Intending to Pass Them By

Jesus, fully God, fully man, walks out onto the water and intends to just cross the other side. It’s only a few miles. Why risk a boat ride on a stormy night when you could just walk it, right? And the word choice here of Mark suggests that first of all, this was just for Jesus’ benefit! He intended to pass them by! Then He appears to change His mind, “D’oh! There they are! They saw me! Now they’re freaked. I gotta fix this.”