Do You Know How To Rest?

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Why Mark?

Mark is the shortest and sharpest of the stories about Jesus. Many people think Mark’s gospel was the first to be written, and certainly it has all the punch of a quick story that’s meant to grab you by the collar and make you face the truth about Jesus, about God, and about yourself.

Something interesting about Mark. None of the other gospels present the disciples in such a pervasive negative manner.

Rather than saying they have “little faith” (Matt. 8:26), Mark’s words accused them of having “no faith” (Mark 4:40). In another parallel account, Luke presented the disciples in a most favorable light as he removed altogether Jesus’ rebuke of Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” (Mark 8:33). It is true that the disciples initially left everything and followed Jesus. But their motives never seem to have been in sync with the Kingdom principles Jesus repeatedly championed.

The more He healed, the blinder they became to His person. The more He taught, the more deaf they became to the truth. Not even the privileged insight bestowed to them (4:11) seem to have enlightened them. They seem to be the poster children for bad disciples. They are constantly described as fearful , they pursued selfish ambition, and they publicly displayed spiritual failure (9:14–29).

Their climactic act as a group was their corporate flight at the moment of Jesus’ arrest (14:5–52). A summary statement about the disciples could be put this way: They gave all they had and tried to the best of their human ability, but in the end they were sinners at heart in need of transformation (6:52). The answer to this discipleship dilemma is found in the Cross, which will change them from the inside out.

Now that we covered that lets jump right in.

Read Mark 2:17 “When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

PRAY!

Do you want to be healed?:

Read Mark 1:39-43 “He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once,”

The Law of Leviticus 13–14 legislates that a priest must declare a person as ceremonially clean or unclean with reference to leprosy. This was one of the most feared diseases and demanded a supernatural cure (Exod. 4:6–8; Num. 12:9–15; 2 Kings 5:1–27). Due to the fear of communal contamination, lepers were excluded from society (Lev. 13:45–46).

Jesus was, therefore, probably outside the town during this conversation. The unclean man takes the initiative and comes within close proximity of Jesus. Breaking the taboo was only one issue for Mark; the real question was not one of Jesus’ power but of His nature and character. The leper inquired, “I know you have the power, but do you care?”

If were being honest i think this question here is relatable for a lot of us....We can struggle to think that Jesus cares enough to heal/help us or love us for that matter.

Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man (1:41). There is an interesting debate among scholars as to exactly what word expresses the emotion of Jesus in this encounter. The majority of the ancient manuscripts have the word “compassion,” but some of the most ancient documents have instead the word “angry.”

Both words fit well with Mark’s description of Jesus. Throughout the gospel, when Jesus encountered human need, the word “compassion” is often used (see 6:34; 8:2; 9:22). But at the same time, it would be unfair to exclude “anger” from depicting Jesus’ response to situations. Either word would be accurate as long as we carefully consider the object of Jesus’ compassion or anger. The compassion of Jesus was directed to the leper, while the anger would be intended toward the disease or even toward the social customs that forced the leper to live as an outcast.

Then Jesus broke the legal customs of the day and touched the man (Lev. 11:24–40; 14:46–47). With Jesus, the need of the man superseded the Law. Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured (1:42). The result was instant and apparent to onlookers. But the word “cured” does not have a medical connation as much as a legal or ceremonial one, since it literally reads “clean.”

He had not just been restored to health, but with a priest’s approval, he could reenter the community and return to the Temple to worship and offer sacrifices.

Jesus wants to heal us… He is compassionate and willing to heal every part of us if we humbly seek and ask Him to....Yet we don’t… And it shows time and time again. As we continue to live our lives as anxious, paranoid, fearful, hurt, depressed, tired men and women.

But we are afraid to fully give every part of ourselves over to God......for one reason or another

Our lack of allowing Jesus to heal us, will show up in many ways. as i just listed some above.....But one way it can show is we don’t know how to slow down and rest in the Lord. We move and move until we are burnt out and cant move any longer. We fail to allow God to move in our lives, because we fail to slow down and allow Him to do what only He can......

This plays into our main scripture of the day on Sabbath and how we get this day/way of life confused...

