Mark | 1:1-11 | 1:12-34 | 1:35-45 | 2:1-20  | 2:21-3:12 | 3:13-35 | 4:1-20 | 4:21-41 | 5:1-20 | 5:21-43 | 6:1-13 | 6:14-29 | 6:30-44 | 6:45-56 | 7-12| 13-16 |

Mark 6:45-56 Bible Study and Questions – Jesus Walks on Water

Outline

I. Jesus walks on water (45-52)
II. Jesus heals the sick (53-56)

I. Jesus walks on water (45-52)

Discussion Questions

• Why did Jesus make the disciples get in the boat and send them to the other side without him?
• What did Jesus do when everyone had left? What does this show us about His character? Why did He pray in private?
• How is your prayer life? Are you faithful to pray to the Lord on your own or just at church?
• How far had the disciples gotten while Jesus was praying?
• Did Jesus go help them immediately? How long did he wait (until the 4th watch, 3-6 AM)? Why do you think He waited so long to help them?
• What was their reaction to seeing Jesus walking on the water?
• What happened when Jesus got on the boat?
• Why were they often surprised when Jesus did another miracle?

Cross-References

Matthew 14:28-31 – And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Isaiah 41:10 – Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Jesus made His disciples go first –

Mark 6:45 – Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

Perhaps this was because Jesus knew His disciples were very tired from their preaching trip and needed a rest. He had planned to give them a rest before when the crowds chased after them and prevented them having a retreat. Jesus hadn’t forgotten His disciples, but still was compassionate toward them.

Alternatively, this may have been designed as a test.

2. Jesus left for the mountain to pray –

Mark 6:46 – And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

Jesus had taught the disciples that it was important to have a personal and private prayer life.

Matthew 6:6 – But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Here we see that He practiced what He preached.

While reading through the gospels you often see a phrase such as “he went up on the mountain to pray.” His time alone with the Father was not an isolated occurrence, but a regular part of who Jesus is and what He did ((Mark 1:35, Matthew 14:23, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:18).

Jesus was a busy man. He was so busy that many times He didn’t even have enough time to eat. And yet, He always found time alone to pray. His dedication to prayer is an excellent model for us to strive for.

Application – Spend some time to evaluate your own prayer life. How is your prayer life? Do you place the priority on it that Jesus did? Do you only pray if you have time and something urgent to pray about?

Or do you make time to pray no matter how busy you are? Do you have quality time in prayer on your own or just mutter a few quick words before a meal?

The Word and prayer are the two most basic spiritual disciplines. We cannot be growing Christians without them. One thing you will notice while studying through books of the Bible is that most of the most famous Bible characters were men of prayer. They often had quality time with the Lord. If someone wrote a biography of you, is prayer something you would be known for? Write down one practical application on how you can improve your personal prayer life.

3. In the evening Jesus noticed them straining at the oars –

Mark 6:47-48 – And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them.

This would indicate that they hadn’t made it very far, so Jesus was still able to spot them from land. It wasn’t until the fourth watch (3-6 AM), that Jesus went out to them.

Depending on what time the sun set, it would probably be a minimum of about 6 hours and as long as 13 hours between evening and the fourth watch. It is clear that Jesus did not go to help them immediately after he saw their struggles.

Reflect – Why do you think Jesus waited to go to them?

While we do not know the exact reason in this case, we do know that God doesn’t always save us out of trials immediately. He often answers our prayers, “Wait.” The process, and growth during that process, are often more important in God’s eyes than the final destination.

Romans 5:3-5 – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Sometimes God sees fit to let us experience trials for awhile in order to develop our character. Jesus saw His disciples struggling against the wind. Actually, they were already very tired at this point and this would have pushed them almost to the point of exhaustion. But for their own long-term benefit He didn’t step in.

I can relate to that. As a father, I sometimes may notice one of my children struggling to do something. Is it always in their best interest for me to step in and do it for him? No. Sometimes they need to struggle through something in order to learn. Maybe they need to learn how to do it, that they can do it, or even that they can’t do it on their own.

By letting them struggle with it for a while they can learn to be humble. They can learn their own limitations. They can learn how to ask for help and not rely on themselves. There are many possibilities.

Illustration – There once was a boy who was playing in a sandbox behind his house. He discovered a large rock in the sandbox and didn’t want it there. Summoning all of his strength, he pushed it as hard as he could. His father was standing at the back door watching him the whole time. When it didn’t move the boy changed tactics. The next time he backed up and got a running start. Still it didn’t budge.

