The passage
      v45-46. Mark gives no hint as to why Jesus hurriedly sends his disciples away by boat. John tells us that the people saw in Jesus a political messiah and so tried to make him their king, Jn.6:14f. A kingship "like unto the nations" (the successful sort offered Jesus by Satan) was a temptation Jesus constantly faced. Yet, Mark simply says that Jesus sends his disciples away and goes off by himself for a time of prayer.
      v47-50. Jesus was still in prayer when he saw the disciples making little headway against a stiff breeze. About dawn, he came to them walking on the water. The phrase, "he was about to pass by them", is best understood as "he intended to pass by them" in the sense of a theophany, ie. a manifestation of deity, cf. Ex.33:19, 1Kin.19:11. The disciples are filled with fear because they thought he was some water spirit, the one who comes "with a white fringe of fire at its crest" and sinks the boat. Jesus reassures them with a friendly "Hay fellers, its only me." Interestingly, the Greek can be translated "I am." We well remember that God addressed himself as "I am" when he spoke with Moses.
      v51. Once Jesus is in the boat, the wind dies down and they are on their way again. With Jesus beside them they move toward their rest, although not quite where they were heading.
      v52. Sadly, their response is one of amazement, for they did not understand the significance of "the loaves", and so they did not understand the point of Jesus' walking on water. They are still thinking in the square and so fail to recognize Israel's wilderness motifs in the signs and therefore, fail to recognize Jesus as the promised messiah. Only when the disciples trust Jesus as the messiah, can they then share in the journey of God's children to their haven of rest.
      v53. The subduing of dark powers continues at Gennesaret.
      v54-55. Jesus is confronted with great excitement and a string of miracles follow. Through the wilderness and across the sea (River Jordan), and now the walls of Jericho fall.
      v56. There is no mention of Jesus teaching the people. The crowds certainly have faith in his power to heal, even to touch his clothing is enough, yet his words seem stilled before the frenzied mob.

The Lord of the sea
      The Hawkesbury river in Australia has its fair share of ghosts. The locals tell the story of the river maiden. On a misty night she walks the river, the ghost of a girl drowned nearly a hundred years ago. It's a great story and certainly serves to keep children indoors on a dark misty night, which was probably the reason why it was told in the first place.
      Jesus' disciples knew all about sea spirits. They were as superstitious as any old salt. They probably knew of a story of a wave, with its white fringe of fire, just waiting to strike the unwary sailor. So, when they saw Jesus they had every reason to be afraid, and afraid they were, screaming in terror. Yet, when Jesus hopped into the boat and they felt the wind die down, their only response was amazement. It was as if they had no framework of understanding to rationalize the experience; it was beyond their comprehension.
      Mark explains why they were filled with fear and amazement. They could not understand their situation because their thinking was callused, or as we would say, they were unable to think outside the square. It's not at all easy to understand the significance of Jesus walking on water, yet had the disciples understood the significance of "the loaves", by this he means the feeding of the five thousand, a far clearer sign (a circumstance which reveals the unique character of Jesus' person and work), then they would have recognized Jesus as the messianic leader about to guide his people across the surging waters to their haven of rest. Such recognition would have dispelled their fear and amazement and prompted rejoicing. Yet, they were blind to it.
      The process of coming to faith is an interesting one and it's quite clear that Mark takes time to explore the process. He obviously wants the reader to move from wonder to faith and he uses numerous literary devises to prompt this move. He even ends his gospel with a group of women walking from the empty tomb "trembling", "bewildered", and "afraid." There is a sense where the reader is asked to consider their own response. Do we leave the gospel "bewildered" or with faith?
      The point Mark makes in our present passage is that the disciples fail to move toward faith because they don't come to grips with the initial steps of a progressive revelation. A person comes to faith in Christ through a personal understanding of the person and work of Jesus, the incarnate God with us. Although not a complex revelation, it is of a whole, truth upon truth. Faith either rests on these truths, or founders. Sadly, many people don't even get past the most basic of truths, namely, God exists.

v46
      apotaxamenoV (apotassomai) aor. mid. part. "after leaving" - having taken leave of, said farewell, said good-by, given parting instructions. The participle possibly forms a temporal clause, as NIV. "Taking leave".
      autoiV "them" - Either referring to the crowd, or the disciples. Commentators are divided.
      eiV "[he went] up on [a mountain] - to, into. He went "to" the hill, not "up" it; "he went off to the hillside to pray", Phillips.
      proseuxasqai (proseucomai) aor. inf. "to pray" - The infinitive is final (expressing purpose) here, "in order to pray."

v47
      genomenhV (ginomai) aor. part. gen. "when [evening] came" - [evening] having come. This participle, a genitive absolute, forms a temporal clause, as NIV. The phrase usually refers to late afternoon, or early evening, but here it is possibly just referring to some time in the night. As Jesus came to the disciples during the fourth watch, 3am-6am, it must have been during the night, or possibly even just at the break of dawn. It would be difficult to argue that Jesus saw their plight in the early evening, but then let them suffer until it was nearly dawn before he came out to them. So, we will say that they left the shore some time during the night, struck a headwind, were getting nowhere, when at dawn Jesus "passed by."
      autoV monoV "he was alone" - he himself alone. Emphasizing that except for Jesus, the disciples were stuck. "By himself", TH.

