Apparently, the ministry in Gennesaret was very short, because within days, opportunists had tracked Jesus down to try to enlist him in their designs.

When he dismissed the crowd after the feeding of the 5,000, many did not leave. They had seen the disciples leave, but now couldn’t find Jesus. Newcomers were added to the hunt as word spread and others arrived by boat in search of the miracle worker. They soon moved their search to Capernaum, while Jesus and the twelve were in Gennesaret. Eventually, Jesus returned to their original destination and were found by the leaders of the crowd. The interchange that occurred was probably on a Sabbath, since it occurred in the Capernaum synagogue.

The Passover may have come and gone between these two reports. We have no listing of Jesus attending this year. In fact, John tells us in 7:1 that he avoided Judea because the “Jews” sought to kill him. In the Greek, this is actually the “Judeans,” which from his Galilean perspective, John equated to the national power base. Some Rabbinic writers have tried to make a case that John reveals his anti-Semitism here, which is silly. He uses the term, Judeans, for the nationally powerful. We do the same thing when we talk about “Washington.” We are speaking of the government, not those who were born in the nation’s capital.

Jesus’ next trip to Jerusalem was for Tabernacles in the fall. Matthew and Mark give us some insight as to why it was dangerous for him to visit Jerusalem. He made himself the enemy of the Pharisees by refusing to submit to their rules. Worse, he exposed their hypocrisy. What made him the most dangerous was his growing popularity. In the minds of the politically connected rabbis, he might soon replace them as the nation’s religious authority. Thus, they increased their search for a way to kill him.