Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 6:21
Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
21. they willingly received him ] Rather, they were willing to receive Him. The mistranslation seems to have arisen from a wish to make this account agree with that of S. Matthew and S. Mark, who say that he entered the boat. It is probably due to Beza, who for the Vulgate’s voluerunt recipere substitutes volente animo receperunt. S. John leaves us in doubt whether He entered the boat or not; he is not correcting the other two accounts: this would require ‘but before He could enter it the boat was at the land.’
immediately ] We are probably to understand that this was miraculous; not a mere favourable breeze which brought them to land before they had recovered from their surprise: but the point is uncertain and unimportant.
whither they went ] Better, whither they were going, or intending to go. The imperfect tense helps to bring out the contrast between the difficulty of the first half of the voyage, when they were alone, and the ease of the last half, when He was with them. The word for ‘going’ implies departure, and looks back to the place left.
The Walking on the Sea cannot be used as evidence that the writer held Docetic views about Christ, i.e. believed that His Body was a mere phantom. A Docetist would have made more of the incident, and would hardly have omitted the cry of the disciples ‘It is a spirit ’ (Mat 14:26; comp. Mar 6:49). Docetism is absolutely excluded from this Gospel by Joh 1:14, and by the general tone of it throughout. Comp. Joh 19:34-35, Joh 20:20; Joh 20:27.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 21. Immediately the ship was at the land] How far they were from the place at which they landed, when our Lord came to them, we know not. But the evangelist seems to speak of their sudden arrival there as extraordinary and miraculous.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
21. willingly received him into theshiptheir first fears being now converted into wonder anddelight.
and immediately the ship wasat the landThis additional miracle, for as such it ismanifestly related, is recorded here alone. Yet all that is meantseems to be that as the storm was suddenly calmed, so the littlebarkpropelled by the secret power of the Lord of Nature nowsailing in itglided through the now unruffled waters, and whilethey were wrapt in wonder at what had happened, not heeding theirrapid motion, was found at port, to their still furthersurprise.
Joh6:22-71. JESUSFOLLOWED BY THE MULTITUDESTO CAPERNAUM,DISCOURSES TO THEMIN THE SYNAGOGUE OF THEBREAD OF LIFEEFFECTOF THIS ON TWOCLASSES OF THE DISCIPLES.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then they willingly received him into the ship,…. When they knew who he was; and especially he was the more welcome, as they were in distress; and he able, as they well knew, to help them:
and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went; which was done, as Nonnus observes, by a divine motion; for not only the wind ceased, but another miracle was wrought; the ship was in an instant at the place whither they intended to go.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
They were willing therefore ( ). Inchoative imperfect, “they began to be willing.” This does not contradict Mr 6:51 as Bernard thinks. Both Jesus and Peter climbed into the boat.
Whither they were going ( ). Progressive imperfect active, “to which land they had been going” (intransitive use of , to lead under, to go under or away as in verse John 6:67; John 7:33; John 12:11; John 18:8.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
They willingly received [ ] . Wrong. Rev., correctly, they were willing to receive; after being reassured by His voice. The imperfect denotes a continuous state of feeling, not a mere impulsive and temporary wish.
Immediately [] . Whether Jesus actually entered the boat or not, John does not say. The more natural inference is that he did. Both Matthew and Mark say so. Their immediate and miraculous arrival at the shore was simultaneous either with their entertaining the wish to receive Him, or with His actually coming on board. Only John mentions this incident. Matthew and Mark say that the wind ceased.
They went [] . Imperfect : were going. Literally, were going away. The verb has the sense of retiring from something. Compare ver. 67; Joh 7:33, on which see note; Joh 12:11; Joh 18:8.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Then they willingly received him into the ship-(ethelon oun labein auton eis to ploion) “Therefore they willingly took or received him into the boat:” Mar 6:51 states that He “went up unto them into the ship,” indicating His approach to the ship or boat walking upon the waters. And the passage adds “and the wind ceased and they were sore amazed;- Upon His approach to the boat is when Peter also met Him walking on the water, Mat 14:29-32.
2) “And immediately the ship was at land,” (kai eutheos egeneto to ploion epi tes ges) “And at once the boat was upon the earth,” at its landing place, some 2 miles from its location in the midst of the sea when Jesus came to them, Joh 6:47-48; Mat 14:24-25. During the latter part of the trip His disciples worshipped Him in the ship, Mat 14:33.
3) “Whither they went.” (eis hen hupegon) “unto which they were going,” in the area of Gennesaret, Joh 6:53; Mat 14:34.
