Mark 4:36

Syriac Peshitta (NT Only)

ܘܰܫܒ݂ܰܩܘ ܠܟ݂ܶܢܫܶܐ ܘܕ݂ܰܒ݂ܪܽܘܗ݈ܝ ܟ݁ܰܕ݂ ܒ݁ܰܣܦ݂ܺܝܢ݈ܬ݁ܳܐ ܗܽܘ ܘܰܣܦ݂ܺܝܢܶܐ ܐ݈ܚܪܳܢܝܳܬ݂ܳܐ ܐܺܝܬ݂ ܗ݈ܘܰܝ ܥܰܡܗܽܘܢ ܀

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

even: Mark 4:1, Mark 3:9

Reciprocal: Matthew 8:23 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when they had sent away the multitude,.... Who had been attending him all day on the sea shore; though they seem to have been dismissed by Christ, when he went into the house, and privately interpreted the parables to his disciples: see Matthew 13:36, wherefore it is possible, that upon Christ's going to the sea shore again, in order to take boat for the other side, they might gather together the disciples acquainted them that he was not about to preach any more to them, but was going to the other side of the lake; upon which they departed: and

they took him even as he was in the ship; which may be understood of his being taken and carried in the ship, in which he had been preaching all the day, without being moved into another; though this does not so well agree with his quitting that, and going home to his house in Capernaum; where, being alone with the disciples, he opened the parables to them. Some think it refers to the situation and posture in which he laid himself, as soon as he entered the ship; placing himself at the stern, and laying his head upon a pillow there, and so they carried him: others, that they took him into the ship, as he was alone without the multitude, who were sent away, only the disciples with him, which seems best:

and there were also with him other little ships; or boats, that were in company with that, in which Christ was; and had in them either seafaring men upon business, taking fish, or carrying passengers over; or might have in them persons, who were going along with Christ to the other side: these seem to be ordered in providence to be in company, that they might be witnesses of the after miracle.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See the notes at Matthew 8:18-27.

Mark 4:36

Even as he was in the ship - They took him without making any preparation for the voyage; without providing any food or raiment. He was sitting in a ship, or boat, instructing the people. In the same boat, probably ill fitted to encounter a storm on the lake, they sailed. This would render their danger more imminent and the miracle more striking.

There were with him other little ships - Belonging probably to the people, who, seeing him sail, resolved to follow him.

Mark 4:39

Peace, be still - There is something exceedingly authoritative and majestic in this command of our Lord. Standing amid the howling tempest, on the heaving sea, and in the darkness of night, by his own power he stills the waves and bids the storm subside. None but the God of the storms and the billows could awe by a word the troubled elements, and send a universal peace and stillness among the winds and waves. He must, therefore, be divine. The following remarks by Dr. Thomson, long a resident in Syria, and familiar with the scenes which occur there, will farther illustrate this passage, and the parallel account in Matthew 8:18-27, and also the passage in Matthew 14:23-32. The extract which follows is taken from “The land and the Book,” vol. ii. p. 32, 33: “To understand the causes of these sudden and violent tempests, we must remember that the lake lies low - 600 feet lower than the ocean; that the vast and naked plateaus of the Jaulan rise to a great height, spreading backward to the wilds of the Hauran and upward to snowy Hermon; that the water-courses have cut out profound ravines and wild gorges, converging to the head of this lake, and that these act like gigantic “funnels” to draw down the cold winds from the mountains.

On the occasion referred to we subsequently pitched our tents at the shore, and remained for three days and nights exposed to this tremendous wind. We had to double-pin all the tent-ropes, and frequently were obliged to hang with our whole weight upon them to keep the quivering tabernacle from being carried up bodily into the air. No wonder the disciples toiled and rowed hard all that night; and how natural their amazement and terror at the sight of Jesus walking on the waves! The faith of Peter in desiring and “daring” to set foot on such a sea is most striking and impressive; more so, indeed, than its failure after he made the attempt. The whole lake, as we had it, was lashed into fury; the waves repeatedly rolled up to our tent door, tumbling over the ropes with such violence as to carry away the tent-pins. And moreover, those winds are not only violent, but they come done suddenly, and often when the sky is perfectly clear. I once went in to swim near the hot baths, and, before I was aware, a wind came rushing over the cliffs with such force that it was with great difficulty I could regain the shore. Some such sudden wind it was, I suppose, that filled the ship with waves so that it was now full, while Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the hinder part of the ship; nor is it strange that the disciples aroused him with the cry of Master! Master! carest thou not that we perish.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 36. THEY took him even as he was in the ship. — That is, the disciples; he was now εν τω πλοιω, in the boat, i.e. his own boat which usually waited on him, and out of which it appears he was then teaching the people. There were several others there which he might have gone in, had this one not been in the place. The construction of this verse is exceedingly difficult; the meaning appears to be this: - The disciples sailed off with him just as he was in the boat out of which he had been teaching the people; and they did not wait to provide any accommodations for the passage. This I believe to be the meaning of the inspired penman.