“And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:51–52 ESV)
Mark recorded that when Jesus climbed into the disciples’ boat and calmed the wind, they were completely overwhelmed with amazement. He explained that their astonishment revealed something deeper—they had not understood the miracle of the loaves because their hearts were hardened. This was striking, considering who they were. Earlier, Jesus had sent them out to preach the kingdom, and they had returned with a glowing report (6:30). They had personally distributed and eaten the multiplied bread from the five loaves and two fish. They had just seen Jesus walk upon the sea. Yet despite privileged participation in Christ’s ministry, they still suffered from hardness of heart.
Mark’s description differed from Pharaoh’s hardened heart in Exodus. Pharaoh’s hardness was judicial—a stubborn rebellion in which God eventually gave him over to the very defiance he had repeatedly chosen. The disciples’ hardness, however, was not defiant rejection but spiritual dullness. They were insiders who loved Jesus, yet they were slow to perceive the fullness of who He was. Their hearts were not hostile, but they were insensitive and uncomprehending.
We see ourselves in the disciples. We may follow Christ, serve in His name, witness His provision, and still struggle with dullness of heart. Familiarity with His works does not guarantee spiritual sensitivity. Indeed, it may breed the opposite. Yet the cure for a hard heart is not to work even harder, but divine renewal. As God promised through the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez. 36:26). The same Jesus who stepped into the boat and stilled the storm is able to step into our lives and soften what has grown calloused and dull. He replaces stone with flesh. He transforms dullness into devotion. In Him we find the cure for a hard heart.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we confess that our hearts can grow dull even while walking with You. Soften us where we have become insensitive. Remove every trace of hardness within us and give us tender hearts that see and believe. In Jesus’ name, amen.