www.bymonline.org | SEPTEMBER 2018
OTHER BOATS
Dr. Mrs. Lilian Stanley
“There were also other boats with Him,”
when the storm struck (Mk 4:36) What happened to
these other boats in the storm? Mark does not simply
say, “There were other boats,” but he adds “with
Him.” So we understand that they were travelling
together as a team. Who were there in the other boats?
Definitely not the crowd because they had left the
crowd behind (Mk 4:36). Let's see what happened in
the seashore before they got into the boat.
Jesus and His disciples just closed a healing
campaign and walked towards the lake. On the way
three people met Him and expressed their desire to
join His ministerial team. Let's see the three (Mt
8:16-18).
A scribe or a teacher of the law came to Jesus
and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you
go” (v19). This teacher acknowledged Jesus as his
teacher. Most of the scribes were sore displeased with
Jesus' teaching and had a hand in His killing. But this
scribe was an unusual man who accepted Jesus as his
teacher. Jesus did not call him to join His team. But he
volunteered to follow Jesus “wherever he went” (vv
18,19). Note, that he was already a disciple because
the next verse starts as “Another disciple.”
Jesus' reply to him was far from inviting.
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but
the Son of Man has no where to lay His head.”
The second man said, “Lord, first let me go
and bury my father.” This man was also a disciple.
The meaning is that he would follow Jesus after the
death of his father. But Jesus told him, “Follow Me,
and let the dead bury their own dead” (vv 21,22).
This man had an excuse to put off following Jesus.
But Jesus told him that others could take care of that.
His father and brothers were dead spiritually; but this
disciple was very much alive. He should be
proclaiming the kingdom of God.
The third man said, “I will follow you Lord; but
just let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
Jesus did not call him. It was his voluntary
application. He had left his family and come. I
suppose he was a bachelor who left his home to
follow Jesus. Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand
to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the
kingdom of God” (Lk 9:61,62).
Let's suppose these three men were convicted
by what Jesus said and decided to follow Jesus. They
were already following Jesus anyway but just
ventilating their feelings to Jesus on the way. As they
were getting ready to board the boats the inevitable
discussion would have been who would go in Jesus'
boat. The prime disciples would have settled the
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