F THE MANY PERPLEXING ENIGMAS in the Gospel of Mark, perhaps none is more puzzling than the account of Jesus' walking on the water.

It happens in the dark of night, the wind is strong, and the disciples are straining at the oars, hardly making any progress. In this situation Jesus "came towards them in the early morning, walking on the sea." And, the text continues to say, "He intended to pass them by" (Mark 6:48).*

According to a straightforward literal reading, it appears that Jesus is not coming to the disciples but is intending to go by them without relieving their distress. If this is correct, there is serious cause for concern regarding the character of the Markan Jesus. In order to shed further light on this strange assessment of Jesus' intention, we must look at the setting, the wording of the text, and the possible meanings that may lie underneath the surface of a literal translation.

The Setting
In the immediate antecedent to this account, Jesus and His disciples attempt to retreat to a quiet place for a moment of respite from tireless ministry. This goal does not materialize, for they're greeted at the "quiet place" by a large multitude. Jesus is struck with the needs of those who have gone out to meet Him. Mark writes that "he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things" (verse 34).

As nightfall approaches, Jesus' disciples urge Him to send the people home (verses 35, 36). Jesus agrees, but He will not send the people home on empty stomachs, fearing that the trip might be too strenuous for many. He proposes to feed them first from the meager resources available in the remote spot (verses 37-40). Mark's well-known story then recounts how Jesus feeds 5,000 people, with plenty of food to spare (verses 41-44).

There is a telling point in what happens next, according to the account in Mark's Gospel. "Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd" (verse 45). The urgency of the action is even more pronounced in the Greek text. Jesus is hurrying the disciples to leave, urging or even compelling them to depart the scene.

We can only guess as to the reason. Many readers will be inclined to steal a glance at the related account in the Gospel of John, where the incident of the feeding triggers a grassroots movement behind the demand that Jesus become king (John 6:15). This is not stated in Mark, but the urgency of Jesus' dismissal of the disciples suggests a tense situation with much at stake. For this reason Jesus takes charge, sending off the disciples before bidding farewell to the crowd on His own terms.

Left alone, Jesus retreats "up on the mountain to pray" (Mark 6:46). The spatial parameters in the story accentuate the psychological subtext of separation and the loneliness of the moment. "When evening came," writes Mark, "the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land" (verse 47). The disciples are alone in their world, struggling against the elements and no doubt in emotional turmoil because of the events that have just transpired. But Jesus is alone in His world, too, all by Himself in the dark of night on a solitary mountain overlooking the lake. They wonder what will happen next, and so does Jesus as He seeks clarity of purpose and braces Himself for what lies ahead.

This brings us to the occasion of the problem we're seeking to understand. Mark writes that when Jesus "saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea" (verse 48).

The Wording of the Text
There is no doubt as to the literal meaning of Mark's wording. Jesus is walking on the rough waters of the Sea of Galilee. The narrator then reports--to our surprise and possible dismay--that "he intended to pass them by" (verse 48). The immediate impression created is that Jesus meant to pass by them at some distance, unnoticed and unseen, ostensibly unaffected by their struggle and without intending to involve Himself. This assessment of the situation may be exaggerated, but if Jesus meant to pass them by, what would be His motive? Perhaps anticipating the reaction of the perplexed reader on this point, the Gospel of Matthew (which, some scholars think, takes from Mark) opts to omit the statement altogether (Matt. 14:25).

Caveats with respect to a literal reading exist on several levels, however. In general terms it seems out of character for Jesus simply to "pass by" unconcerned. In the events leading up to this incident, compassion on His part is the most striking feature. Jesus feels for the multitude as they come out to meet Him (Mark 6:34), and He is concerned for them as the time comes for them to leave (verse 37). Second, and more compelling, the action of walking on the water at that particular time appears to be triggered precisely by Jesus' awareness of the disciples' plight.¹ Mark writes that "when he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them" (verse 48). Would Jesus do that and then just pass them by in the distance with no benefit to them? In the larger context of human adversity, does the Gospel of Mark show us a Jesus who is merely passing by?

