{"id":99,"date":"2008-11-23T23:05:16","date_gmt":"2008-11-24T04:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickedwardsonline.com\/?p=24"},"modified":"2008-11-23T23:05:16","modified_gmt":"2008-11-24T04:05:16","slug":"season-of-withdrawal-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/season-of-withdrawal-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Season of Withdrawal"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jesus heard about it <\/em>(John the Baptist\u2019s execution), He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone.<\/em> \u2013 Matthew 14:13a (HCSB)<\/p>\n

Herod\u2019s execution of John the Baptist marks another turning point in Jesus\u2019 ministry. John had been imprisoned earlier toward the end of the Introduction Period. That event became the catalyst for Jesus to leave Judea and return to Galilee roughly 18 months earlier. This time it\u2019s John\u2019s execution that drove Jesus to carry his ministry into regions beyond the easy reach of Herod and begin a more deliberate effort at preparing his disciples for what was coming in just about a year. This was a SEASON OF WITHDRAWAL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Jesus knew the day was coming. He knew he was destined for the cross as the final, sacrificial \u201clamb of God\u201d. But the timing of his death needed to be on his timetable, not Herod\u2019s or that of the Sanhedrin. There were things to do and preparing his disciples was one of those things.<\/p>\n

Jesus had sent his disciples on a tour of Galilee preaching, healing, and ministering. They returned while John the Baptist\u2019s execution was still fresh on peoples\u2019 minds. The disciples were tired and needed rest. Further, their activity was raising questions in Herod\u2019s mind regarding Jesus (Mark 6:12-14). So, Jesus initiated a season of rest and withdrawal from Galilee that would provide greater safety from Herod and a time to better prepare the disciples.<\/p>\n

But while this was a season of withdrawal from Galilee, it certainly wasn\u2019t a season of withdrawal from ministry. Jesus was quite active during this period and accomplished much. This is arguably the most intense period of ministry for Jesus as he took his message and ministry beyond \u201cthe lost sheep of the house of Israel\u201d (Matthew 15:24).<\/p>\n

Some of the best loved stories and messages of Jesus come from this period; the feeding of the 5,000 (#??), Jesus walking on water (#??), Peter\u2019s great confession (#??), and Jesus\u2019 transfiguration (#??). It was a rich time of ministry that will teach us much about the heart and mind of Jesus as we put ourselves in the place of the disciples and follow Jesus and his disciples through these significant months.<\/p>\n

The period begins with the return of the disciples from their ministry tour when Jesus calls them to \u201ccome away. . . and rest a while\u201d (#??). It will take him north and west where Jesus will \u201ctake the children\u2019s bread and throw it to their dogs\u201d (#??). It will see him transformed before Peter, James, and John (#??). Finally, it will conclude with his departure from Galilee for the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

By the end of this period of time, Jesus is clearly anticipating the cross and preparing his disciples for that horrific event. The Passover is roughly six months away and the countdown has begun. Ministry will continue, but the clouds are beginning to gather. Jesus is heading toward his destiny in Jerusalem and Golgotha.<\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a listing of all of the events recorded for this period, see Season of Withdrawal Events.<\/p>\n

For<\/p>\n

For notes on. . .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Jesus heard about it (John the Baptist\u2019s execution), He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. \u2013 Matthew 14:13a (HCSB) Herod\u2019s execution of John the Baptist marks another turning point in Jesus\u2019 ministry. John had been imprisoned earlier toward the end of the Introduction Period. That event became the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interactivelifeofjesus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}