John 6:17

17 got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned.

John 6:17 Meaning and Commentary

John 6:17

And entered into a ship
In which they came, and was waiting for them; or into another:

and went over the sea towards Capernaum;
steered their course from Bethsaida, where they took shipping over the sea of Galilee; at least over one part of it, a creek or bay of it, as they intended, towards the city of Capernaum, which lay over against Bethsaida:

and it was now dark;
quite night, which made their voyage more uncomfortable, especially as it afterwards was tempestuous: but the worst of all was,

and Jesus was not come to them;
as they expected, and therefore were obliged to set sail and go without him.

John 6:17 In-Context

15 Jesus saw that in their enthusiasm, they were about to grab him and make him king, so he slipped off and went back up the mountain to be by himself.
16 In the evening his disciples went down to the sea,
17 got in the boat, and headed back across the water to Capernaum. It had grown quite dark and Jesus had not yet returned.
18 A huge wind blew up, churning the sea.
19 They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless,
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.