Ministry In Misery

“Now when Jesus heard this, He withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by Himself.  But when the crowds heard it, they followed Him on foot from the towns.”  Matthew 14:13

“Now when Jesus heard this” is a reference to is the death of John the Baptist.  John was the last individual in the lineage of the Old Testament prophets but he was also the forerunner for the Messiah.  He was that unique individual who reached back to Old Testament prophecies and stretched forward toward their fulfillment in Jesus.  John was also a cousin to Jesus.  Jesus and John were connected as a spiritual family and they were related as a biological family.

So when Jesus hears of the death of John, He withdraws in grief.  John dies standing up to Herod and standing up for what is right.  It is a hard death to accept because John dies as a martyr and he is beheaded for his Godly stance.  Certainly, we can understand why Jesus would withdraw.

What is hard to understand is the pressure and the presence of the crowd.  They will not leave Him alone.  Matthew points out that Jesus travels by boat to a desolate place.  It seems that Jesus takes a boat across the Sea of Galilee to a far secluded shore.  He seeks a place to be alone and deal with the pain of death.

But the people walk the 7 miles around the perimeter of the Sea of Galilee to get to Jesus.  This is not a case of “Hey, I was in the area and heard you were here so I thought I would drop in”.  This is a long intentional journey to get to Jesus.  This is a group of people who press their needs ahead of those of Jesus.

Personally. I would be angry and hurt that others could not respect my need for some space.  The personal pain of grief would overshadow the needs of the people.  The crowd travels around the sea shore because they need Jesus to deal with their sicknesses and pain.

Amazingly, Jesus is not offended.

“Now when He went ashore He saw a great crowd, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.” Matthew 14:14.

Jesus has compassion on the crowd.  The tender and loving heart of a Savior is moved by the pain of others more than the pain He endures.

If you were to continue reading this chapter in Matthew, you would discover that the miracle of feeding five thousand occurs.  it is an amazing miracle, but a miracle that would not happen if Jesus does not have compassion and engage the crowd.

So here is the hard question.  Does your personal pain keep you from caring for the pain of others?  And if your pain pushes you away from others, what amazing and miraculous miracle are you missing out on?

Please, don’t misunderstand me, sometimes we need to withdraw, but the withdraw is to heal our hearts and to revive our spirit.  The withdraw is preparation to engage the people.  The misery of life is always pressing in.  The needs of the people are always present and overwhelming.  The servants that will set aside their pain to be compassionate toward others is desperately needed.