Mark 6:52 kjv
For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
Mark 6:52 nkjv
For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.
Mark 6:52 niv
for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.
Mark 6:52 esv
for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Mark 6:52 nlt
for they still didn't understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.
Mark 6 52 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mk 3:5 | He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart… | Jesus' grief over hard hearts |
| Mk 4:11-12 | To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God...in parables...so that seeing they may see and not perceive... | Purpose of parables and spiritual blindness |
| Mk 6:45-51 | The immediate preceding event: Jesus walks on water after feeding 5000. | The event they failed to understand after |
| Mk 8:17-21 | And knowing it, Jesus said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Is your heart hardened? Having eyes do you not see...? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" | Explicit rebuke for hardened hearts and lack of understanding after both feedings |
| Deut 29:4 | But to this day the Lord has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. | God's people sometimes lack spiritual perception |
| Ps 95:8 | Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness... | Warning against spiritual rebellion |
| Isa 6:9-10 | And he said, "Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand... lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn and be healed.’" | Spiritual blindness as judgment or consequence |
| Jer 5:21 | Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not. | Blindness and deafness to divine truth |
| Mt 13:13-15 | This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see... the heart of this people has grown dull... lest they should understand with their heart... | Similar explanation for lack of understanding |
| Lk 24:44-45 | Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. | Post-resurrection clarity of understanding |
| Jn 14:26 | But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things... | The Holy Spirit's role in granting understanding |
| Rom 11:7-8 | What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened... God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear... | God's hardening for specific purposes |
| Heb 3:7-8 | Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion..." | Exhortation against hardening the heart |
| Eph 4:17-18 | now say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. | Gentile unbelief rooted in hardened hearts |
| 1 Cor 2:14 | The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. | Spiritual truth requires spiritual discernment |
| 2 Cor 3:14-16 | But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted... only through Christ is it taken away... when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. | The veil over hearts in reading scripture |
| Ezk 36:26-27 | And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you... and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes... | God's promise to transform hardened hearts |
| Mk 9:32 | But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him. | Continued pattern of disciples' lack of understanding |
| Lk 9:45 | But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them... they were afraid to ask him... | Similar pattern of concealed truth from disciples |
| Jn 12:37 | Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him. | Seeing signs without belief/understanding |
| Ps 78:19 | They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?" | Similar doubt despite God's previous provisions |
| Matt 16:9-11 | Do you not yet understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand... How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak to you about bread? | Jesus explicitly linking the loaves to spiritual understanding |
Mark 6 verses
Mark 6 52 Meaning
Mark 6:52 explains why the disciples reacted with such astonishment and fear when Jesus walked on water: their fundamental failure to comprehend the significance of the preceding miracle, the feeding of the five thousand. This lack of understanding stemmed from a deeper spiritual condition—a hardened heart, rendering them unable to grasp Jesus' divine power and identity, despite direct exposure to it. They saw the supernatural act but missed its spiritual meaning, indicating an internal resistance or dullness to God's revelation.
Mark 6 52 Context
Mark 6:52 follows immediately after Jesus walked on water (Mk 6:45-51) and is closely linked to the preceding miracle of feeding the five thousand (Mk 6:30-44). The disciples had just witnessed Jesus multiplying a few loaves and fish to feed a massive crowd, with twelve baskets of leftovers. This act clearly demonstrated Jesus' divine power over creation and his identity as the provider. However, instead of connecting this monumental miracle to Jesus' nature and power, when they later saw him walking on the stormy sea, they were "terrified" (Mk 6:50), thinking he was a ghost. This verse (6:52) provides the interpretive key for their bewilderment and fear, explaining that their lack of understanding regarding the feeding miracle was due to a spiritual hardening of their hearts. Within the Gospel of Mark, this incident highlights a recurring theme: the disciples' ongoing struggle to grasp Jesus' true identity and the nature of the Kingdom of God, despite witnessing his mighty works and receiving direct teaching. This failure to understand will be explicitly revisited in Mark 8:17-21, emphasizing the same issue. The Jewish historical and cultural context includes expectations of a Messiah who performs signs, but often these expectations were centered on a political deliverer rather than a divine one. Their hardened hearts suggest a preconceived notion that prevented them from truly seeing Jesus for who he was.
