I think the context of this week's Gospel is so important. Here is the first line,

"When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself."

Maybe I am reading in to this too much, but it seems to me that Jesus was feeling a little like some of us have been feeling. Weary. Tired. Sad. He needed some time and space to mourn the death of his cousin. If you are like me, you never put that together with the rest of this story.