Once the Twelve returned from their mission, upon which they were to preach the Gospel in the synagogues of Galilee (Mark 6:6b-7), they told Jesus all that they had said and did during their evangelistic effort (Mark 6:30). Matthew puts the Apostles’ return from their mission immediately after the death of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:12), and the multitude, numbering about 5000 (Mark 6:44), that gathered around them and Jesus in so much that they couldn’t even partake of their daily meals (Mark 6:31), was composed of folks who had followed John, believing him to be a prophet of God (Mark 6:34; cp. 11:32; Matthew 21:26; Luke 20:6).
Jesus was concerned about his disciples, because they needed to rest from their spiritual labor (Mark 6:30-31), so Jesus took them by way of the Sea of Galilee to a deserted place near the city of Bethsaida (Mark 6:32; Luke 9:10). Moreover, we are able to understand that all these things occurred just before the Passover of Jesus’ second year of public ministry (Matthew 14:12-13, 21; John 6:1-4, 10).
Why Bethsaida? It is possible that Herod’s interest in Jesus (Luke 9:9) might not have been a cordial one, so Jesus chose a place outside his realm of authority. Bethsaida was part of the country of Gaulanitis, one of the territories of Antipas’ brother, Herod Philip. After this, Jesus took his disciples to Gennesaret, were he healed the demoniac who referred to himself as Legion, and he ministered to the people there. So, it was quite some time before he returned to Galilee, which was governed by Antipas. Was this to avoid his reach until his interest in Jesus waned? The text doesn’t say, but Herod’s interest in Jesus may have been an instrument in Jesus’ choice of venue for his ministry for a short period of time.
However, the multitude that Jesus left at Capernaum followed him from the shore and arrived at the place where Jesus was sailing before Jesus and his disciples were able to disembark the boat (Mark 633). When Jesus saw them, he was moved with compassion, because they were bereaved of their shepherd, John, and felt lost. They sought a context in which they could go on in the ministry of John, and they hoped Jesus would fill that void.
Therefore, Jesus taught them (Mark 6:34), but when the day was nearly over, the Apostles wanted Jesus to dismiss the multitude, so they could go into villages roundabout and eat (Mark 6:35-36). Testing them (John 6:6)[1] Jesus commanded the Apostles to, instead, feed the multitude themselves, but they thought Jesus meant to use their own funds (which wasn’t enough) to buy the necessary food to feed the entire mass of people (Mark 6:37). Nevertheless, after Jesus asked the disciples to find out how much food they had, he told them to cause the multitude to sit down in companies of fifties and hundreds and, after he blessed the food, he commanded the Apostles to divide up the few fish and unleavened loaves and distribute them among the people, and they ate and were filled (Mark 6:38-42).
Finally, Jesus had his disciples go out among the companies of people and gather up the leftovers (Mark 6:43). When they filled up twelve baskets with the food, all were astonished, because the multitude was numbered at 5000 (John 6:13-14; Mark 6:44). Remember, although this event immediately follows the death of John, its context needs to be placed as following the evangelistic effort of Jesus’ disciples throughout the synagogues of Galilee (Mark 6:6b-7, 30). Not only was everyone fed spiritually to the full, but the Apostles came away from their labor with more understanding than when they had begun. One simply cannot obey the Lord and come away empty. Rather, he who submits to the Lord will always be rewarded with more than he gives away.
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[1] Keep in mind that the context of the feeding of the 5000 immediately follows the Apostles’ ministry in the synagogues of Galilee, which even aroused the interest of the governor, Herod.
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