Mark 4:35–41
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
One of the most striking components of this story is the personal details given that aren't really necessary to advance the story forward. For example, the time of day (although that indicates a common time when storms arose on the lake), they used the boat that he was already in teaching, the other boats with him, that the boat began filling, Jesus was asleep on a cushion, their sarcasm in their question, and their thoughts and private conversation. All of these details indicate a first hand account of the story.
It's helpful to think of the oft-cited arguments against the authenticity of the gospel accounts—that the stories of Jesus were simply fabricated or blown out of proportion. If you're writing down a false story in the first century, when papyrus and ink is expensive, you're likely not adding personal effects to a story. Furthermore, the other disciples and the people who were there for this event were likely still alive when the gospel of Mark was written. Again, if I'm making up a story I'm not adding further details that can be easily refuted by those who were there and experienced the same events.
Also, think of the situation the early church was in when the gospels were being written. Peter and the other apostles were leading a grass roots movement that was facing persecution from both the Jews and the Romans—a very precarious position. In that position, it would be tempting to embellish stories to make the apostles look better in order to secure their authority in the church. Yet what we see is an honest portrayal of their failures and lack of faith.
So the inclusion of these details, which occur all throughout the gospel accounts, gives a great deal of credibility to the validity of the accounts included. These details along with the proximity in time to the actual events occurring gives the gospels unprecedented historical validity for ancient documents. In short, you can trust the accounts of the gospels.
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Below is an illustration I used in a previous series to illustrate the credibility of the manuscript evidence for the New Testament. Historically speaking the NT is an extremely credible ancient document.
