Disciples in Mark

Mark mainly describes the disciples as full of wonder and slow to understand. He takes the readers of his Gospel on the journey that the disciples are going on with Jesus, in which they wonder:
“Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41)

The disciples reach the pinnacle of their incomprehension in Mark 8:14-21. Jesus has shown them twice over that he can provide more than enough bread, for 5 000 and 4 000 people. Immediately afterwards, the disciples worry that they do not have enough bread. Mark relates with a sense of humour, that they have only one loaf of bread. Jesus berates them:
“Don’t you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull? You have eyes — can’t you see? You have ears — can’t you hear?” (Mark 8:17-18).