Mark 4:35
And the same day,; And on that day--ASV; when the even was come,; when evening came--ABUV; in the evening--NEB; he saith unto them,; he said to them--RSV; Let us pass over unto the other side.; ...the opposite shore--Alf; Let us go across to the other side of the lake--NEB; And he saith unto them Let us cross over unto the other side; And he saith to them on that day, evening having come, 'We may pass over to the other side;' TRNTyeagerV268,9 - Kai legei autois en ekeinA tA hAmera ophias genomenAs, Dielthwmen eis to peran. Kai (continuative conjunction). legei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of legw, historical). autois (dat.pl.masc.of autos, indirect object of legei). en (preposition with the locative of time point). ekeinA (loc.sing.fem.of ekeinos, in agreement with Amera). tA (loc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with Amera). hAmera (loc.sing.fem. of hAmera, time point). ophias (gen.sing.fem.of ophios, genitive absolute). genomenAs (2d.aor.part.gen.sing.fem.of ginomai, genitive absolute). Dielthwmen (1st.per.pl.aor.act.subj.of dierchomai, hortatory). eis (preposition with the accusative of extent). to (acc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with peran). peran (acc.sing.neut.of peran, extent). Translation: "And on that day as night fell He said to them, 'Let us go over to the other side.'" COMMENT: The day of teaching by parables was drawing to a close. The antecedent of autois is tois idiois mathAtais of Mk.4:34 - clearly the twelve disciples. kCf.#80 for toher examples of en ekeinA tA hAmera denoting time point. The genitive absolute tells us that evening had come and the night was at hand. Note the hortatory subjunctive in Dielthwmen with the accusative of extent with eis. "Let us go over to the other side." The disciples had heard some hard teaching that day - enough to test their faith in the authority of the Teacher. They needed a miracle. They were about to see one! MARKitGNTwuest95,6 - "And the same day." What a day it had been, the blasphemous accusation, the visit of the mother and brothers to take Him home, the leaving of the crowded house for the seaside, then in the house again, and now out of the house for the open sea. The designation of the time is of especial note, for Mark does not usually call attention to this. Our Lord and His disciples were on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, and a trip over to the eastern shore would be a delightful and refreshing change for the weary Lord Jesus. This was His only way to escape the crowds. Translation: "And having dismissed the crowd, they take Him under their care just as He was, in the boat, and there were other boats with Him." TCGTC-MARKcranfield172,3 - The narrative is probably Petrine. The details 'at once vivid and artless' (Taylor) suggest the reminiscence of an eyewitness: the precise statement of time, the expression hws An, the reference to other boats, the mention of the cushion, the disciples' rough question, and Jesus' severe rebuke of them. Suggestions that the story is to be traced to the influence of Ps.89:9 or 106:9 or Jonah are, in the face of this evidence, improbable. It is surely clear that the narrative reflects the actual memory of something that happened and the significance that the disciples at the time saw in it. ... en ekeinA tA hAmera opsias genomenAs. Since it is not characteristic of Mark to add such details, it seems likely that they were contained in his source. Dielthwmen. The verb normally means 'to pass through' (of journeys on land). In I Cor.10:1 it is used of passing through the sea in the sense of passing between the walls of water. Here 'cross over'. The subjunctive is hortatory: the initiative is taken by Jesus. Possibly his purpose was to escape the pressure of the crowds, or to find a new sphere of ministry. eis to peran: i.e. to the eastern side of the lake. MARKj&d134,5 - 3. THE FIRST WITHDRAWAL 4:35-5:20 a. The Stilling of the Tempest 4:35-41 COMMENT TIME-- Immediately after the telling of the last par able - on the same day - sometime in the autumn of A.D. 28. PLACE -- In the midst of the Sea of Galilee somewhere between Capernaum and Gerasa. PARALLEL ACCOUNTS -- Matt. 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25 OUTLINE -- 1. The day of the miracle, vs. 35. 2. The voyage to the other side, vs. 36. 3. The storm, vs. 37. 4. Jesus asleep, the fear of the disciples, vs. 38. 5. Jesus stills the storm, vs. 39. 6. the calm of Jesus - the reverence of the disciples, vs. 40,41. ANALYSIS I. THE DAY OF THE MIRACLE, VS. 35. 1. The same day as the parables. 2. At eventide. II. THE VOYAGE TO THE OTHER SIDE, VS. 36. 1. Left Multitude 2. Jesus taken in the little boat from which he taught the parables. III. THE STORM, VS. 37. 1. The great wind. 2. Waves into the boat. 3. Boat filling up. IV. JESUS SLEEPS, THE DISCIPLES FEAR, VS. 38. 1. Jesus in the stern on a cushion. 2. Awaked and asked for help. V. JESUS STILLS THE STORM, VS. 39. 1. Rebuked the wind. 2. Stilled the sea. VI. THE CALM OF JESUS - THE REVERENCE OF THE DISCIPLES, VS. 40,41. 1. No need of fear when there is faith. 2. What manner of man is this? EXPLANATORY NOTES vs. 35 -These verses describe a storm on the Sea of Galilee, when our Lord and His disciples were crossing it, and a miracle performed by our Lord in calming the storm in a moment. Few miracles recorded in the Gospel were so likely to strike the minds of the disciples as this. Four of them at least were fishermen. Peter, Andrew, James and John, had probably known the Sea of Galilee, and its storms, from their youth. Few events in our Lord's journeyings to and fro upon earth, contain more rich instruction than the one related in this passage. Mark 4:36 And when they had sent away the multitude,; And leaving the crowd--RSV; and dismissing the multitude--Rhm; So, having got rid of the crowd--Rieu; they took him even as he was in the ship.; they took him with them, just as he was, in the boat--RSV; and took him away in the boat in which he was sitting--Gspd; And there were also with him other little ships.; And other boats were with him--ASV; and there were other boats accompanying him--NEB; accompanied by other small craft--Phi; and /dismissing the multitude\ they take him with them, as he was, in the boat, and /other' boats\ were with him. and having let away the multitude, they take him up as he was in the boat, and other little boats also were with him. TRNTyeagerV269,70 - kai aphentes ton ochlon paralambanousin auton hws An en tw ploiw, kai alla ploia An met' autou. kai (inferential conjunction). aphentes (aor.act.part.nom.pl.masc.of aphiAmi, adverbial, temporal). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with ochlon). ochlon (acc.sing.masc.of ochlos, direct object of aphentes). paralambanousin (3d.per.sing.imp.ind.of eimi, progressive description). auton (acc.sing.masc.of autos, direct object of paralambanousin). hws (relative adverb). An (3d.per.sing.imp.ind.of eimi, progressive description). en (preposition with the locative of place where). tw (loc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with ploiw). ploiw (loc.sing.neut.of ploion, place where). kai (continuative conjunction). alla (nom.pl.neut.of allos, in agreement with ploia). ploia (nom.pl.neut.of ploion, subject of An). An (3d.per.sing.imp.ind.of eimi, ...). met' (preposition with the genitive of accompaniment). autou (gen.sing.masc. of autos, accompaniment). Translation: "And having left the crowd they took Him in the boat in which He had been sitting. And other boats were with Him." COMMENT: Cf.Mt.13:36. Recall that Jesus was in the boat, just off shore and the people were thronging about the shore line as He spoke to them. Now the disciples, in response to Jesus' suggestion of vs.35, leave the people standing on the shore and put out to sea. Mark adds the unnecessary information that it was the same boat in which Jesus had been sitting as He taught the people. Peter, who probably was the source of Mark's information, being a fisherman was interested in the number of boats at the dock and thus we have the added information that the others embarked in other boats as Jesus left the shore and headed eastward into the gathering darkness. Note Mark's correct grammar as he uses the singular An with the neuter plural subject ploia. There is no hint in any of the parallel accounts to tell us how far the other boats accompanied Jesus. Mt.8:24 says to ploion kaluptesthai hupo twn kumatwn, without mentioning the peril, if any, to any other craft. T321 - Hws An en tw ploiw either means "when he was in the boat" or "as he was, in the boat" (these two translations are similar). BW80 - Historical Present. For the sake of vividness or dramatic effect a writer sometimes imagines that he and/or his readers are present and are witnessing a past event. He narrates the past event as though it were actually taking place. The present tense is used for this purpose. The historical present is frequently found in Mark and John. It is ordinarily translated into English by the simple past tense. "And when they had dismissed the crowd they took him as he was in the boat." MARKitGNTwuest96 - "They took Him." The verb is paralambanw. The simple verb means "to take," the prefixed preposition "alongside." The same verb is used where the angel says to Joseph, "Take the young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt" (Mt.2:13), that is, "Take the young child and His mother under your protection and care." The disciples took the exhausted Lord Jesus under their care just as He was, in the boat. The word is ploion, referring to the larger fishing boat, not a rowboat this time. "Little ships." The A.V., translates from a reading which Nestle has put in the apparatus. He has ploion in