Matthew 14:12-14 (NIV) John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
The death of someone we admire and appreciate always has a strong impact on a person. And Jesus admired and appreciated John (cf. Matthew 11:11). Besides that, it is one thing to hear that a person like that has died, or even been killed. But to hear that their head was cut off and given to a pagan princess added a whole new dimension to the grief that Jesus felt.
It wasn’t that Jesus was hopeless over John’s death. He knew that John was a man who belonged fully to God, who fully obeyed His will, and whose place in heaven was ultimately secure. But the brutality of John’s death brought strongly to Jesus’ mind the cruel death that lay not that far in His own future. He needed a little time to process, to pray, and to lean on His Father for strength.
But Jesus’ celebrity never made it easy for Him to have much privacy. The crowds heard that Jesus was leaving, and were able to see from the direction the boat was sailing where He was going. So they hurried by foot to meet Him there, bringing along their sick for Jesus to heal.
Jesus would have been within His rights to tell the people that He needed a little space to grieve John’s death. Or, seeing the crowds, He could have instructed His disciples to head back out onto the lake and set ashore somewhere else. But Jesus was never ruled by His passions, nor controlled by His needs. He had come not to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28). He had been born as the fruit of God’s own love and compassion for humanity. And He knew that the way to spiritual strength was not through retreat, but through being right in the center of His Father’s will, walking in the path of His plan.
So Jesus went ashore into the throng of waiting people. He healed the sick, and taught the people about life in the kingdom of God. And in that process, He regained His center; He received comfort for His loss and strength for the future; and He was reassured of His path forward.
Father, it really is human nature to want to withdraw and lick our wounds when we are hurt. But here we see a better way. Not service for service’s sake, but merely staying in the center of Your will, keeping ourselves in the midst of Your calling for our lives. It is only there that we can walk in Your presence and power, and it is there that we can best find the comfort and healing that we crave. Thank You for this insight. Amen.