JESUS HAS COMPASSION
ON THE CROWDS
30The apostles
returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
31And he said to
them,
“Come away by
yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”
For many were
coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
32And they went
away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
33Now many saw
them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns
and got there ahead of them.
34When he went
ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were
like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
MARK 6:30-34
COMMENTARY
The apostles
came back to our Lord Jesus from their first missionary trip, and were exhausted
and had many stories to tell (Mark 6:30; Luke 10:17), plus Jesus started to feel
unwanted attention from Herod, who thought of Him, not as Jesus of Nazareth,
whom his father before him tried to kill at birth; but a resurrected John the
Baptist, who he had sent to be decapitated for his own sinful reasons. So Jesus
allowed for a period of rest and meditation, away from the towns of Western
Galilee, into the shores of the Eastern side of the lake (v.31).
But the impression
that Jesus had caused among the people was so deep, that they could not keep
away from Him.
They followed
Jesus on foot to the eastern shores, and arrived there before the Lord and the
apostles.
When Jesus saw
them, He knew not all believed in Him as they should (John 2:24-25). Some
accepted Him as the Messiah, others thought of Him as a prophet, while others
only saw in Him a miracle worker, disregarding his message but looking for his
power. His power to heal sicknesses, to deliver from demonic possession, and to
resurrect the dead (Mark 8:27-28).
When Jesus saw
that, He understood, that even though they all had different reasons to follow
Him so far, they all needed Him, because believers or not, they were all like a
flock without a shepherd. So, in his infinite mercy, He proceeded to deliver
them the good news of the gospel.
Omar Flores.
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