John Calvin Commentary John 6:1

"After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee, which is [the sea] of Tiberias." — John 6:1 (ASV)

Afterwards, Jesus went. Although John was accustomed to collecting those actions and sayings of Christ that the other three Evangelists had omitted, yet in this passage, contrary to his custom, he repeats the account of a miracle that they had related. But he does so for the express purpose of transitioning from it to Christ’s sermon, which was delivered the next day at Capernaum, because the two events were connected; and therefore this narrative, though the other three Evangelists also record it, has this distinctive feature: it is directed toward a different objective, as we will see.

The other Evangelists (Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:32; Luke 9:10) state that this happened shortly after the death of John the Baptist, and by this detail of timing they point out the reason for Christ’s departure; for when tyrants have once stained their hands with the blood of the godly, they are incited to greater cruelty, in the same way that excessive drinking aggravates the thirst of drunkards.

Christ therefore intended to lessen Herod’s rage by His absence. He uses the term, Sea of Galilee, meaning the Lake of Gennesaret. When he adds that it was called the Sea of Tiberias, he further clarifies the place where Christ withdrew; for the entire lake did not bear that name, but only that part of it adjacent to the bank on which Tiberias was located.