Jesus’ Response to John’s Death

From the desk of Pastor Ben

“His [John’s] disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus. Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself;”     (Matthew 14:12-13a)

John the Baptist’s disciples must have experienced much pain and sadness when they carried away his decapitated body for burial. He was a great man, the forerunner of the Messiah, who had been their loyal friend and faithful teacher. They had responded to his urgent preaching and taken his message of repentance to others.
Probably in accord with previous instruction, John’s disciples told Jesus what had happened to John. Our Lord deeply loved John. And when He received the sobering news, He wanted to be alone, so “He withdrew from there . . . To a secluded place by Himself” with the apostles (see Mark 6:31-32).
Some suggest that Jesus left the area to avoid John’s fate, but that makes no sense when Jesus knew that in the coming months He would willingly carry out the Father’s plan to suffer an atoning death for sinners. Jesus avoided Herod only because it was not then in the Father’s timetable for Him to meet Herod.
John was the first martyr of the faith (even before Stephen), and Christ likely used this event to teach the apostles more about what lay ahead for them. Although most believers around the world today have freedom to practice their faith, some still suffer John’s fate. Enemies of Christianity persecute believers and kill them; but like John, such martyrs would rather die than deny their Lord or the truth of His message.

Ask Yourself:
Sometimes we overcompensate in reaction to life’s struggles by drowning ourselves in escapes, avoiding having to think about our own or other’s pain. Could it be possible, in trying to keep ourselves upbeat, we lose some of the joy that comes from letting God dry our tears?