Why & What is Sabbath?:

Read Mark 2:23-28

Mark 2:23–28 CSB

On the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” He said to them, “Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry—how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence—which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests—and also gave some to his companions?” Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbath). A day of complete rest from secular work following six days of labor. Established and modeled by God.

The concept of the Sabbath was modified over time. In the Old Testament, Sabbath began as a holy day for God, which included stoping from secular work. During the Intertestamental period, the Sabbath gained a legalistic tone, and came to include detailed aspects of observance. During the New Testament era, Jesus addressed and clarified the meaning of the Sabbath.

Old Testament

The word “Sabbath” (שַׁבָּת, shabbath), which means “cease,” “rest,” “complete rest,” or “desist,” is found in every section of the biblical texts. Forms of the word occur 104 times in the Old Testament. Roughly 40 percent of the occurrences are in the Pentateuch, another 40 percent occur in the Prophetic Books, and the remaining 20 percent occur in the Wisdom literature and historical books.

While the word Sabbath does not occur in Genesis, the concept is shown in the creation account of Gen 1:1–2:4a, where God creates the world and all living things in six days and rests on the seventh. Exodus 20:11 clarifies that the seventh day is meant to be the Sabbath day.

is holy and blessed

should be remembered and kept holy

belongs to the Lord

requires abstinence from work for all people (Jews and Gentiles alike) and animals

The text implies that God rested on the seventh day of creation, and therefore humankind should follow His example (imitatio Dei) and rest on the seventh day

Intertestamental writings detailed Sabbath restrictions and recorded military losses resulting from Sabbath observance. The Damascus Document, dating to the first century bc, outlines several limits to activity on the Sabbath including:

• walking farther than 1000 cubits

• drinking outside the camp

• drawing water into any vessel

• wearing perfume

• opening a sealed vessel

• assisting an animal to give birth or helping an animal out of a pit

• having sexual relations

• plowing a field

• starting a fire

• riding an animal

• riding in a boat

• killing anything

• making war

Now lest get back to the New Testament and where Jesus was adressing the true meaning of Sabbath and how men and women had gone the wrong way with it.

In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” This statement was in response to the accusation that His disciples were breaking the law regarding resting on the Sabbath when they walked by some fields and plucked heads of grain

The phrase brings two primary points into focus:

1. The Sabbath regulations, as interpreted by the Pharisees, had lost the intent of the Sabbath prescribed in the Old Testament. Therefore, the rules they observed were human made, not God made, and able to be broken.

2. The Sabbath proclaimed at creation was intended to serve mankind as a holy day, giving blessing, and observing God’s rest/restoration.

Nothing of Jesus’ or His disciples’ actions were contrary to the purpose and intent of the Sabbath observance. As such, Jesus was not rewriting the law, but fulfilling and clarifying the original law as described in the Pentateuch, Historical Books, and the Prophets.

the Sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them. In contrast with the grueling daily work as slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to take a full day of rest each week under the Mosaic Law. Pharisaical law had morphed the Sabbath into a burden, adding restrictions beyond what God’s law said. The act of picking a head of grain and chewing on it as one walked along a field should not be considered “harvesting,” as the Pharisees tried to categorize it. The disciples had not broken God’s law; they had only violated the Pharisees’ strict interpretation of the law. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the original intent of the Sabbath rest.

Jesus gives a similar reminder in Mark 3:1–6 when He heals a man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were looking to accuse Jesus and closely watched His response to a man with a shriveled hand. “Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (Mark 3:4). The Sabbath was not intended to burden people but to ease their burden. For someone to forbid acts of mercy and goodness on God’s day of rest is contrary to all that is right. Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, did what was right and healed the man, and that’s when the Pharisees began to plot with the Herodians to kill Jesus.

Jesus is Lord even of the Sabbath. What does this mean? Another way to express the idea is to say Jesus is in charge of the Sabbath. He is God in human form, and He created the Sabbath day. As the One who wrote the law, Jesus certainly has oversight over how the law is to be enforced. The Pharisees had lifted their own rules to the level of God’s, placing onerous burdens on people, and they ended up rebuking the Lawgiver Himself.

