22Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
Matthew introduces a second miracle here to show that Jesus’ disciples have resources for ministry in the interim present kingdom (14:22-33).
14:22
Immediately Jesus made [constrained] His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
The disciples were reluctant to leave Jesus, but Jesus dismissed them after feeding 5,000 men so that He could urgently (immediately) have private time with the Father.
14:23
And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
Prayer takes concentration. Jesus wanted serious time with the Father. He was a man of prayer.
PRINCIPLE:
Special times alone with God are necessary to get God’s perspective.
APPLICATION:
When it comes to our devotions, there are special times when we need to get alone to pray. God will give us perspective when we step out of the mundane.
