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THE GOSPEL OF MARK – NOT JESUS!

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NOT JESUS!

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 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.”

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Mark 6:30-34

How did Jesus handle interruptions? Certainly not the way we might have done. Our first thought would have been for ourselves. We might have been irritated by people and would have wanted to escape to carry out our original plan. All we would have wanted to do was to get away from the crowd to rest and have time out alone or with our closest friends.

Not Jesus! He tried to get away from the crowds but they beat Him to it. Why didn’t He simply go somewhere else – somewhere they didn’t anticipate? He didn’t try to dodge them. Instead He welcomed them with a heart of compassion. They had no meaning and no direction in their lives and no-one to lead them. Jesus’ heart was for them, not for Himself. He put their needs above His own.

Is this what He meant when He said that a disciple is someone who denies himself? Self-denial is not just going without to adhere to some sort of rule. I think it means that we choose to put the needs of others above our own, and here is a good example of self-denial from the Master Himself.

I wonder what the disciples felt about this interruption. They were probably looking forward to a day alone with Jesus, relaxing out in the open and enjoying being away from the crowd. They must have felt frustrated, irritated and even fed-up with Jesus. Why did He have to be so accommodating?

What was the difference between Jesus and His disciples? Their first thought was for themselves and their own needs. They were tired. They needed rest. They wanted to be alone. Jesus was also tired but He saw people who needed another kind of rest much more that He needed a day off. These people were struggling under the heavy yoke of religion and legalism and it wasn’t working. They didn’t need more religion. They needed a shepherd to protect and take care of them. That is exactly what He came to do – and He was not about to miss an opportunity like this.

Maddening Interruptions!

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MADDENING INTERRUPTIONS!

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 my by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6: 30-32).

Time out for some “me” time for the disciples. Everybody needs a little “me” time in a very busy world. Even Jesus’ disciples needed time out to catch their breath. Jesus was also a human; He understood His men’s weariness and He called them apart to get away from the crowd and relax before the next round of preaching and healing campaigns began. When there is no time to refuel spiritually as well as physically, that’s often when things begin to go wrong. How important to balance busyness and recreation to keep one’s heart and body functional!

But many who saw them leaving recognised them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. (Mark 6: 33).

Well now, weren’t they a considerate bunch! The people thronged them and clamoured for attention from morning until night. This was something they had never experienced before – help when there was no one else to help them. There was no hospital, doctor or medical science to which to turn for their ailments and their disabilities. Then a man arrived on the scene who miraculously cured everything from blindness to the sniffles. Wouldn’t you run after Him, even if you gave not thought to His needs?

What would Jesus do in a situation like this? His disciples needed rest. They needed to have a leisurely meal without being mobbed. By the time they reached the other shore, the people were already there in their thousands. He could so easily have simply turned around and sailed off somewhere else and left them all waiting there in vain.

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things. (Mark 6: 34)

Imagine if Jesus had dodged the crowd and gone somewhere else with His disciples! He was the Father’s representative, remember? Whatever He said and did, He did in the name of the Father. Had He left them and sailed away, He would have given them a message, loud and clear, that the Father wasn’t to be bothered with them. Was that what He was telling them about their God? This could have been one of those irritating and annoying interruptions, but it wasn’t. He didn’t let it be. He took everything in His stride.

An interruption for Jesus was a God-opportunity to reach out to spiritually starving people with the love of God. There would be time enough for Him and His disciples to rest and eat later on, but this was a “now” moment for Jesus. The people needed Him right them. If He sent them away, there might never be another opportunity to tell some of them the truth.

One of the secrets of Jesus’ serenity and confidence was His living in the “now”. Unlike the people whom the soil in His story of the sower and the seed represented, He was not split between “now” and “then”, or “here” and “there”.

That’s how most of us live. Our “now” had less significance for us than what we are waiting for in the future, or regretting in the past. Why do we insist on living in our “tomorrows” or “yesterdays” when Jesus said that tomorrow had enough trouble of its own? He moved from one moment to the next in the calm confidence that His Father loved Him and was in control. Not even a raging storm on the lake could shake His trust in the Father to take care of His well-being. When He had not boat, He simply walked on the water! When it was time to go elsewhere, He went. When the people ran after Him, He taught them. When He needed time with the Father, He went off by Himself and sought solitude so that He could fellowship with God. He knew how to balance work and rest.

What a difference it would make to our lives if we would follow Jesus’ example? Sometimes I have to stand in a queue and wait my turn to be served. How do I handle the waiting? Impatience rises and I want to jump the queue, expect to be given preferential treatment because I am white, English-speaking, educated, affluent or whatever my condition may be, or walk away and come back some other time when there are not so many people.

The Holy Spirit whispers to me, “Live in the moment.” That’s really hard to do when I want to be somewhere else, do something else because the moment for me is irritating, frustrating or just downright intolerable. How hard it is for me to be like my Master, resting quietly in the Father’s love, knowing that He is here. If I allowed Him to orchestrate my life, I could eliminate the word “stress” from my vocabulary! And live longer too.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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