John 6:24

When the Tiberian troupe realize neither Jesus nor his disciples are there, they jump back into their boats (as do the local people) and head off to Capernaum, where they hope to find Jesus.  John 6:24 EFP

Things are getting interesting.  Recap time.  A major miracle takes place the day before.  The crowd goes crazy and launches a spontaneous “Jesus for King” campaign.  Jesus makes a sudden escape to the hills.  The disciples make an equally sudden departure in the wake of Jesus’ rebuff of the campaign to make him king.  The people come back the next day and are confused about the status of Jesus.  Tiberius people come (probably hungry) looking for him.  He is not anywhere to be found.

Something that is unanswered at this point is how do the people jump to the conclusion that Jesus is in Capernaum?  Did they assume he walked home?  Do they believe the disciples came back for him?  It’s really not important, since the mass of humanity is now determined to find him.  Perhaps they were going to Capernaum to ask the disciples where Jesus has gone.  There is a veritable flotilla crossing the Sea of Galilee in search of Jesus.  He has that kind of draw.  But we haven’t ascertained what they are looking for in Jesus.  I sense there is a collision between conflicting causes in the near future.

One thing for sure, the people from the “far side of the sea” have figured out that things are better with Jesus than without him. His disciples certainly failed to grasp that concept.