Jesus commanded the disciples to take him to the other side of the sea after teaching. They land on the shore of an area the fishermen would have never visited, and immediately have an encounter with a man who places them completely out of their comfort zones.

Jesus falls asleep in the stern of a fishing boat after a long day of ministry. A dangerous storm develops and the disciples panic. Jesus discloses more of himself to them intending to awaken faith in them.

Jesus' primary method of teaching was parables. The parable of the Sower is the most important of the parables of Jesus and holds the key to understanding all the rest. This text is both a warning and an encouragement to those who listen to Jesus.

One of Mark's story telling methods is to interrupt one narrative and insert another set of events. Here Mark does this and we need to see that the separate parts help us understand each other. The parts add up to mean something more when we consider them as a whole.

Here we see Jesus create a new community around himself. We see that being a disciple is more than mastery of content. This passage is a mirror to evaluate our own progress as a disciple.

This is the last three of five scenes in which Jesus scandalizes the spiritual leadership in Israel. The conflict with them will intensify with the Pharisees joining forces with others to put Jesus to death. Contrasts between what it means to follow Jesus and the soul crushing burden of the Pharisee's distortion of the Old Testament.