Reflecting on Mark's Gospel - Mark 6:45-52

It is rather a mystery why Jesus sent his disciples off in the boat while he stayed behind with the crowd. I wonder if they were getting tired and fractious and he thought it better to send them away. Whether that is true or not, I wonder how we respond to what God might suggest to us when we get tired and fractious.

The disciples set off by boat for Bethsaida. Jesus dismisses the crowd. Then, Jesus climbs a mountain in order to be alone and to pray. So, maybe Jesus just sent the disciples off by boat, so he could have some time on his own for prayer once he had sent the crowd on its way.

It then looks as though Jesus is making his way round the lake as the disciples sail across it, presumably taking the same paths as had, earlier in the chapter, been used by the crowds, a catching up with Jesus that led to the teaching and picnicking that has just happened.

Making his way round the lake, Jesus notices that a storm has blown up. Like the crowds earlier, he had intended to overtake the disciples and arrive in Bethsaida before they did. However, instead, he takes an extremely unusual diversion He makes his way across the water, to the consternation of the disciples who think they are seeing a ghost. The unusual events are stacking up. We might expect the disciples to begin to get the picture by now, but that does not seem to be so.

Tom Wright (Mark for Everyone) explores the matter of where Mark is pointing, what he is trying to say to his readers, and what might be expected of the disciples. “What have we learnt from the story of the loaves? Clearly, Mark is hoping, something that will make us less than totally astonished to see Jesus walking on the water – though how he can suppose anyone of any period of history could avoid being startled by that is a moot point. But what he seems to be stressing is Jesus’ sovereignty over the natural world. If they had reflected on the loaves and fishes, they might have realised (Mark seems to be saying) that water wouldn’t be too much of a problem either – though Jesus never does anything like this again.”

So, once again, the terrified disciples experience a storm being calmed, but they continue to struggle with these unexpected and unexplained turns of events. Jesus finds that he has to tell them not to be afraid, and we are told that they do not understand. Bread that multiplies and winds and waves that unexpectedly go calm remain a mystery. I wonder how we feel when God tells us not to be afraid.