Jesus Walked on Water...And Almost Went Too Far: Studies in Mark, Pt. 19
Within the short span of two chapters of Mark’s narrative, the reader encounters two sea stories. In the first one, 4.35-41, Jesus is asleep in the stern, is awoken by His disciples and then calms the wind and the sea. I have written on that passage already, you can read that post by clicking the following link: Mark’s Sleepy Jesus . In this post, I want to take a look at the second sea voyage, which is found in 6.45-53. Many translations and commentators include verses 53-56 within this pericope but because it interrupts a pattern that Mark is using (I will write about this narrative pattern in a future post), it should probably not be included. It should be pointed out from the beginning that while Mark recounts two sea stories in close proximity and while there are some similarities, the differences between the episodes are greater. Because of this, I am not going to compare the stories as some do; I am going to take them on their own. Of course, because each scene in Mark’s account...