One day, Peter sat down with Mark and told him about the challenges of being a disciple of Jesus and what he witnessed.
“Jesus called the twelve of us together, gave us instructions, and sent us out in pairs to several areas in Galilee. We announced that the kingdom of God had arrived and that people should repent. We cast out unclean spirits. And we anointed many sick people with oil and cured them. We were doing what he had been doing.
“When we returned from our mission, we were anxious to share with him all that we had done and taught. We must have looked tired and hungry. He said we all needed a break. People were constantly coming and going around us. So much so that we didn’t have time to eat.
“We got in the boat and sailed to a deserted spot. But the crowd saw us going, realized what was happening and arrived there first. When Jesus got out of the boat and saw the huge crowd, I could tell that he felt deeply sorry for them. He said they were like a flock without a shepherd. So, he began to teach them many things.
“There was nothing to eat at that deserted place and it was getting late in the day. We wanted the Teacher to send the crowd away so they could buy food in the countryside or in the villages. But then he said “We don’t need to send them away. Why don’t you give them something.”
“We looked at each other wondering what in the world he was suggesting. Was he serious? Philip said “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”
“Then he said “Well, how many loaves have you got? Go and see.”
“My brother Andrew found a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. But we were standing in front of thousands of people.
“Jesus had us sit everyone down, group by group, on the green grass. So, we made everyone sit in companies of hundreds and fifties. Then Jesus took the five loves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the bread. He broke it and gave it to us to give to the crowd. Then he broke the fish into pieces and handed to it to us to give to the crowd. Everyone ate and had their fill including me and the others of our group. Over five thousand people were fed.
“We gathered up the leftovers and there were twelve baskets of broken pieces and of the fish. Everyone was full and tired.
“And then, just like that, Jesus told us to get into the boat and sail toward the opposite shore. He dismissed the crowd and then went off up the mountain to pray.
“Mark, you won’t believe what happened. We had rowed about three or four miles and were in the middle of the sea. It had been hard rowing all night. A stiff wind coming down from the mountains on the eastern shore of the lake was working against us.
“Then, in the dead of night, we all thought we saw a ghost walking on the water. It was about to go past our boat. We were scared out of our wits. We were yelling “Who goes there?!” And then, just like that, we hear “Cheer up! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” When the figure came closer we could see that it was Jesus. He was walking on the water!
“I said “if it’s really you, Master, then give me the word and I’ll come to you on the water.” And he said “Come along, then.”
“So, I got out of the boat, and would you believe it Mark, I walked on the water. But then I saw the wind chopping the waves and the chaos at my feet and I began to sink just like that. I called out to the Teacher. He put his hand out and caught me before I went under. He looked at me and said “A fine lot of faith you’ve got! Why did you doubt?” I was shivering and feeling pretty low, so I said nothing as we walked to the boat and climbed in.
“As soon as we got in the boat the wind stopped blowing just like that. And just like that we reached the shore. And just like that we went from being scared out of our minds to being thunderstruck by what had taken place, just like before.
“I told you, Mark, about the last storm we faced on the Sea of Galilee. It came up suddenly from the West. Waves beat against the boat and it quickly began to fill with water. That time Jesus was with us. He was asleep and we woke him up to help us bale out water. He got up, scolded the wind, and said to the sea “Silence! Shut up!” Things went to a dead calm, just like that. Then he said “Why are you scared? Don’t you believe yet?”
We were terrified when we saw this. We looked at each other and said “Who is this? Even the wind and the sea do what he says.”
This time we fell down and worshipped Jesus saying “You are really God’s son!”
“We made landfall at Gennesaret and tied the boat up. As soon as we landed people recognized Jesus. They began to bring sick people on stretchers to where they heard he was.
“And Mark, wherever Jesus went, in the villages, towns or open country, people brought their sick to the marketplace and begged him to let them touch the edge of his cloak. And whoever touched the hem became well. The healed were getting up from their stretchers and were running around praising God. You should have seen it.”
(The above is an imagined retelling of Mark chapter 6 referencing Matthew chapter 14, Luke chapter 9, and John chapter 6)
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Did Jesus have Peter and the other apostles wade into waters over their heads to remove the scales from their eyes? Did he put them through the wringer to squeeze out unbelief? It would seem so.
The Twelve – fishermen, a tax collector, and other regular guys – are sent to districts of Galilee on a kingdom of God mission well outside the range of their experience. This while earthly kingdoms get word of their kingdom message and of the power at work in them. And this while there is news of the arrest and beheading of John the Baptist by Herod.
When the Twelve return to Jesus, he has the group sail to a deserted area for a break away from the constant flow of people. But upon arriving they are met by an enormous crowd that had figured out where they were going. Then the Twelve are asked to provide food for the thousands listening to Jesus.
