Mark 6:48

And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
saw	ἰδὼν idōn	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
them	αὐτοὺς autous	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
toiling	βασανιζομένους basanizomenous	G928	to torture · verb — present passive participle, accusative plural masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
rowing	ἐλαύνειν, elaunein	G1643	to push (as wind · verb — present active infinitive
for	γὰρ gar	G1063	properly · conjunction
wind	ἄνεμος anemos	G417	wind · noun — nominative singular masculine
was	ἦν ēn	G2258	I (thou
contrary	ἐναντίος enantios	G1727	opposite · adjective — nominative singular masculine
them	αὐτοῖς, autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
about	περὶ peri	G4012	properly · preposition
fourth	τετάρτην tetartēn	G5067	fourth · adjective — accusative singular feminine
watch	φυλακὴν phulakēn	G5438	a guarding or (concretely · noun — accusative singular feminine
night	νυκτὸς nuktos	G3571	"night" (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
cometh	ἔρχεται erchetai	G2064	to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
unto	πρὸς pros	G4314	a preposition of direction · preposition
them	αὐτοὺς autous	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine
walking	περιπατῶν peripatōn	G4043	to tread all around · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
upon	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
sea	θαλάσσης thalassēs	G2281	the sea (genitive case or specially) · noun — genitive singular feminine
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
have	ἤθελεν ēthelen	G2309	to determine (as an active option from subjective impul… · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
by	παρελθεῖν parelthein	G3928	to come near or aside · verb — second aorist active infinitive
them	αὐτούς.¶ autous	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural masculine

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

Job 9:8 Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Psalms 93:4 The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
Psalms 104:3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
Matthew 14:24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
Luke 12:38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
Luke 24:28 And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
Isaiah 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapp…
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 6:45–end

This passage of story we had Mat 14:22, etc., only what was there related concerning Peter, is omitted here. Here we have, I. The dispersing of the assembly; Christ constrained his disciples to go before by ship to Bethsaida, intending to follow them, as they supposed, by land. The people were loth to scatter, so that it cost him some time and pains to send them away. For now that they had got a good supper, they were in no haste to leave him. But as long as we are here in this world, we have no continuing city, no not in communion with Christ. The everlasting feast is reserved for the future state. II. Christ departed into a mountain, to pray. Observe, 1. He prayed; though he had so much pr…

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Adam Clarke on Mark 6:47

The ship was in the midst of the sea - See all the parts of this wonderful transaction considered, on Mat 14:22-33 (note).

John Gill on Mark 6:48

And he saw them toiling in rowing,.... He saw them either with his bodily eyes from the mountain on which he was; or he perceived in his Spirit, he knew, by virtue of his omniscience as God, what distress his disciples were in; being tossed about with the waves of the sea, and were labouring with all their might and main against the wind: and were vexed and tortured, as the word signifies; they were in the utmost pain and uneasiness of mind, as well as fatigue of body, assisting the men in rowing; for the ship they were in was no other than a vessel managed by oars; and hard work it was to keep it from being overset: for the wind was contrary unto them; it blew from the other side they were…

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John Calvin on Mark 6:45-52

Mark 6:45-52 Matthew 14:22-33 Mark 6:45-52 22. And immediately Jesus constrained his disciples to embark, and to go before him to the opposite bank, till he had sent away the multitudes. 23. And when he had sent away the multitudes, he went up into a mountain alone to pray; and when the evening came, he was there alone. 24. But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was contrary. 25. And about the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. 26. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, It is an apparition, and cried out for fear. 27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Take courage; it…

The Church Fathers

(ubi sup.) Often then does the love of heaven seem to have deserted the faithful in tribulation, so that it may be thought that Jesus wishes to pass by His disciples, as it were, toiling in the sea. And still do heretics suppose that the Lord was a phantom, and did not take upon Him real flesh from the Virgin1.
— Bede ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

But what is the spiritual nuance of the boat into which Jesus constrained the disciples to enter? Is it perhaps the conflict of temptations and difficulties into which any one is constrained by the Word, and goes unwillingly? The Savior wishes to train by exercise the disciples in this boat which is distressed by the waves and the contrary wind.
— Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11.5

And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. Military stations and watches are divided into periods of three hours each. Therefore, when it says that the Lord came to them in the fourth watch of the night, it shows that they were in danger all night, and help was given to them at the end of the night.
— Bede, On the Gospel of Mark

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…
Cock-crowing — In our Lord’s time the Jews had adopted the Greek and Roman division of the night into four watches, each consisting of three hours, the first beginning at six o’clock in the evening (Luke 12:38;…
Watches — The periods into which the time between sunset and sunrise was divided. They are so called because watchmen relieved each other at each of these periods. There are frequent references in Scripture to…
Ship · Oars — Oars
Time · Division of, into watches — Division of, into watches

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).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 6:45–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 6:47

John Gill on Mark 6:48

John Calvin on Mark 6:45-52

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Mark 6:45–end

Adam Clarke on Mark 6:47

John Gill on Mark 6:48

John Calvin on Mark 6:45-52

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Mark 6:48