Episode 88: Mark Part 30—Echoes of Exodus II: Walking on Water

People often claim that Yeshua/Jesus never claimed to be Messiah, or Divine. People are wrong. What can’t be had from a casual reading of some of Scripture is evident from an in-depth knowledge of the whole of Scripture and the claims that Yahweh makes about Himself through His prophets. Last week and this week especially, we cover blatant claims and proof that Yeshua is the one unique Son of God with authority that is not explicable in any other way.

Transcript below:

Mark 30—Echoes of Exodus 2–Walking on Water

Last week we started a mini-series called “Echoes of Exodus” and I call it that because these two sections of the Gospel of Mark serve as a sort of microcosm of the original Exodus out of Egypt as well as a foreshadowing of the Messianic Kingdom to come by portraying Yeshua/Jesus as the Greater Moses, the Greater Elijah and the Greater Elisha. All of these prophets worked miracles with food and with the parting of water but in these passages, Yeshua shows His own authority and miracles to be even greater as he displays His absolute authority over the natural world. That all this happens as part of an even larger story contrasting the Messianic Kingdom with Herod Antipas’s kingdom, with his oppressive practices and the unjust killing of John the Baptist, making Herod Antipas play the part of Pharaoh, just gives this story an amazing richness. So, to sum up, two weeks ago we talked about Herod Antipas, the Roman puppet king, killing John the Baptist so that he would not lose face in front of his dinner guests. The ultimate in petty, pointless oppression. Last week we had the feeding of the 5000 who followed Yeshua into the wilderness—feeding them not manna but barley loaves, and feeding them not quail until they grew sick, but feeding them fish until they were satisfied. This week, we will see another water miracle—but not the kind of water miracle worked by Moses, Elijah, and Elisha. This is a greater miracle that will show Yeshua’s complete mastery over the seas and show that He isn’t simply one of the prophets.

⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. ⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Hi, I am Tyler Dawn Rosenquist, and welcome to Character in Context, where I teach the historical and ancient sociological context of Scripture with an eye to developing the character of the Messiah. If you prefer written material, I have five years’ worth of blog at theancientbridge.com as well as my six books available on amazon—including a four-volume curriculum series dedicated to teaching Scriptural context in a way that even kids can understand it, called Context for Kids—and I have two video channels on YouTube with free Bible teachings for both adults and kids. You can find the link for those on my website. Past broadcasts of this program can be found at characterincontext.podbean.com and transcripts can be had for most broadcasts at theancientbridge.com

All Scripture this week comes courtesy of the ESV, the English Standard Version but you can follow along with whatever Bible you want. A list of my resources can be found attached to the transcript for Part two of this series at theancientbridge.com.

This week we are finishing up chapter six:

⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 

So, this is interesting. Yeshua sent the disciples away “immediately” but without any explanation as to why. This was undoubtedly a very exciting event for the disciples, who might have been the only ones aware of the miracle.  Although it is difficult to imagine the crowd not being aware of what had happened, none of the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) give any indication that they were aware of the miracle. John, on the other hand, has the crowd wanting to make Him their king. My personal gut feeling, which is next to worthless because I have no proof, is that Yeshua was going to have a lot easier time dealing with the crowd’s expectations if his young disciples weren’t there witnessing what they had seen. Yeshua’s feeding of the crowd was an act of compassion after teaching them (and Matthew says he healed some as well) but was not intended to start a rebellion. A rebellion would result in more deaths than just His and the time was not yet come. Yeshua was always very wise about not provoking His death before it was absolutely necessary to do so.

So, He put them into the boat and sent them to Bethsaida Julias, which we see in John 1:44 and 12:21 is the hometown of Peter and Andrew and Philip. Bethsaida Julias. This was not in Galilee but in Gaulonitis, which is the Grecianized form of Golan. This was Herod Philip’s territory, which makes sense given John’s addition. If the people truly wanted to make him their king, being as they were sheep without a shepherd, then Yeshua had to send His disciples to the other side, to Philip’s tetrarchy, where they would not be considered a threat. This is really portraying a very deadly situation. We have just heard the story of how Herod Antipas killed John over a rash oath—how much more so would he kill a Messianic claimant at the head of an army five thousand strong? John wasn’t even really much of a threat but a raised from the dead John who could work miracles (As you recall, that’s who Herod thought Yeshua was)? This would result in a situation where a great many would die, if not all of them. And that’s not why Yeshua came. Not for a showdown with Herod or with Rome but with the spiritual forces behind them.