v48
      idwn (oJraw) aor. part. "he saw" - having looked at, seen. The participle possibly forms a temporal clause. Obviously Jesus sees the disciples in difficulty from his high vantage point. Mark, of course, may be suggesting that Jesus miraculously sees the disciples' distress in his mind's-eye. "When he saw them buffeted", Moffatt.
      basanizomenouV (basanizw) pres. pas/mid. part. "straining" - testing, torturing, straining, stressing. There are two possible meanings to this participle: if passive, it means literally "being tormented", "being buffeted"; if middle, it means "exerting themselves." The disciples were not in danger / they were just not getting anywhere.
      enantioV adj. "[the wind was] against [them]" - against, contrary, opposed. "The wind was dead against them", Barclay.
      peripatwn (peripatew) pres. part. "walking" - walking about. Taylor suggests that the boat was close to shore and that Jesus was walking on a sandbar. Whatever turns you on!!!!
      epi thV qalasshV "on the lake" - on, upon the sea ...... rather than "at" or "near" the sea. Mark clearly intends the reader to view this episode as a miracle.
      hqelen parelqein autouV "he was about to pass by them" - he willed / wished / desired / intended to go by / pass by them. Jesus "was wanting to pass them by." The NIV takes mellw, "about to" as an equivalent of qelw, but "intended" is better. It is possible that this sentence expresses what the disciples thought. They thought Jesus intended to pass them by. Lightfoot suggests it expresses what Jesus thought. Given the disciples little faith, Jesus would have gladly passed them by. Some suggest Jesus was just testing their faith. It is likely that the language suggests that Jesus' action is a theophany - "the Lord is about to pass by", 1Ki.19:11-13, "and Yahweh passed by before" Moses, Ex.34:6. Jesus does not intend to walk past his disciples and ignore them in their distress, but rather he "went out to them" to further reveal himself to them.

v49
      oiJ idonteV "when they saw" - the ones seeing [him]. The participle probably forms a temporal clause, as NIV.
      edoxan (dokew) "they thought" - they thought, supposed.
      fantasma "a ghost" - apparition. The word is used only here and in Matthew's parallel account. The disciples have not recognized that the apparition is Jesus.
      anekraxan (anakrazw) "they cried out" - they cried out, screamed. "They screamed in terror", TH.

v50
      gar "because" - for. Causal.
      etaracqhsan (tarassw) aor. pas. "were terrified" - they were disturbed, troubled. "All of them saw him and were terrified", CEV.
      qaseite (qarsew) imp. "take courage" - be of good cheer, be brave, be confident. "Cheer up."
      egw eimi "it is I" - Although the Greek would normally just mean "it is I" ("it's me"), there is the possibility that the divine "I am" is intended, Ex.3:14. This is particularly so if we understand "pass by" as reflecting the language of an Old Testament theophany.
      mh "don't" - This negation is used with a command to cease an action in progress.
      fobeisqe (fobeomai) pres. imp. "[don't] be afraid" - be fearful, afraid. "Stop being afraid."

v51
      ekopasen (kopazw) aor. "[the wind] died down" - ceased, droped. Although it is not unreasonable for the wind to die down of its own accord, it is likely that Mark is continuing to describe a miraculous situation. Both the sea and the wind is subject to Jesus' mission.
      lian ek perissou "completely [amazed]" - very / very much exceedingly / beyond measure. Their response is not one of faith, but rather of amazement. Mark does not depict the response of amazement positively. Note how the gospel ends. The women leave the tomb "trembling", "bewildered", and "afraid." We may well be amazed by the empty tomb, along with all the miraculous events in Jesus' life, but only faith will save. "The disciples were very exceedingly amazed in themselves / they were awestruck."

v52
      ou sunhkan (sunimi) aor. "they had not understood" - they did not understand, comprehend. The disciples hadn't understood the significance of the sign of the loaves and the fishes and so they weren't able to make the quantum leap necessary for them to understand the theophany of Jesus' "passing by." "They had not the sense to see the Old Testament imagery revealed in Jesus' feeding a people in the wilderness. Even that miracle had not opened their eyes to see who he was", Phillips.
      hJ kardia (a) "hearts" - the heart. For a Hebrew, the heart is the seat of rational thought, the stomach the center of feelings, so "the mind of them didn't comprehend." "Their minds were closed", CEV.
      pepwrwmenh (pwrow) perf. pas. part. "were closed" - having been hardened, callused. Both signs, the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water, are grounded in the imagery of Israel's wilderness wanderings. The failure of the disciples to recognize the obvious, evidences an inability to think beyond the square. From here on Mark makes a point of exposing the disciples' failure to move beyond amazement, but at the same time describes Jesus ongoing patience with them.

v53
      diaperasanteV (diaperaw) aor. part. "when they had crossed over" - having passed over, crossed over. The participle may form a temporal clause, as NIV. "Having crossed over to land."
      Gennhsaret "Gennesaret" - Either the village of, or fertile plain to the south west of Capernaum. Mark is telling us that the disciples' landfall is not as intended due to the contrary wind.
      proswrmisqhsan (prosarmizw) aor. pas. "anchored there" - cast anchor, anchored, made landfall, moored. Possibly "ran into the shore", "moored against the shore", although "beached the boat" is to be preferred.

v54
      exelqontwn (exercomai) aor. part. gen. "As soon as [they] got out" - having come out, got out. Genitive absolute, forming a temporal clause. "When they had disembarked", Moffatt.
      epignonteV (epiginwskw) aor. part. "recognized" - having come to know, recognized, perceived. The subject, "people", is supplied.

v55
      periedramon (peritrecw) aor. "they ran throughout" - they run about, run around. "They hurried all over the countryside", Barclay.
      periferein (periferw) pres. inf. "carried" - to carry about. The present tense indicating ongoing action. "They ran all over that part of the country to bring their sick people to him", CEV.
      toiV krabattoiV "[on] mats" - [upon] the pallets. "Brought the sick on stretchers", NJB.