And Jesus went with His disciples to the lakeshore. A great crowd from Galilee was following Him, and also from Judea,
Christ withdraws not out of fear, but with the wisdom of acting according to His appointed time. He does not allow the evil plot of His enemies to cut short His ministry before its time. The lakeshore again becomes that open place where the people can come near to Him. Mark notes the growing flow of the crowd. This shows that Christ’s works and word had already become widely known. People were coming from various places because they had heard about Him. In this picture, on the one hand there is great human need, and on the other hand there is the truth that when God is at work, the news cannot be kept within closed boundaries. Yet from the overall teaching of the Gospel it is clear that a crowd is not always the same as discipleship: many were following after Him, but not all were surrendering to Him from the heart (see John 6:26). Nevertheless, the Lord does not reject that crowd. He continues to be accessible to those who come near even with different motives, because His heart is merciful and He continually calls people to the truth.