God in the boat

The Gospel of Mark has a dramatic momentum unique among the synoptic Gospels. The word "immediately" -- "straightway" in the old King James English -- is a favorite word for Mark. He would have been a good action-film screenwriter. He plunges right in to the narrative by connecting Jesus to the the Hebrew Scriptures which would have been unfamiliar to his Greek audience (Mark 1:1-3). That's why Mark often pauses to explain the meaning of a Jewish custom or Aramaic word. This is not meant to be read as myth or legend, nor is it written like that, it's meant to be read as a factual account.

The account of Jesus walking on the water in Mark 6:45-52 has the characteristics of an Old Testament theophany, or visible manifestation of God. There's a supernatural disturbance of the natural order ("he came to them, walking on the sea"), divine self-identification ("Take heart; it is I" -- literally "I am") and intense fear ("they all saw him and were terrified.") But then a surprising thing happens. If you blink you might miss it. Instead of disappearing into the cloud or the whirlwind, the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the same in substance and equal in power and glory with God the Father and God the Spirit, got into the boat with them. This was indeed Immanuel "God with us!" No wonder Mark tells us "they were utterly astounded."