John 6:2-3

Multitudes followed Jesus because they wanted to profit from His miraculous powers as well as hear Him teach (cf. John 2:23-25).

"Like the vast majority of men and women, they [these Galileans] supposed that their needs as human beings were limited to their physical requirements. They were, in consequence, very ready to accept Jesus as a political Christ, who would be a purveyor of cheap food and establish an economic Utopia, for that would render the task of satisfying these physical needs less laborious." [Note: Tasker, pp. 92-93.]

Jesus went up on the mountainside to be alone with His disciples who had just returned from their mission throughout the towns of Galilee (Mark 6:30-32; Luke 9:10). He had just heard that Herod Antipas had beheaded John the Baptist (Matthew 14:12-13). The crowd soon found Him, and He healed many of the people and taught them (Matthew 14:14; Mark 6:33-34; Luke 9:11). Only John mentioned that this happened on a mountainside. Perhaps he did this so his readers would see a parallel with what happened on Mt. Sinai (John 6:31-32; cf. Exodus 16:21). Possibly it is just a detail that he as an eyewitness observed.