Section 73
A premature attempt to make Jesus king blocked
Bethsaida & On a mountain
| Matthew 14:22-23 | Mark 6:45-46 | John 6:14-15 |
|---|---|---|
| 22Immediately Jesus compelled the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the sea, while he sent the crowds away. 23After sending the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. | 45Immediately Jesus compelled his disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the sea, to Bethsaida, while he sent the crowd away. 46After taking leave of them, he went to the mountain to pray. | 14When the people saw the sign that Jesus had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15So Jesus, knowing that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew to the mountain by himself. |
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.