Jesus is also the Lord of the Sabbath in that the Sabbath pointed to the rest Jesus provides. Jesus became our rest when He did all the work necessary for our salvation (Hebrews 4). He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). “Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). We rest, spiritually, in Him; He has secured our eternal blessing.

The importance of Sabbath:

God desires rest for us because it does not come naturally to us. To rest, we have to trust that God will take care of things for us. We have to trust that, if we take a day off, the world will not stop turning on its axis. From the beginning (Genesis 3), when we decided that we would start making all the decisions, mankind has become more tense and less able to relax.

It was disobedience in the Garden that started the problem, but obedience now will bring the rest that God so desires for us (Hebrews 3:7 - 4:11). If one of the definitions of “relax” is “to become less firm,” then relaxing our grip on our own lives, careers, families, etc., and giving them over to God in faith is the best way to relax.

For the Christian, the ultimate rest is found in Christ. He invites all who are “weary and burdened” to come to Him and cast our cares on Him (Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 5:7). It is only in Him that we find our complete rest—from the cares of the world, from the sorrows that plague us, and from the need to work to make ourselves acceptable to Him.

We no longer observe the Jewish Sabbath because Jesus is our Sabbath rest. In Him we find complete rest from the labors of our self-effort, because He alone is holy and righteous. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can now cease from our spiritual labors and rest in Him, not just one day a week, but always.As believers, set free in Christ, we are not judged by whether or not we keep the Sabbath day (Colossians 2:16). Instead, we follow the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus Christ. We find our rest in Him, and seven days a week are filled with worship of Him.

When we fail to fully trust and rest in Jesus, or when we just do it when its convenient for us....All those things we talked about earlier anxiety, anger, depressions, lust, unbearable stress, fearful, exhausted and ultimately a burnt out person who doesn't see the need to move forward or feel like they can. Ive been there....

If I am being honest its been hard for me recently to find my rest in Jesus and to slow down....Some of these things have been evident in my life and God has called me on it…Ive ignore and suppressed so much that i’ve found myself struggling to put one foot in front of the other.

Anyone who has experienced burnout knows it is not something we ever want to experience again. Burnout is commonly described as an exhausted state in which a person loses interest in a particular activity and even in life in general.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, social, and spiritual exhaustion. It can lead to diminished health, social withdrawal, depression, and a spiritual malaise. Many times, burnout is the result of an extended period of exertion at a particular task (generally with no obvious payoff or end in sight) or the carrying of too many burdens from past hurts and trauma, or from trying to help everyone else but yourself...

Burnout can be common among those in high-stress jobs who feel forced to please an earthly master in order to maintain their job and continue to provide for their families. The god of money reigns in Western culture, and his demands often lead to burnout. Christians are not immune to the demands of economic realities or to experiencing fear of failing to meet those demands. Unfortunately, burnout can also be common among those in vocational Christian ministry and those highly involved in their churches. In these cases people sometimes feel compelled to serve the god of productivity and works. Burnout can happen anywhere. It is the result of overwhelming demands or responsibilities, either placed on us by others or by ourselves, that we simply cannot bear. So what does the Bible say about burnout?

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28–30). The ultimate solution for those currently experiencing burnout is to find refreshment in Christ. For those with a particularly high level of burnout, this refreshment may include obtaining medical support and drastically altering their life activities. Others may find refreshment through seeing a counselor. Reading encouraging Scriptures (such as Romans 8, John 15, or Psalm 139) can be very life-giving. Even simple activities like cooking, going for a walk, playing with the kids, or watching a funny show can be restorative.

The prevention plan for burnout is to rest in Jesus and follow His direction for life.

Burnout is often the result of self-reliance. The self-reliant take upon themselves the role of savior rather than trusting God to accomplish His own will. They begin to see every need as their call, rather than asking for God’s wisdom and direction. This can play out in a ministry setting when a pastor attempts to do the work of the entire Body of Christ, in a business setting when someone forces a certain plan or project, in a family setting when a parent takes responsibility for the success and happiness of a child, and in numerous other settings.

Another cause of burnout is a lack of self-care. Those who do not take care of themselves fail to understand how much God values them. They fail to accept His rest and His love for them, instead martyring themselves on the altar of pleasing others. They may sacrifice sleep, nourish their bodies poorly, over-extend their schedules, or neglect their needs in other ways. Whether it’s a lack of self-care or an insistence on self-reliance, burnout stems from a lack of understanding of the character of God and His expectations for our lives.

Working is a portion of what gives our lives a sense of meaning and purpose. Christians are also expected to be self-sacrificial, at times giving beyond themselves. However, nowhere in the Bible does God equate our acceptability or our identity with our work. And nowhere does God command or condone working so hard that we become burned out. Rather, our work is to be energized by Him. He demonstrated the importance of rest on the seventh day of creation and with the Sabbath command. After one particularly busy time, Jesus invited His disciples away from the crowds for a time of rest (Mark 6:31). Jesus said to come to Him with our burdens and take His yoke instead. He also gave us the Holy Spirit who can give us discernment in what tasks to say "yes" to.

Jesus provides rest for our souls and boundaries for our schedules. He also gives us a community to help carry out the work He has prepared for us. The Body of Christ is meant to function as a whole, each member helping carry the others' burdens, and all resting in Christ.

The author of Hebrews wrote, "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:1b-3). To persevere—to continue in our calling without burning out—we must remain focused on Jesus. Or, to use another metaphor, we must stay connected to the Vine (John 15:1-17). This is good biblical and psychological advice.

In some studies, avoiding burnout has been linked with spiritual well-being. The better we feel spiritually, the less likely we are to experience burnout. When we are in vibrant relationship with God and receiving our fill from Him, we are less likely to push the boundaries God has set for us or to work ourselves beyond what He would ask. We are more apt to recognize what God is calling us to do and what He is not calling us to do. God equips us for what He calls us to (Hebrews 13:20-21; Ephesians 2:10). When God continually fills our spirit, it is impossible to dry up and burn out.

But what does relying on Jesus look like practically? It will be different for each person. For some it will mean examining their own hearts and removing the idols of self-reliance. For others it will be challenging their trust in God by learning to say "no." For some it will mean consulting with God before saying "yes." For others, it will mean being more intentional about self-care. Self-care implies not only caring for one’s body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) by getting proper exercise, sleep, and nutrition; it also means taking time to laugh, to engage in hobbies, to be with friends, to be alone, to go for a hike, to soak in a bath, to read a book, to journal, in essence to actually enjoy those things that God has made to be life-giving to you. It also mean seeking a counselor to work through past issues and stop trying to work through them alone...

Taking steps to rely on Jesus may have very real consequences. Often when we first begin to set boundaries, such as those required in order to avoid burnout, some of those around us do not respond well. When a person is used to your continual "yes," he may not know how to handle a "no." Employers, families, and fellow church members may not understand what you are doing.

You may even suffer the loss of relationships, but you may also find yourself engaging in even richer relationships and truly enjoying the activities of life. When we are following God, we can trust that He is faithful to provide for our needs (Matthew 6:33). God has designed us and He knows what is best for us. When we rely on Him, we can trust Him to make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). It takes wisdom, discernment, and faith to live within God’s parameters, but it is there that we find true life.

We recover from burnout by entering God’s rest. We avoid burnout the next time by staying in tune with God’s specific direction for our lives. That means we consult Him about our schedules, we take time to care for ourselves, and we learn to depend on His strength to carry out our duties. Our identity is not drawn from the tasks we accomplish but from our relationship with Jesus. We do the work He calls us to, and we do it with all our hearts, but we do not go beyond the limits He has set.

We accept help from others because God has called us to community. We accept His rest because it is the gracious gift of a loving and wise Father. God is more interested in our relationship with Him than He is in our work.

Let us say yes to Jesus daily and rest in Him daily.....No longer relying on ourselves and our strength but relying on God who will give us the strength and empower us to do all the things He has called us too.

Holy Spirit Guide on how to close....

Week 2 Questions:

1.Is there an area in your life you have been weary to invite Jesus in to heal? Why?

2. Do you find it hard to slow down and rest? Why?

3.What does it mean to you to find rest in Jesus?

4.Have you experienced burnout? How did you get through? Or do you feel like you are currently burning out?