Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 5 Study # 5
March 1, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(290)
1901 ASV
6:50 for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he straightway spake with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.
6:51 And he went up unto them into the boat; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves;
6:52 for they understood not concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.
- I. Jesus' Encouragement.
- A. Mark records that "they all saw Him".
- 1. There is a reason that Mark records that "they all" saw Him. This would have been an automatic assumption except that Mark deliberately records it. Is there here an implication that the "darkness" was not complete and that every one of The Twelve had some capacity to enter into "sight" in spite of that darkness?
- a. Surely, if they had not "seen" Him, He would have simply passed them by.
- b. That it was "dark" is assumed; so, how did they "see"? It is possible that Jesus allowed a limited amount of His "glory" to be visible as light, but whether that is what happened and/or to what extent we cannot tell. That they thought He was a phantom is an implication that not very much "light" was being allowed to shine through. This, as with all of the other aspects of this record, also lends itself to a "behind the scenes reality": they were, for the most part, blind, as with their eyes, so also with their understanding. A strong wind would be blowing mist into their eyes and the night was dark.
- c. That they could "see" Him may well be part of the reason He got into the boat.
- 2. This "seeing" caused them great "inner upheaval".
- a. Their "sight" was real; but their interpretation of what they saw was completely wrongheaded. When Jesus is taken to be a demonic spirit, those "seeing" are not far from the eternal condemnation that Jesus pronounced upon those who accused Him of being a servant of Beelzebul (3:22-30). There is a parallel in Jesus' words, recorded by John, that those who "say, 'we see'" are held under condemnation (John 9:41). There is also a modern illustration of this troublesome reality in the prophecy of the Revelation of Jesus in which four horsemen are seen, and the first horse is "white". The interpretations are as far apart as that of the disciples: some say the rider on the white horse is Christ; others that he is the Devil. How much further apart can these "interpretations" be?
- b. Their "sight", misinterpreted, caused them significant inner upheaval. [Note: Job and his 'friends' both attributed the work of Satan to God; how is this any different except for the 'inversion' (attributing Satan's work to God is not much different from attributing God's work to Satan)?
- c. Misinterpreting always has the potential for "great inner turmoil" whereas proper insight gives great peace.
- 3. This "inner upheaval" caused them to "cry out loudly". Their loud cries signal the depth of their upheaval (i.e., terror).
- B. Mark records that Jesus responded with comforting speech.
- 1. They heard the sound of His voice (laleo). This is always the beginning of Peace; being able to "hear" His words. Remember Mary at the tomb who "saw" Jesus, but only recognized Him because He spoke to her.
- 2. He declared significant Truth (lego). This is the way of Peace; being able to understand what is heard and to know it as "Truth".
- a. Be of good courage.
- 1) The verb translated "Take courage" (NASB)/"Be of good cheer" (Authorized Version) is a word that means something like "Pay no attention to threats (real or conjured up by your own mind)". It is used in 7 texts of the New Testament and the constant in each situation is the potential for fear.
- 2) In this situation, the disciples have misinterpreted the appearance of Jesus; they have decided what they "see" is a "demonic spirit" and, because of this, they think that some great evil is about to come upon them.
- b. I Am.
- 1) In John 18:6 this phrase in Jesus' mouth caused the mob to "draw back and fall to the ground".
- 2) Mark records Jesus saying this exact phrase in three texts: 6:50; 13:6; and 14:62. In 13:6 Jesus prophesied that "Many will come in My name, saying, 'I Am', and will mislead many". In 14:62, in response to the question of the high priest, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?", Jesus said, "I Am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" [the response of the high priest was to "tear his garments" and say "You have heard the blasphemy"]. This coincides with John 10:33 which declares that the religious leaders are seeking to kill Him, not for a good deed, but because "...You, being a man, make yourself out [to be] God".
- 3) This is the Old Testament "name" of Yahweh.
- c. Stop being afraid.
- 1) When this command is a present tense, passive, imperative, it means "Stop doing what you already are doing" in the passive sense of "being made afraid".
- 2) This "fear" is a major thesis in Mark's Gospel and it is in the last phrase that we are sure that Mark wrote because of the mess the textual tradition is in (16:8; efobounto gar). It means "for they were being made afraid" (Imperfect Passive, Indicative). As the last phrase in Mark's record, it stands to reason that he was making the point that "fear" is a very major issue to which his Gospel is addressed. This was, after all, the very reason Mark abandoned the work on Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 12:25 together with 15:37-38).
- C. Mark records that Jesus "went up to them and got into the boat".
- D. Mark records that the wind "grew weary" (i.e., "died down").
- II. Their Reaction.
- A. Its nature.
- 1. They were "exceedingly [out of abundance] beside themselves".
- 2. They could not reason while in this state.
- B. Its root cause.
- 1. They were in a "condition" from their previous histories [Perfect Tense].
- 2. The "condition" was that they were in possession of "hearts" that had a rock-like outer covering so that they could not "gain insight" from Jesus' words and actions. Jesus' dealings with them were designed to hammer that stone shield so that it might shatter and, thus, allow the hidden/self-protected heart to be properly affected by "Truth". This is an instance of the "amazing grace" with which this Gospel was first introduced by "John" (Yahweh is gracious).
