Mark masterfully paints a vivid picture for the imagination with very few words. By not telling us the motivations for what is going on, Mark raises many questions. Why send the disciples to go on ahead? Did Jesus know about the coming wind? Why walk on the lake? Why intend to pass them by? Why be terrified when they saw him? Such questions draw our imagination into the story.

Mark may also be drawing on his readers’ knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures to inspire imagination and awe. Could walking on the water be related to Job 9:8 and Psalm 77:16-19 where God strides upon the seas? Could the passing by be related to Exodus 33:22 and 1 Kings 19:11 where God’s Glory is revealed as he ‘passes by’ Moses and Elijah respectively. Mark’s readers would know the creation story where God separated the waters and began to undo creation in the story of Noah. If the disciples made the same connections, it is little wonder they were more terrified of Jesus walking on the water than the powerful wind. Who was this Jesus?

Yet in all this, Jesus gets into the boat with them and says ‘Do not be afraid.’ In my life, I want to avoid the storms rather than relying on Jesus in the storm. But it is only by relying on him within the storms that I learn to rely on him – and that he is reliable. To follow Christ is not to evade the storm but to enter it.

by Paul Asnicar