For quite some time now, I’ve attended a monthly Bible study class at a local Christian Science church. The instructor is a Bible scholar and a Christian Scientist. Over a year ago, we were studying the book of Mark. One particular night the topic of conversation was Jesus’ stilling of the storm (see Mark 4:35–41).
Before we began, the instructor showed us a picture of a boat pulled up on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. She said this type of boat was typical of Jesus’ time and is still being used today. I was very surprised by this image because it looked like a very large, open rowboat, completely uncovered. I had always pictured Jesus being in a sheltered area at the back of the boat.
I now had a new mental picture of this violent storm with waves crashing around and into the open boat. In Mark 4, verses 37 and 38, we read: “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ ” (New Revised Standard Version).
