When Jesus heard of it
Of the death of John, and of the cruel usage he had met with; and
particularly, that his fame had reached the court of Herod, and
that he was talked of there, and said by Herod himself to be John
the Baptist, that was risen from the dead;
he departed thence by ship, into a desert place
apart;
to avoid Herod, though not through fear of death; but because his
time was not yet come: which may teach us, that it is lawful to
shun dangers, when there is an opportunity; which may be done,
without betraying truth, or sacrificing a good conscience. The
other evangelists, Mark and Luke, assign another reason of this
departure of Christ's, that it was upon the return of his
disciples to him from their embassy; when having given him an
account of what they had done, and taught, he judged it proper
they should retire, and get some refreshment and rest; and both
may very well be thought to be the reasons of this recess. At the
same time that John's disciples brought him the news of their
master's death, Christ's disciples return to him, with the
account of the success of their ministry; who might not only be
weary, and want refreshment, but be discouraged in their minds,
at this instance of cruelty; wherefore Christ thought it
necessary to retire, partly for his own safety, and partly for
their ease; and that he might have an opportunity of fortifying
their minds against all trials and persecutions they were to meet
with: the place from whence he departed, was either Capernaum,
his own country and city, or Nazareth, where we have lately heard
of him; or some other place in Galilee, where he was, when John's
disciples came to him: the place whither he went, was "a desert
place"; and, as Luke says, "belonging to the city called
Bethsaida", the city of Andrew and Peter, which lay on the other
side of the sea of Galilee, or Tiberias; over which he went by
ship, ( John 6:1 )
.
And when the people had heard thereof;
of his departure, and whither he went,
they followed him on foot out of their cities;
such as Nazareth, Capernaum, Tiberias, and others; and passing
the bridge at Jordan, as Dr. Lightfoot observes, they outwent the
ship, and got thither before them, as Mark relates. This showed
their great affection and zeal for Christ, and their diligence in
attending on him.