Rest in Wilderness

English Standard Version Chapter 6

they had no leisure even to eat

English Standard Version Chapter 6

Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while

It is interesting to see that

Disciples were very busy. “They did not get time even to eat”

Jesus reminds them to take time off to rest for a while

Engaging in ministry work can be exhausting. Jesus did not hint that working to death will bring in more blessing rather he advised for a time to recover (“desolate” or “wilderness”). Wildnerness or desolate place will give the the disciples some time to themselves.

There could be 2 ways to see this

The immediate need for a time of recovery and recuperation

A foreshadowing of a futuristic rest in Jesus as noted by the commentary given below

That God provides rest for his people within the wilderness is a recurring theme in the Scripture. It was the literal rest of the wilderness generation led by Moses and Joshua which became the type of the final rest promised to the people of God in a second exodus in the preaching of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The ancient hope of rest within the wilderness is to be fulfilled as Jesus gathers his disciples to a wilderness-place that they may be by themselves11 William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 225.