RTW 2024

So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Mark 6:32-34

Wherever he went—in villages, cities, or the countryside—they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.
Mark 6:56

• Herod Antipas had a Samaritan mother. Herod the Great’s territory divided among three sons: Herod Archelaus-area surrounding Jerusalem, including Bethlehem (later ruled by Roman procurators), Herod Antipas-Galilee and Perea, Herod Philip-north and east part of Galilee
• Herodias was a granddaughter of Herod the Great. First she married her uncle, Herod Philip I. Herod the Great also had another son named Philip called Philip II, born of a different wife. While a guest in the home of Herodias and Philip I, Herod Antipas persuaded Herodias to leave her husband (Philip I) and marry him. Also, according to Josephus, the daughter of Herodias and Philip I was Salome, who later married her Grand Uncle, Phillip II. When Herod Antipas married Herodias, John the Baptist publicly condemned it as it would have been considered an incestuous affront to God's law (Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21). 
• This also offended his former father-in-law, the Nabatean king, ultimately leading to a war in which Herod's honor suffered greatly. Many of his Herod Antipas’ subjects, especially in the region where John was probably preaching and imprisoned, were ethnic Nabiteans with divided loyalties. Herod could have perceived John’s condemnation as a political threat as well. 
• Jesus needed time alone after the news of John the Baptist’s death. We all need time to step back, and to rest, to process, to grieve.
• Jesus and his disciples went to Bethsaida. Northwest Galilee was the most populated area, so they were heading to a much more desolate area.
• Map of Galilee where the 5,000 were fed
• The miracle of multiplying bread would have been reminiscent of manna, and of the miracle  in 2 Kings 4:42 (Elisha). 
• Jews did not permit women and children to eat with men in public, so they were most likely fed in separate groups.
• Jesus had compassion on them as sheep without a shepherd. He supplied both their physical and spiritual needs.
• Mark 6:45 says they were going to Bethsaida, not Capernaum, like in John. It could mean they headed to Bethsaida on the way, or a poor translation of the Greek words, which translate more like, “over against.” Perhaps it meant it was not the final destination, or was the opposite side of Bethsaida? They landed in Gennesaret, not far from Capernaum.
• This was not a long trip. They strained all night and were not that far from shore.
• Squalls were common on the Sea of Galilee so this wasn’t new, but must have been worse than they normally experienced.
• 4th watch was around 3-6am.
• When Jesus answered, “It is I” it is literally “I am.” Though “It is I” is an accurate translation, the nuance of “I am” was present.
• Herod Antipas was solely concerned with power for himself. Jesus used his power for the good of people and for the good of the kingdom of God, and to show love for God and others. He fed people not because he wanted to be a military leader, but because he loved them and cared about them. He did not want the kind of power that Herod was striving for. He wanted to show people that true power lies in humility and in serving others.

Seek after true power: the power of the love of God to transform our lives and the lives of others.