Rulers, Divine Men, and Walking on the Water (Mark 6:45-52)

Abstract

This chapter clarifies the role of Christology in early Christian propaganda by means of a study of the early tradition-history of one miracle story and its context in the history of religions. It demonstrates that the origin of the story is seen best in the formation of Christian oral tradition within a pluralistic cultural and religious context. Both Jewish and Greek traditions contributed to the formation and adaptation of the story, although the Jewish tradition contributed most to the expression and adaptation of the epiphany theme whereas the Greek was more influential with regard to the motif of walking on water. The distinction between tradition and redaction sheds light on the Markan understanding and use of the passage. The ability to control the sea is an important element in the portrayal of the God of Israel in both prose and poetry in the Hebrew Bible. Keywords: Christology; God of Israel; Greek tradition; Hebrew Bible; Jewish tradition; Markan