Section 72b
Withdrawal from Galilee
Galilee → Bethsaida
Matthew 14:13-14
Mark 6:31-34
Luke 9:10b-11
John 6:1-3
31Then he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest for a little while.” For many people were coming and going, and Jesus and his apostles did not even have an opportunity to eat.
13When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But the crowds heard about it and followed him on foot from the towns.
32So they went away to a desolate place in the boat by themselves. 33Now many saw them going away and recognized Jesus. They ran together on foot from all the towns, got there ahead of them, and gathered around him.
10bThen he took them along and withdrew privately to a desolate place belonging to a town called Bethsaida.
1After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias).
14And when Jesus went ashore and saw a large crowd, he was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick.
34When Jesus went ashore and saw a large crowd, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
11But when the crowds found out about it, they followed him. So he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing.
2A large crowd was following him because they saw the miraculous signs he was performing on the sick. 3So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat there with his disciples.
Notes
Bethsaida
Bethsaida, the “house of hunters/fishermen,” was a town east of the Jordan River and just north of the Sea of Galilee. Phillip the Tetrarch, the son of Herod the Great, extensively rebuilt the town and named it “Julias” after Julia, the wife of Augustus Caesar.
When Phillip died he was buried in Bethsaida. In this vicinity, Jesus fed the 5,000, healed a blind man, and left Bethsaida’s shore to walk on the water. This region was known for abundant fish and fowl.
The ruins of Bethsaida are 1 mile off the Sea of Galilee. Some scholars maintained that it was implausible for a fishing village to be so far from the water. There is a small harbor village right on the water and it is probable that the main city was indeed a mile away.