Mark 5:21

Restoration and Healing

5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in a boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea.

Mark 6:45

Walking on Water

6:45 Immediately Jesus ¹  made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd.

Mark 8:13

8:13 Then ²  he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

Matthew 8:18

Challenging Professed Followers

8:18 Now when Jesus saw a large crowd ³  around him, he gave orders to go to the other side of the lake. ⁴ 

Matthew 14:22

Walking on Water

14:22 Immediately Jesus ⁵  made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.

John 6:1

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

6:1 After this ⁶  Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias). ⁷ 

John 6:17

6:17 got into a boat, and started to cross the lake ⁸  to Capernaum. ⁹  (It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.) ¹⁰ 

John 6:25

Jesus’ Discourse About the Bread of Life

6:25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, ¹¹  they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” ¹² 

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

³ tc ‡ Codex B and some Sahidic mss read simply ὄχλον (oclon, “crowd”), the reading that NA²⁷ follows; the first hand of א, as well as ˹ and a few others, has ὄχλους (oclous, “crowds”); other witnesses read πολὺν ὄχλον (polun oclon, “a large crowd”). But the reading most likely to be original seems to be πολλούς ὄχλους (pollou" oclou"). It is found in א² C L Θ 0233 ˹³ 33 Ï lat; it is judged to be superior on internal grounds (the possibility of accidental omission of πολλούς/πολύν in isolated witnesses) and, to a lesser extent, external grounds (geographically widespread, various texttypes). For reasons of English style, however, this phrase has been translated as “a large crowd.”

⁴ tn The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Again, μετὰ ταῦτα (meta tauta) is a vague temporal reference. How Jesus got from Jerusalem to Galilee is not explained, which has led many scholars (e.g., Bernard, Bultmann, and Schnackenburg) to posit either editorial redaction or some sort of rearrangement or dislocation of material (such as reversing the order of chaps. 5 and 6, for example). Such a rearrangement of the material would give a simple and consistent connection of events, but in the absence of all external evidence it does not seem to be supportable. R. E. Brown (John [AB], 1:236) says that such an arrangement is attractive in some ways but not compelling, and that no rearrangement can solve all the geographical and chronological problems in John.

⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Only John in the New Testament refers to the Sea of Galilee by the name Sea of Tiberias (see also John 21:1), but this is correct local usage. In the mid-20’s Herod completed the building of the town of Tiberias on the southwestern shore of the lake; after this time the name came into use for the lake itself.

⁸ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in the previous verse.

⁹ map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-C3; Map3-B2.

¹⁰ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

¹¹ tn Or “sea.” See the note on “lake” in v. 16.

¹² sn John 6:25-31. The previous miracle of the multiplication of the bread had taken place near the town of Tiberias (cf. John 6:23). Jesus’ disciples set sail for Capernaum (6:17) and were joined by the Lord in the middle of the sea. The next day boats from Tiberias picked up a few of those who had seen the multiplication (certainly not the whole 5,000) and brought them to Capernaum. It was to this group that Jesus spoke in 6:26-27. But there were also people from Capernaum who had gathered to see Jesus, who had not witnessed the multiplication, and it was this group that asked Jesus for a miraculous sign like the manna (6:30-31). This would have seemed superfluous if it were the same crowd that had already seen the multiplication of the bread. But some from Capernaum had heard about it and wanted to see a similar miracle repeated.