Mark 6:30-34 Rest

Mark 6:30-34 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat. 32They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33But many people saw them leave and knew where they were going. They ran there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things.

Rest

I.

For some of us, we have been doing what we were trained to do for quite a while. Experience gives confidence that you know what you are doing. Others are just getting started—finally putting into practice what you studied and practiced for some time. You are fairly sure you understand everything you have learned, and you are ready and willing to put it into practice, but as you first start out it’s at least a little bit intimidating.

At the beginning of this chapter in the Gospel according to Saint Mark, Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples two by two. They were like seminary students, getting their first real taste of ministry. They got to preach to regular people for the first time, rather than delivering their sermons to classmates and their homiletics, which is to say the art of preaching, professor. It’s exciting to get out there and finally do what you have been training to do. They were even to get some compensation for their work—the people to whom they preached would give them room and board as they journeyed around the countryside preaching about Jesus. To these Twelve Jesus even gave the power to drive out demons and heal the sick.

It had been a great experience. But then, some troubling news came out. One of the most experienced at this craft had been executed for doing the very thing they had been doing. John the Baptist had been put to death. Now the intimidation of being new at their work was also tempered with fear. Could they face the same fate for what they were doing, even though it had been done at Jesus’ direction?

Maybe the mission trip was cut short at the news of John the Baptist’s death. Maybe it was just the right time to conclude their trip. Whatever the case, the Twelve were back with Jesus.

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ For there were so many people coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat” (Mark 6:31, EHV). Crowds of people still constantly surrounded Jesus. It was going to be difficult, at best, to discuss all these things and process what they had learned. It was time for a break.

Whether you are experienced in your profession or new to the job, it’s important to take some time to rest. Rest isn’t laziness. Rest comes after a period of hard work. Rest is a chance for reflection and recuperation.

We are in the middle of vacation season. Rest isn’t just for reflection and recuperation. For those with school-aged children, this is the best time to take some time off and spend some quality time as a family. The work week during most of the year doesn’t afford the same opportunities for family time that a week or two of vacation does.

Right from the very beginning God designed periods of rest and work. Even before sin affected everything, Adam and Eve were given a work and rest schedule. They were to work in the Garden of Eden for six days, then rest on the seventh. It’s not out of character, then, for Jesus to urge the disciples to take some time off and rest.

II.

“They went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33But many people saw them leave and knew where they were going. They ran there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them” (Mark 6:32-33, EHV). It was a leisurely cruise around the lake that the disciples and Jesus embarked on. They were in no real hurry; this was vacation. They were just heading to a place to get away from it all.

The shoreline, however, wasn’t all built up with houses and condominiums. There weren’t many marinas and restaurants lining the lake with scores of people taking their own relaxing cruises. The crowds of people that had continually surrounded Jesus were able to follow the progress of the boat with their eyes and their feet. They walked along the shoreline and noted his direction. As they passed the little villages, more people learned who was in the boat just offshore and joined the crowd.

It’s safe to say that everyone wanted something from Jesus. But what? Jesus was known as a powerful speaker and a great teacher. Many wanted to listen to his words. Who knew what new insights they might learn?

Quite a few wanted to see or experience miracles from the great Teacher. After the words of today’s Gospel comes the Feeding of the 5,000. In the aftermath of that obvious miracle, many wanted to make Jesus their earthly king, hoping that he would cater to their every whim and desire and give them lives of ease.

Crowds of people still follow Jesus. Many of them want something very specific. For some it’s programs—what does the church have to offer me in my situation? Some look to have their lifestyle choices validated; they are looking for a church that will say what they want to hear, even if it means twisting the Word of God into a pretzel to get there.

If you are looking for a church that excuses your pet sins, you won’t find it here. If you want to love the things of this world that damage or destroy faith, you will be disappointed by the message you hear.

III.