NEEDLESS OF FEAR
Human beings often undergo much needless fear, because they are afraid to search out all the facts. For fear of finding the fact worse than they fear, they often fear what is much worse than the fact. They go on through life thinking they have seen a ghost, and miserable in the thought: whereas, if they had but screwed their courage to the point of examining, they would have found it was no more than a tablecloth drying upon a line between two poles. Oh that we could all forever get rid of this moral cowardice! If you think there is something the matter with your heart, you go to the doctor and let him examine. Probably there is nothing earthly wrong. And even if there be, it is better to know the worst than live on week after week in a vague, wretched fear. Let us do the like with our religious difficulties. The very worst thing you can do is to lock the closet door when you think probably there is a skeleton within. Fling it wide open; search with a lamp into every corner. A hundred to one there is no skeleton there at all. But from youth to age we must be battling with the dastardly tendency to walk away from the white donkey in the shadow, which we ought to walk up to. I have seen a little child who had cut her finger, entreat that it might just be tied up, without ever being looked at; she saw how little a thing it was for all the blood that came from it, and about nine-tenths of her fear fled away.
Boyd.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(21) Then they willingly received him.This is doubtless correct as an interpretation, but it is too full for a translation. The Greek cannot mean more than, Then they were willing to receive Him. They are re-assured by His voice, and their fears cease. That they did receive Him into the ship is stated by St. Matthew and St. Mark, and is implied here. That the words may mean more than a wish to receive Him is shown by St. Johns usage in Joh. 1:44; Joh. 5:35; Joh. 8:34.
And immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.Better, . . . whither they were going. It follows from Joh. 6:19 that they were at this time about half-way across the lakei.e., from two to three miles from the shore. No such explanation as that they were near the shore, but in the darkness and confusion of the storm did not know it, is consistent with the plain meaning of these definite words. On the other hand, it is not necessary to suppose that St. John here adds the narrative of another miracle. Where all was miraculous this may well, indeed, have been thought so too; but the analogy of the miracles of our Lord does not lead us to expect the use of divine power to accomplish what was within the reach of human effort. It would on this supposition be difficult to understand why the earlier Gospels omit what would surely have seemed to be among the greatest miracles, and why St. John mentions it only in a passing sentence. The words appear rather to contrast the ease and rapidity with which the second half of the voyage was accomplished in His presence, before which the winds and waves were hushed into a calm, and their fears and doubts passed into courage and hope; with the first half, when the sea kept rising, and a strong wind kept blowing, and they rowed against it for five-and-twenty or thirty furlongs. The word rendered immediatelywhich is more exactly our straight-waymay find its full meaning in the straight line of the boats after-course, as contrasted with its being tossed hither and thither during the storm. The whole context seems to find its full meaning in the sense of difficulty and danger before our Lord was received into the boat, and in the sense of safety and peace afterwards. The Psalmist of the English Christian Year has expressed this in familiar words
Thou Framer of the light and dark,
Steer through the tempest Thine own ark;
Amid the howling wintry sea
We are in port if we have Thee.
It is scarcely too much to think that the familiar words of him who is Psalmist of Jewish and Christian year alike were present to the mind of St. John
For He commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
Which lifteth up the waves of (the deep).
They mount up to the heaven,
They go down again to the depths:
Their soul is melted because of trouble.
He maketh the storm a calm,
So that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet;
So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
(See the whole passage, Psa. 107:23-33.)
The miracle is followed in the other accounts by the healings in the land of Genesareth. (See Mat. 14:34-36; Mar. 6:53-56.) For St. John the whole leads up to the discourse at Capernaum. He has told how our Lord and the disciples have crossed again to the west of the lake, but the narrative at once returns to the multitude who have seen the sign, and for whom there remains the interpretation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Willingly As they had before dreaded his approach, so now they are eager to receive him on board; and as soon as his feet touched the deck the ship is at land. How, says the querist, was this miracle performed? We suppose that both the miracle of walking on the sea and moving the ship to land was performed, just as a writer moves his pen, by an act of will of a will supernaturally, divinely powerful. Gravitation, so far as we can see, is the immediate effect of the divine volition holding the spheres in their places. That same volition could hold the water solid beneath the feet of Jesus, or cause his body to glide over the undisturbed surface.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
21 Then they willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
Ver. 21. Immediately the ship was at land ] A dying saint hath no sooner taken death into his bosom, but he is immediately landed at the quay (harbour) of Canaan, at the kingdom of heaven. Fugiendum est ad clarissimam patriam: ibi pater, ibi omnia, said Plotinus the Platonist. (Aug. Civ. Dei. ix. 17.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
willingly received = were willing to receive.
and . . . went. Recorded only by John.
was = became. at. Greek. epi. App-104.
land, or shore. Greek. ge. App-129.
whither = to (Greek. eis)) which.
went = were bound.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 6:21. [124] , they were willing to receive [they willingly received]) A concise mode of expression: there is to be understood, and received.-, immediately) A new miracle.
