What does Mark 6:54 mean?
Jesus and the Twelve land three miles south of their home base of Capernaum. They are immediately swarmed by people who recognize Jesus and are desperate for His healing touch. Jesus has traveled around Galilee for some time now, healing, expelling demons, and teaching. The people recognize Him and the Twelve on sight (Mark 6:33). They trust Him because they've seen His good works. They admire Him because they recognize that He will be their King (John 6:14–15). But they don't have the full picture. They don't understand what He will have to sacrifice, and what He will call His followers to sacrifice (Luke 21:12).People do not always react to Jesus in this way. In Decapolis, on the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee, the people see His power and beg Him to leave (Mark 5:1–20). The Pharisees of Galilee are threatened by Him (Mark 2:6–7) and the scribes from Jerusalem claim His power comes from Satan (Mark 3:22–30). Jesus' own family thinks He's lost His mind (Mark 3:20–21), and the people from His hometown try to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:29).
We all have the same choice today. Some accept the parts of Jesus they understand and appreciate, like how He is a good teacher. Some get a glimpse of His power and glory and try to hide from Him. Others discover He will not stay in the box they have prepared for Him, so they try to destroy any trace of Him they can find.
His followers take a different route. They love others (1 John 4:7–12) and obey Him (1 John 5:2–3). They don't value the things of earth, including their pre-conceived notions of what Jesus should be (1 John 2:15–17). They also accept that they will never fully understand Him in this life. A true Christ-follower can express statements such as 1 Corinthians 13:12 with confidence: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
The people of Gennesaret rush to Jesus because they recognize Him as the man who can heal them. Christ-followers rush to Him out of gratefulness for the healing He provided on the cross.
