[3273] St. Mark vi. 48.
[3274] This seems to me implied in the expression, St. John vi. 21: Then they were willing to take Him into the ship.' Some negative critics have gone so far as to see in this graphic hint a contradiction to the statements of the Synoptists. (See Lücke, Comment. ü. d. Evang. Joh. ii. pp. 120-122.).
[3275] As to the physical possibility of it, we have to refer to our former remarks.
[3276] The word boisterous' must be struck out as an interpolated gloss.
[3277] I cannot see (with Meyer) any variation in the narrative in St. John vi. 21. The expression, they were willing to take him into the ship,' certainly does not imply that, after, the incident of Peter's failure, He did not actually enter the boat.
[3278] Weiss (p. 373) assures us that this view is impossible;' but on no better ground than that no others than ten disciples are mentioned in St. Matt. xiv. 22, as if it had been necessary to mention the embarkation of the boatmen. __________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER XXXI. THE CAVILS OF THE PHARISEES CONCERNING PURIFICATION, AND THE TEACHING OF THE LORD CONCERNING PURITY - THE TRADITIONS CONCERNING HAND-WASHING' AND VOWS.'
(St. Matt. xv. 1-20; St. Mark vii. 1-23.)
As we follow the narrative, confirmatory evidence of what had preceded springs up at almost every step. It is quite in accordance with the abrupt departure of Jesus from Capernaum, and its motives, that when, so far from finding rest and privacy at Bethsaida (east of the Jordan), a greater multitude than ever had there gathered around Him, which would fain have proclaimed Him King, He resolved on immediate return to the western shore, with the view of seeking a quieter retreat, even though it were in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.' [3279] According to St. Mark, [3280] the Master had directed the disciples to make for the other Bethsaida, or Fisherton,' on the western shore of the Lake. [3281] Remembering how common the corresponding name is in our own country, [3282] and that fishing was the main industry along the shores of the Lake, we need not wonder at the existence of more than one Beth-Saida, or Fisherton.' [3283] Nor yet does it seem strange, that the site should be lost of what, probably, except for the fishing, was quite an unimportant place. By the testimony both of Josephus and the Rabbis, the shores of Gennesaret were thickly studded with little towns, villages, and hamlets, which have all perished without leaving a trace, while even of the largest the ruins are few and inconsiderable. We would, however, hazard a geographical conjecture. From the fact that St. Mark [3284] names Bethsaida, and St. John [3285] Capernaum, as the original destination of the boat, we would infer that Bethsaida was the fishing quarter of, or rather close to, Capernaum, even as we so often find in our own country a Fisherton' adjacent to larger towns. With this would agree the circumstance, that no traces of an ancient harbour have been discovered at Tell Hûm, the site of Capernaum. [3286] Further, it would explain, how Peter and Andrew, who, according to St. John, [3287] were of Bethsaida, are described by St. Mark [3288] as having their home in Capernaum. It also deserves notice, that, as regards the house of St. Peter, St. Mark, who was so intimately connected with him, names Capernaum, while St. John, who was his fellow-townsman. names Bethsaida, and that the reverse difference obtains between the two Evangelists in regard to the direction of the ship. This also suggests, that in a sense - as regarded the fishermen - the names were interchangeable, or rather, that Bethsaida was the Fisherton' of Capernaum. [3289]
A superficial reader might object that, in the circumstances, we would scarcely have expected Christ and His disciples to have returned at once to the immediate neighbourhood of Capernaum, if not to that city itself. But a fuller knowledge of the circumstances will not only, as so often, convert the supposed difficulty into most important confirmatory evidence, but supply some deeply interesting details. The apparently trivial notice, that (at least) the concluding part of the Discourses, immediately on the return to Capernaum, was spoken by Christ in Synagogue,' [3290] [3291] enables us not only to localise this address, but to fix the exact succession of events. If this Discourse was spoken in Synagogue,' it must have been (as will be shown) on the Jewish Sabbath. Reckoning backwards, we arrive at the conclusion, that Jesus with His disciples left Capernaum for Bethsaida-Julias on a Thursday; that the miraculous feeding of the multitude took place on Thursday evening; the passage of the disciples to the other side, and the walking of Christ on the sea, as well as the failure of Peter's faith, in the night of Thursday to Friday; the passage of the people to Capernaum in search of Jesus, [3292] with all that followed, on the Friday; and, lastly, the final Discourses of Christ on the Saturday in Capernaum and in the Synagogue.