Taking a Break and Resting

“The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:30–31, ESV)

Running From the Crowds

There’s one aspect of Jesus’ life that people don’t often talk about. I hear people often talking about how he spoke to large crowds of people. However, they never mention that Jesus was often trying to GET AWAY from the large crowds of people. As I read through the gospels, I’m often encountering passages where it seems like Jesus is INTENTIONALLY trying to get away from the crowds, but they won’t leave him alone. 

A Few Passages

One of my favorite passages along these lines comes in Matthew 5. This passage is the opening to Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Pay careful attention to how this begins: “And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan. Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.” (Matthew 4:25–5:1, ESV).

Make sure you understand this picture. Jesus was doing miracles and healing people. So people were following him everywhere he went. So, as he sees the crowds coming to him AGAIN, he takes off up the mountain to get some “alone time.” His disciples don’t understand this, so they follow him up the mountain and Jesus takes the opportunity to teach them something. But it all began because Jesus wanted some alone time. 

We see the same thing again in Matthew 8: “That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick…Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.” (Matthew 8:16–18, ESV). Again, Jesus sees a large crowd of people around him. What does he decide to do? He orders his disciples to load up in the boat and head to the OTHER SIDE of the lake. He was trying to get away from the crowd. 

Rest for His Disciples

I have also appreciated the way Jesus responded to his disciples after their “short-term mission trip.” He commissioned them to enter the surrounding cities, preaching the gospel. It was a season of diligent, intentional, hard work. We’re told: “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.” (Mark 6:12–13, ESV). 

Once the disciples return from this season of diligent, intentional, hard work, how does Jesus respond? We read, “The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” (Mark 6:30–31, ESV). He tells them to get away from the crowd, take a break, and rest. 

Taking a Break and Resting

This past year has definitely been a season of diligent, intentional, hard work for many people. We’ve had to learn how to do many new things in many new ways. Each new thing/way takes time, effort, and energy. And, since we are all humans, we have a limited supply of each. Eventually, something has to “give.” 

If you’ve been regularly following by blog, you’ve noticed my writing become more sporadic lately. I went from writing 3 times a week, to 2 times a week, to 1 time a week, to 0 times a week (except for my sermon). That’s a pretty clear picture of someone slowly “running out of gas.” It’s a sign I need to take a break and rest from regularly writing on my blog. 

More to Come

I’m not sure how long the break will be. It will be as long as it needs to be, I suppose. However, I don’t expect it to be a permanent break. God has given me a love and gift for writing, and I plan to continue using that gift. So, stay tuned. I won’t be gone forever.