And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and made the shore.
The night crossing is over. The boat reaches the western shore and ties up at Gennesaret. Mark gives the landing only a line. Yet commentators read in it the turn from a night of toil to a morning of healing, and a sketch of the world when Christ returns.
Gennesaret was not a town but a stretch of shoreline, and its setting explains why crowds could gather so fast.
This is a plain bordering the lake of the same name on the north-west. It is about a mile and a quarter wide and three miles long. It has some springs, and three streams cross it as well. Being so well watered, it is a place of great fertility. Since it lay close to Capernaum, the Lord doubtless crossed it often, and many of His miracles took place there.
Commentators differ over what the name means. One takes it as "king's garden" and reads the fertile plain as a hint of a promised day:
The name Gennesaret is said to mean the "king's garden." If that is right, the name fits this moment exactly. It paints a picture of the glad time when the Lord will come, and the whole land will be like the garden of the Lord (Isaiah 51:3).
Another takes it as "harp," and reads the landing as a picture of a coming day:
They came into the land of Gennesaret, a name meaning "a harp." His presence there brought great blessing, healing large numbers. It is a picture of millennial blessing following the tribulation.
One thing shapes the whole stretch — feeding, storm, shore: whether Christ is present or absent.
The Lord was present in Bethsaida, and their bread was multiplied. He was present in Gennesaret, and their infirmities were banished. He was absent from the ship, and the opposing wind and waves held back their progress. He entered the boat, the storm stopped at once, and they were at the "king's garden."
Readers can be so caught up in the miracle on the water that they skip what follows the mooring:
Out on the water, our Lord displayed His power over the physical world. That display grips our interest and attention so strongly that we overlook what came next. When He reached the shore, kind and healing effects followed in abundance. They proved just as clearly that He is the Lord from heaven.
Mark records no sermon here and no call to gather. People carry the sick to wherever He is, and touching the edge of His clothing is enough.
They brought the sick to the place where they heard He was. It was enough that the suffering ones should touch Him or the hem of His garment, and they were healed. We are not told that the Lord touched them or even spoke to them. But power went out from Him, drawn out to relieve the circumstances of a faith in need.
Long before, Isaiah had called this same shoreline a region under a shadow:
The shadows of death lay across this fertile Galilean country — shadows that sinless Eden never knew. In one of his prophecies, Isaiah called this district by the sea, near Capernaum, the land of the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2).
Writers read the arrival at land as a small model of something still ahead.
This is a little picture of what the Lord's return to the earth will bring. The Lord and His disciples come back to the shore He had left. When He comes back again, every human sorrow, misery, weakness and sickness in this world will flee before the presence and touch of the Son of God.
One writer sets the close of the whole chapter in that same future day:
The chapter closes with a foretaste of the blessing of a future day when Christ will come again, and through a godly remnant of the Jews bring blessing to the earth. Then the toil of the godly will be over. Opposition will end and the storms will cease. The very place that once rejected Christ will welcome Him.
That picture is meant to steady us in the meantime.
It is good for our souls to realize that while our Lord is away, we are not to be discouraged by difficulties. We are not to be cast down if the wind is against us and we are toiling in vain — yet not in vain. He is the One who has sent us across that troubled sea.
- Storm. While He stayed away, the disciples fought wind and waves. He entered the boat, and the storm stopped.
- Shore. They landed on a fertile plain beside Capernaum. Isaiah had called it the land of the shadow of death.
- Recognition. People knew Him the moment He left the boat, and carried the sick to wherever He was.
- Touch. The record shows no word from Him and no gesture. Power went out from Him, drawn out by faith that reached for the edge of His clothing.
- Morning. The scene sketches His return: toil over, storms ended, Christ welcomed on ground that once refused Him.
And on their coming out of the ship, immediately recognising him,
After a rough night crossing, the boat lands at Gennesaret. The people know Jesus at once, and a whole region is soon bringing its sick to Him — on the shore that had once sent Him away.
The crossing ended very early in the morning. The welcome on the beach did not last the day.
Arriving at the land of Gennesaret, they moored to the shore. It must have been very early in the morning, when the rough voyage was ended. Now what a welcome awaited Him, so different from the experience met with a few hours later!
The name of the place carries a picture. Commentators differ on what it means: some read "king's garden," others "harp."
This was the name given to the strip of country lying along the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Josephus, the historian of the Jews, describes the district as unusually beautiful and fertile. Some say the name Gennesaret means the "king's garden." If so, it fits this scene well. It paints a picture of the glad day when the Lord will come, and the whole land will be like the garden of the Lord (Isaiah 51:3).
Recognition came at once, both in the boat and on the shore. One writer sets the two moments side by side.
The moment the apostles knew their Master — the moment they in effect said, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" — the storm stopped, the danger passed, and they reached the goal of all their hopes and aims. That was the effect on the stormy sea. What was the effect of His appearance on shore? The moment the people of that land knew Jesus was there, they found Him to be their Deliverer from their sicknesses and from the sorrows that came with them.
