Chapter # 4 Paragraph # 9 Study # 2
July 28, 2020
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(176)
NASB
36 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.
38 Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"
39 And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
40 And He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
41 They became very much afraid and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?"
- I. "And Having Left The Crowd..."
- A. The participle translated "having left" is an Aorist, Active, Masculine, Plural, Nominative of the verb Mark used in 34 texts to signify some form of separation between parties.
- 1. In the noun form, the first use (of only two by Mark) is in 1:4 where it is the focus of the primary message of John: "Repent, and God will 'forgive' your sins".
- a. In this case the "separation" is putting a distance between the repentant and his/her sins so that what is due to the commission of sins is removed from the one committing them by reason of repentance. Psalm 103:12 makes this particular "distance" in the "separation" to be "as far as East is from West.
- b. In the only other case of Mark's use of the noun (3:29), Jesus declares that there are some who will in no way ever possess this promised outcome of repentance.
- 2. In the verb form, Mark's first two uses (1:18 and 20) are in the record of the calling of the first four disciples by Jesus alongside the sea: they "left" all and "followed". In these cases, the "distance" is between the disciples and their former vocations.
- 3. In the extended paragraph of 2:1-12 the issue is Jesus' "authority" to "forgive" sins; i.e., put a permanent "distance" between the "forgiven" and the legally due consequences of his/her "sins".
- 4. In several places this "putting of distance between two entities" is, at root, a "forbidding" of a person, or persons, to take certain actions; i.e., putting "distance" between the desired/intentional action and the capacity to carry it out. It is the "distance between" that is important in that certain "actions" are not allowed to take place (whether it is the action of 'Law' in imposing condemnation, or the intended speech of a demon whom Jesus "silences" by disallowing his speech).
- 5. In at least one case (7:27) the actual action of this verb is to eliminate a certain action that is threatened so that it puts a distance between the children and the effort to take food from them. Thus, in this case, there is a placing of "distance" between a person who is attempting to put a distance between and that intention. Basic idea still maintained.
- 6. In 8:13 we have a direct parallel with our current text (4:36) in that Jesus "left" certain objectors and got in a boat and proceeded to "the other side" (peran).
- 7. There are many other uses by Mark, but the idea of allowing/disallowing "distance" is maintained.
- B. The "crowd" in this text consisted mainly of those who were not permitted to understand so that they would not be forgiven (4:12); i.e., have "distance" placed between them and the consequences of their sins.
- 1. This word is used by Mark in 35 texts.
- 2. This current text (4:36) is the seventh use.
- a. The first is 2:4 and its focus is upon Jesus' popularity and the difficulties it caused for those who believed. It is also the first record of this popularity in respect to 15:10 and its record of Pilate's awareness of the reason for the opposition that first arose in 2:1-12. It is, thirdly, a record of the beginning of the opposition Jesus faced from "the scribes".
- b. The second is 2:13 and its linkage backwards to the "call of disciples along the seashore". It is also the basis for more opposition to Jesus.
- c. The third is 3:9 and its record of the foundations of Jesus' enormous popularity (many healings and exorcisms). It is linked to Mark's record of the "reactions" people had to Jesus (disciples who followed; family which considered Him mentally unstable; scribes from Jerusalem who said He was in league with Satan).
- d. The fourth is 3:20 which is tied to the decision of the family: "He has lost His senses".
- e. The fifth is 3:32 which is linked again to the decision of the family.
- f. And the sixth is 4:1 which is at the beginning of the record of Jesus' "parables".
- 3. The first six uses all have to do with the attitudes of people in the "crowd" toward Jesus and why those attitudes existed.
- 4. It was this "crowd" and Himself that Jesus put distance between.
- II. They Took Him As He Was In The Boat.
- A. The verb is Present, Active, Indicative: emphatic historical narrative.
- 1. Mark uses it first in this text.
- 2. He uses it five more times in his narrative.
- a. In 5:40 Jesus "took along the child's father and mother and His own companions and entered where the child was". The sense of the word is "taking another/others along as one goes to another place". The setting is the death of the daughter of the "official of the synagogue" (5:22) and its linkage to the healing of the woman with the issue of blood. This "taking along" is restricted by Jesus (5:37).
- b. In 7:4 it is the Pharisees who have "taken along" many traditions regarding outward cleanliness but are not seriously concerned with true cleanliness as hypocrites (7:6).
- c. In 9:2 Jesus "takes with Him Peter and James and John" as He goes up the mountain where He was transfigured before them (in their presence).
- d. In 10:32 Jesus takes the Twelve aside and begins to explain what is going to happen in Jerusalem.
- e. In 14:33 Jesus again takes Peter, James, and John apart from the other disciples so that they were with Him when He prayed in the garden.
- 3. In every case of "taking along with" there is a specific focus upon critical issues in the narrative.
- B. The "as He was" raises a significant question: How was He? The most likely answer is "already in the boat" (4:1).
- 1. Jesus had gotten into the boat because the crowd was very great and, most likely, too ready to press upon Him (3:9).
- a. The term translated "boat" (ploiarion) in this text is a term related to the one used in 4:1, (ploion) but is used by Mark only this one time. A "ploiarion" is "a small boat" in comparison to a "ploion" and references to a "ploiarion" are few (six) in the New Testament. In the sole use by Luke, this type of "boat" was almost caused to sink because the nets had encompassed such a large number of fish (5:2).
- b. The point?? The only hints we have are Mark's uses (there are 15 of them in Mark's record).
- 1) A "boat" first shows up in Mark in 1:19-20 and involves Jesus' selection of the first four disciples whom Jesus is to turn into fishers/menders of men.
- 2) The next text/context for a "boat" is 4:1 and 4:36-37. These two texts form book-ends for the teaching by parable to the "crowd". In this setting, Jesus forced the crowd to look at Him upon the sea while they were on dry land as He taught them things they couldn't understand because they were taught by parable. "Sea" and "boat" play a significant role in Mark's record because they are tightly involved in "lessons for disciples", one of which is the need to "believe as understanding is given" (the issue in Jesus' rebuke in this record of Jesus being "in the boat"; How is it that you have no faith?).
- c. Mark also mentions that "there were other boats with Him" without explanation. He intended that his readers draw some conclusions regarding this.
- 2. Jesus is already moving into "selective mode" so that He may deal with the disciples without the crowd in respect to their "timidity" and "unbelief".