calvin, “Commentary on the Gospel According to John,” vol. 1, in vol. 17 of Calvin’s Commentaries, trans. Thomas Myers (1843; reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999), 236.

¹¹ Hendriksen, Mark, 259.

^[5] Practical Christianity Foundation, Mark: Jesus Christ, Love in Action, The Easy-To-Read Commentary Series (Green Key Books, 2004), 167–168.

^[6] Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 187–188.

^[7] Practical Christianity Foundation, Mark: Jesus Christ, Love in Action, The Easy-To-Read Commentary Series (Green Key Books, 2004), 169–170.

^[8] Bruce B. Barton, Mark, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1994), 189–190.