The Strange Moment Before Jesus Reached the Boat
The detail we often miss in the story of Jesus walking on water reveals something far deeper than a miracle
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There are some Bible passages that become so familiar that we stop seeing them.
We know the outline almost before we read it. This story is no different. This one is no different. The disciples are in a boat. A storm rises. The wind is against them. In the darkness before dawn, Jesus comes towards them, walking across the water.
It is one of the most famous moments in the Gospels.
For many of us, the meaning seems obvious. Jesus demonstrates his power over creation. Peter steps out in faith and then begins to sink when fear takes over. The disciples learn that they can trust Jesus even when circumstances feel impossible.
All of that is true.
Yet when we slow down and read the story carefully, we discover something unexpected. There is a detail in Mark’s account that seems almost impossible to explain. After telling us that Jesus came towards the disciples, Mark adds this:
“He was about to pass by them.” (Mark 6:48)
At first, that sounds strange. Why would Jesus walk towards the disciples in the middle of a storm and then intend to pass by?
They were exhausted. They had been struggling against the wind for hours. They were frightened and vulnerable. Surely this was the moment when Jesus would come directly to them, calm the storm, and rescue them.
Instead, Mark tells us that Jesus was about to pass by. The more we think about those words, the more unusual they become. Was Jesus ignoring them? Was he simply crossing the lake and happened to encounter them? Was he testing them?
None of those explanations really fits the way Mark tells the story.
Perhaps the clue is that this phrase means something very different when we hear it through the Scriptures that shaped the disciples’ imagination.
Because throughout the Old Testament, when God “passes by”, something significant is happening.
Something is being revealed.
