Matthew 14:23
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After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
HEROD THINKS JESUS A RESURRECTION OF THE MURDERED BAPTIST--ACCOUNT OF HIS IMPRISONMENT AND DEATH. ( = Mark 6:14-29; Luk 9:7-9). (Mat 14:1-12) At that time Herod the tetrarch--Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Mat 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea. heard of the fame of Jesus--"for His name was spread abroad" (Mar 6:14).
Open source ↗John the Baptist had said concerning Christ, He must increase, but I must decrease, Joh 3:30. The morning-star is here disappearing, and the Sun of righteousness rising to its meridian lustre. Here is, I. The martyrdom of John; his imprisonment for his faithfulness to Herod (Mat 14:1-5), and the beheading of him to please Herodias (Mat 14:6-12). II. The miracles of Christ. 1. His feeding five thousand men that came to him to be taught, with five loaves and two fishes (Mat 14:13-21). 2. Christ's walking on the waves to his disciples in a storm (Mat 14:22-23). 3. His healing the sick with the touch of the hem of his garment (Mat 14:34-36). Thus he went forth, thus he went on, conquering and to conquer, or rather, curing and to cure.
Open source ↗14:23 Jesus often sought solitude in order to pray, particularly in conjunction with important events in his life and ministry (26:36-46; Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16; 6:12; 9:28).
Open source ↗Cross-references
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In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
At that time Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He told them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
and will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.