Jesus Walks on Water

Jesus sends his disciples ahead by boat then he meets them walking on the water. This is a parable pointing at the Red Sea crossing. This article explores.

Bible Story

Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:45-52 NIV)

Background

Like the other Ark based parables in the Book of Mark, this parable begins again with a trip by boat across the Sea of Galilee. This resets the time back to the historical event of Noah’s Ark.

In this particular story Jesus sends his disciples on ahead of him, alone, in their own boat. Then, in the middle of the 4th watch in the night Jesus appears as he is walking across the water, past the boat.

The time reference here, "Watch in the night" is reference to the time in the night when this happened. Nights are divided into 4 parts of 3 hours each. Night begins at sunset, nominally 6 PM, so each watch is 3 hours of the night. This particular meeting in the 4th such watch or between 3 AM and the 6 AM nominal sunrise.

Psalms explains(Pss 90:4) that 1000 years are like a day, they are also like watch in the night.

The 4th watch begins after 3 watches are over, or 3 watches * 1000 years/watch = 3000 years from the flood. This gets us to 6020-02-17 AA + 3000 = 9020-2-17 AA. But this is not quite enough.

This particular passage says about the 4th watch, so at some point after this point. If we look at the Dating of The Exodus we find it at 9501-01-15 AA. This is 1/2 way through another 1000 year interval.

Does the Exodus story of walking through the parted sea match Jesus walking ON the water? Of course.

So the about term means something like in or in the middle of the 4th watch. A total prophetic interval of 3500 years. 6020-02-17 AA + 3500 = 9520-02-17 AA or there abouts. By the way, this is in the middle of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Between crossing the sea leaving Egypt and crossing the Jordan headed into Canaan.

More Details

Further details support this particular rendering of the parable. Jesus sends the masses of people away, allowing himself the chance to go up on a mountain to pray. Moses essentially did the same, separating the sons of Jacob from the masses of the Egyptians so they could worship God in the wilderness. That wilderness journey of course lead to Mount Sinai in Arabia, on the far side of the Red Sea. Then Moses himself went up a mountain to pray.

It is also curious that Mount Sinai was between the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan River. Both represent forms of baptism and the encounter at Mount Sinai was between these two water crossing events. This quite similar to the way Jesus meets with his disciples in the middle of the lake.

The disciples were afraid of Jesus, thinking they saw a ghost. A ghostly appearance is thought to be a collection of vapors, similar to a cloud. In the ancient case the sons of Jacob saw the cloud, descend onto Mount Sinai. The ancients, too, were deathly afraid, wanting only Moses to approach God.

The disciples fear, of drowning in the sea, is the main event at the Exodus from Egypt. Ancient Israel thought they would drown, but they walked right through on dry ground.

The final comment, that they did not understand about the loaves, they had hard hearts, is an indirect reference as to why ancient Israel went down to Egypt in the first place.

Jesus Heals Many

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went -- into villages, towns or countryside -- they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed. (Mark 6:53-56 NIV)

The previous parable where Jesus encounters the disciples in the middle of the lake, likely around 4:30 AM in the morning, continues when they arrive on shore. This next parable does not contain any counts of anything so the timing is still tied to the previous parable. No crowds would have been able to see Jesus in the dark of night, but the sunrise, the end of the 4th watch, is when this would have taken place.

This story then dates at the end of the full 4000 years suggested by 4 full watches. So starting at Noah's food we can compute the indicated year 6020 AA + 4000 = 10020 AA. By inspecting the Judean Kings chronology we find this as the year after the end of the Civil War between the Northern and Southern kingdoms.

It helps to understand Jesus' actions by looking at how the kingdom was divided. Here is the story.

About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes. (1 Kings 11:29-31 NIV)

Note the use of 10 pieces of cloth representing the 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom. The offer involves the demand that Jeroboam preserve the Testimony in order to be healed from the troubles at Jerusalem.

In this year the bulk of the population has been freed from the priesthood at Jerusalem. Touching the cloak is a match between these 2 stories. The 2 tribes in the south were forced to remain under priestly tyranny. This is picked up in the next passage.