Mark 6 52 Word analysis
For (γάρ - gar): A causal conjunction, indicating the reason or explanation for the disciples' fear and failure to understand Jesus walking on water. It signals that what follows explains why they were so amazed and lacked proper insight.
they (αὐτοί - autoi): Refers specifically to Jesus' disciples who were in the boat, highlighting that even those closest to Jesus and privy to his teachings and miracles experienced this spiritual impediment.
had not understood (οὐ συνῆκαν - ou synekān): The Greek verb syniēmi (συνίημι) means to bring together, comprehend, perceive, or put things together. The imperfect tense indicates an ongoing or previous state of not grasping the meaning. It implies a failure to connect the dots between Jesus' acts and his identity, suggesting a deficiency not just of information but of deep insight or discernment.
about the loaves (ἐπὶ τοῖς ἄρτοις - epi tois artois): Refers to the miracle of feeding the five thousand (Mk 6:30-44). The disciples failed to understand the significance of this miracle—namely, Jesus' divine authority, his ability to create and sustain life, and his Messianic identity as the true Bread of Life. They perceived the event but not its profound theological implications.
because (ἀλλ᾽ - all'): This is a strong adversative conjunction, "but" or "on the contrary," emphasizing a sharp contrast. It directly attributes their failure to understand not to mere intellectual deficiency, but to an internal spiritual condition. It means "but rather" or "because, on the contrary."
their heart (αὐτῶν ἡ καρδία - autōn hē kardia): In biblical thought, kardia (καρδία) represents the core of a person's being—their intellect, emotions, will, and conscience. It signifies the seat of understanding and spiritual perception. Their problem was not just head-knowledge, but a deeper, spiritual receptivity issue.
was hardened (πεπωρωμένη - pepōrōmenē): This is a perfect passive participle of pōroō (πωρόω). Originally, it referred to turning something to stone, forming a callus, or becoming impenetrable. Spiritually, it denotes dullness of perception, insensitivity, a resistance to divine truth, or a state of being blind or obtuse to spiritual realities. It describes a deep-seated spiritual impermeability that prevented them from internalizing and properly interpreting Jesus' powerful works. This hardening indicates an unresponsiveness that stood in contrast to what they had witnessed.
Words-group analysis:
- "had not understood about the loaves": This phrase pinpoints the specific failure. It's not that they didn't see the miracle, but that they failed to grasp its implications. They saw the feeding but did not understand that this act, like Jesus' authority over storms, revealed his true divine nature and sovereign power over creation.
- "because their heart was hardened": This crucial phrase provides the explanation for their spiritual obtuseness. It goes beyond intellectual dullness and points to a deeper spiritual state of being impervious or insensitive to spiritual truth. This hardening acts as a barrier, preventing them from connecting Jesus' works to his identity, leaving them susceptible to fear and misinterpretation even in the face of profound divine revelation.
Mark 6 52 Bonus section
The concept of a "hardened heart" is central to Mark's depiction of the disciples, highlighting a consistent pattern of spiritual misunderstanding throughout the Gospel (e.g., Mk 4:13, 8:17-21, 9:32, 10:5). It points to the internal resistance within human nature to truly accepting the implications of God's direct revelation. This spiritual condition can stem from preconceived notions, fear, lack of faith, or a general inability of the "natural person" to grasp spiritual truths (1 Cor 2:14). It underscores that faith and understanding are ultimately gifts enabled by divine grace, as later shown when Jesus "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Lk 24:45) after his resurrection. Despite this present hardening, the Gospel narrative implies future divine intervention and transformation.
Mark 6 52 Commentary
Mark 6:52 serves as a pivotal theological explanation for the disciples' ongoing inability to grasp Jesus' identity and power. Despite having just witnessed the miraculous feeding of five thousand, which powerfully demonstrated Jesus' authority as the divine provider, they failed to draw the necessary conclusions. This spiritual blind spot led to their profound fear and confusion when Jesus walked on water. The root cause was a "hardened heart"—not merely an intellectual dullness, but a deep-seated spiritual unresponsiveness or insensitivity. This condition prevented them from perceiving the underlying divine significance of Jesus' actions, transforming awe-inspiring revelation into baffling fear. It underscores that truly seeing Jesus requires more than just physical proximity or observation of miracles; it demands a heart open to understanding and believing in his divine nature and Messianic claims.