8:1 After he came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.
1:35 Then 1 Jesus 2 got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. 3 1:36 Simon and his companions searched for him. 1:37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” 1:38 He replied, 4 “Let us go elsewhere, into the surrounding villages, so that I can preach there too. For that is what I came out here to do.” 5
4:42 The next morning 6 Jesus 7 departed and went to a deserted place. Yet 8 the crowds were seeking him, and they came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them. 4:43 But Jesus 9 said to them, “I must 10 proclaim the good news of the kingdom 11 of God to the other towns 12 too, for that is what I was sent 13 to do.” 14
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn The imperfect προσηύχετο (proshuceto) implies some duration to the prayer.
4 tn Grk “And he said to them.”
5 tn Grk “Because for this purpose I have come forth.”
6 tn Grk “When it became day.”
7 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that the crowds still sought Jesus in spite of his withdrawal.
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Here δεῖ (dei, “it is necessary”) indicates divine commission (cf. Luke 2:49).
11 sn The good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of the rule of God through the Messiah, is the topic of Jesus’ preaching.
12 tn Or “cities.”
13 sn Jesus was sent by God for this purpose. This is the language of divine commission.
14 tn Grk “because for this purpose I was sent.”
15 sn Jesus, knowing that his “hour” had not yet come (and would not, in this fashion) withdrew again up the mountainside alone. The ministry of miracles in Galilee, ending with this, the multiplication of the bread (the last public miracle in Galilee recorded by John) aroused such a popular response that there was danger of an uprising. This would have given the authorities a legal excuse to arrest Jesus. The nature of Jesus’ kingship will become an issue again in the passion narrative of the Fourth Gospel (John 18:33ff.). Furthermore, the volatile reaction of the Galileans to the signs prepares for and foreshadows the misunderstanding of the miracle itself, and even the misunderstanding of Jesus’ explanation of it (John 6:22-71).