Mark 6:45 Study Bible: And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself was sending the crowd away.

◄ Mark 6:45 ►

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

Study Bible

Immediately
The use of "immediately" in Mark 6:45 underscores the urgency and decisiveness of Jesus' actions. In the Greek, the word is "εὐθύς" (euthys), which conveys a sense of promptness and directness. This reflects Jesus' authoritative nature and His ability to orchestrate events according to divine timing. The immediacy also highlights the transition from the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 to the next phase of His ministry, emphasizing the continuous and purposeful nature of His mission.

Jesus made
The phrase "Jesus made" indicates His active role and authority in directing His disciples. The Greek verb "ἀναγκάζω" (anankazō) suggests a compelling or urging action, which implies that Jesus had a specific purpose in sending the disciples away. This demonstrates His leadership and the intentionality behind His instructions, ensuring that His followers were positioned for the lessons and experiences that lay ahead.

His disciples
"His disciples" refers to the group of twelve men whom Jesus had chosen to follow Him closely. These individuals were not just followers but were being trained and prepared for future leadership in the early Church. The term "disciples" (μαθηταί, mathētai) in Greek means learners or students, highlighting their role in learning from Jesus' teachings and actions. This relationship is foundational to understanding the dynamics of Jesus' ministry and the spread of the Gospel.

get into the boat
The instruction to "get into the boat" is significant both practically and symbolically. Boats were a common means of transportation across the Sea of Galilee, and this directive was part of their daily life. Symbolically, the boat can represent the Church or the journey of faith, where the disciples are often tested and taught. This setting becomes a place of revelation and growth, as seen in the subsequent events of the narrative.

and go on ahead of Him
The phrase "and go on ahead of Him" suggests a separation that is both physical and spiritual. Jesus sends the disciples ahead, indicating trust in their ability to navigate the journey. This separation also sets the stage for the forthcoming miracle of Jesus walking on water, which serves to deepen their understanding of His divine nature. It reflects the journey of faith where believers are often called to move forward, trusting in Jesus' presence even when He is not visibly with them.

to Bethsaida
"To Bethsaida" identifies the intended destination of the disciples. Bethsaida was a fishing village on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It is significant as a place where Jesus performed miracles and taught, yet it was also a place that would later be rebuked for its unbelief (Matthew 11:21). This duality serves as a reminder of the importance of faith and receptivity to Jesus' message.

while He dismissed the crowd
The phrase "while He dismissed the crowd" shows Jesus' care and responsibility for the multitude. After feeding them, He ensures their orderly departure, demonstrating His compassion and concern for their well-being. This action also reflects His desire for solitude and prayer, as He often withdrew to pray after significant events. It highlights the balance in Jesus' ministry between public service and private communion with the Father, setting an example for His followers.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is the one who instructs His disciples to get into the boat. His actions demonstrate His authority and intentionality in guiding His followers.

2. Disciples
The followers of Jesus who are instructed to get into the boat. Their obedience to Jesus' command is a key aspect of this event.

3. The Boat
Represents the means by which the disciples are to travel to Bethsaida. It is a symbol of transition and obedience.

4. Bethsaida
The destination to which Jesus sends His disciples. It is a town on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, significant as a place of ministry and miracles.

5. The Crowd
The group of people whom Jesus dismisses. They had been following Jesus, likely seeking more teaching or miracles.

Teaching Points

Obedience to Christ's Commands
The disciples' immediate response to Jesus' instruction highlights the importance of obedience in our walk with Christ. We are called to trust and follow His guidance, even when the path is unclear.

Jesus' Authority and Care
Jesus' actions in dismissing the crowd and sending the disciples ahead demonstrate His authority and His care for both the spiritual and physical needs of His followers.

Trusting in Transition
The journey to Bethsaida symbolizes transitions in our own lives. We must trust Jesus' direction and provision as we move from one stage to another.

Divine Timing
The word "immediately" (Greek: euthys) underscores the urgency and divine timing in Jesus' actions. We are reminded to be attentive to God's timing in our lives.

Faith in the Midst of Uncertainty
As the disciples set out on the boat, they faced uncertainty. This teaches us to have faith in Jesus' presence and purpose, even when we cannot see the outcome.

Bible Study Questions

1. What does the immediate obedience of the disciples teach us about our response to Jesus' commands in our daily lives?

2. How can we apply the concept of divine timing in our decision-making processes, especially when faced with urgent situations?

3. In what ways does Jesus' dismissal of the crowd reflect His care for both the spiritual and physical needs of people? How can we emulate this in our own ministry efforts?

4. How does the journey to Bethsaida symbolize transitions in our own lives, and what can we learn from the disciples' experience about trusting Jesus during these times?

5. Reflect on a time when you faced uncertainty. How did your faith in Jesus help you navigate that situation, and what can you learn from this passage to strengthen your faith in future challenges?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Matthew 14:22-33
This parallel account provides additional details about the event, including Peter walking on water, which highlights themes of faith and doubt.