So, Yeshua dismisses the crowd. They can’t make Him king if He refuses but He can send them home if they are listening to Him. Must have been a pretty good speech to calm them down and get them to return home. Remember that these people were desperate, often near starvation, and angry. They wanted to overthrow Gentile rule in the worst way and were praying and longing for the day when Messiah would come and do just that.

⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 

At important crisis points, Yeshua will leave everyone and go somewhere alone to pray. There are three of these crises in the Gospel of Mark. The first is in chapter one after he was first mobbed in Capernaum after the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, when the people were bringing their sick and demonized from all around. This is the second, after this temptation to become king and forgo the way of the Cross. The third is at Gethsemane when He again faces temptation when faced with his death. He prays, reconnects with the Father and His will—I guess we could say it’s a centering or a reality check in getting away from the confusion of the crowds. People like to think that all this was easy for Him but it was not. He was tempted to go the easy route, not just in the wilderness being tempted by Satan, but when tempted by people as well. The author of Hebrews makes that very clear:

For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

And if He needed to pray when tempted, we really need to pray when tempted.

⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 

What should this remind us of? We have a threat from Herod Antipas because his subjects want to make Yeshua king instead of him, and if he can’t control his subjects then he knows Rome will replace him as tetrarch. So, Herod Antipas is playing the part of Pharaoh here. He has already committed senseless violence against John the Baptist, shedding innocent blood just as Pharaoh did, and we find Yeshua alone by the seashore. Do you remember the Servant Songs of Isaiah? The Servant was portrayed as the perfect representative of faithless Israel. The Servant was never Israel as a whole, remember that the wording is clearly not all of Israel but one perfect representative. If you haven’t listened to my series on Isaiah and the Messiah, I hope you will go back and do that because we start in Isaiah 40 and go verse by verse through Isaiah 56. And Mark has highlighted that theme, with Yeshua not only as the Yahweh-warrior come to save His people from the forces of evil, but also as the Servant who Himself will stand in as Israel so that God’s plans to save the world through Israel will come to pass.

This is Israel at the western shore of the Yam Suf with Pharaoh breathing down their neck. Of course, Yahweh told Moses to raise his staff and part the sea, and Israel walked across in safety. Joshua took the Israelites across the Jordan after parting those waters as well. Elijah and then Elisha threw down a cloak and parted the waters so they could pass through. So, parting the waters was not an everyday event, but the leaders and prophets had done it on at least four occasions. But we know that Yeshua is greater than Israel, greater than Moses, greater than the prophets. What will He do when trapped alone by the Sea?

⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 

Does this come off as funny to anyone else? Here you see the disciples, straining to row against the wind. It’s nighttime on the Sea of Galilee and the four fishermen are probably tired since they aren’t used to working nights anymore. The other eight probably aren’t experienced rowers either. And almost as an afterthought, Mark just happens to mention that, oh yeah, Yeshua is walking on the water toward them.

He meant to pass by them,

To me, this makes it even funnier. He just meant to pass by them. But maybe that was a good idea because of what happened next.

 ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and were terrified.

We’re going to backtrack a bit here. Moses parted the Yam Suf with his staff and Israel passed over on dry land. Joshua parted the Jordan with the Levites and the Ark of the Covenant and Israel passed over. Those are well known so we aren’t going to cover them. The other two are less well known and involve Elijah and Elisha, who we talked about last week because they both worked miracles associated with divine food provision. The story is in 2 Kings 2, when Elijah is going to be taken up and away to heaven:

⁷ Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. ⁸ Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground. ⁹ When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.

¹⁰ “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.” ¹¹ As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. ¹² Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two. ¹³ Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. ¹⁴ He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

So, you know, Yeshua could have just parted the Sea of Galilee and walked across but instead, He performs the far greater miracle of walking across on the surface of the water. And notice that unlike Moses, Joshua, Elijah, and Elisha, no props are involved. No staff, no Ark, and no rolled up cloak. And remember that this comes on the heels of our hearing the rumors about Yeshua’s identity. Some say Elijah and some say one of the other prophets has returned. Yeshua dismisses those possibilities by totally eclipsing their miracles. And yet the text says that He intended to pass by them, but they saw Him. He’s not a show-off, never a show-off. Perhaps this is Yeshua when no one is watching—totally at ease with and in mastery over nature. But maybe there is something more here in His passing them by:

