And Jesus, when he came out, saw many people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
All Commentaries on Mark 6:34 Go To Mark 6
Bede
AD 735
Not only do the Apostles tell the Lord what they themselves had done and taught, but also His own and John's disciples together tell Him what John had suffered, during the time that they were occupied in teaching, as Matthew relates. It goes on: “And He said to them, Come yeyourselves apart”.
How arose the necessity for giving rest to His disciples, He shews, when He adds, “For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat;” we may then see how great was the happiness of that time, both from the toil of the teachers, and from the diligence of the learners. It goes on: “And embarking in a ship, they departed into a desert place privately. "The disciples did not enter into the ship alone, but taking up the Lord with them, they went to a desert place, as Matthew shews. Here He tries the faith of the multitude, and by seeking a desert place He would see whether they care to follow Him. And they follow Him, and not on horseback, nor in carriages, but laboriously coming on foot, they show how great is their anxiety for their salvation. In saying that they outwent them on foot, it is proved that the disciples with the Lord did not reach the other bank of the sea, or of the Jordan, but they went to the nearest places of the same country, where the people of those parts could come to them on foot.
in Marc., 2, 26: Matthew says that He healed their sick, for the real way of pitying the poor is to open to them the way of truth by teaching them, and to take away their bodily pains.
in Marc., 2, 25: Leaving also Judaea, the holy preachers, in the desert of the Church, overwhelmed by the burden of their tribulations amongst the Jews, obtained rest by the imparting of the grace of faith to the Gentiles.