his text, a larger boat than a rowboat. Translation: "And having dismissed the crowd, they take Him under their care just as He was, in the boat, and there were other boats with Him. Ear131 - Sent Away. Here we have the aorist participle (aphentas) of the verb aphiAmi. Arndt and Gingrich give as the first meaning "let go, send away," and they list this passage under that definition. But they say that here the meaning "leave" is "also possible." Since it was the disciples, not Jesus, who acted--the participle is in the plural--it seems more likely that "leaving" (NASB, NIV) is better than "sent away." Jesus might dismiss the crowd, but would the disciples do so? Ear131 - Took or Took Along? The verb lambanw would mean "took." But here we have the compound paralambanw, which means "take along." TCGTC-MARKcranfield173 - aphentes. Perhaps with Taylor we should follow D W Th p45 f13 it syp sa in reading aphiousin and inserting kai before paralambanousin, and explaining aphentes as a stylistic correction of an original Semitic parataxis. paralambanousin. In 7:4 the verb is used of receiving tradition (cf. I Cor.11:23, 15:1, etc.); here, as in 5:40, 9:2; 10:32; 14:33; of taking someone with one. hws An --'as he was'--perhaps means 'without going ashore'. kai alla ploia An met' autou: '...we hear no more of them. This detail, so unnecessary to the story, is probably a genuine reminiscence' (Taylor). NTC-MARKhendriksen175,6 - By combining the three accounts we obtain the following collation, in which whatever is peculiar to Mark is in italics. There italicized vivid touches, the ones not found in Matthew and Luke, confirm the theory that Matthew and Luke, confirm the theory that Mark had heard an eye-witness, Peter, tell the story: When we omit Matt. 8:26, and confine ourselves to Mark's account, we have six paragraphs, as follows: Theme: A Tempest Stilled. Points or headings: a. an evening embarkation, b. a furious tempest, c. a frantic outcry, d. an astounding miracle, e. a loving reporach, f. a profound effect. 1. An evening embarkation - It had been a busy day for Jesus. From a boat offshore he had been speaking to the multitudes in parables. Afterward, "at home" (or: in a house) he had given private instruction to the disciples. It is not surprising that when the evening arrived, he was tired and exhausted. So back to the shore he went, and said to the disciples, "Let us cross over to the other side." He wanted to cross over from the busy western or Capernaum side to the eastern or "country of the Gerasenes" side. See Mark 5:1. Since he was not only thoroughly divine but also thoroughly human, he was in need of rest. He needed to get away from all those people: not only did they crowd the shore; they even surrounded him in boats! Mark states that the disciples took Jesus along (with them) in the boat. It was he who took the initiative by issuing the order, "Let us cross over..." But they were the boatsmen, the navigators. So they took Jesus along "just as he was" (cf. II Kings 7:7), tired, exhausted, in need of rest and sleep. See verse 38, and cf. Luke 8:23a. [Footnote 168] - opsias genomenAs, genitive absolute. [Footnote 169] - The verb delthwmen is first per. pl. hortative aor. subj. of dierchomai. MARKj&d135 - Let us learn, in the first place, that Christ's service does not exempt His servants from storms. Here were the twelve disciples in the path of duty. They were obediently following Jesus, wherever He went. They were daily attending on His ministry, and hearkening to His word. They were daily testifying to the world, that, whatever Scribes and Pharisees might think, they believed on Jesus, loved Jesus, and were not ashamed to give up all for His sake. Yet here we see these men in trouble, tossed up and down by a tempest, and in danger of being drowned. Mark 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind,; And a great storm of wind arose--RSV; A heavy squall came on--NEB; Then a violent storm came up--Beck; and the waves beat into the ship,; ...were beating into the boat--ABUV; ...broke over the boat--NEB; ...splashed into the boat--Mof; ...kept dashing into the boat--TCNT; so that it was now full.; so that the boat was now filling--ABUV; ...was already filling--RSV; until it was all but swamped--NEB; And there ariseth a great tempest of wind,--and /the waves\ were dashing over into the boat, so that /already being filled\ was the boat. And there cometh a great storm of wind, and the waves were beating on the boat, so that it is now being filled, TRNTyeagerV270,1 - kai ginetai lailaph megalA anemou, kai ta kumata epeballen eis to ploion, hwste AdA gemizesthai to ploion. kai (continuative conjunction). ginetai (3d.per.sing.pres.ind.of ginomai, historical). lailaph (nom.sing.fem.of lailaph, subject of ginetai). storm - Mk.4:37; Lk.8:23. tempest - II Pet.2:17. Meaning: Thayer says, "According to Schmidt, lailaph is never a single gust, nor a steadily blowing wind, however violent; but a storm breaking forth from black thunderclouds in furious gusts, with floods of rain, and throwing everything topsy-turvy; acc. to Aristotle (de mund. ...) it is a whirlwind revolving from below upwards." This sounds like a good description of a tornado. Twice properly in Mk.4:37; Lk.8:23. Once metaphorically of philosophical, theological and ethical chaos - II Pet.2:17. megalA (nom.sing.fem.of megas, in agreement with lailaph). anemou (gen.sing.masc.of anemos, description). kai (continuative conjunction). ta (nom.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with kumata). kumata (nom.pl.neut.of kuma, subject of epeballen). epeballen (3d.per.sing.imp.act.ind.of epiballw, inceptive). eis (preposition with the accusative of extent). to (acc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with ploion). ploion (acc.sing.neut.of ploion, extent). hwste (consecutive conjunction introducing a result clause). AdA (adverbial). gemizesthai (pres.pass.inf.of gemizw, result). to (acc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with ploion). ploion (acc.sing.neut.of ploion, general reference with the infinitive in a result clause). Translation: "And a great tornado developed, and the waves began to crash into the boat, with the result that immediately the boat was filled." COMMENT: Two main verbs ginetai and epeballen describe the coming of the sotrm and the action of the waves upon the boat, with the result in the hwste clause. The Prince of the Power of the Air (Eph.2:1) made a pitiably futile effort to drown the Sovereign of the Universe in the bottom of the Sea of Galilee. Had he been successful the Lamb of God would never have gone to a cross to redeem the elect. But "...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev.13:8) rose to the occasion as He will again, to discomfit the evil forces which sought to destroy Him. Cf.#754. End time apostates will attack our Lord also as "raging waves of the sea" as they did on this occasion (Jude 13). Job 1,2 seem to teach that kSatan as the "prince of the power of the air" has temporary control over the elements. Striking deceptively, as he always does, Satan waited until Jesus was asleep before he loosed the tornado on the little boat and its occupants. R868 - The realistic present ginetai (historical) is followed by the imperfect, "a great storm arose." R1000 - Hwste with the infinitive has the sense of actual result, "so that." T52 - The compound verb epiballw means "rush upon." MARKitGNTwuest96,7 - "There arose a great storm." The Greek word is used of a furious storm or hurricane. It never refers to a single gust, nor a steadily blowing wind, however violent, but to a storm breaking forth from black thunder-clouds in furious gusts, with floods of rain, and throwing everything topsy-turvy. According to Aristotle, it is a whirlwind revolving from below upwards. It is used in the LXX of the whirlwind out of which God answered Job. Vincent quotes a Mr. Macgregor: "On the Sea of Galilee the wind has a singular force and suddenness; and this is no doubt because that sea is so deep in the world that the sun rarefies the air in it enormously, and the wind speeding swiftly above a long and level plateau, gathers much force as it sweeps through flat deserts, until suddenly it meets this huge gap in the way, and it tumbles down here irresistible." Robertson suggests that the storm fell suddenly from Mount Hermon down into the Jordan Valley and hit the Sea of Galilee violently at its depth of 682 feet below the Mediterranean Sea. He explains that the hot air at this depth draws the storm down with sudden power. Luke says (8:32), "there came down a storm on the lake." Matthew describes it as a susmos, a violent upheaval like an earthquake (8:24). These sudden storms continue to this day. "The waves beat into the ship." The verb is epiballw "to throw upon." The waves were throwing themselves into the boat. The tense is imperfect. They were repeatedly doing so. "So that it was now full." The verb is gemizw "to fill, to fill full." The boat was now filling. Matthew has it, "so that the boat was covered with the waves." Translation: "And there arises a great windstorm of hurricane proportions, and the waves kept on beating into the boat, so that already it was being filled." Ear131 - Great Storm. The Greek says that there was a great lailaps of wind. This word is defined by A&G as "whirlwind, hurricane". It is obviously a very strong word. The whole expression can be translated "a fierce gale of wind" (NASB) or "a furious squall" (NIV). Ear131,2 - Now Full. The Greek does not have the aorist tense, suggesting completed action (see the Blass-Debrunner Grammar), but the present infinitive of continuing action. So a better translation is "already filling up" (NASB) or "nearly swamped" (NIV). If the boat had been "now full" (KJV), it would have been at the bottom of the lake! TCGTC-MARKcranfield173 - The Lake of Galilee is notorious for its sudden storms. See further Smith, Hist. Geog. epeballen. The intransitive use of the active of epiballw is found in classical as well as later Greek. That eis here means 'into' is indicated by the following clause. TNICotNT-MARKlane 172,3,4 - The three miracles reported in Ch. 4:35-5:43 reveal Jesus' sovereignty over sea and wind, demonic possession and death. They have been brought together as a unit, presumably by the evangelist, to illustrate the vanquishing of powers hostile to God. The cosmic dimensions of Jesus' encounter with Satan are emphasized in the first of these stories, where the sea is understood as a manifestation of the realm of death, with overtones of the demonic in its behavior. This in turn prepares for the account of Jesus' healing of the demoniac from Gerasa. Between the two narratives there are parallels too obvious to be incidental. The narrative of the man who experienced self-destruction leads naturally to an encounter with death itself. In each event the presence of Jesus constitutes an affirmation of life and the defeat of death. Confronted with his word of power, the man of faith finds himself in the presence of the Lord of Life. The Marcan account of the subduing of the wind and the sea bears the marks of the personal reminiscence of one who had experienced the event. The precise notice of time, the unnecessary reference to the other boats which were present, the vivid detail that "the boat was already filling," the precise location of Jesus' position ("inthe stern, asleep on the cushion"), the harshness of the rebuke implied in the disciples' cry of indignation and terror as well as their subsequent bewilderment, combine to suggest an eyewitness report. From a small boat Jesus had been teaching the multitude lined up on the shore (Ch. 4:2). Now that evening had come he determined to cross over to the eastern side of the lake (probably in keeping with the principle expressed in Ch. 1:38, that his mission must be extended elsewhere). The disciples included among their number fishermen who were experienced sailors, and the multitude was soon left behind as their boat, with others along the shore, moved out into deep water. The Sea of Galilee, surrounded by high mountains, is like a basin. Sudden violent storms on the sea are well known. Violent winds from the southwest enter the basin from the southern cleft and create a situation in which storm and calm succeed one another rapidly. Since the wind is nearly always stronger in the afternoon than in the morning or evening, fishing was done at night. But when a storm arises in the evening, it is all the more dangerous. Such a storm struck as a fierce gust of wind came upon the lake, driving the waves over the sides of the boat, which was being swamped with water. MARKj&d136 - Let us mark well this lesson. If we are true Christians, we must not expect everything smooth in our journey to heaven. We must count it no strange thing, if we have to endure sicknessess, losses, bereavements, and disappointments, just like other men. Free pardon and full forgiveness, grace by the way, and glory at the end, - all this our Saviour has promised to give. But He has never promised that we shall have no afflictions. He loves us too well to promise that. By affliction He teaches us many precious lessons, which without we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven. In the resurrection morning we shall all say, "It is good for me that I was afflicted." We shall thank God for every storm. Mark 4:38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship,; And he himself was in the stern--ASV; asleep on a pillow:; ...on the cushion--ASV; with his head on the headrest, fast asleep--Rieu; and they awake him, and say unto him,; and they woke him and said to him--RSV; they roused him and said--NEB; They awoke him with the words--Phi; Master, carest thou not that we perish?; Teacher...--ASV; Master, we are sinking! Do you not care-- NEB; Master, don't you care that we're drowning--Phi; And /he\ was in the stern /on the cushion\ sleeping. And they arouse him, and say unto him, Teacher! carest thou not that we perish? and he himself was upon the stern, upon the pillow sleeping, and they wake him up, and say to him, 'Teacher, art thou not caring that we perish?' TRNTyeagerV271,2 - kai autos An en tA prumnA epi to proskephalaion katheudwn. kai egeirousin auton kai legousin autw, Didaskale, ou melei soi hoti apollumetha; kai (continuative conjunction). autos (nom.sing.masc.of autos, subject of An). An (3d.per.sing.imp.ind.of eimi, imperfect periphrastic). en (preposition with the locative of place where). tA (loc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with prumnA). prumnA (loc.sing.fem.of prumna, place where). hinder part - kActs 27:41. hinder part of the ship - Mk.4:38. stern - Acts 27:29. Meaning: The feminine form of prumnos - "last" or "hind part." Recessive accent in the noun. The stern of a boat or ship - Mk.4:38; kActs 27:29,41. epi (preposition with the accusative of place where). to (acc.sing.neut.of the article in agreement with proskephalaion). proskephalaion (acc.sing.neut.of proskephalaion, extent). pillow - Mk.4:38. Meaning: A combination of pros and kephalA. Near the head; hence, a pillow - Mk.4:38. Kateudwn (pres.act.part.nom.sing.masc.of katheudw, imperfect periphrastic). kai (continuative conjunction). egeirousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of egeirw, historical). auton (acc.sing.masc.of autos, direct object of egeirousin). kai (continuative conjunction). legousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of legw, historical). autw (dat.sing.masc.of autos, indirect object of legousin). Didaskale (voc.sing.masc.of didaskalos, address). ou (negative conjunction with the indicative in rhetorical question). melei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of melw, aoristic). soi (dat.sing.masc.of su, personal interest). hoti (causal conjunction). apollumetha (1st.per.pl.pres.pass.ind.of apollumi, rhetorical question). Translation: "And He was sleeping in the stern upon a pillow, and they awakened Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, you care, do you not, that we are going down?'" COMMENT: The imperfect periphrastic in An...katheudwn, with its continuous action is interesting. Satan in his fury lashes up the storm. Winds howl about the boat. The sea heaves and waves roll in and crash in until the decks are awash. Disciples, some of whom are fishermen who have been in storms before, are now distraught. They run about, wild eyed and crying out with fear. And through it all Jesus remains asleep on a pillow in the stern. His sleep indicates His very real humanity. He had had a hard day and He was tired and hungry. He had preched to the people all day long. A fellow has to get his rest! One moment the human Jesus sleeps peacefully in a storm that bids fair to take His life. The next the Divine Son of God rises calmly and with stern authority rebukes the winds and the waves. There is no more dramatic evidence of the hypostatic union of deity and humanity in the incarnate Son of God. For another cf. Jn.11:35-44 where the human Jesus burst into tears because His friend Lazarus was dead and then, snorting with rage, raised him from the dead and restored him to his sisters and friends. R679 - The pronoun in kai autos is emphatic, denoting Jesus as the chief person in the story. R1034 - Hoti introduces a subject clause here (the subject of melei), "is it not a concern to you that." DM294 - Substantival Clauses. A substantival clause (often called noun clause) is one that is so related to the main verb in the sentence that it functions in the capacity of a noun. Such clauses are abundant in the NT, and they exhibit the characteristics of a noun as subjective, as objective, and as appositive. ...(1) Subjective Clauses. ... b. With hoti. "Is it not of care to thee that we are perishing?" Mk.4:38. Cham178 - Hypotactic or Subordinating Clauses. Hoti and its compounds. ... (3) It may introduce a clause which is the subject of a verb: ou melei soi hoti apollumetha; (here), 'Is it not a care to thee that we perish?' The hoti clause is the subject of the verb, melei, and is in the nominative case. MARKitGNTwuest97,8 - "He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow." "The hinder part," from prumna, the stern or back of the ship, the opposite end ot the bow or front. The pillow, from proskephalaion, literally, "that towards which one puts the head," was no soft luxurious cushion, but either the leathern cushion of the steersman, or the low bency at the stern on which the steersman sometimes sits, and the captain rests his head to sleep. Luke says of our Lord, "He fell asleep." The ingressive aorist is used, speaking of entrance into a new condition. The Lord Jesus was worn out from the toil of the day. "Master, carest thou not that we perish." Someone has said, "Jesus did not say, 'Let us go down to the sea and be drowned,' but, 'Let us pass over to the other side.'" "Master" in the Greek text is didaskale "Teacher." It is in the vocative case, which is the term of address. It is, "O, Teacher." "Carest" is the translation of mellei "it is a care." The idea contained in the verb is that of solicitude for another's welfare. The verb "we perish" is apollumi, in the present tense, "we are perishing." They were rebuking the Lord Jesus for sleeping in the storm. What a picture of the humanity of God the Son. The noise of the storm, the violent pitching of the boat, and the sting of the cold water as it came beating into the boat, did not awake Him. The Teacher was so exhausted, that the need of His