Wanted to Pass By (Mark 6:48)

Concepts100After Jesus miraculously fed the crowd that included 5,000 men, “He made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd” (Mark 6:45). He told them good-bye and then spent some time in prayer. When evening arrived, Jesus was alone on the shore. The boat was out on the Sea of Galilee carrying the disciples, but they were having difficulty, for “the wind was against them” (v. 48). At about 3:00 a.m., Jesus “came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them” (v. 48). They thought they were seeing a ghost and were very afraid. Jesus said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v. 50). Matthew’s Gospel indicates that at this point Peter asked Jesus for permission to step out of the boat and to walk on the water toward Him. Jesus invited Peter to come, so he got out of the boat and began making his way toward the Lord. The strength of the wind distracted Peter, however, and he began to sink. He cried out to Jesus for help, so the Lord extended His hand, “caught hold of him, and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matt. 24:31). John’s Gospel states the disciples “were willing to take Him on board” (John 6:21), evidently because they now knew this was not a ghost. The wind stopped when Jesus and Peter got in, and everyone “in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, ‘Truly You are the Son of God!’” (Matt. 14:33). Even so, according to Mark 6:51-52, the disciples still had much to learn.

We have recounted the entire event here because unless we are familiar with everything, we cannot understand the phrase “wanted to pass by” in Mark 6:48. Why did Jesus wait so long to come to His disciples? And why did He want to walk past them? Don’t these things seem odd?

In His commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Warren Wiersbe notes that after a mountaintop experience like the miracle in which Jesus fed more than 5,000, the disciples needed to be tested and challenged. So Jesus brought them from the victory of the miracle to the test of the storm. This was not the first time He had brought His disciples into the “laboratory” of a storm after a time of teaching, something we might call a “classroom experience” (see Mark 4:1-34 for the teaching; vv. 35-41 for the “test” or “lab”). Later, after the Holy Spirit used the disciples, including Peter, in a very visible way to help bring 5,000 people to Christ, the early church was persecuted severely (see Acts 4:1-4 for the beginning of the persecution). Thus, the pattern of Jesus’ training foreshadowed experiences the disciples would face after the Lord’s departure. We can therefore understand some possible reasons Jesus sent the disciples on ahead and walked toward them hours later on an extremely choppy sea. When He wanted to pass by, He wasn’t really wanting to ignore them; instead He was giving them the opportunity to invite Him into the boat! (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, vol. 1, [Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989], 132-133). As we have said, initially the disciples were fearful, but after Jesus identified Himself and told them not to be afraid, they welcomed Him into the boat, and the wind stopped.

When we face storms in our own lives, Jesus may at times appear elusive, even though we already may know Him personally. We tend to grow fearful, but He wants us to know He is there for us. He wants us to invite Him into our circumstances, not to assist us as we work to solve our own problems, but to take charge as we trust Him—whether the storm stops or not. As we rely on Him, He gives us strength and lasting peace. 

Recent Posts

FOLLOW US