Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 6:32

"And they went away in the boat to a desert place apart." — Mark 6:32 (ASV)

Their activities had created much interest. So many people were coming and going that the disciples had no time even to eat. Since the disciples were doubtless tired from their missionary activities and from the demands of the crowds, Jesus decided to seek rest for them in a quiet and solitary place.

Jesus may have had another reason for going to a deserted area in addition to seeking rest. It was in the desert that God had given rest to his ancient people after their Exodus from Egypt. Prophets such as Isaiah (63:14) and Jeremiah (31:2) saw the Israelites in the desert as a type of a second rest promised to the new people of God in a second exodus. Jesus and his disciples fulfill this promise. Jesus, not the pillar and the cloud, is God’s presence, and the Bread (instead of the manna) is God’s provision of sustenance.