Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 14:13

"Now when Jesus heard [it], he withdrew from thence in a boat, to a desert place apart: and when the multitudes heard [thereof,] they followed him on foot from the cities." — Matthew 14:13 (ASV)

When Jesus heard of it — I believe we can reverently identify two motives for this withdrawal: first, the strong personal emotion that the death of one whom Jesus had known and loved would inevitably cause; and second, the desire to avoid being the center of the popular excitement that John's death was likely to cause.

We know, as a matter of fact (Jos. Ant. xviii. 5, § 2), that this excitement was so strong that people viewed all the subsequent troubles of Antipas and his wife as a retributive judgment for it. This was clearly demonstrated by the eagerness with which the people followed Jesus into His seclusion.

Two other circumstances, mentioned by the other Evangelists, also contributed to the large crowd that gathered around Him. The Twelve had just returned from their missionary tour (Mark 6:30–31; Luke 9:10), and Jesus withdrew from His public work partly to give them a period of rest. In addition, the Passover was approaching (John 6:4), and all the roads of Galilee were crowded with groups of pilgrims hurrying to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem.

Into a desert place — Luke identifies this location as “a city called Bethsaida,” that is, one of the two towns with that name on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. The name, which meant "House of Fish" or "Fishtown," was a natural one for villages in such a location. The fact that two towns shared this name is not at all strange; the geography of all countries offers many examples of places with the same name being distinguished by some additional description.

In Mark's account, after the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples sailed to the other Bethsaida (Mark 6:45). Since John 6:17 indicates this was in the direction of Capernaum, the scene of the miracle must have been Bethsaida-Julias, on the northeast shore of the lake.