The Meaning of the Text
Mark's wording is saturated with the language and thought world of the Old Testament. Once we bring this insight to bear on this text, it leads to quite different results from that of the surface impression. The language of passing by (Gr. parelthein) is an allusion to the Old Testament that has a rich and storied history. In Exodus Moses asks God for a glimpse of the divine glory (Ex. 33:18). God responds favorably, couching the promise of an epiphany in the language of passing by. "I will make all my goodness pass [Gr. future of parelthein in the Septuagint²] before you" (verse 19). In fact, the language of passing by dominates the entire narrative. "See," God says to Moses, "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" (verses 21, 22).

A second Old Testament reference invests this language with still greater force. When the prophet Elijah seeks consolation in his struggle with Queen Jezebel and her allies, he retreats to Mount Horeb for a sense of perspective. Martin Buber describes his journey as a return "on Israel's tracks to the mountain of revelation."³ In the location where Moses many years earlier had experienced the passing by of the divine presence, perhaps in the very same cave in the mountain, Elijah receives the instruction "Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by" (1 Kings 19:11).

These stories preserve the most elevated and spectacular encounters of the divine and the human ever recorded in the Old Testament.

But this transformation of our story leaves an impression that is too tidy with respect to the message of Mark, and it is also too serene and reassuring with respect to the character of human encounters with God in real life. In order to capture the missing element we must look at yet another Old Testament allusion that plays at the periphery of Mark's description of Jesus' passing by.

In one of Job's plaintive speeches to his friends he speaks of God's manifold action in the world, including the action of passing by. Job's answer begins with a list of God's qualities, here reproduced in an abbreviated version. God, says Job, "is wise in heart, and mighty in strength . . . removes mountains . . . shakes the earth out of its place . . . commands the sun . . . seals up the stars . . . stretched out the heavens" (Job 9:4-8). And further laying the groundwork for Mark's message, Job says that God also "trampled the waves of the Sea" (verse 8). "Look," Job urges, "he passes by me, and I do not see him; he moves on, but I do not perceive him" (verse 11).

In Job's speech God walks on water, and Mark conflates Jesus' identity with the God of Job, who "treads on the waves of the sea." In Job's speech God "passes by me," reminiscent of God's passing by Moses and Elijah. But in Job's speech the opportunity presented by God's passing by is jeopardized by human noncomprehension. "Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him; he moves on, but I do not perceive him."

In Conclusion
This brings us face-to-face with Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. Failure to comprehend touches a deep thematic strand in Mark.⁴ The divine intention is to reveal and intervene, but this intention is often thwarted by human incomprehension. The passing by of Jesus may become less than the encounter that was intended. In that case it may be said of Jesus, as was said of God in Job's speech, that "he moves on, but I do not perceive him" (Job 9:11).

If these incidents are echoed in Mark's story of Jesus' passing by, the meaning of the language is transformed. Jesus intended to "pass by" in the sense of revealing Himself to His followers. At the heart of this passing by lies the desire to make them see in Him more than a human worker of miracles who could feed the multitude and walk on water. It was to be a passing by on the order of what happened to Moses or Elijah or Job--God making known His character in a world scarcely prepared to appreciate it. Jesus "intended to pass them by" as God passed by these spiritual giants of the Old Testament, in order to let them know and understand what a mighty God He is.

The message is for us today. It calls on us to respond to Jesus' intention to pass us by. May we not miss this transcendent opportunity to experience Him for ourselves.

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*All Scripture quotations in this article are from the New Revised Standard Version.

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¹ Robert A. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26: Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word Books, 1989), p. 350.
² The Greek translation of the Old Testament.
³ Martin Buber, The Prophetic Faith (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960), p. 77.
⁴ Richard B. Hays, "Can the Gospels Teach Us How to Read the Old Testament?" Pro Ecclesia 11 (2002), pp. 402-418.

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Sigve Tonstad, a physician and pastor in Oslo, Norway, is completing his Ph.D. in biblical studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.