The boy’s father then watched him get a stick and use it as a lever to try to move the rock. It was a clever idea, but still didn’t work. The father watched as his boy became increasingly upset and failed time and time again.

Eventually the boy came back in a huff and complained bitterly about his inability to move the rock. He told his father, “I tried everything, and nothing worked!” The father simply said, “You didn’t try everything yet. You didn’t ask me for help.”

For the disciples, they were able to witness once again Jesus’ miraculous power. Because they had struggled already for a long time against the wind Jesus’ miracle of stopping the wind became even more amazing and highlighted His divine strength against their human weakness.

Application – Do not grow bitter with God if He doesn’t immediately save you from a trial you are facing. Just as Jesus was nearby and ready to help the disciples when it was really best for them, God is also nearby amid our trials and will step in when we need Him to, but not necessarily when we want Him to. Sometimes He says, “Wait.” When facing trials, instead of blaming God or growing impatient or angry, we should look at ourselves and ask what lessons we can learn. Maybe we need to be more dependent on God, more patient, more faithful, etc. Sometimes not stepping in and helping is not a sign of apathy, but of discernment.

4. Jesus walked on the water – This was not a magic trick. It wasn’t achieved by illusion or trick cameras or a high salt content. The disciples were experienced sailors and the sight was enough to scare them to the point where they cried out (a modern translation might read “screamed like girls”). The text says that they were “terrified.” It wasn’t surprise or excitement, but sheer terror.

Mark 6:49 – But when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified.

At the beginning, they couldn’t tell what this figure walking on water was. It was night so the light wouldn’t have been good, although there was evidently a moon. Jesus, however, didn’t leave them in their terror, but revealed Himself to them.

But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

The first order of business was to assuage their fears. Throughout Scripture, we see that the heart of God is not to terrify us, but to give us peace.

John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Reflect – How has God given you peace in the midst of a difficult or stressful situation?

5. Jesus stopped the wind –

Mark 6:51 – And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded.

Next, He decided to do another miracle to solve the trial they were facing, stopping the wind which was raging against them. At the right time God can and will step in, even powerfully, to help us.

The disciples were astonished.

Reflect – Why were the disciples astonished when the wind stopped?

Since they had seen many of Jesus’ miracles, including the feeding of the five thousand the day before, you would think they wouldn’t be surprised anymore. But they were. The text says that their hearts “were hardened.” It wasn’t easy for them to change their perspective or worldview. It wasn’t easy to get used to Jesus operating in the supernatural world instead of the natural. Instead, they often quickly forgot what they had just learned.

It would be easy to sit here in the comfort of our homes and blame them for their short-term memories.

But it would be unwise to blame them since we do the same thing.

I took my four children to my parents’ house for dinner one day and I heard my father reminding another family member to shut a door in order to save electricity. This reminder was no different than the ones I heard growing up thirty years ago. But even after many years, people still forget.

We often forget what we read in the Bible today or learned in church or Bible study last week. Even if we remember the words, we often don’t do them. In reality, we are not any better than the disciples were.

Reflect – How we can have victory to keep practicing what we have learned? How can we overcome our spiritual short-term memories?

II. Jesus heals the sick (53-56)

Discussion Questions

• What did Jesus do for the people of Gennesaret?
• What did the locals do when they saw him?

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. Jesus and the disciples arrive in Gennesaret – Once again, Jesus and His disciples were unable to rest. As soon as they landed, they were recognized and people ran through the countryside gathering the sick to Him for healing. It is easy to understand how the people felt. They had likely heard stories of Jesus and many of them had clearly seen Him. It was known that He could heal people. Jesus didn’t come to their area everyday so if their sick friends and relatives wanted to be healed, now was the time. They weren’t about to miss this chance!

If people treated salvation as urgently as they did physical healing, many more people would be saved!

2. Jesus was popular in this region – He was popular because people were able to get something from Him. The people saw an opportunity and took it. Most of us wouldn’t enjoy people following us around and asking for things all the time. Jesus likely didn’t always enjoy it either. But He kept doing it because of His compassion for the people. When He saw them, He felt great empathy for them.

Jesus wasn’t focused on Himself. He didn’t go to bed at night moaning about how “life isn’t fair” and He didn’t sit around at meals complaining to His disciples about the people’s lack of gratitude. He saw a need and He filled it without any need for recognition or appreciation.

Application 1 – Do not get upset if you feel people are taking advantage of you. Instead have compassion on their lost souls.

Application 2 – When you see a need, fill it, even if you are a tired.

Application 3 – Make sure that you show proper appreciation and consideration for others when requesting a favor.