And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.
Parallel translations
- WEB Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.
- KJV And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
- BSB Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.
- NASB Again He began to teach by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.
- NLT Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus teaches a great crowd from a boat by the sea. It matters because it sets the scene for the parables of the kingdom.
Overview
The pressing multitude leads Jesus to teach from a boat, using the lake as a natural amphitheater. This setting introduces a sustained block of parabolic teaching about God's kingdom. Mark shows Jesus as the master teacher, drawing crowds while preparing to reveal kingdom truths that only the receptive will grasp.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 5:1–3Now while the multitude pressed on him and heard the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret.
- Mark 2:13He went out again by the seaside. All the multitude came to him, and he taught them.
- Luke 8:4–10When a great multitude came together, and people from every city were coming to him, he spoke by a parable.
- Matt 13:1–15On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
- Mark 3:7Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples, and a great multitude followed him from Galilee, from Judea,
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 4:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.