[124] , and they were afraid) The night dark, the wind violent, the sea stormy, and the nearness of the spirit, as they supposed it to be, were striking terror into them.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 6:21
Joh 6:21
They were willing therefore to receive him into the boat: and straightway the boat was at the land whither they were going.-Mat 14:28-33 tells of Peters request to come to Jesus on the water, his attempt, Jesus entering into the boat, the allaying of the storm, and their landing whither they were going. [Christ was their salvation. He can also calm the troubled soul and carry it safely to heaven.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
they willingly: Psa 24:7-10, Son 3:4, Mat 14:32, Mat 14:33, Mar 6:51, Rev 3:20
Reciprocal: Psa 107:30 – he bringeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRISTS PRESENCE IN TROUBLE
Then they willingly received Him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
Joh 6:21
A strange transition. From witnessing a mighty miracle, and helping it instrumentally, amidst an admiring crowd, the disciples experience solitude, darkness, winds, waves, storm, anxiety, and danger. But Christ knew it, and Christ appointed it, and it was working for their good.
I. Trial is part of the discipline which all true Christians must expect.It is one of the means by which their grace is proved, and by which they find out what there is in themselves. Winter as well as summer, cold as well as heat, clouds as well as sunshineare all necessary to bring the fruit of the Spirit to ripeness and maturity. We do not naturally like this. We would rather cross the lake with calm weather and favourable winds and the sun shining down on our faces, But it may not be. In our darkest hours we may seem to be left.
II. But we are never really alone.The Lord Jesus Christ has power over the waves of trouble just as over those of the sea. He came to His disciples as they were rowing on the stormy lake, walking on the waters. He walked on them as easily as we walk on dry land. They bore Him as firmly as the pavement of the Temple, or the hills around Nazareth. That which is contrary to all natural reason was perfectly possible to Christ. The Lord is not only the Lord, but the Maker of all creation. Learned men talk solemn nonsense sometimes about the eternal fixity of the laws of nature, as if they were above God Himself and could never be suspended.
III. Let all true Christians take comfort in the thought that their Saviour is Lord of waves and winds, of storms and tempests, and can come to them in the darkest hour, walking upon the sea. There are waves of trouble far heavier than any on the Lake of Galilee. There are days of darkness which try the faith of the holiest Christian. But let us never despair if Christ is our Friend. He can come to our aid in an hour when we think not, and in ways that we did not expect. And when He comes all will be calm.
Bishop J. C. Ryle.
Illustration
The practical remark has often been made, that many of the things which now frighten Christians, and fill them with anxiety, would cease to frighten them if they would endeavour to see the Lord Jesus in all, ordering every providence, and overruling everything, so that not a hair falls to the ground without Him. They are happy who can hear His voice through the thickest clouds and darkness, and above the loudest winds and storms, saying, It is I; be not afraid. It has been thought by some that the words, It is I, might be more literally rendered, I am, and that they are intended to refer to the name of God, so familiar to Jews: I am. It is a pious thought, but hardly in keeping with the context and the circumstances of the occurrence. Our Lord desired first to relieve the fears of His disciples by showing them Who it was that they feared: and the Greek words for It is I, are the only words that He could well have used.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6:21 Then they {c} willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
(c) They were afraid at first, but when they recognized his voice they became new men and took him willingly into the ship, the very one whom they had shunned and fled from before.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
When the disciples realized that it was Jesus, they willingly received Him into the boat. Perhaps Jesus met the disciples fairly close to their destination and so it did not take them long to arrive there. Perhaps with Jesus in the boat the remaining trip appeared to them to be a short one, or with the wind subdued it did not take them long to reach land. Any of these explanations could account for John’s description. Many commentators believed that John referred to a second miracle and that the boat supernaturally reached Capernaum swiftly. There seems little point to such a miracle, however, and there is nothing in the text that explains it.
The feeding of the 5,000 presents Jesus as the provider of people’s needs. His walking on the water pictures Him as the protector of those who trust and obey Him. The second of these two signs taught the disciples that Jesus had authority over nature (cf. Job 38:8-11; Psa 29:3-4; Psa 29:10-11; Psa 65:5-7; Psa 89:9; Psa 107:29). [Note: Tenney, John: The Gospel . . ., p. 132.] John undoubtedly recorded the incident to teach his readers the same lesson. Both miracles demonstrated Jesus’ equality with the Father, whom Old Testament writers described as doing these things.