And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” (Ex 33:19-23, ESV)

 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. (I Kings 19:11)

“…who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not; he moves on, but I do not perceive him.” (Job 9:8-11)

So, it kinda sounded comical at first but when we look deeper into the Scriptures, this concept of Yahweh passing His people by is very well established. Mastery over the waters is also a very important Biblical concept because it is written that only Yahweh has such power and control. Let’s cover that again briefly even though we already did those verses when we talked about Yeshua calming the storm at sea.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,  and praise him in the assembly of the elders. (Psalm 107:28-32)

So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. (Jonah 1:15-16)

“…who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; “ (Job 9:8)

People keep asking who He is but no one is getting the right answer because the answer is just too unthinkable. Of course, we know that Yeshua is the divine unique Son of God, the manifestation of His glory, power, and presence. But this had never been imagined and especially in Greco-Roman times, the idea of divinity wrapped up in a normal human body? It was offensive in the extreme not only to the Jews but also to pagans, but it was going to get a whole lot more offensive. And Mark tells us that they do not know who He is while He is passing by. Totally ironic because they do not know yet.

But His disciples freaked out and assumed He was a ghost. So, let’s talk about superstition in first-century Judaism. T Bavli Baba Batra 73a records this interesting superstition, presenting the idea that the Sea is actually the haunt of demonic and destructive entities that still have to obey Yahweh:

‘Once,’ [they related], ‘we were on a voyage, and the wave lifted us up so high that we saw the resting place of the smallest star, and there was a flash as if one shot forty arrows of iron;  and if it had lifted us up still higher. We would have been burned by its heat. And one wave called to the other: “My friend, have you left anything in the world that you did not wash away? I will go and destroy it.” The other replied: “Go and see the power of the master [by whose command] I must not pass the sand'[of the shore even as much as] the breadth of a thread”; as it is written: Fear ye not me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my presence? who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass.

Ethiopic Enoch, or I Enoch, so-called because the only complete copy of it is in the ancient Ethiopian language, which is now only used in Ethiopian Church liturgy, was written before, during, and after the Maccabean times. This verse, from the Similitudes, was written sometime between 105 to 64 BCE. It is, of course, a pseudepigraphic work, not actually written by Enoch but by someone during the years just before the Roman occupation. In this section, the elements are written about as though they have spirits of their own that can really only be reigned in by Yahweh. Well, not really spirits of their own but instead, they are spirits, in the minds of the people of that time.

And the spirit of the sea is male and strong, and according to the power of its strength, the spirit turns it back with a rein, and likewise it is driven forward, and scattered amongst all the mountains of the earth. (I Enoch 60:16)

And they absolutely believed in ghosts. This is from the Wisdom of Solomon, written sometime during the first century BCE by an Alexandrian Jew, in Greek. So, again, this is going to be pretty contemporary with Yeshua.

For while they supposed to lie hid in their secret sins, they were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished, and troubled with strange apparitions... Were partly vexed with monstrous apparitions, and partly fainted, their heart failing them: for a sudden fear, and not looked for, came upon them. (Wis 17:3, 15)

Specifically, it was believed that sailors or fishermen who drowned would continue to haunt the place over their body—so this is probably what was going through the minds of four experienced fishermen and eight land-lubbers. I mean, the other alternative was silly. It had to be a ghost—no way could a person be walking on the water, right?

But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I do not be afraid.”

This is the second time that Yeshua has challenged His disciples on being fearful and the first time was when He stilled the storm, showing the authority that the Bible says only God has. Still, they don’t recognize or understand the ramifications of what they are experiencing. Like I said before, it is just too unthinkable. Last time it was a rebuke, when they were asked why they were so afraid, this time it is words of comfort. But there is something easy to miss in these words of comfort—namely, the words ego eimi which we see translated in this verse as “it is I” but when the same words appear in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14, they are translating the Hebrew phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Eheyeh asher eheyah) or “I am that I am/I will be what I will be.” I will include Exodus 3:14 in Greek in the transcript if you want it but I am not even going to try to say it because my pronunciation skills in every foreign language are abysmal. Even after two quarters of German and a few years of French and all that jazz. We all have our gifts and this is not mine.