The crowds of people that continually surrounded Jesus hadn’t given much thought or concern to his feelings or his need for a break. When he got on that boat with his disciples, it was clear that he wanted some time alone. Thoughtlessly, they continued to dog his steps.

“When Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. He began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34, EHV). Jesus didn’t repay the thoughtlessness of the crowd in kind. The spiritual needs of the people had been sadly neglected in Judea.

Sometimes there is something so important that you just can’t continue with your proposed itinerary. Jesus looked at the crowds of people and saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They needed something, and it wasn’t necessarily what they thought they needed—or that they were looking for.

So great was the spiritual need that the disciples’ restful vacation was cut short. Jesus began to teach the crowd.

Every morning I get up from my bed—theoretically rested and refreshed. As I begin the daily routine, eventually I make my way to the most important appliance in the house—the coffee maker. I pour a cup and sit down with my tablet to do my devotions and Bible reading. Before I begin, I check to see what sleep score my watch has given me. Then, it’s off to the important things of God’s Word.

Some time later in the day I re-open the app recording my steps and my sleep and other metrics. Often I find that my watch has adjusted the sleep score for the day. It counted much of the time I spent in devotions and Bible reading as “sleep” and entered some new statistics.

Rest. The watch claims to calculate my physical rest, but the spiritual rest I get from God’s Word is much more valuable.

When Jesus began to teach the crowd at the lakeshore that day, he recognized that they needed rest, too. Not rest from tracking the boat as it made its way around the lake and rushing to intercept it, but rest for their souls.

The people in that crowd needed to hear the reason Jesus had really come. It wasn’t to give fancy speeches, or to heal them. Though Jesus took note of their physical needs and would soon provide them with food, he hadn’t come to feed their stomachs, either. He came to give them the spiritual rest they needed from their sins. He came to give them peace with their Heavenly Father—and his.

That’s why he came for you, too. He didn’t come to excuse your lifestyle choices or validate them. He didn’t come to tell you that your rudeness in expecting him to provide for your every whim is ok. He came to pay for those sins. God requires perfection as the ticket to enter heaven. Perfection is yours because Jesus gave you his. Because of his perfect life and innocent death, he tells you, just as he told so many sinners he met when he walked this earth, “You are forgiven. Go and leave your life of sin. Follow me.”

IV.

So this is the place for you to be—right here, listening to the Word of God. Receiving from the Lord Jesus real rest—spiritual rest—for your soul.

What do you do when you are all rested up, physically and spiritually? Get back to work. There are plenty of things for you to do in your service to the Lord.

Prayer is number one. Sit for those spiritually relaxing moments in prayer and Bible study, whether your time is first thing in the morning, like mine, or at your lunch break, or right before you go to bed at night, or some other time.

In your prayers, pray for those family members and friends who are straying from the rest the Savior brings, or who have never experienced that rest. Pray for Holy Trinity, that this congregation might continue to exist and continue to share the message of rest with God’s people. Pray for the called workers and all the volunteers who keep this congregation functioning. Pray that God’s Word would be preached here and everywhere.

Rested up with prayer, go and do what Jesus sent the Twelve out to do—proclaim the Good News about Jesus. Some of your prayers for the lost and straying are answered by you going and doing. Speak to your family members and friends about the Savior. Speak to your children and grandchildren—or your parents. Don’t wait for someone else to do it—you do it. Your concern for them will mean more to them than if the pastor or someone else from the congregation speaks to them.

The disciples didn’t really get much rest. They had the boat ride around the lake to recover from their previous work. Then they listened to Jesus teach the crowd. Moments after our text, Jesus would put them to work distributing food to the crowds of people as he fed the 5,000.

Get some rest from all the necessary work of proclaiming the gospel. Refreshed and renewed, get right back to work again, proclaiming peace with God to others. Every Christian is part of Jesus’ team to reach more souls. Ask yourself how you can serve, and say to the Lord Jesus, “Here am I, send me.” Amen.