Mark 6:34 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Mark 6:34
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
to have the bowels yearn · verb — aorist passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
toward
ἐπ᾽ep᾽
G1909
properly · preposition
them
αὐτοὺςautous
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
because
ὅτιhoti
G3754
demonstrative · conjunction
were
ἦνēn
G2258
I (thou
as
ὡςhōs
G5613
which how · particle
sheep
πρόβαταprobata
G4263
something that walks forward (a quadruped) · noun — nominative plural neuter
not
μὴmē
G3361
(adverb) not · particle — negative
having
ἔχονταechonta
G2192
to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative plural neuter
shepherd
ποιμένα.poimena
G4166
a shepherd (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
began
ἄρχομαιárchomai
G756
to commence (in order of time)
teach
διδάσκεινdidaskein
G1321
to teach (in the same broad application) · verb — present active infinitive
them
αὐτοὺςautous
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
things
πολλά.¶polla
G4183
(singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) many · adjective — accusative plural neuter
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no sh…
Numbers 27:17 Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregati…
Luke 9:11 And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had n…
2 Chronicles 18:16 Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; le…
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up th…
Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, ye…
1 Kings 22:17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them…
Jeremiah 50:6 My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone f…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Mark 6:30-44
In there verses, we have,
I. The return to Christ of the apostles whom he had sent forth (Mar 6:7), to preach, and work miracles. They had dispersed themselves into several quarters of the country for some time, but when they had made good their several appointments, by consent they gathered themselves together, to compare notes, and came to Jesus, the centre of their unity, to give him an account of what they had done pursuant to their commission: as the servant that was sent to invite to the feast, and had received answers from the guests, came, and showed his Lord all those things, so did the apostles here; they told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. Minis…
Much people, etc. - See this miracle explained on Mat 14:14 (note), etc.
John Gill on Mark 6:34
And Jesus, when he came out,.... Of the ship, and was got ashore,
saw much people; who came partly from the places where he came from, and partly from the cities and towns adjacent:
and was moved with compassion towards them; See Gill on Matthew 14:14, the reason follows,
because they were as sheep, not having a shepherd. Christ observed, that they were hungering and thirsting after the word of righteousness, and had no faithful, spiritual pastors to feed them with knowledge and understanding; for the Scribes and Pharisees were blind guides, and shepherds that could not understand; so that the people were ready to perish for lack of knowledge, not having any spiritual comfort and refreshm…
Mark 6:30-44
Matthew 14:13-21
Mark 6:30-44
Luke 9:10-17
13. When Jesus heard this, he departed thence to a ship to a desert place apart; and when the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot out of the cities. 14. And Jesus, when leaving (the ship,) saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion towards them, and healed of such of them as were diseased. 15. And when the evening was drawing on, his disciples came to him, saying, It is a desert place, and the time is now past: send the multitudes away, that they may go into the village, and purchase victuals for themselves. 16. And Jesus said to them, It is not necessary that they should go away: give you to them something to e…
The Church Fathers
(in Marc. 2, 26) Matthew says that He healed their sick, for the real way of pitying the poor is to open to them the way of truth by teaching them, and to take away their bodily pains.
And going out, Jesus saw a great crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. How He had compassion on them, Matthew explains more fully by saying: And He had compassion on them, and healed their sick. For this is truly to have compassion on the poor and those without a shepherd, to open the way of truth to them by teaching; and to remove bodily ailments by healing; but also to refresh the hungry, revitalizing them to the praise of divine generosity. The following parts of this reading also commemorate Him doing these things. Moreover, He tests the faith of the crowds and, having tested it, rewards it with a worthy recompense. For by seeking solitude, He explores whether they care to follow. They, by following and not with beasts of burden or various vehicles, but by taking the path of the desert with their own effort of feet, show how much they care for their salvation. Again, He, as the powerful and compassionate Savior and healer, by welcoming the weary, teaching the ignorant, healing the sick, refreshing the hungry, indicates how much He delights in the devotion of believers. According to the laws of allegory, Christ sought the deserts of the nations, and many bands of the faithful, leaving the confines of their old way of life, neglecting the support of various doctrines, followed. And He who was first known in Judea, after the teeth of the Jews became weapons and arrows, and their tongues a sharp sword (Psalm 57), God was exalted above the heavens, and His glory over all the earth.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bethsaida — House of fish. (1.) A town in Galilee, on the west side of the sea of Tiberias, in the “land of Gennesaret.” It was the native place of Peter, Andrew, and Philip, and was frequently resorted to by…
Pity · Of Jesus — Of Jesus
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
they were like sheep without a shepherd: God’s people need a shepherd (Num 27:16-17; 1 Kgs 22:17; 2 Chr 18:16; see Jer 13:10; Ezek 34:23). Teaching people God’s word is compared to feeding sheep in Jewish literature (e.g., Ezek 34:1-24; 2 Baruch 77:13-15).
