Mark 6:45-52
“Notice what you notice.” Mark’s account of Jesus walking on the water… We read these passages with an intent to “notice what we notice”. And today I would suggest that everyone reading this passage noticed verse 48b, …He meant to pass them by. And we all wonder, why would Jesus want to pass them by? The wind was against them, they thought He was a ghost, and they were terrified. Why would He intend to pass them by??!! I have no answer and as I looked it up online I didn’t find any satisfactory answer. Here are two edited samples: (1) He had a mission and a direction and intended to move directly to His target. (2) He wanted them to see their need for Him and call out for Him to help. There were a lot of words written in support of these two positions, but the authors and their commentators did not convince me as to a reasonable understanding of His intended action. So in the end, I don’t know. I claim “blessed ignorance”.
So, what else? The last sentence in this passage is almost as equally confusing: And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (v. 51b-52) I can see that the disciples would be “utterly astounded” and I can imagine that they would be confused as to what had happened with the loaves, but the last four words – their hearts were hardened. When I think of hardened hearts, I think of Pharaoh in Exodus. Earlier in this chapter the disciples had been sent out to preach and to heal and to cast out demons. They had seen Jesus’ power at work in them. How could their hearts now be hardened, just a few days or weeks later? Twice I am confused. I quit!
Slava Bohu!