body for rest overcame the demands of outside impressions on His senses. From this, one can form some estimate of the tremendous drain on our Lord's physical and nerve force by His ministry. Translation: "And He Himself was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on the steersman's leather cushion. And they arouse Him from sleep and say to Him, O, Teacher, is it not a concern to you that we are perishing?" Ear132 - Pillow. The Greek word proskephalaion (only here in NT) is compounded of kephalA, "head," and pros, "toward"--so, the place where one lays his head. In the stern of the boat this would be an oarsman's cushion on which Jesus rested. TCGTC-MARKcranfield173,4 - An and katheudwn are better taken together as a periphrastic tense than as in the R.V. Apparently Jesus is weary after a day's teaching. For his weariness cf. Jn.4:6. en tA prumnA epi to proskephalaion. Only in Mk. It suggests the vivid reminiscence of an eye-witness. For epi + accusative of place where, without any idea of movement, cf. Jn.12:15; II Cor.3:15, etc. It is found also in classical Greek. The proskephalaion is perhaps a rower's cushion, but the article rather suggests that it is the only one on board--perhaps a cushion kept for the seat of honour in the stern. ou melei soi hoti apollumetha; A definite reproach, softened in Mt. into a prayer, in Lk. into a statement implying a request for help (though this form of reproach does occur in Lk.10:40). The rudeness of the Mk. form, which is no doubt more original, is an eloquent pointer to the messianic veiledness--the Son of God subject to the rudeness of men. NTC-MARKhendriksen176,7 -2. A furious tempest - To describe this atomospheric disturbance Mark and Luke in the original speak of a lailaps, that is, a whirlwind (cf. Job 38:1; Jonah 1:4) or a storm that breaks forth in furious gusts, a fearful squall. Matthew calls it "a great shaking" or "sea-quake." It must have been a very violent upheaval, a howling tempest. Suddenly this lailaps came down upon the lake. [171] The Sea of Galilee is located in the north of the valley of the Jordan. It is about thirteen miles in length and seven and one-half miles in width. It lies approximately six hundred eighty feet below the level of the Mediterranean. Its bed ia a depression surrounded by hills, especially on the east side with its precipitous cliffs. It is understandable that when the cool currents rush down from Mt. Hermon (9,200 feet) or from elsewhere and through narrow passages between the steep hills collide with the heated air above the lake basin, this downrush is impetuous. The violent winds whip the sea into a fury, causing high waves that splash over bow, side rails, etc., of any vessel that happens to be plying the water surface. In the present instance the small fishing craft, swamped by towering billows, was becoming water-logged, the toy of the raging elements. Howling winds, raging billows..."but he (Jesus) was in the stern, on the headrest, sleeping." Thus reads the original, with the word "sleeping" at the very end of the sentence, creating a dramatic effect, a most striking contrast. The present participle "(was)...sleeping" pictures Jesus slumbering peacefully. Luke 8:23 creates the impression that Jesus had fallen asleep as soon as (or almost as soon as) the boat had left the shore. Soon he was sound alseep, showing how very tired he must have been; also showing that his trust in the heavenly Father his own Father - was unfaltering. Neither the roaring of the wind nor the dashing and splashing of the billows nor even the rolling and pitching of the rapidly filling boat was able to awaken him. This sleeping, moreover, must not be pictured as if the head of Jesus was necessarily resting on a very soft pillow. Note:"on the headrest," not on a headrest." It may have been a "cushion" that belonged to the boat, the only one on board. It may have been a headrest of leather; perhaps even of wood (part of the boat), in which case "headrest" would be a better rendering than "cushion." According to its derivation, all the word used in the original really means is that it was something "for the head" to rest on; hence, a headrest. [Footnote 171] - Note alliteration in Lude 8:23:lailaps...limnAn. Even more important note katebA, came down, fell. NTC-MARKhendriksen177,8 - 3. A frantic outcry - Amid unity, to which reference has been made, there is variety in the reports concerning the cries of the fear-stricken men. Matthew has, "So they came to him and woke him up, saying, `Lord, save (us), we're perishing'"; Luke, "Master, master, we're perishing"; Mark, "Master, [172] don't you care that we're perishing?" It is reasonable to suppose that in a situation of terrified distress this disciple would cry one thing, another something else. It is difficult to ascribe any other meaning to the outcry, "Master, don't you care that we're perishing" than that it was adverse criticism addressed to Jesus, as if whatever happened to his disciples did not concern him. In all honesty, such a stinging remark cannot even be justly called "mild" reproach. There was nothing mild about it. It meant, "Do we mean so little to you? With death staring us in the face, how can you sleep? Don't you care whether we're all swallowed up by the angry deep?" Nevertheless, before we judge these men too harshly, the following facts must be borne in mind: a. They were thoroughly frightened: in such a situation even normally loyal and courageous people will at times say thing which they later regret; and b. their bitterness is not unmixed with a measure of trust. If that were not true, they - some of them being experienced sailors - would not now have turned to a "carpenter" for help. To be sure, their faith was far from perfet, but even "little faith" is faith, and holds out hope for purification and enlargement. According to Matthew it was at this time that Jesus, awakened by his disciples' agonizing appeal, said to them, "Why are you frightened, O men of little faith?" [173] Not frightened was he. On the contrary, he was in full control of this storm even when the winds were still roaring and the waters seething. See N>T>C> on Matt., p. 411. [Footnote 172] - Thus Didaskale is also rendered by A.V., N.E.B., Phillips, Jerusalem Bible, etc. Cf. German "Meister," Dutch "Meester." Others prefer "Teacher." Neither can be called incorret. In the present instance the attitude of the disciples may well have been a mixture of terror, reverence, and reproach. That reverence was not entirely lacking appears from Matthew's use of the word kurie and Luke's Epistata in reporting the manner in which the disciples addressed Jesus. therfore in a search for the best English equivalent of Mark's DidaskalA the rendering "Master" must not be quickly dismissed. [Footnote 173] - I can see no reason to say, with some, that Mark and Luke have given us the true order of events, but Matthew has not. Neither Mark nor Luke were present during this storm, but Matthew was. Besides, is it not natural to assume that the lack of sufficient faith was by Jesus considered a subject so important that he would refer to it both before and after performing the miracle? And is it not also true that the disciples were twice filled with fear; first because of the tempest, secondly, because of the presence of him who stilled the tempest? See Luke 8:24,25. MARKj&d136 - Let us learn, in the second place, that our Lord Jesus Christ was really and truly man. We are told in these verses, that when the storm began, and the waves beat over the ship, he was in the hinder part "asleep." He had a body exactly like our own, - a body that could hunger, and thirst, and feel pain, and be weary, and need rest. No wonder that His body needed repose at this time. He had been diligent in His Father's business all the day. He had been preaching to a great multitude in the open air. No wonder that "when the even was come," and His work finished, He fell "asleep." Let us mark that lesson also attentively. The Saviour in whom we are bid to trust, is as really man as He is God. He knows the trials of a man, for He has experienced them. He knows the bodily infirmitites of a man for He has felt them. He can well understand what we mean, when we cry to Him for help in this world of need. He is just the very Saviour that men and women, with weary frames and aching heads, in a weary world, require for their comfort every morning and night. "We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities." (Heb. 4:15.) Mark 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind,; And he awoke...--ASV; So He roused Himself...--Wey; And being aroused, He rebuked the wind--NASB; and said unto the sea, Peace, be still.; and said to the sea, Peace! Be still!--RSV; ...Hush! Silence!-- Gspd; And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.; The wind dropped, and there was a dead calm--NEB; The wind sank, and there was a perfect calm--Wey; And /roused up\ he rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea-- Hush! be still! and the wind lulled, and it became a great calm. And having waked up, he rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace, be stilled;' and the wind did lull, and there was a great calm: TRNTyeagerV272,3 - kai diegertheis epetimAsen tw anemw kai eipen tA thalassA, Siwpa, pephimwso. kai ekopasen ho anemos, kai egeneto galAnA megalA. kai (continuative conjunction). diegertheis (aor.mid.part.nom.sing.masc.of diegeirw, adverbial, temporal). awake - Lk.8:24. stir up - II Pet.1:13; 3:1. arise - Mk.4:39; Jn.6:18; Lk.8:24. Meaning: A combination of dia and egeirw. hence, to raise up thoroughly. dia adds the intensive element. To awaken; to arouse completely. The disciples awakened Jesus during the storm - Mk.4:39; Lk.8:24,24. The wind lashed the sea into huge waves - Jn.6:18. In a psychological sense, Peter wished to arouse the sleeping saints - II Pet.1:13; 3:1. epetimAsen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of epitimaw, constative). tw (dat.