Compassion On A Crowd - Mark 6:30-34 Series

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 1 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.

Rest

The Need for Time Alone

Back in v.7 Jesus sent the 12 out in pairs to travel around and preach and do miracles. We don’t know how long that lasted, but in v.30 they come back. Here come James and John. Jesus is excited to see them. They start catching up, and pretty soon—there’s Thomas and James. Wow, they look like they’ve been through the ringer. Oh, here’s Andrew and Phillip. Two by two, each of the six teams comes back to Jesus.

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

I bet! Can you imagine? You come back from any trip and you want to tell you friends and family all about it. But a trip where you were raising the dead and driving out demons and preaching? You know these guys were just busting at the seams to talk to Jesus.

First it says they wanted to talk about all they had done. All those miracles. “Hey Jesus! Nathaniel and I found a hospital and just cleared the place. But so many of them still didn’t believe—why is that?” “Remember when we were going over the parables, I told you about the different kinds of soils—people will respond differently based on what kind of heart they have?” “Oh yeah, right. How about this—we healed this one guy, and he offered us money. He said he would support the ministry. How do you handle a situation like that?” “Remember I told you ‘Freely you have received; freely give.’?” I’m sure they had all kinds of questions about everything that surrounded all their miracles.

They also wanted to talk to Jesus about what they had been teaching. “Whenever we brought up the kingdom, the people kept asking us what you’re going to do about Rome. What should we say? And when we told people to repent, some people were saying they didn’t need to because they were children of Abraham. How would you answer that one?”

Jesus starts to answer, “When they ask you that, just tell them …” Before he can finish the sentence this great big guy steps right in front of him. “Jesus! Please! You’ve got to come heal my wife. She’s dying!” “Hold on a minute, I need to talk to my …” Then someone pulls Peter’s robe from behind. “My cousin said you healed him yesterday. Can you come and touch my son? He’s been unconscious for almost a week now.” And as soon as some would leave, others would come.

31 so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat…

Nathaniel puts some cream cheese on a bagel and before he can put a bite in his mouth someone pulls him away. It’s just relentless.

And then, to make matters worse, they get some crushing news. Some messengers come running up. Jesus can tell right away something’s wrong. “What is it?” “It’s your cousin, John the Baptist.” “Is he OK?” “Jesus … he’s dead. Murdered by Herod at a party.” Finally, Jesus pulls the plug on this whole scene.

31 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.

Do all those people in the crowd need Jesus? Yes. Could he have done a lot of good ministering to them? Yes, but there are times when you have to say no. You can’t sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent. So Jesus makes a decision: “We are taking a day off.”

There Is A Time for Rest

There are times when you need to step away from ministry and get some rest. God designed us to need that. He didn’t have to. God could have created us so that your whole body worked like your heart. Your heart starts beating when you’re in the womb and doesn’t stop until you die. It never takes a single moment’s rest your entire life. God could have easily made your whole body like that—no need for any breaks or rest. But instead, in his perfect wisdom, he designed us to constantly get tired, and need rest.