These Galilean cities were the first to hear the proclamation of the Kingdom; and their first response was massive: they crowded at the beach, pushing Jesus into the sea and forcing Him to preach from a boat; they blocked the entrance to the houses where He was preaching. If He wanted to take a rest, He had to get up before dawn and run away from them. Mass conversion? Rather look with suspicion at this kind of conversion! Now Jesus is dooming these three cities. Things were going fine... till He mentioned the cross. Unlike bread and healings, that doctrine was "hard to believe". The big crowd was gradually being reduced to a minority, his "little flock". Jesus opted for quality against quantity, and with this faithful minority "resolutely took the road for Jerusalem" (Lk 9:51), the terminal of His full self-giving.

The story of bread and healings has been repeated through history under different forms. Around the middle of the 20th century it was the relief service that also won "mass conversions" in some mission areas. Where are those converts now? Their faith did not reach out to the third generation!