In Matthew 14:13, we are told that when Jesus heard the news that John was dead, he got on a boat and went to a desolate place. You see, Jesus was grieving. He was heartbroken to hear what happened to John. So Jesus wanted to spend some time alone, praying, and thinking. You have to wonder what thoughts were running through Jesus mind when he heard the news. Jesus may have been thinking about his mission; the cross. Jesus knows that what happened to John the Baptist is going to happen to him. Jesus knows that he came to die for the sins of humanity, and he knows that the cross is coming. I am sure hearing about the death of John made Jesus painfully aware of his coming death–he just wanted to be alone with His father.

So Jesus gets in the boat and heads to a desolate place. However, the crowd hears where Jesus is going. So they travel by foot and meet Jesus on the other side. As Jesus is approaching the shore, he sees the crowds gather, waiting for him to arrive. You almost feel sorry for Jesus. The guy just wants to get away to mourn the loss of his friend, and he cannot get away. Life is like that, isn’t it? It never slows down. You lose a family member or friend, and you are back at work the next day like nothing ever happened. All you want to do is get away and be by yourself and grieve, but the demands of life do not allow it. Life just moves too fast.

Put yourself in Jesus’ shoes for a second. How would you respond to seeing the crowd on the shore? You might think, “Really God, ministry now? I just want to be alone!” You might even wish the crowd would just go away. However, Jesus does not respond in either way. Jesus sees the crowd, and he has compassion on them and he immediately got to work healing their sick. Although Jesus grieves the loss of his dear friend, his grief empowers him for ministry. In the midst of his emotional pain, Jesus turned out instead of in. Rather than turning in on himself and thinking “woe is me”, he turns out to serve and to love the crowd.