Bible Strands
Mark 6:49
but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost—
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus approaches the disciples in the fourth watch of the night while they are straining against a headwind. They see Him moving across the water and react with immediate alarm.
The words — περιπατοῦντα (peripatounta) indicates active, continuous walking, and ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης (epi tēs thalassēs) specifies the surface He traverses. The text records that He physically moved upon the water before they recognized His identity.
The thread — This motif of divine movement over waters echoes Job 9:8 and appears in the parallel account of Matthew 14:25. The fear of encountering an unseen being parallels Luke 24:37, where startled observers mistake a physical presence for a spirit.
Why it lands — The text records a supernatural appearance that triggers panic, followed by an immediate verbal correction. It demands recognition that divine presence operates outside natural constraints and requires direct engagement rather than flight.
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
But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
Cross-references
- Job 9:8 He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.
- Matthew 14:25 During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.
- Luke 24:37 But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
- Job 4:14 fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.