Click to join the conversation with over 500,000 Pentecostal believers and scholars
| PentecostalTheology.com
Mark records the famous walking-on-water miracle:
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And 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, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”—Mark 6:45-50 (ESV)
According to Mark, Jesus didn’t seem to have been planning on getting into the boat. John and Matthew do not include this detail in their accounts. Presumably, Matthew had access to Mark’s text and simplified the story. Was Mark suggesting that Jesus was unconcerned for the disciples’ struggles, dissatisfied with their recent behavior, or is somethings else being communicated?