Leaving Traditions Of Elders

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were "unclean," that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with `unclean' hands?" He replied, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: "`These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." (Mark 7:1-8 NIV)

This stories is also following Jeroboam's departure from the religious systems of Solomon. In this case the Jews are complaining that Jesus is advocating departure from that system.

This is what the followers of Solomon would do against Jeroboam too. The North and South were at war with each other for many years on this point.

Jesus is on the side of the northerners, not the southerners.

Faith of the Syro-Phoenician Woman

Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. "First let the children eat all they want," he told her, "for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he told her, "For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter." She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. (Mark 7:24-30 NIV)

Jesus has not crossed by boat to get here, so we as readers must simply move up the historical timeline in order to find the next matched story.

Jesus enters into a peculiar dialog with the woman involving crumbs from the table fed to dogs. This is enough to find the matched prophetic story.

This area up north along the coast had supplied food for the table of Solomon.(1 Kgs 5:9) Heirs to the throne there were eventually the parents of Jezebel.(1 Kgs 16:31)

Jezebel herself was found eaten by dogs after Jehu had a meal with his generals.(2 Kgs 9:34-37) This according to an earlier prophecy.(1 Kgs 21:23)

So the conversation between Jesus and this woman is a direct reference back to the story of Jezebel who was from this area. Jezebel was a daughter of Sidon.

By renouncing the works of Jezebel, this woman's daughter was healed.

Deaf Mute at Decapolis

(Mark 7:31-37)

From Tyre, Jesus heads back to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. This is not traveling by boat, so we as readers must keep moving forward in the historical narrative to find the match.

The ’Decapolis’ or ’City of 10’ is figuratively the 10 northern tribes of ancient Israel. But, they are in their own cities. This is an allusion to Babylon. After the Assyrian invasion, some of the refugees were located in the region of Babylon, from there they grow into the Babylonians.(2 Kgs 17:6)

This general scenario is found in the way Jesus heals the 'deaf mute' in this place. This is an allusion to Nebuchadnezzar's 7 years of eating grass. He was like an animal, could not speak, and would not listen, for those 7 years.(Dan 4:34)

Jesus Feeds 4000

(Mark 8:1-9)

Without leaving the region of the Decapolis, Mark records a second time that Jesus feeds a crowd. They have been with Jesus three days without food. This is a direct prophetic reference to the 3 years of the Assyrian Siege(2 Kgs 17:5) against Samaria, when Samaria also had no food.

The underlying language for ’come’ as in ’they have come a long way’ can be equally translated ’go’ so the secondary meaning of the passage is they have a long way to go to get to their homes so we need to feed them before the leave. This is what the tribes were about to do when Samaria fell.

The crowds were commanded to sit on the ground because they were prophetically being spread out across the ground, the earth itself.

The disciples are serving because they are the judges of the 12 tribes, prophetically seen here in proper prophetic fashion, serving the tribes. (Master of all must be servant of all.)

Fish and bread are both served. The nation will spread out by land and sea.

By inspection in the Judean Kings chronology we can see the Ahaz's reign begins in the year 10255 AA. We can also see that Hosea's reign began in Ahaz's year 12.(2 Kgs 17:1) or 10255 AA + 12 - 1 = 10266 AA.

Then in Hosea's 9th year(2 Kgs 17:6), in the 3rd year of siege, the city of Samaria fell and the Assyrians hauled everyone away. So 10266 AA + 9 - 1 = 10274 AA is the last year of the siege.

The 4000 fed are likely 1 per year, so we can run the math. Beginning when this happened in history, 10274 AA + 4000 years = 14274 AA. About, of course, because it was about 4000.

This particular year, 14274 AA, is still nearly 1300 years in the future.

This same general season is indicated by the number of days in Jesus' own life up through his ascension. The year indicated in that case was 14220 AA. The math for that is worked out here.

Phil Stone 2008-09-18 2022-03-30