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with anemw). anemw (dat.sing.masc.of anemos, indirect object of epetimAsen). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). eipen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of eipon, constative). tA (dat.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with thalassA). thalassA (dat.sing.fem.of thalassa, indirect object of eipen). Siwpa (2nd.per.sing.pres.impv.of siwpaw, command). pephimwso (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of phimow, command). kai (inferential conjunction). ekopasen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of kopazw, constative). ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with anemos). anemos (nom.sing.masc.of anemos, subject of ekkopasen). kai (inferential conjunction). egeneto (3d.per.sing.aor.ind.of ginomai, constative). galAnA (nom.sing.fem.of galAnA, subject of egeneto). megalA (nom.sing.fem.of megas, in agreement with galAnA). Translation: "And when He had been awakened He rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Be silent. Since you have been muzzled continue to be still.' Therefore the wind eased and there was a great calm." COMMENT: Having been aroused from His nap, Jesus took command. When He came into His own world (Jn.1:11), although His own people did not receive Him, the world which He had created, which operates on the scientific principles which He in creation ordained, obeyed His every command. Thus the meterological elements accepted his rebuke and there was a great calm. ... He said to the sea, "Be always silent" - a present tense imperative. This was enough. His will calmed the sea, but He adds, "Having been muzzled, continue to be still." This is a literal translation of the perfect passive imperative. The perfect tense speaks of a completed action in the past which result in a present continuous condition. This does not mean that the Sea of Galilee has never again been agitated, but it remained placid for the duration of our story. Jesus gave the sea a cease and desist order. There was not a gradula lessening of the intensity of the storm. Suddenly the tornado subsided and the sea became calm. We note this same thoroughness in Jesus' healing ministry. His patients did not get better. Suddenly they were made whole. No natural scientific process was at work here. The elements immediately obeyed Him. What a mighty demonstation! One moment, in human weakness, asleep on a pillow; the next moment the Sovereign Lord of fierce elements of wind and water. R428 - The absence of the conjunction in siwpa, pephimwso gives life and movement to the expression. R908 - The durative idea is in both siwpa (linear present) and pephimwso, "put the muzzle on and keep it on" (pephimwso is probably a solemn stereotyped phrase used in adjurations-- T85; an emphatic command--BD346). Cham87 - ...In the subjunctive, optative and imperative modes, the present tense is timeless and durative; the aorist is timeless and punctiliar. The perfect imperative is a negligible quantity in the NT: pephimwso (here) is a command that the muzzling be decisive and final; ... MARKitGNTwuest98 - "Peace, be still." "Peace" is siwpaw, "to be silent, still, hushed, calm." "Be still" is phimow "to close the mouth with a muzzle, to muzzle," used of muzzling an ox and of Jesus muzzling (silencing) the Pharisees. The first verb is present imperative, literally, "Be being calmed," The second, perfect imperative, "Be muzzled and stay that way." "The wind ceased." The verb is kopazw "to cease raging, to cease from violence, to grow weary or tired." Expositors has a rich paragraph: "Observe the poetic parallelism in this verse: wind and sea separately addressed, and the corresponding effects separately specified: lulled wind, calmed sea. The evangelist realizes the dramatic situation...Silence! hush! laconic, majestic, probably the very words." Translation: "And having arisen, He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, Be getting calm; hush up and stay that way. And the wind ceased its raging, and there was a great calm." Ear132 - Ceased. The verb kopazw literally means "grow weary." This is brought out well by the rendering "died down" (NASB, NIV). The wind gave up its furious blowing when its Master spoke. NTC-MARKhendriksen178,9 - 4. An astounding miracle - According to Matt. 8:26 Jesus stood up and "rebuked the winds and the sea." According to Luke 8:24 he "rebuked the wind and the raging of the water." And according to Mk. 4:39 he "rebuked the wind," and told the sea to be quiet. The verb "rebuked" [174] is the same in all three cases. There are those who maintain that this verb implies an animate object. They say that this inference is strengthened by Mark 4:39, which is then translated, "Peace! Be muzzled!" But, to begin with the latter, a word does not always retain its basic or primary connotation. "Hush! (or: Peace!) Be still!" is the more usual and better rendering of Mk. 4:39. As to the expression, "He rebuked," it should be borne in mind that Mark does not say, "Jesus rebuked the devil," or "the demons," or "the evil spirits that were in the wind," He simply says, "He rebuked the wind." It would seem, therefore, that this is simply a figurative or poetic manner of speaking (cf. Ps. 19:5; 98:8; Isa. 55:12; etc .). So also in Luke 4:39, where we are told that Jesus "rebuked" the fever by which Peter's mother-in-law was being afflicted. The really important fact conveyed by the expression "He rebuked the wind" (and parallels in the other Gospels) is that in a very effective manner Jesus asserted his authority over the elements of nature, so that there was a deep (literally "great") calm. Here in Mark the progressive parallelism is very impressive: Jesus separately addresses the wind and the sea. He rebukes the wind; to the sea he says, "Hush! Be still!" The result is also indicated separately: the wind fell; the sea became calm. What is very striking is that not only the winds immediately quiet down, but so do even the waves. Generally, as is well-known, after the winds have perceptibly diminished, the billows will continue to roll for a while, surging and subsiding as if unwilling to follow the example of the now subdued air currents above them. But in this instance winds and waves synchronize in the sublime symphony of a solemn silence. Something comparable to an evening stillness of the starry heavens settles upon the waters. Suddenly the surface of the sea had become smooth as a mirror. [Footnote 174] - , third person sing. aor. inc. of . It has the sense rebuke in such passages as Matt. 8:26; 16:22; 17:18; 19:13; Mk. 4:39; Luke 4:39; 9:42, 55; 19:39; 23:40; but at times means warn, tell (men) not to do something, forbid (them) (Matt. 12:16; 16:20; Mk. 3:12; Luke 9:21). TNICoNT-MARKlane175.6.7 - While the storm raged, Jesus lay sleeping in the stern upon the pillow that was customarily kept under the coxswain's seat for those who were not involved in the actual sailing or fishing. The severity of the storm may be estimated from the fact that apparently even the experienced fishermen were terrified. They rudely awakened Jesus, and their cry carries a sharp tone of rebuke, "Teacher, are we to drown for all you care?" Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea; the wind fell and there was a great calm. As suddenly as the storm had come it had subsided, subdued by Jesus' sovereign command, "Peace, be still." The question of what was involved in the muzzling of the storm cannot be avoided. The God of Israel is the Lord of history and nature. His sovereignty was demonstrated in the stilling of the roarng sea and the silencing of the howling wind. He is the personal, living God who intervenes in the experience of men with a revelation of his power and his will. He is the God who acts, not some pale abstraction. Through the expression of his word salvation is accomplished for men. When he chooses to reveal himself the forces of nature must submit to his will. This was never more evident than in the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea, but it is also evident in the subduing of the wind and the sea. In the same manner the Son of God threatened and subdued the forces which "spend themselves as forces of will in the elemental fury of nature. The cosmic overtones in the Gospel account must not be missed. Mark has underlined them by a careful choice of terminology which recalls Jesus' encounter with the demons: Jesus rebuked the wind; the sea is enjoined to obey with the command "Silence, be muzzled"; the wind subsides and the sea obeys with the result that great calmness ensues. Jesus addressed the raging storm as a "force" threatening him and his disciples. The force of the sea was muzzled as Jesus subdued it with his sovereign word of authority. MARKj&d136,7 - Let us learn, in the third place, that our Lord Jesus Christ as God, has almighty power. We see Him in these verses doing that which is proverbially impossible. He speaks to the winds, and they obey Him. He speaks to the waves, and they submit to His command. He turns the raging storm into a calm with a few words, - "Peace, be still." Those words were the words of Him who first created all things. The elements knew the voice of their Master, and like obedient servants, were quiet at once. Let us mark this lesson also, and lay it up in our minds. With the Lord Jesus Christ nothing is impossible. No stormy passions are so strong but He can tame them. No temper is so rough and violent but He can change it. No conscience is so