Bible Strands
Mark 6:46
After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative describes Jesus alone after He has dismissed the crowd and ordered the disciples into the boat. He departs for a mountain while evening approaches.
The words — ἀποταξάμενος (apotaxamenos) means “having taken leave” or dismissed, and προσεὐξασθαι (proseuxasthai) means “to pray.” These verbs structure the verse’s sequence: sending others away to engage God directly.
The thread — Jesus withdrawing to pray appears in Mark 1:35 and Luke 6:12, where He similarly leaves groups to pray in solitude. Matthew 6:6 references the same discipline but functions as a command for readers, not a narrative record of Jesus.
Why it lands — The text records Jesus prioritizing solitary prayer after active ministry, establishing dependence on the Father as the sequence for His work. It requires readers to recognize that intentional withdrawal to God precedes continued outward service.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
Cross-references
- Mark 1:35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and went out to a solitary place to pray.
- Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Luke 6:12 In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
- Matthew 14:23 After He had dismissed them, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
- 1 Peter 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps: