The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
Mark 6:30-31
Sometimes you just need to get away from it all. You can’t function well if you are always under stress. Jesus understood that.
He had sent the disciples out to preach, heal, and cast out demons (6:7–13). During their itineration, Herod began to think that John the Baptist had risen from the dead (6:14–29).
Jesus’ disciples returned to Him—no doubt weary and exhausted as well as apprehensive and fearful that what happened to John might next be the fate of Jesus.
They reported to Jesus what they had done and taught. I would love to have heard their stories—probably some humor, some hardship, some dull and dry days; but also, some wonderful accounts of hospitality, unexpected provision, and jaw-dropping accounts of miracles and exorcisms.
Mark doesn’t tell us what Jesus was doing or where He was while the disciples were on their first mission. Perhaps He had withdrawn into solitude for a time, or maybe there were some personal matters back in Nazareth that He tended to.
However, once the disciples returned He was again mobbed. This incident is the tenth time Mark records Jesus as being surrounded with a press of people. Consider the previous nine:
- Sundown healings (1:33)
- A crowded house and a rooftop paralytic (2:2)
- A large crowd by the lake when He called Levi (2:13)
- Another large crowd from all over gathered by the lake (3:7)
- A crowd in the house while His mother and brothers were outside (3:32)
- The crowd by the lake while He taught in parables (4:1)
- The crowd by the lake as He and His disciples set sail (4:36)
- The people of Gadara and environs (5:14)
- A pressing crowd by the lake when Jairus and the bleeding woman met Him (5:21, 24)
These ten incidents demonstrate the popularity and attractiveness of Jesus. Unlike the religious leaders who harped on technicalities of the Law, Jesus made it His priority to meet human needs by healing bodies through His power and nurturing souls through His teaching.
Jesus was sensitive to people and to the fact that people had traveled from all over seeking Him. He was also sensitive to the needs of His exhausted and stressed disciples. They needed some rest, quiet, and a good meal. Jesus didn’t push them past the level of their endurance.
Sure, the sick were waiting to be healed, people needed deliverance, lessons needed to be taught—but Jesus broke away from it all to give His disciples a needed break.
There’s a lesson for us in this. There will always be things pressing at you, more things to be done in the day than you can do. You can’t get your own “to do” list done because others are intruding into your schedule with their concerns.
It’s okay for you to take a break, to get some rest. You have no less an authority than Jesus to show you that getting away for a season is the right thing to do.
A Prayer: Lord Jesus, I leave the busyness of this day with all its demands to have some solace with You. Restore my strength and heart in quiet moments.
Excerpted from Dr. Wood’s book, Fearless: How Jesus Changes Everything, available from Vital Resources.
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