Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.
If we look back in this chapter, we see that Jesus was trying to withdraw to a solitary place, likely to pray and dwell with God, after hearing of the beheading of his ministry front-runner and cousin John-the-Baptist. He was in mourning. But the crowds followed. Why did they follow him? Were they hungry for the Word of truth, for him to perform miracles, or for him to heal their sick?
So Jesus had compassion on them. He paused his mourning and preached and then fed the people in an incredibly miraculous way.
Now we see Jesus dismiss the crowd and go back into mourning and prayer. This, too, is important. He recognized his need for fellowship with his Father during this disturbing time.
The death of John the Baptist hurt and pained Jesus on so many levels. Here are likely a few:
- Family: John the Baptist was part of Jesus’ family.
- Friend and Ministry Partner: John was his friend. We see when his close friend Lazarus dies, Jesus wept. I would bet he also wept here.
- Horrible Death: John was treated unjustly and his death shows off the horrible evil of sin, his head being presented to a young girl, bloodied and bodiless, on a platter, as some sick and demented party joke.
- Foreshadowing: John’s torture and death likely reminded Jesus of his future death requirement to save us. Jesus was sent to die for our sins.
- Empathy for Others: He knew that this would be a hard pill to swallow for John’s followers. John was a teacher (Rabbi) and some of his followers became disciples of Jesus, others followed him later.
Jesus was faithful to God’s call to pause his mourning and prayer time with God to minister, and he was faithful to go back to this needed time with God in mourning.
This is a good model for me of both being sensitive to the prompting of God’s Spirit and being faithful to fill up in dwelling with God, especially in hard times.
Lord, thank you for modeling time for mourning and quality connection with God the Father. This time of dwelling strengthens my spirit and fuels me to continue to serve with the right heart and attitude.
