Five Loaves, Two Fish: Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.

John the Baptist was dead. Beheaded by Herod at a birthday party, his head presented on a platter. Jesus' cousin, his forerunner, the voice that had baptized him—gone. Jesus sought solitude to grieve.

Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.

But the crowds would not let him be alone. They walked around the lake, tracking the boat, waiting at the shore when he landed. Their need outweighed his grief.