Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 6:34

"And he came forth and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion on them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things." — Mark 6:34 (ASV)

The best way for Jesus and his disciples to get away from the crowds was by boat, going to the northeast side of the lake. But the crowd saw it and followed by land. Somehow they managed to walk around the lake and arrive at the landing place ahead of the boat (v.33). Jesus had every right to be annoyed with the crowd. They had prevented him and his disciples from having a much needed rest. But instead of being irritated, he responded compassionately and in love (v.34), seeing them as “sheep without a shepherd” (cf. Numbers 27:17; Ezekiel 34:5). These two OT passages associate the shepherd theme with the desert. Jesus, like Moses, was leading his people into the desert and, like David (cf. Ezekiel 34:23, 25), was providing rest for them.