Water and Bread: 6:45-52
By Phil Higley | May 27, 2010
Mark 6:45-52 (ESV)
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, [52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. 53When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.]
Introduction
Our story here of Jesus’ walking on the water picks up directly after the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. Although Mark does not record the reaction of the crowd to the multiplication of the loaves, some scholars think that the hurried departure in v. 46 implies (like in other places) that there was danger of a messianic uprising as a result of the miracle. (John’s Gospel 6:15 refers specifically to this.) We are told that after sending the disciples away in the boat, Jesus stayed to dismiss the crowd.
Prayer on the Mountain (v. 46)
Mark’s mentioning of Jesus going up on a mountain to pray is an evidence of the crisis nature of the situation within the story. Why? Because there are only three occasions in this Gospel in which Jesus withdraws to pray, and each time some sort of crisis is involved (e.g., 1:35; 6:46; 14:23-36). Each incident involves the temptation not to carry out God’s mission for him—a mission that would ultimately bring suffering, rejection, and death. These crises seem to represent an ascending scale and reach their climax in the agony of Gethsemane.
Vv. 47-48
The time of the incident is “evening” (v. 47). Since it was “already very late” (v. 35) before the feeding of the five thousand, “evening” here must mean late at night. The Lake of Galilee is only about four miles wide. Thus a boat in the middle of the lake could easily be seen in the full moon of Passover time from the shore.
Apparently the wind was blowing from the north or northeast and had blown the disciples off their course. We are told they were “straining at the oars” (v. 48)—an indication of a stiff headwind. Jesus came to them “walking on the lake,” about the fourth watch. According to Roman reckoning, (and Mark follows this), the night was divided into four watches: 6-9pm, 9-12pm, 12-3am, and 3-6am. “He was about to pass by them.” But what does his passing by him imply? Was Jesus going to pass by for any particular reason?
Vv. 49-51
To try to rationalize Jesus’ walking on the water as anything but a miracle is to royally miss the point of what Mark is communicating. But this doesn’t mean that the disciples instantaneously thought they were seeing a man walking on the water either. We’re told that they were terrified. In fact, we are told that the disciples thought they had seen some sort of water spirit—or water demon. Jesus calms their fears with words of assurance about his identity and commands them to “take heart/courage.” After Jesus climbs into the boat another miracle seemingly occurs in the text; e.g., “the wind died down.” Mark includes this for a reason. Then Mark says that the disciples were “utterly astounded.” There was unmistakably some sort of relationship between his getting into the boat and the calming of the wind. Only this explains the attitude of the disciples.
The Problem is with the Disciples’ Christology Vv. 52
Mark relates his explanation of the disciples’ panic at seeing Jesus walking on the water and their amazement at the calming of the wind to their failure to understand about the multiplication of the loaves. Had they understood about the loaves, i.e., that the sovereign Lord of the universe was in action there (in front of their very eyes!), they would have been prepared to understand walking on water and calming waves. Jesus was likely testing his disciples in some way when he was walking “past” them. Their response, however, to Jesus in their struggle was one of unbelief, doubt, and fear. Their problem was a Christological one. We are therefore told that their hearts were hardened.
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Notes from:
The Oxford Bible Commentary, Edited by Barton and Muddiman, 2001.
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol 8, Edited by Gaebelein, 1984.
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