In Matthew 14:13-14, Jesus has just learned about the death of his cousin, forerunner, and friend, John the Baptist. This must have been an emotional time for Jesus and his disciples because three of the Gospel writers (Matthew 14:13-14, Mark 6:31-34, Luke 9:10-11) record that Jesus and his disciples went to find a solitary place away from the crowds. Maybe they needed some alone time to mourn and to reflect upon what really was ahead of them as they were committed to the mission. I wonder if Jesus was thinking ahead to what his death was going to be like and how much suffering he would have to endure. I wonder if the disciples were thinking about their potential suffering. Would they be executed like John the Baptist? Maybe they were just depressed because of the gruesome death John had just suffered. I’m sure there were lots of emotions running through their heads so Jesus felt it was important to seek some solitude for Himself and His disciples.
However, the solitude was short lived. The crowds ran ahead and got to the destination on foot before they could get there by boat. Once Jesus landed the boat, he was no longer overcome by his emotion and need for solitude. He was overcome with compassion for the crowd of people who were looking to him for guidance, healing, and teaching. When Jesus landed, He got out of the boat and started teaching about the kingdom of God. His motivation was the desperate needs of those who needed what He came to offer. This teaching went on so long that Jesus felt the need to provide supper for the crowd and then the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 takes place. So much for the solitude. Jesus loved people so much that he put aside his grieving and served the needs of others, and He didn’t let His disciples stay in solitude either. They wanted to send the crowd away but Jesus was teaching them about serving, even when life knocks you down and you don’t feel like it.
I know there are times that we all need to seek some solitude. We need time to reflect and we need time to process life. But, if we are not careful, we will become self-absorbed and will not be effective in ministering to those in need around us. When solitude turns to isolation it becomes unhealthy for us and it is certainly not beneficial to others. If we continue in isolation, we will eventually lose our compassion for others and will become increasingly more self-absorbed. Everything becomes centered around how mistreated we are and how bad our life is. We fail to see the needs of those around us because we are so wrapped up in our own misfortunes.
The solution, look around you and see the opportunities God has given you to serve and minister to others. Be like Jesus and lift up your head and allow compassion to move you to action. Before you know it, God will use you to minister to others and it is highly probable that you will be blessed because of it.
