13 When Jesus heard what had happened, HE WITHDREW BY BOAT PRIVATELY TO A SOLITARY PLACE. Matthew 14
Do we know when it’s time to withdraw to be with the Lord?
Retreats were, and I suppose still are, very popular today. Busy people need to leave their daily routine to get some respite. Jesus couldn’t take lengthy periods of time away from Ministry, but the Bible records that He did step aside at times. God built a Sabbath rest into His people’s lives and also additional Feast Days when they had to appear before Him. (The fourth commandment is the LONGEST, REMEMBER the Sabbath day, by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work …) Exodus 20:8-11
So what caused Jesus to withdraw on this occasion? The shocking news that Herod had beheaded John the Baptist (Christ’s herald on earth). Matthew 14:10 We’re not told how He was affected by this event or if He knew it would happen while here in human form. Did He just want to get alone with Heaven and make sure He was where He needed to be? In any event He withdrew to the solitary place. The loss of a loved one or someone close may well take a time of adjustment. To suppress grief may result in side effects later – Jesus withdrew.
The next recorded event in Matthew was the Feeding of the Five Thousand, huge crowds making huge demands on the Lord’s time and energy. Jesus blessed and healed/delivered many people, but the crowds were never His core objective.
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside BY HIMSELF to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, … Matthew 14
Following the miraculous feeding and healings, Jesus again sought solitude for a time of prayer. The crowds were gone and even His disciples were sent away, so that He could be alone to commune with Heaven. We also read that, ‘Jesus rose a great while before day’. Mark 1:35 Jesus sacrificed sleep and rest to have that precious time of communion with Heaven. It may be wisdom for some today to Draw Apart and sit at His feet, just like Mary in her sister Martha’s house.
God bless and keep you today.