The Miracles Continued
TRANSLATION
(46) After leaving them, he went up on a mountain to pray. (47) And when it was evening, the boat was out on the sea while he remained alone on land. (49) And seeing them straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, he came to them just before dawn walking on the sea. He was about to pass by them (49) when they saw him walking on the sea. And thinking he was a ghost, they cried out, (50) for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he said to them, “Take heart! It is I. Do not be afraid.” (51) And he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And they were completely amazed, (52) for they had not understood about the (miracle of the) loaves because their hearts were hardened.
(53) When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. (54) And when they disembarked, the people immediately recognized him (55) and ran about that whole region and began to carry sick people on their pallets to wherever they heard he was. (56) And wherever he went, in villages or in towns or in the countryside, they laid their sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.
OBSERVATIONS
In this passage, Mark takes us back into “the boat” (vss. 47, 51, & 54) and out “on the sea” (vss. 47, 48, & 49) with the disciples. This time it was not a storm but Jesus’ “walking” (vss. 48 & 49) on the water to meet them that terrified the disciples. In Mark 4 his words had calmed the storm. On this occasion hearing him say, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid,” calmed their troubled hearts. One more repetition, “sick,” emphasized the ministry of healing that Jesus undertook once they reached Gennesaret (vss. 55 & 56).
OUTLINE
I. On the sea, he astounded the disciples by walking on the water. (46-52)
II. In Gennesaret, he continued his spectacular ministry of healing. (53-56)
IDEA STATEMENT
Jesus walking on the water and healing the sick further demonstrated his divine power to his doubting disciples.
APPLICATION
His physical appearance was that of an ordinary man. Even so, his demonstrations of power should have left no doubt that he was the Son of Man, God in the flesh. How difficult it was for the disciples with their narrow perspectives and unbelieving hearts to grasp the significance of what they were seeing! Mark’s description, “And they were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the (miracle of the) loaves because their hearts were hardened,” helps us grasp just how confused the disciples continued to be (vss. 51 & 52). After his death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. After all they had seen and heard including the report about the empty tomb, they were still disillusioned and dejected about the crucifixion. Jesus gently reprimanded them with these words: “O foolish ones and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken” (Lk. 24:25). Later in Luke’s recounting of their encounter with Jesus, we read, “and their eyes were opened, and they recognized him” (vs. 31).
This has always been the case with the faith of Jesus’ followers. Unless God opens our eyes and clears away the fog of confusion in our hearts, we will not believe even that which we have seen and heard. It is not what our senses tell us that convinces us of the truth. It is, rather, the Holy Spirit, working in our hearts, enabling us to receive what God wants to reveal to us, that makes the difference. This corresponds precisely to what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6). We constantly need the Holy Spirit enlightening our darkened hearts to help us both believe and anchor our hope in the things of God.