John 6:16-21
Another parallel account that emphasizes Jesus' miraculous power over nature and His ability to bring peace in the midst of chaos.

Psalm 107:29
This Old Testament reference to God calming the storm connects to Jesus' divine authority over creation.

Sermons

Backward to Yield Obedience	G. Petter.	Mark 6:45-51
Be of Good Cheer, it is I	D. Wilcox.	Mark 6:45-51
Christ Knows Who have Need of Him	C. S. Robinson, D. D.	Mark 6:45-51
Christ Walking on the Sea	B. Maitland, M. A.	Mark 6:45-51
Christ Walking on the Sea	A. Rowland	Mark 6:45-51
Christ was Seen in the Storm	T. M. Lindsay, D. D.	Mark 6:45-51
Christ's Absence	J. H. Godwin.	Mark 6:45-51
Failing to Recognize Christ		Mark 6:45-51
God Present Though not Seen		Mark 6:45-51
Need of Constraint from Christ	G. Petter.	Mark 6:45-51
Religious Despondency	C. S. Robinson, D. D.	Mark 6:45-51
Self-Confidence to be Learnt		Mark 6:45-51
The Christian Life	Dean Goulburn.	Mark 6:45-51
The Contrary Currents of Life	J. B. Brown, B. A.	Mark 6:45-51
The Disciples in the Storm	E. Bersier, D. D.	Mark 6:45-51
The Voice of Jesus in the Storm	Newman Hall, LL. B.	Mark 6:45-51
The Worth of Absent Sympathy	W. Hardman, M. A., J. W. Pearson., J. W. Pearson., J. W. Pearson.	Mark 6:45-51
Toiling in Rowing	M. Hutchison.	Mark 6:45-51
Toiling in Rowing	W. M. Statham.	Mark 6:45-51
Toiling in Rowing	C. S. Robinson, D. D.	Mark 6:45-51
Christ's Retirement	A.F. Muir	Mark 6:45-52
Jesus Walking on the Sea	A.F. Muir	Mark 6:45-52
Jesus Walking on the Sea: Interpreted of the Church	A.F. Muir	Mark 6:45-52
The Vision on the Lake	E. Johnson	Mark 6:45-52
Miraculous Protection	J.J. Given	Mark 6:45-56

People

Elias, Elijah, Herod, Herodias, James, Jesus, John, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Jude, Mary, Philip, Simon

Places

Bethsaida, Galilee, Genneseret, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee

Topics

Afterwards, Ahead, Behind, Bethsaida, Beth-saida, Beth-sa'ida, Board, Boat, Compelled, Constrained, Cross, Crowd, Disciples, Dismiss, Dismissed, Enter, Immediately, Leaving, Multitude, Sending, Sends, Ship, Straight, Straightway, Till

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Mark 6:1-56

5357 journey

Mark 6:34-45

5279 crowds

Mark 6:45-46

5901 loneliness
5921 privacy

Mark 6:45-47

5921 privacy

Mark 6:45-51

2012 Christ, authority

Mark 6:45-53

5517 seafaring

Library

January 6 Evening
The apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things they had done.--MARK 6:30. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.--The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.--Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. When ye shall have done …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 4. "Come Ye Yourselves Apart" (Mark vi. 31).
"Come ye yourselves apart" (Mark vi. 31). One of the greatest hindrances to spirituality is the lack of waiting upon God. You cannot go through twenty-four hours with two or three breaths of air, in the morning, as you sip your coffee. But you must live in the atmosphere, and you must breathe it all day long. Christians do not wait upon God enough. It needs hours and hours daily of spiritual communion with the Holy Spirit to keep your vitality healthful and full. Every moment should find you breathing …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January 8. "It is I, be not Afraid" (Mark vi. 50).
"It is I, be not afraid" (Mark vi. 50). Someone tells of a little child with some big story of sorrow upon its little heart, flying to its mother's arms for comfort, and intending to tell her the story of its trouble; but as that mother presses it to her bosom and pours out her love, it soon becomes so occupied with her and the sweetness of her affection that it forgets to tell its story, and in a little while even the memory of the trouble is forgotten. It has just been loved away, and she has taken …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Herod --A Startled Conscience
'But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.'--Mark vi. 16. The character of this Herod, surnamed Antipas, is a sufficiently common and a sufficiently despicable one. He was the very type of an Eastern despot, exactly like some of those half-independent Rajahs, whose dominions march with ours in India; capricious, crafty, as the epithet which Christ applied to him, 'That fox!' shows; cruel, as the story of the murder of John the Baptist proves; sensuous …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Master Rejected: the Servants Sent Forth
'And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. 2. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? 3. Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, the Brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon! and are not His sisters here with us? And they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Martyrdom of John
'For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21. And when …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The World's Bread
'And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31. And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33. And the people saw them departing, and many knew Him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ Thwarted
'And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.'--Mark vi. 5,6. It is possible to live too near a man to see him. Familiarity with the small details blinds most people to the essential greatness of any life. So these fellow-villagers of Jesus in Nazareth knew Him too well to know Him rightly as they talked Him over; they recognised His wisdom and His mighty works; but all the impression that these …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle, …
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained

