09/06/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EZsgA55mp/
Come Away by Yourselves, by Pastor Gordon
“Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.” Jesus spoke these words to His 12 disciples when they rejoined Him after being sent out by Him two by two to multiply the kingdom impact of His ministry. They were (no doubt excitedly) reporting to Him all that they had done and taught under His authority and commissioning. I’m sure that Jesus rejoiced with them. But He also recognized their need to get away from the crowds to rest and be refreshed. (Mark 6:30ff)
If you’re familiar with the story, you’ll remember that Jesus’ plan was thwarted. They took off in a boat to a secluded place to be by themselves, but the people saw them going “and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.” When they landed, Jesus saw the large crowd, felt compassion for them, and began to minister to them. This led to the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus’ only miracle other than HIs resurrection which is recorded in all four gospels.
While we can all be thankful that Jesus put the spiritual hunger of people ahead of His own needs (or those of His disciples), we should also remember that He recognized when His disciples needed some down time. (And we can hope that somewhere in the next few days they got a chance for the rest Jesus knew they needed!)
Is there much to be done for the kingdom? Of course! Are we called to lay our lives down in following Jesus? Yes, indeed! Did Jesus give us an example of serving and tell us to do likewise? He certainly did! But it is also wise to recognize when we need a time of rest away from the press of the crowd and the ever-present needs of those around us. It is not “unspiritual” to go to a secluded place and rest awhile. Jesus is our good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. But He is also the Shepherd of our souls who leads us beside still waters and restores our soul. When we learn to lie down in green pastures, we’ll find that soon our cup will once again run over. Thank God for that!
… Pastor Gordon
