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At Jesus’ initiative the apostles set out across the Sea of Galilee to the eastern shore, six or seven miles distant, as the sun was setting behind the Galilean hills (Mark 4:35).
Tired after a long day of preaching and teaching, Jesus slept soundly in the stern of the boat, oblivious to the rising squall. This is the sole instance recorded in the gospels of Jesus sleeping, an image that vividly illustrates his humanness, as well as the hiddenness of his divine nature, which is a dominant theme in Mark’s gospel.
Experienced fishermen that they were, Jesus’ disciples were badly frightened by the violence of the storm. Following their master had gotten them into this life-threatening situation, and a reproachful tone is heard in their anxious cry as they woke him: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). Melo, the Greek verb used in this complaint, can also be translated “Does it not matter to you?” The same verb is found in Martha’s question, “Lord, do you not…
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