The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples.
Joseph died before his son had taken any public part. Mary remained, in a manner, the head of the family, and this explains why her son, when it was wished to distinguish him from others of the same name, was most frequently called the "son of Mary."[1] It seems that having, by the death of her husband, been left friendless at Nazareth, she withdrew to Cana,[2] from which she may have come originally. Cana[3] was a little town at from two to two and a half hours' journey from Nazareth, at the foot …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Chronology
45. The length of the public ministry of Jesus was one of the earliest questions which arose in the study of the four gospels. In the second and third centuries it was not uncommon to find the answer in the passage from Isaiah (lxi. 1, 2), which Jesus declared was fulfilled in himself. "The acceptable year of the Lord" was taken to indicate that the ministry covered little more than a year. The fact that the first three gospels mention but one Passover (that at the end), and but one journey to Jerusalem, …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

The Friend of Men 223 in Nothing Does the Contrast Between Jesus and John the Baptist Appear More Clearly than in their Attitude Towards Common Social
I The Friend of Men 223. In nothing does the contrast between Jesus and John the Baptist appear more clearly than in their attitude towards common social life. John had his training and did his work apart from the homes of men. The wilderness was his chosen and fit scene of labor. From this solitude he sent forth his summons and warning to his people. They who sought him for fuller teaching went after him and found him where he was. They then returned to their homes and their work, leaving the prophet …
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Twelve Baskets Full of Fragments Gathered from the Miracle of Christ Feeding the Multitude.
1.--MAN NEEDS HELP. "They have nothing to eat." (Mark vi. 36.) 2.--GOD IS BETTER THAN GOOD MEN. "Send them away," said the disciples. (Mark vi. 36.) "They need not depart," the Lord replied. (Matt. xiv. 16.) 3.--MINISTERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR THE CHILDREN, THEY GIVE HELP AS WELL AS TROUBLE. Andrew said, "There is a lad here." (John vi. 9.) 4.--YOUTH CAN GIVE TO JESUS WHAT NO ONE ELSE POSSESSES. "There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves." (John vi. 9.) 5.--UNBELIEF …
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Historical Books. 1 the New Testament...
CHAPTER XXIX. THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 1. The New Testament, like the Old, is not an abstract system of doctrines and duties, but a record of facts involving doctrines and duties of the highest import. This record does not constitute an independent history, complete in itself, and to be explained in its own light. It is rather the necessary sequel to the record of the Old Testament. It interprets the Old Testament, and is itself interpreted by it. The two constitute together an organic whole, and can …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Right to Privacy
"There were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."--Mark 6:31 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them."--Matthew 9:36 I had just come back from a strenuous month in the country. Mr. and Mrs. Sprightly, the young married couple who were in charge of the mission station, and I were relaxing around the tea table. I told about the work I had been doing, and answered interested questions. Finally the talk drifted into lighter channels, and …
Mabel Williamson—Have We No Rights?

Set at Liberty.
(MARK VI. 27.) "Hush my soul, and vain regrets be stilled; Now rest in Him who is the complement Of whatsoe'er transcends our mortal doom, Of baffled hope and unfulfilled intent; In the clear vision and aspect of whom All longings and all hopes shall be fulfilled." ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. The Genesis of a Great Crime--The Strength of Evil Influences--An Accomplice of Satan--The Triumph of Hate--The Baptist Beheaded--A Place of Repentance The evangelist Mark tells us, in the twenty-first verse of this …
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

The King's Courts
(MARK VI.) "The number of thine own complete, Sum up and make an end; Sift clean the chaff, and house the wheat; And then, O Lord, descend. "Descend, and solve by that descent This mystery of life; Where good and ill, together blent, Wage an undying strife." J. H. N. Under Royal Surveillance--"It is not Lawful."--The Revenge of Herodias--The Upbraidings of Conscience--Devotion to Truth--"A Sin unto Death." Our story brings us next to speak of the Baptist's relations with Herod Antipas, son of the …
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Rejected in his Own Country
"And He went out from thence; and He cometh into His own country; and His disciples follow Him." MARK 6:1-6 (R.V.) WE have seen how St. Mark, to bring out more vividly the connection between four mighty signs, their ideal completeness as a whole, and that mastery over nature and the spiritual world which they reveal, grouped them resolutely together, excluding even significant incidents which would break in upon their sequence. Bearing this in mind, how profoundly instructive it is that our Evangelist …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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