disquieted, but He can speak peace to it, and make it calm. No man ever need despair, if he will only bow down his pride, and come as a humbled sinner to Christ. Christ can do miracles upon his heart. - No man ever need despair of reaching his journey's end, if he has once committed his soul to Christ's keeping. Christ will carry him through every danger. Christ will make him conqueror over every foe. - What though our relations oppose us? What though our neighbors laugh us to scorn? What though our place be hard? What though our temptations be great? It is all nothing, if Christ is on our side, and we are in the ship with Him. Greater is He that is for us, than all they that are against us. Mark 4:40 And he said unto them,; Then He asked them--Wms; Why are ye so fearful?; Why are you afraid--RSV; Why are you so timid-- Wey; Why are you such cowards--NEB; how is it that ye have no faith?; have ye not yet faith--ASV; have you still no faith--Wey; What happened to your faith--Phi; And he said unto them-- /Why\ are ye /fearful\? /Not yet\ have ye faith? and he said to them, 'Why are ye so fearful? how have ye not faith? TRNTyeagerV274 - kai eipen autois, Ti deiloi este; oupw echete pistin; kai (continuative conjunction). eipen (3d.per.sing.aor.act.ind.of eipon, constative). autois (dat.pl.masc.of autos, indirect object of eipen). Ti (acc.sing.neut.of tis, interrogative pronoun in direct question, cause). deiloi (nom.pl.masc.of deilos, pred.adj. modifying subject "you"). este (2d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of eimi, aoristic). oupw (adverbial). echete (2d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of echw, aoristic). pistin (acc.sing.fem.of pistis, direct object of echete). Translation: "And He said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you not yet have faith?'" COMMENT: Ti here without dia (dia ti - "on account of what?" "Why?"). oupw is emphasized. "Not yet?!" There was evidence that though they had ears to hear, they had not heard - at least not yet enough but that a storm, even with Jesus Christ aboard, was fearful to them. What a testimony of human unwillingness and inability to receive the things of the Spirit of God. It has been a source of some amazement to us to see Christians exhibit fear in the midst of a sever electrical storm. Surely a child of God should have grasped the significance of the fact that Jesus Christ is sovereign over His universe, and that we are members of His bofdy, with a foreordained destiny to fulfill. It follows that accidents cannot happen to the child of God who is totally yielded to His will. This seems to be the clear teaching of Romans 8:28. ????????? (Ed.S.: First, who is the disciple who is always and completely "totally yielded to His will."?? Secondly, and assumption that an accident cannot happen to a child of God violates the saying of Jesus that both the rain and the sunshine will come upon the good and the bad.) MARKitGNTwuest98 - "Fearful" is an adjective used as a noun, plural in number. The word speaks of him who is timid, fearful. "So" is houtws, and adverb meaning "in the manner spoken of, in the way described, in this manner." "How is it" is the translation of pws, "how is it possible?" The Creator and Sustainer of the universe was with them in the boat. The disciples had accepted His Messiahship, but had a most inadequate view of the same. They evidently did not recognize all the implications which that office carried with it. Translation: "And He said to them, Why are you such timid, fearful ones? How is it possible that you do not have faith?" NTC-MARKhendriksen179,80 - 5. A loving reproach - Before proceeding with the explanation of this verse it may be well to point out that there are times when a comment should be made not only about what Scripture says but also about what it omits. The disciples, by implication, had accused the Master of indifference or hard-heartedness, of not being concerned about them (verse 38). Is it not really marvelous and very comforting to take note of the fact that Jesus never rebuked them for the grim, thoughtless words, "Don't you care that we're perishing?" This is the same Savior who was going to give an answer to Simon's base denials accompanied by curses. His answer, however, would not be a sharp rebuke but a look full of pain, yet also full of love; and subsequently (after the resurrection) a penetrating, soul-searching yet loving interrogation: "Simon, Son of John, do you love me more than these?...Do you love me?....Do you have affection for me?" Luke 8:25 makes it very clear that not only before but also after the miracle the disciples were afraid. They had been frightened by the storm. Now they were filled with fear because of the presence of the One who had so suddenly, completely, and dramatically stilled the storm. For similar instances of awe induced by the consciousness of being in the presence of Majesty see Isa. 6:5; Luke 5:8. So Jesus asks them, "Why are - not Why were - you afraid?" As if to say, has not the stilling of the storm and the soothing of the waves, in answer to your hysterical outcry, taught you that this Master of yours is not only very powerful but also very loving? Therefore, should not your response be that of complete, childlike trust? What Jesus actually said was, "Have you still no faith?" See also Mark 8:17-21; 9:19. They were "men of little faith," that is, men who were too timid sufficiently to rely upon the comfort and confidence which they should have derived from the presence, promises, power, and love of their Master (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; Luke 12:28); too hesitant to realize that the Father's loving care was bestowed upon them through the Son. Still no faith; that is, no faith in spite of all that you have seen, heard, experienced? This little word "still" must not escape us. By using it Jesus is teaching that the experiences of life are sent to men with a purpose. They must be used to good advantage, for furtherance in sanctification. Joseph understood this (Gen. 50:19-21). So did David (II Sam. 23:5; Ps. 116); the man born blind (John 9:25, 30-33); Paul (I Cor. 15:9, 10; Phil. 2:7-14; 4:11-13). Laban, too, learned something by experience, but applied his knowledge selfishly (Gen. 30:27b). Mark 4:41 And they feared exceedingly,; They were very much frightened-- Wms; And they were filled with awe--RSV; Then they were awestruck--Mon; and said one to another,; and said to one another--RSV; and they kept saying to each other--Phi; What manner of man is this,; Who then is this--ASV; And they were caused to fear a great fear, and were saying one to another-- Who then is /this\, that /both the wind and the sea\ give ear unto him? and they feared a great fear, and said one unto another, 'Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea do obey him?' TRNTyeagerV274,5 - kai ephobAthAsan phobon megan, kai elegon pros allAlous, Tis ara outos estin hoti kai ho anemos kai hA thalassa hupakouei autw; kai (inferential conjunction). ephobAthAsan (3d.per.pl.aor.mid.ind.of phobeomai, ingressive). phobon (acc.sing.masc.of phobos, cognate accusative). megan (acc.sing.masc.of megas, in agreement with phobon). kai (continuative conjunction). elegon (3d.per.pl.imp.act.ind.of legw, inceptive). pros (preposition with the accusative after a verb of speaking). allAlous (acc.pl.masc.of allAlwn, extent, after a verb of speaking). Tis (nom.sing.masc.of tis, interrogative pronoun). ara (illative particle in direct question with a causal clause). outos (nom.sing.masc.of outos, subject of estin). estin (3d.per.sing.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoti (conjunction introducing an epexegetical clause). kai (ascensive conjunction). ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with anemos). anemos (nom.sing.masc.of anemos, subject of hupoakouei). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining nouns). hA (nom.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with thalassa). thalassa (nom.sing.fem.of thalassa, subject of hupoakouei). hupoakouei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of hupakouw, customary). autw (dat.sing.masc.of autos, personal advantage). Translation: "Therefore they were seized with great fear and they began to say to one another, 'What kind of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?' COMMENT: Note the cognate accusative of inner content in ephobAthAsan phobon. Cf.Mt.2:10 (echarAsan charan) for another example. This juxtaposition of paronymous is perfectly good Greek. There are many examples in the Greek NT. The disciples reacted with great astonishment and reverential fear to this notable miracle. The inceptive natue of elegon - "they began to speak and continued speaking" - indicates the consternation and amazement among the disciples. #995 for other examples of tis ara. kai is ascensive. The disciples had seen sickness, blindness, leprosy, insanity and other diseases yield to Jesus' command but even (ascensive kai) the wind and the sea were subject to His command. The elements bowed to His word and will. His "Peace and remain quiet" was enough. It should be enough to quiet all of the storms in the Christian's life. Note that hupoakouei is singualr. Jesus' word commands separate obedience from wind and sea. The wind obeys! Even the sea obeys Him! The wicked are like the troubled sea, but the Christian, who has heard His "Peace" are like the sea over which the great calm has spread. All of this because He is the Son of God. R699 - In this verse, hoti is almost equivalent to hwste (with a consecutive sense, "so that"; cf. T318). R1182 - In the latter section of this verse kai...kai means "both...and" (cf. T335; "even...and"--BD444[3]). [Ed. the conjunctions appear to be used with a climatic