This is not the first time Jesus had come to this side of the lake. An earlier visit ended with the locals asking Him to leave.
Again, the judgment of His enemies is not the subject here. The subject is what will happen to His people among the Jews when He returns. Then the world will be full of joy again. The land of Gennesaret, which had sent the Saviour away after He healed the man possessed by demons, now receives Him and acknowledges Him, and all the people everywhere enjoy His presence with delight.
Long before Jesus walked here, Isaiah had a name for this region. It was not a cheerful one.
Shadows of death lay across this fertile Galilean country — shadows that sinless Eden never knew. In one of his prophecies Isaiah called this district near Capernaum by the sea the land of the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2). Matthew states how that prophecy was fulfilled, as far as it touched the ministry of the Lord.
Notice what Mark does not record: no command, no touch of His hand, no conversation with the sick.
They brought the sick to the place where they heard He was. It was enough for the suffering ones to touch Him, or the hem of His garment, and they were healed. We are not told that the Lord touched them or even spoke to them. But power went out from Him, drawn out to relieve the situation of faith in need.
Anyone could come and touch Him. One writer sets that freedom against a word spoken in Eden about a tree.
It is beautiful to see how in this favoured land the mercy of the Lord was open to any and to all… They found they were free to touch Him and be blessed. This freedom of access stands in sharp contrast to Eve's false report of God's word about the tree in the garden, when she said, "neither shall you touch it, lest you die" (Genesis 3:3). Here the dying touched and lived.
Several writers read this scene as a small picture of a day still to come, after a time of great trouble.
Their coming into the land of Gennesaret (the name means "a harp"), and the great blessing of His presence there in the healing of large numbers, is a picture of millennial blessing following the tribulation. The blessing spreads to villages, cities and countryside, and everyone who merely touched the border of His garment was healed of whatever disease he had.
- Recognition. The moment the people knew Jesus, the whole region moved toward Him.
- Reversal. The shore that once asked Him to leave now runs to meet Him, and the place of former rejection becomes the place of welcome.
- Radiance. The land Isaiah called the shadow of death is the very land where the light was promised to shine.
- Reach. Mark records no word and no touch from Jesus — power went out from Him to meet faith wherever it reached.
- Rehearsal. A whole countryside healed by His presence is a small preview of a wider day, when the dying touch Him and live.
they ran through that whole country around, and began to carry about those that were ill on couches, where they heard that he was.
Jesus and His disciples land on the shore of Gennesaret after a night of rowing against the wind, and people spot Him at once. The whole countryside then starts to move: running, carrying the sick on their beds, tracking Him wherever news says He is.
Galilee still took an interest in Jesus and still believed He could work wonders. That is what met Him the moment the boat landed.
The people of Galilee still had an outward interest in the Lord, and many of them believed He was a wonder-worker. The boat tied up on the western shore after the night of storm, and the people recognized the Lord. A crowd soon gathered again, so that He might use His healing power on them. They did not seek Him in vain.
No one carried the sick to a ritual or a treatment. They carried them to a person, to the spot where news placed Him — and that was enough.
They brought the sick to the place where they heard He was. The suffering ones only had to touch Him or the hem of His garment, and they were healed. We are not told that the Lord touched them or even spoke to them. But power went out from Him, drawn out to relieve the circumstances of needy faith.
Mark's few verses compress a great deal. One writer cautions against reading them as the record of one day's work.
These two or three verses give a full summary of the Lord's service at this time. But neither Gospel writer suggests that every healing in this summary happened on one single day. On the contrary, interest was stirred through the whole region of Gennesaret. Wherever the Lord went — into a village, a town, or the countryside — people brought the sick into the market-places to touch the border of His garment, and everyone who touched Him was made whole.
Commentators differ over what "Gennesaret" means, and each meaning fits the scene. One takes it as the king's garden:
This was the name of the strip of country along the north-western shore of the Sea of Galilee. The name Gennesaret is said to mean the "king's garden." If so, it fits this scene perfectly, and pictures the glad time when the Lord will come and the whole land will be like the garden of the Lord (Isa. 51:3).
Another proposes a different sense, and draws out what the healings only begin to show:
"Gennesaret" may even mean "the protection of the prince." The presence of the "Prince of life" drives out sickness and distress. This is only the shadow; what will the reality be?
Once He was rejected; here a whole coastline runs to meet Him. Writers read that reversal as a sample of a day still ahead.
When the Lord and His disciples come back to the shore He has left, when He returns, then every human sorrow, misery, weakness and sickness in this world will flee before the presence and touch of the Son of God. It is good for our souls to realize that while our Lord is away we are not to be discouraged by difficulties. We are not to be cast down if the wind is against us and we seem to toil in vain — yet it is not in vain. It is He who has sent us across that troubled sea.