Having no resources other than a meager five loaves and two fish, the Twelve are assigned by Jesus to have everyone sit down in groups, to pass out the baskets of bread and fish that he hands them, and to collect the leftovers. Menial labor after a lofty mission and no rest for the Twelve.
That evening, Jesus sends the Twelve rowing across a sea that was known for its challenges. (Nature is no respecter of persons except for Jesus.) And on that sea, in the early morning hours, they encounter a ghost-like figure that scares the beJesus into them.
We don’t always get the inner perspective of the disciple’s thoughts and feelings in the gospel of Mark. But in at least two accounts we learn that the Twelve were “terrified” (Mk. 4:41) and “astounded” (Mk. 6:51) by the Who of “Who is this?” and “Who goes there?”
It is one thing to hear about divine revelation in the synagogue, to hear the words He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel (Ps. 103:7). It is quite another to encounter God’s ways and deeds in person. And what the “terrified” and “astounded” Twelve experienced was God’s favor, care, and protection for those he chose to be with.
Peter, a fisherman who spent most of his time on the water in a boat, walked on the water with the Son of God right there urging him to do so and ready to catch him. For, faith is more than floating along on what you think you know.
The Twelve, schooled by each unsettling situation the Teacher had them face – strong winds and a sudden storm at sea, a scary specter, a supply shortage, and steady streams of the sick and sheep without a shepherd – discovered God’s power, His presence, His plenty, and His pity.
To their uncertainty, their fears, their inadequacy, and their helplessness, God’s presence was revealed.
“Who is this?” “Who goes there? “
“Cheer up! It is I AM.
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Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam, Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Jeremiah were promised the presence of God. The Presence was promised to Jacob:
“Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” (Genesis 28:15) (Emphasis mine.)
Jesus made the same promise to his followers before he ascended into heaven:
“I am with you, every single day, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)
And beyond . . .
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:3) (Emphasis mine.)
The Real Presence is with you in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus is literally and wholly present—body and blood, and divinity—in the elements of bread and wine.
The age-to-age continuum of God’s promise of presence with us, expressing His covenant faithfulness, is the premise of our faith. He will not abandon us. The praxis of knowing that – living by faith – operates within The Presence continuum.
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The time the Twelve spent with Jesus was eye-opening – but not always mind’s eye opening.
After Mark tells us that the apostles were overwhelmed with astonishment (having just watched Jesus walking on the water) he adds a comment (Mk. 6:52): they didn’t understand what Jesus had done with the fishes and loaves – their hearts were hardened.
Mark doesn’t explain this last note. Maybe, when presented with the existential reality of what took place that afternoon, the Twelve chose to ignore it or had no place in their imagination for it. Or maybe, their hearts were hardened by God.
Recall that during the Ten Plagues of Egypt, Pharoah’s heart was hardened by God and remained that way even after Pharoah’s magicians threw in the towel when they couldn’t fabricate further “miracles”:
The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is God’s doing.” But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn’t listen. Just as God had said
Exodus 9:15-16 gives us the reason why Pharoah’s heart was hardened. God tells Moses to confront Pharaoh and tell him the following:
You know that by now I could have struck you and your people with deadly disease and there would be nothing left of you, not a trace. But for one reason only I’ve kept you on your feet: To make you recognize my power so that my reputation spreads in all the Earth. You are still building yourself up at my people’s expense. (Emphasis mine.)
We don’t know why the Twelve couldn’t take in what had happened that afternoon. But I wonder: did they later recollect that experience and understand the multiplication of loaves and fishes in the context of the Exodus? God fed thousands in the wilderness.
Did they later recollect their experiences (walking on water, Jesus intending to pass by the boat, disclosure of God’s presence with them, a healing hem) and understand them in context of the Exodus?
God controlled nature (the Red Sea) so that Israel can walk through/on it.
God passing by Moses (Ex. 33:22)
God revealed Himself to Moses as “I Am” in a physical phenomenon (a burning bush).
Israelites were healed by a physical object – by looking at a snake made of fiery copper (Num.21-4-9),
With the events described by Peter in Mark’s gospel and the events of Israel’s history, Jesus’ kingdom mission for the world is equated with the Exodus mission of rescue and redemption for Israel.
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Podcast: Three books by O.T. scholar Iain Proven
The Old Testament is often maligned as an outmoded and even dangerous text. Best-selling authors like Richard Dawkins, Karen Armstrong, and Derrick Jensen are prime examples of those who find the Old Testament to be problematic to modern sensibilities. In his new book Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters (Baylor UP, 2014), Iain W. Provan counters that such easy and popular readings misunderstand the Old Testament
Discussed in this podcast are three books authored by OT scholar Iain W. Proven:
A Biblical History of Israel, Second Edition
Convenient Myths: The Axial Age, Dark Green Religion, and the World that Never Was
Seriously Dangerous Religion: What the Old Testament Really Says and Why It Matters
I’ve read Convenient Myths and Seriously Dangerous Religion. I recommend both books.
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Kingdom Venturers 