sense, stressing Christ's majestic ability, "even...and."] M58 - The verb hupakouei is singular even though the subject is a compound. BW46 - Cognate Accusative. Although most grammarians provide a separate category for this use of the accusative, it is really a special kind of direct object. The cognate accusative is a direct object which has the same root or at least contains the same idea as the verb of which it is the direct object. The cognate accusative functions as an internal object of a verb, whereas what is usually called the direct object is an external object. This category employs the substantive without a preposition. "They feared a great fear." DM94 - (3) The Cognate Accusative. When an accusative of the direct object contains the same idea signified by the verb, it is called a cognate accusative. Here the limits set by the accusative are coextensive with the significance of the verb, the use being for emphasis. (here). DM286 - The Constructions in Result Clauses. Result may be introduced in the following ways: ... (5) By the indicative with hoti and hwste, also rare. (here). Cham156 - ...d. The 'Pindaric construction' is another form taken by anacoloutha, i.e., several subjects may be linked together but followed by a singualar verb: kai ho anemos kai hA thalassa hupakouei autw (here), 'the wind and the sea obey him.' Cham178 - Hypotactic or Subordinating Clauses. hoti and its compounds. Hoti is by far the most frequent causal conjunction. .... (5) A few times, it is used to introduce a consecutive clause; tis ara houtos estin hoti kai ho anemos kai hA thalassa hupakouei autw, (here), 'Who then is this one, that even the wind and the sea obey Him.' MARKitGNTwuest98,9 - "They feared exceedingly." The Greek text is literally "they feared a great fear." "What manner of man?" The word "man" is not found in the Greek. This translation grows out of Matthew's report. "What manner of is this?" Mark has it, "Who then is this person?" The demonstrative is masculine in gender, showing here that male personality is in the writer's mind. The "then," (ara) is argumentative. That is, since these things are so, who then is this? The identity and power of this Person who could command the wind and the waves at will, drive out demons, heal diseases, and speak such mysteries in parables, filled the disciples with fear. Translation: "And they feared a great fear, and were saying to one another, Who then is this person, that the wind and the sea obey him?" NTC-MARKhendriksen180,1 - 6. A profound effect - Because of all that Jesus had revealed with reference to himself, but probably mostly because of the power he had manifested, these men "feared (with) great fear," thus literally. [175] The "awe" here indicated was a combination of fear and reverence. Matt. 8:27 says that the men "were amazed (or: astonished)." Luke 8:25 reports both the fear and the amazement. The disciples began to realize: Jesus is greater by far than we had previously imagined. He exercises control not only over audiences, sicknesses, and demons, but even over winds and waves:.....[176] Much that is wrong on earth can be corrected. There are mothers who dry tears, repairmen who fix machines, surgeons who remove diseased tissues, counselors who solve family problems, etc. As to correcting the weather? People talk about it, to be sure. But it takes deity to change the weather. It is Jesus who commands the elements of the weather, with the result that even the wind obeys him, and so does even the sea. [177] We receive the impression that for the moment at least the disciples were deeply impressed with the power, majesty, and glory of their Master. "Who then is this?" (Mk. 4:41; Lk. 8:25) they asked. The meaning must have been, in the phraseology of Matt. 8:27, "What kind of person is this?" Their answer to this question is not given. See also Jonah 4:1; Mk. 12:37 (cf. Matt. 22:45). Very appropriately the narrative ends by fixing the attention upon the person of Jesus Christ, so that everyone who reads it may give his own answer, may profess his own faith, and add his own doxology. [Footnote 175] - Though Mark is writing for the Romans, he is himself a Jew, and shows it in expressing himself in this typically Semitic fashion. Cf. I Macc. 10:8; Jonah 1:10. Or else, he is reporting what he had derived from a Jewish source, faithfully preserving the very phraseology - tranlated, however into Greek - in which this item of the story had been conveyed to him. Cf. Luke 2:9. [Footnote 176] - Note the meaningful change from the aor. aphobAthAsan to the imperf. elegon. [Footnote 177] - Note the sing. hupokouei: wind and sea are here regarded separately, as they were also in verse 39. TNIcotNT-MARKlane177,8 - Jesus rebuked the disciples for the lack of faith expressed in their terror and fear. This is the first in a series of rebukes (cf. Chs. 7:18; 8:17f., 21, 32f.; 9:19) and its placement at this point is important. It indicates that in spite of Ch. 4:11,34, the difference is one of degree, not of kind, between the disciples who have received through revelation some insight into the secret of the Kingdom of God as having come near in the person of Jesus and the multitude who see only a riddle. The disciples themselves are still quite blind and filled with misunderstanding. When Jesus asks, "Do you not yet have faith?" he means specifically faith in God's saving power as this is present and released through his own person. the failure of the disciples to understand this is expressed in their awe- inspired question, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" As the conclusion to Mark's paragraph the question is rhetorical, inviting the response of faith, "He is the Christ, the Son of God." In the account of the subduing of the sea we are told that Jesus is the living Lord. What is true of the God of Israel is true of him. At all times and in every sphere he exercises sovereign control over the situation. The subduing of the sea and the wind was not merely a demonstration of power; it was an epiphany, through which Jesus was unveiled to his disciples as the Savior in the midst of intense peril. Very early this incident was understood as a sign of Jesus' saving presence in the persecution which threatened to overwhelm the Church. It is not surprising that in eary Christian art the Church was depicted as a boat driven upon a perilous sea; with Jesus in the midst, there was nothing to fear. MARKj&d137,8 - Finally, we learn from this passage, that our Lord Jesus Christ is exceedingly patient and pitiful in dealing with His own people. We see the disciples on this occasion showing great want of faith, and giving way to most unseemly fears. They forgot their Master's miracles and care for them in days gone by. They thought of nothing but their present peril. They awoke our Lord hastily, and cried, "Carest thou not that we perish?" We see our Lord dealing most gently and tenderly with them. He gives them no sharp reproof. He makes no threat of casting them off, because of their unbelief. He simply asks the touching question, "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" Let us mark well this lesson. The Lord Jesus is very pitiful and of tender mercy. "As a father pitieth his children, even so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." (Ps. 103:13). He does not deal with believers according to their sins, nor reward them according to their iniquities. He sees their weakness. He is aware of their short-comings. He knows all the defects of their faith, and hope, and love, and courage. And yet He will not cast them off. He bears with them continually. He loves them even to the end. He raises them when they fall. He restores them when they err. His patience, like His love, is a patience that passeth knowledge. When he sees a heart right, it is His glory to pass over many a short-coming. Let us leave these verses with the comfortable recollection that Jesus is not changed. His heart is still the same that it was when He crossed the sea of Galilee and stilled the storm. High in heaven at the right hand of God, Jesus is still sympathizing - still almighty, - still pitiful and patient towards His people. - Let us be more charitable and patient towards our brethren in the faith. They may err in many things, but if Jesus has received them and can bear with them, surely we may bear with them too. - Let us be more hopeful about ourselves. We may be very weak, and frail, and unstable: but if we can truly say that we do come to Christ and believe on Him, we may take comfort. The question for conscience to answer is not, "Are we like the angels? are we perfect as we shall be in heaven?" The question is, "Are we real and true in our approaches to Christ? Do we truly repent and believe?" (J.C. Ryle) SUMMARY In the parable of this section, especially in those of the sower the seed and the mustard seed, the prophetic power of Jesus is clearly exhibited. Without superhuman foresight he could not have so accurately traced out the manner in which different classes of men throughout all time would deal with the word of God, as he describes it in the parable of the sower; nor could he have known in advance of experiment, that the seed of the kingdom would grow from its planting until the time for harvest, as described in the next parable; nor that, as declared in the third, the kingdom would ever attan to the prodigious growth which our eyes have witnessed. His divinity is attested by his unfailing foresight into the distant future. (J. W. McGarvey). SUMMARY OF CHAPTER 4 The eight sections of this chapter may be summarized as follows: a. The parable of The Sower (verse 1-9). It had happened before that Jesus had left a crowded building, whether house or synagogue, for the shore (2:2, 13; 3:1,7). So