Bethsaida was an important town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:45). It was a base for fishermen who worked the rich fishing grounds of the lake. Among those fishermen were the brothers Andrew and Peter, who became two of Jesus’ disciples. Another disciple, Philip, was also from Bethsaida (John 1:44).

On one occasion Jesus healed a blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22), and on another occasion he miraculously fed five thousand people not far from Bethsaida (Luke 9:10-17). The people of Bethsaida, however, like the people of nearby Capernaum and Chorazin, stubbornly refused to accept the evidence that this Jesus was God’s promised Messiah. Such a refusal only guaranteed for them a more severe judgment (Matthew 11:21-24).

[image]