Mark 6:50-52 But immediately he spoke to them and said to them, “Have courage, I am. Do not be afraid.” 51And he got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. And they were utterly amazed in themselves, 52for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
Jesus responds with two simple but significant phrases. Have courage echoes God’s words to Joshua upon assuming leadership of Israel (Joshua 1:9). Jesus spoke those words to people when the situation seemed impossible to them (Matthew 9:2; Mark 10:49; Luke 23:43). When the circumstances seek to push us away from Jesus and tempt us to put our eyes on the problems before us, Jesus comes to us with the same message to be resolute and firm in our faith. The way to have courage is to know that the I am is with us. These are the same words God spoke to Moses when he faced an impossible task (Exodus 3:14). Jesus, the incarnated “I am” comes to us with hope and power (John 8:24, 28, 58; 13:19; 18:4-6). The second command is often given at a point of revelation and seeing and experiencing the power of God (Genesis 15:1; Judges 6:23; Daniel 10:12; Luke 1:13; 2:10).
The disciples give three responses. First, like anyone who has experienced a miracle, they were totally amazed. They were seeing the impossible. They knew the lake was deep and saw the wind and the large waves it kicked up. But second, they had not learned anything from the miracle of the loaves and the twelve basketfuls of pieces left over. Every one of them had a basket for himself. They had tangibly experienced the earlier miracle, which showed the creative power of Jesus. They could not reconcile what they saw to what they believed.
Third, Mark gives the reason for their struggle: their hardened hearts. Their response is like what Jesus spoke about in 4:12, 34. They saw, but their minds could not understand, and so their hearts were hardened. Thinking from a human and earthly perspective can lead to hard hearts that do not believe. The disciples had all the evidence before them but refused to accept the evidence.
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