7 - Discipleship as (foiled) practice: the motif of incomprehension in Mark 6:45–52

Summary

Introduction

Immediately following the miraculous feeding in the wilderness, Jesus dismisses both his co-workers and the crowds and goes up to the mountain to pray. In their being-with-Jesus, the disciples have been transformed into agents of God's staggering surplus of food for the masses; in the wake of such success, Jesus now purposefully removes them from his presence. As we shall see, Mark recounts the second sea-crossing story (Mk. 6:45–52) in a manner that depicts that sea-bound journey as a second “sending out”: just as in Mk. 6:7–13 they have effectively wielded the authority of God's dominion upon the earth, here Jesus compels them to embark on a sea crossing as fully endowed agents of that same dominion over the sea. As Origen puts it, “The Savior thus compelled the disciples to enter into the boat of testing and to go before him to the other side, so to learn victoriously to pass through difficulties.”

But this time, in stark contrast to Mark's account of their first missionary journey (Mk. 6:12–13), the disciples fail the test miserably, proving unable in this instance to display the authority over demons they have so effectively demonstrated earlier. Their downfall, moreover, entails a double lapse. In the first place, as they are tormented while rowing, the disciples exhibit incompetence against the threat of an adversarial wind, which in Mark's apocalyptic mindset represents the opposing powers of the present evil age.