After a rigorous beginning of His ministry, Jesus takes some time off, leaving early in the morning to spend some time alone with His Father in prayer. People were beginning to hear of the great things He was doing, and wanted to see Him, hear Him, and perhaps even be healed by Him.
But Jesus knew that His popularity was hurting His ability to do what He was trying to do – train His disciples! Remember that His first act of public ministry was to call His disciples. But with the crowds around He wasn’t able to do that, and His disciples would end up not fully understanding who Jesus was and what He was doing.
Who is this Jesus? A man connected to the Father’s will through prayer, who knew His task, yet felt such a great compassion towards those struggling with the effects of living in a sin-filled world.