Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 14:12

"And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him; and they went and told Jesus." — Matthew 14:12 (ASV)

His disciples came—We must believe that among those who thus transferred their allegiance to their true Lord were the two whom John had sent to Him from his prison. From this time, they probably ceased to be a distinct community in Judea, though, as the instances of Apollos (Acts 18:25) and the disciples at Ephesus (Acts 19:3) show, they still maintained a separate existence in the more distant regions to which the influence of the Baptist had indirectly penetrated.