The sea to which Jesus withdrew was the Sea of Galilee. He went there rather than to the areas farther south where it would have been easier for His enemies to harass Him. Jesus withdrew because of the religious leaders" plot to kill Him ( Matthew 12:15). [source][source][source]
Mark put the disciples in the emphatic first position in the Greek text. They shared Jesus" breach with the religious leaders. They would be the objects of His preparation for future ministry because of Jesus" coming death. [source][source][source]
Mark described many people coming to Jesus from all over Jewish Palestine. Jerusalem was in Judea to the south. Idumea, named only here in the New Testament, was the old Edomite territory southeast of Judea. People also came from the east side of the Jordan River (Perea and the Decapolis) and from the Mediterranean coast to the northwest. It is interesting that these locations form something of an outline of this Gospel. Jesus first ministered in Galilee (chs1-6), then in Tyre, Sidon, and the Decapolis (ch7), and finally in Jerusalem (chs10-16). [1] Notably absent were people from Samaria, the land of Jewish iconoclasts who separated from the other Jews. [source][source][source]