The Gospel of Mark
Around the Lake: Mk 6,45-56
Walking on the Water: 6,45-52
Verse 45 is strong, Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat. His need to get away to solitude and prayer(1,35, 6,31) could well have been very great.
The mountain here is best seen as symbolic, it's not named and the only suitable mountains are some way from the lake. Yet wherever this mountain may be, mountains are where heaven and earth meet, places for meeting God. References to Jesus at prayer in this gospel are few .
The time given in verse 48 is the fourth watch. This would have been 3am-6am with the day beginning at 6am.
For the ancients, land would be the place of order whilst sea was the place of chaos. Jesus by walking on water in verse 48 is therefore turning chaos into order. It is a typical detail of Mark to tell of the disciples having difficulty in rowing. This as usual is simplified by Matthew (Mt 14,24).
Jesus' appearance ought to be taken as a sign of trust by the disciples. Yet the disciples are terrified, they think they are seeing a ghost.
Jesus though says "It is I". The Greek here is "I am" which in this context may mean no more than simply "it's me". However (and especially in the Gospel of John) any "I am" said by Jesus in the Gospels will carry overtones of the divine I AM as said by God in the Book of Exodus (Ex 3,14). It is only God who has power over the winds and the waves (verse 51, see Psalm 107), but Jesus shares this power.
That would fit understanding the scene as a theophany where the Lord passed by, as for Elijah (1 Kings 19,10-12).
Yet the disciples do not understand, their hearts are hardened. This phrase thus far has been used only of Pharisees (3,5). Are the disciples really like the Pharisees? We shall see.
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The enthusiasm of the crowd: Mk 6,53-56
Looking at a map helps us to follow the geography of the area. Here, the boat was destined for Bethsaida to the north east of the sea and arrive at Gennesaret which is on the north west. They don't arrive at Bethsaida until 8,22.
This time the boat is moored, the only occurence of the word in the NT. A boat journey has ended, the boat having been prepared in 3,9 and then mentioned several times. There will be another shorter boat journey (8,10.13) but the mooring here together with the summary indicates the ending of this part of the Gospel story.
This summary stresses Jesus' healing and his great popularity. 6,56 stresses the point in a way Matthew does not (Mt 14,35-36).
Tassles were a sign of commitment to the Law and mark out Jesus as an observant Jew.
Touching them as with the woman with a hemorrhage would have been an act of faith, not magic. The Greek word translated "healed" could also mean "saved".
The disciples would have been witnesses to all of this. We can only contrast the great enthusiasm of the crowd with the hard hearts of the disciples (verse 52).
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