3:14  καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς πρὸς Μωυσῆν ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν καὶ εἶπεν οὕτως ἐρεῗς τοῗς υἱοῗς Ισραηλ ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέν με πρὸς ὑμᾶς

So, it would not be out of line to rephrase this response to their fear as, “Take heart, I AM. Fear not.” Yeshua keeps showing them that He can do things that only Yahweh Himself has the authority to do. He pronounces people forgiven. He teaches by his own authority. He doesn’t have to appeal to any higher authority when healing or casting out demons. He can turn a bit of food into enough bread and meat to feed a multitude. He can command the storms to be muzzled and walk on the water. He can heal someone just by coming into contact with them. He can heal lepers and raise the dead. He can do everything the prophets did, but then He does more and the way He does it is not the same way they did it. They have to ask God for help. Somehow, Yeshua has the power, authority, and help without even asking. But they still have no idea who He is and they won’t until after He is raised from the dead. There is a blindness over all of Israel and even over the enemy’s camp. Israel doesn’t know who He is and Satan is too distracted by his house being looted of all the people he had in bondage to even begin to suspect the overall plan.

And we can’t overlook the command to not be afraid because, again, these are the words of Yahweh to His people throughout Isaiah:

Isaiah 7:4 And say to him, ‘Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint 

8:11-12 Fear God, Wait for the Lord. “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread.

35:4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

40:9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

41:1 Fear Not, for I Am with You

41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11 Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. 12 You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. 13 For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” 14 Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

43:1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

43:5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

There are hints everywhere and yet everything is hidden unless you have a narrator like we have. Yahweh has at long last come to His people, through His one unique Son, to deliver them from sin and death, but He cannot be recognized—yet.

⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Again, as He had power over the storm, here the winds that had been working against them as they rowed suddenly stopped. Absolute authority over the wind and the waves.  Now, why does it say that they did not understand about the loaves? Well, in their eyes He is still just a prophet like Elijah. They aren’t putting two and two together. These are hardworking men and they are not great sages who have poured over the Scriptures and I imagine that even if they had, they still wouldn’t understand. This says that their hearts were still hardened—another reference back to the first Exodus and Pharaoh but in this case, it isn’t because they are evil or stupid. This is actually the first (but not the last) time it will be used about the disciples, and both times in reference to the miraculous feedings. Hearts can be hardened for many reasons. In the fifth controversy dialogue at the beginning of chapter three, Yeshua is furious at the hardness of heart of the Pharisees who are laying in wait to entrap him if He dares to restore the man with the withered hand. Later we will see Him rebuking the Hillelite Pharisees for their heartless divorce rulings and claiming that the divorce law was given by Moses because their hearts were so hard. But the disciples don’t fall into this category. They aren’t stupid, or evil (well, one is), or unwilling to follow Him. They just don’t believe who He is showing them He is. We wouldn’t either, I imagine, if we were them.

Okay, last verses of chapter six here, and next week (in three weeks, actually, because I have added some Hannukah and Jubilees materials) we will get to everyone’s favorite food controversy.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret (Geh-nah-sir-et) and moored to the shore. 

Now, they had set out for Bethsaida, as you might remember from the beginning, but ended up in Gennesaret, which was southwest of Capernaum and squarely in the territory of Herod Antipas. So much for getting out of Dodge, eh? Those most have been some winds—although we don’t know where they started from.

⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 

Obviously, He wasn’t expected but certainly in a town this close to Capernaum, He was famous and they recognized Him immediately.

⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 

I am always touched by this account. You can just imagine the excitement but also the love within this community that people weren’t just pressing in and mobbing Him but they were travelling and getting the sick from among them to bring to Him. Very different from His experience in the town of Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. And I think it is notable that we don’t see anything about Yeshua teaching or preaching here. After all, His message was that the Kingdom had arrived and He was telling them to live in loving ways and these people are obviously doing just that on behalf of their sick instead of looking out for themselves.

⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Of course, we see this same thing again in Acts 5:14-16 because Peter was walking in the authority of Yeshua, who walked in the authority of Yahweh.

And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

But they aren’t there yet! For now, no one can see Yeshua as anything more than one of the great prophets. Honestly, it seems like they are just grateful for the healing as He travels around. It is amazing how differently He is treated in these small towns by their inhabitants, great and small, vs how He is treated by the Bible experts. It is a really good lesson to us all that a relationship with a Book is not the same as a relationship with Yahweh and even for those who do genuinely have a relationship with Him, it can still be hard to see the forest for the trees.