Earlier, Mark had recorded that Jesus told them to “get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida.” A better translation would be “go to Bethsaida and get into the boat” because John tells us that their destination was Capernaum—on the west coast. The terminus of the night’s rowing didn’t turn out to be either place, however. Where they landed was Gennesaret on the northeast shore.

This time Jesus received a much warmer welcome than when he had earlier ruined the pig-farming business of the area. The most likely explanation is the witness of the delivered man who for the last three months had gone about telling what Jesus had done for him.