But now Christ longed for retirement, that He might be with His disciples; for He had much to say to them. In their work they had passed through the test of conflict, and had encountered opposition in various forms. Hitherto they had consulted Christ in everything; but for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in their work; for Christ did not send them away without His Spirit, and by faith in Him they worked many miracles; but they needed now to feed on the Bread of Life. They needed to go to a place of retirement, where they could hold communion with Jesus and receive instruction for future work.

Men nu længtes Kristus efter ensomhed for at kunne være sammen med sine disciple; thi han havde meget at sige dem. Under deres virksomhed havde de prøvet at være i modstrid med andre, og de havde mødt modstand under forskellige skikkelser. Hidtil havde de spurgt Kristus til råds om alt; men de havde i nogen tid været alene, og det havde til tider voldt dem store vanskeligheder at vide, hvad de skulle gøre. Deres gerning havde været dem til stor opmuntring, thi Kristus havde ikke udsendt dem uden sin Ånd, og ved troen på ham havde de gjort mange undere; men nu trængte de til at næres af livets brød. De trængte til at komme hen til et ensomt sted, hvor de kunne rådføre sig med Jesus og få vejledning til deres fremtidige arbejde.