At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place, and the crowds were looking for Him. They came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving.
Parallel translations
- WEB When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them.
- KJV And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.
- NKJV Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;
- NASB Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them.
- NLT Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus withdraws to a solitary place, and the crowds seek to keep him with them. He values communion with the Father over local popularity.
Overview
After a busy day of ministry, Jesus seeks solitude, a pattern of withdrawal and prayer Luke highlights repeatedly. The crowds, eager for his healing, try to detain him in Capernaum. Their desire is understandable but reveals a tendency to grasp Jesus for local benefit rather than receive his wider mission, which he gently resists.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Luke 6:12In those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent the night in prayer to God.
- Mark 1:35–38Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
- John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
- John 6:24So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.
- Luke 8:37–38Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to depart from them, because great fear had taken hold of them. So He got into the boat and started back.
- Luke 24:29But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.
- Mark 6:33–34But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them.
- John 4:40So when the Samaritans came to Him, they asked Him to stay with them, and He stayed two days.
- Mark 1:45But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.
- Matt 14:13–14When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 4:42 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.