“And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”
Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if we drown? — Jesus asleep in a life-threatening storm is one of the most theologically resonant images in Mark. The sleeping communicates trust: the one who knows the Father's providence can rest in the storm that terrifies others. The cushion is a specific, concrete detail characteristic of eyewitness testimony — Mark's Gospel is full of such particular details. The disciples' waking him communicates their expectation that Jesus can do something, even if they have not yet grasped what. Don't you care if we drown is simultaneously an accusation and a prayer.
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