Mark 6:29

And when his disciples heard thereof, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

The crafty hatred of Satan is evident in the sorrowful events which led to this capricious murder of John the Baptist. John was the herald of Christ and the coming kingdom of God, and the evil one succeeded in destroying both the herald and the Christ, as far as their lives on earth are concerned; but in the death of our Lord, there was to be a marvelous difference; because, in that event, it was the head of Satan that was crushed.

THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND

Immediately after the death of John the Baptist, and after the return of the Twelve, Jesus withdrew to the eastern side of Galilee, outside of Herod's jurisdiction. Matthew clearly indicated that the murder of John entered into Jesus' decision to withdraw east of Galilee (Matthew 14:13); and we cannot agree with Cranfield who thought "Matthew misunderstood Mark,"[30] as if there had to be only one reason why Jesus withdrew. The reasons for Christ's withdrawal were complex: (1) He and his disciples needed rest. (2) Jesus needed an opportunity to instruct the Twelve privately. (3) Herod was showing interest in Jesus, and that could have meant nothing but bad for the Lord. (4) And the murder of John made it an appropriate time to change the scene of his ministry.