GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:33
Slow Boat
In 1948, Frank Loesser published a song entitled “On a Slow Boat to China,” written before airplanes became the primary way of intercontinental travel. In the 1940s, China was perceived as distant, exotic, and far away. When Loesser published the song, it would have taken about four weeks to travel from New York to China by boat—hence, the phrase “slow boat.”
“A Slow Boat to China” has become a U.S. aphorism for a slow or very long process, like sitting in a physician’s office waiting for an appointment or waiting for the clerk to process the huge order of the customer ahead of you.
According to the Gospel of Mark, after Jesus’ disciples returned and reported the success of their first missionary journey, Jesus wanted to take them to a quiet place for rest. They boarded a boat on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Gennesaret, to sail eastward to Bethsaida, beside the Jordan River—a sparsely populated area at a distance of perhaps four miles by sea. Given the wind—or lack thereof—the trip might have taken several hours. “And they saw them departing, and many recognized them, and by foot from all the cities, they ran together there, and got there ahead of them.” (Mark 6:33) As the crowd began walking eastward along the northern coast, keeping an eye on the boat, they covered the six- or seven-mile distance ahead of the boat. As the people passed through villages along the way, the crowd grew.
Unknown to anyone on the “slow boat,” the stage was set for a great teaching session and ministry opportunity. It seems, then, that a “slow boat” is not always a bad thing. The physician will be seen, the customer’s order will be processed, and ministry opportunities may arise.
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