The chapter closes with a foretaste of the blessing of a future day. Christ will come again, and through a godly remnant of the Jews He will bring blessing to the earth. Then the toil of the godly will be over, opposition will end, the storms will cease, and Christ will be welcomed where once He was rejected.
Trace the previous twenty-four hours and one factor keeps explaining the outcome.
The Lord was present in Bethsaida, and their bread was multiplied. He was present in Gennesaret, and their illnesses disappeared. He was absent from the ship, and the opposing winds and waves blocked their progress. He entered the boat, and at once the storm stopped, and they were at the "king's garden."
- Presence decides. Where He was present, bread multiplied and sickness fled. Where He was absent, wind and waves held the disciples back.
- Recognition runs. The people recognized Him on the shore, and a crowd gathered for healing — "and they did not seek Him in vain."
- Nearness is the cure. They carried the sick to the place where they heard He was. We are not told that He touched them or spoke to them. Yet power went out from Him to meet needy faith.
- The reach widens. Village, town, and countryside — and not in one day. People laid the sick in the market-places to touch the edge of His garment.
- The result is a preview. Writers read this welcome as a small picture of His return. Then all human misery will flee before the presence and touch of the Son of God.
And wherever he entered into villages, or cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought him that they might touch if it were only the hem of his garment; and as many as touched him were healed.
Mark closes chapter 6 with a wide view: the Lord lands at Gennesaret, and everywhere He goes people lay the sick where He will pass. Two questions follow — why the crowds asked only to touch the edge of His clothing, and why Mark ends this stretch of service with such sweeping mercy.
These verses gather up a whole season of work, not one afternoon's crowd.
These two or three verses form a broad summary of the Lord's service at this period. But neither Matthew nor Mark implies that all the healings in the summary happened on a single day. On the contrary, we are told that interest was stirred throughout the whole region of Gennesaret. Wherever the Lord went — into a village, a town, or a district — people brought the sick into the market-places so that they might touch the border of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made whole.
The same writer warns that the miracle on the water can pull our attention away from what came next:
What follows the miracle on the lake, in both Matthew and Mark, is remarkable. But our interest is so easily caught by our Lord's display of power over the physical world on the water that we overlook the good that poured out when He came to the shore — good that proved just as clearly that He was the Lord from heaven.
Nothing in the verse describes Jesus reaching out or speaking. That silence is the point.
They brought the sick to the place where they heard He was. It was enough for the suffering to touch Him, or even the hem of His garment, and they were healed. We are not told that the Lord touched them or even spoke to them. But power went out from Him, drawn out to relieve those whose faith was in need.
Nobody in the crowd says a word. Their reaching hands speak for them:
The bold faith that stretched out weak hands to Him was silent and unspoken, but it was real, as the Saviour knew, and He could never deny it. "He has filled the hungry with good things." The poor were feeble, racked with pain, dying. They touched Him, the great Physician, trusting blindly like little children.
The Greek word behind "made well" is the usual New Testament word for "save." Here it carries the wider sense of rescue.
It is worth noticing that the word sozo, usually translated in the New Testament "save," is used in its general sense of deliverance… of many that touched Jesus, Mark 6:56… In these instances the Greek word is translated "made whole," or "healed."
Laying the sick in the market-places brought Jesus and His disciples into contact with all sorts of people. That contact led straight to the complaint that comes next.
The charge made against the Lord here seems to have grown out of His habit of mingling with the crowds as He taught and healed, with His disciples alongside Him… It was after this free mixing with many kinds of sick and needy people that the Pharisees found fault. They had seen some of the disciples eat bread with defiled hands — that is, with unwashed hands.
William Kelly reads the scene forward, to the day the Lord comes back to the shore He once left:
It is a little picture of what will be the result of the Lord's return to the earth. When the Lord and His disciples rejoin the shore He has left, when He comes back again, all the sorrow, misery, weakness and sickness in this world will flee before the presence and touch of the Son of God… Meanwhile the disciples are seen in their weakness, but the prospect of His return in power and glory encourages them.
Another writer sets these scenes side by side. What changed each one was whether the Lord was there.
The Lord was present in Bethsaida, and their bread was multiplied. He was present in Gennesaret, and their diseases were banished. He was absent from the ship, and the opposing winds and waves blocked their progress. He entered the boat, and at once the storm stopped.
- Presence. Everything turns on where He was. People carried the sick to the place they heard He was.
- Touch. He speaks no word and makes no gesture. Weak hands reach for the hem of His clothes, and power goes out to meet them.
- Whole. The word behind "made well" is the New Testament's word for "save," used here of the body.
- Reach. Villages, cities, countryside, market-places — His mercy went wherever He went. The crowds it drew became the very charge His critics brought against Him.
- Preview. The scene is a small picture of His return, when all human weakness and sickness will flee before Him.