also here (3:20; 4:1; cf. Matt. 13:1). On the present occasion the throng that had gathered about Jesus was so large that he stepped into a boat and sat in it out on the sea, thus face to face with his audience. In his teaching from the sea the Master made generous use of parables. In fact, the book-division here summarized can be called Mark's parable chapter, since six of its eight sections record, or at least refer to, parables. First of all Jesus tells the parable of The Sower. "Listen," says the Master, and he continues, "Once (upon a time) the sower went out to sow." The seed fell on various types of soil: hard, rocky, thorn-infested, and good. Only the last of the four produced a harvest, the seed yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. b. Purpose of the parables (verses 10-12). In a house Jesus afterward, at the request of a group of disciples wider than The Twelve, explains why he was speaking in parables; namely, to reveal the truth to those who accepted it, and to conceal it from those who obstinately opposed it, that the latter might "endure the blame of their own blindness and hardness" (Calvin). c. Explanation of the parable of The Sower (verses 13- 30). Jesus shows that the four types of soil indicate, respectively, unresponsive, impulsive, pre-occupied, and responsive hearts. It is the latter kind of heart alone that is fruitful. Man's duty to respond properly to the word or message of the kingdom is therefore the real "point" of the parable. The stress is definitely on human responsibility. See 4:9,23,24; 8:18. d. Various sayings of Jesus (verses 21-25). Fertile hearts resemble shining lamps. The word of the kingdom and the life in harmony with it must not be concealed but brought out into the open, in imitation of God who one day is going to reveal whatever men have tried to conceal. Then (and in a sense even before then) the measure which a person has given will be the measure he is going to receive; with this qualification, however, that the work of salvation is a matter of pure grace: God is ever adding gift to gift. On the contrary, from him who, because of his own unwillingness to listen and to take to heart, does not possess the greatest treasure, shall be taken away even that semblance of knowledge, that superficial acquaintance with matters spiritual, which he once had. e. The parable of The Seed Growing in Secret (verses 26-29). This parable stresses God's sovereignty as displayed in the matter of man's salvation and its effect in every sphere of life. Jesus shows that to man growth is a mystery: "the seed sprouts and grows, how he does not know"; that the seed, nevertheless, reveals its potency: "by itself the earth produces crops"; and that the harvest (or: harvest-time) spells victory: "whenever the (condition of the ) crop permits, at once he - the sower, now also reaper- puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Since it is true, therefore, that the power to sprout and grow has by God been embedded in the seed, and man can do nothing about this - after scattering the seed, all he can do is sleep and rise, sleep and rise - , the harvest is assured. Christ's kingdom, his royal reign, shall expand and shall one day reveal itself in all its splendor. f. The parable of The Mustard Seed (verses 30-32). When man works out his own salvation because God is working within him - see the two preceding parables - , growth abounds. Great results develop from small beginnings. Just as mustard, at first a very small seed, attains at last to such a height that it sends out branches so large that the birds of the air can lodge under its shade, so also the reign of God in Christ, acknowledged by a very small group at first, is going to expand and keep on expanding, becoming a blessing to men of every race, and influencing every sphere of life, to God's glory. g. Christ's use of parables (verses 33,34). By means of parables and parabolic expressions, by Jesus included in all his public discourses, he reached his audiences to the extent in which these story-illustrations and figures of speech were able to arrest and hold their attention. When at home (or: in a house), alone with his disciples, he was in the habit of explaining everything to them. h. A tempest stilled (verses 35-41). First Mark pictures an evening embarkation. After a busy day Jesus, at his own request, is taken aboard by the disciples. The group is headed for the opposite (eastern) shore. A furious tempest arises, the winds howling, the waves crashing against and splashing into the boat, which is becoming water-logged. All the while Jesus is in the stern, his head on a headrest, fast asleep. There is a frantic cry, "Master, don't you care that we're perishing?" An astounding miracle follows: Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind, and says to the sea, "Hush! Be still!" The wind subsides. There is a deep calm. At this point Mark records Christ's tenderly loving reproach (Matthew does so even earlier), "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" "Still," that is, even after all the miracles you have seen me perform, the words you have heard from my lips, and the life I have lived in your presence? Has all this experience taught you nothing? The Master does not even sharply rebuke his disciples for having addressed him so censoriously. The profound effect of the miracle is by Mark recorded in these words, "They were awestruck and were saying (or: began to say) to each other, `Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?'" MARKbarclay113,14,15 - The Lake of Galilee was notorious for its storms. They were storms which came literally out of the blue with shattering and terrifying suddenness. A writer describes them like this: "It is not unusual to see terrible squalls hurl themselves, even when the sky is perfectly clear, upon these waters which are ordinarily so calm. The numerous ravines which to the north-east and east debouch upon the upper part of the lake operate as so many dangerous defiles in which the winds from the heights of Hauran, the plateaux of Trachonitis, and the summit of Mount Hermon are caught and compressed in such a way that, rushing with tremendous force through a narrow space and then being suddenly released, they agitate the little Lake of Gennesaret in the most frightful fashion." The voyager across the lake was always liable to encounter just such sudden storms as this. Jesus was in the boat in the position in which any distinguished guest would be conveyed. We are told that, "In these boats...the place for any distinguished stranger is on the little seat placed at the stern, where a carpet and cushion are arranged. The helmsman stands a little farther forward on the deck, though near the stern, in order to have a better look-out ahead." It is interesting to note that the words that Jesus addressed to the wind and the waves are exactly the same words as he addressed to the demon-possessed man in Mark 1:15. Just as an evil demon possessed that man, so the destructive power of the storm was, as people in Palestine believed in those days, the evil power of the demons at work in the realm of nature. We do this story far less than justice if we merely take it in a literalistic sense. If this describes simply a physical miracle in which an actual storm was stilled, it is a very wonderful story, and it is something about which we read and at which we marvel, but nonetheless it is something which happened once and which cannot happen again. In that case it is quite external to us. But if we read it in a symbolic sense it is far more valuable. When the disciples realized the presence of Jesus with them the storm became a calm. Once they know He was there there was a calm, fearless peace in their hearts no matter what any storm was like. To voyage with Jesus was to voyage in peace even in a storm. Now that is universally true. That is not something which happened once; it is something which still happens and which can happen for us. In the presence of Jesus we can have peace in even the wildest storms of life. He gives us peace in the storm of sorrow. When sorrow comes to us, as come it must, He tells us of the glory of the life to come. He changes the darkness of death into glory of the thought of life eternal. He tells us of the love of God. There is an old story of a gardener who in his garden had a favourite flower which he loved much. One day he came to the garden to find that flower gone. He was vexed and angry and full of complaints. In the midst of his resentment he met the master of the garden and hurled his complaints at him. "Hush!" said the master, "I plucked it for myself." In the storm of sorrow Jesus tell us that those we love have gone to be with God, and gives us the certainty that we shall meet again those whom we have loved and lost awhile. He gives us peace when life's problems involve us in a tempest of doubt and tension and uncertainty. There come times when we do not know what to do; when we stand at some cross-roads in life and do not know which way to take. If then we turn to Jesus and say to Him, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" the way will be clear and plain. The real tragedy is not that we do not know what to do; it is that so often we do not humbly submit to His guidance. To ask His will and to submit to it is the way to peace at such a time. He gives us peace in the storms of anxiety which can attack this life. The enemy of peace is worry, worry for ourselves, worry about the unknown future, worry about those we love. But Jesus speaks to us of a Father whose hand will never cause His child a needless tear and of a love beyond which neither we nor those we love can ever drift. In the storm of anxiety He brings us the peach of the love of God.