Far From the Maddening Crowd

 

And He said to them, "Come away by  yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.  --Mark 6:31

Exhaustion can be a ministry killer, and Satan knows it.  The devil can fill your days with so much busy work that you become ineffective.  The daily grind can dull your senses and harden your heart.  Sometimes God has to get our attention to make us take a rest.

Jesus knew the importance of rest when He was here on Earth in bodily form.  You will remember that before the feeding of the 5000, Jesus and His disciples were trying to get away to a desolate place to rest.  They got in a boat, and people saw it; the crowds watched which direction the boat was going, and met Him there.  Instead of a day of rest, the disciples witnessed a day of Jesus teaching and meeting needs in miraculous ways, ways they could not have imagined.

But now it was time for rest.

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.  --Mark 6:45

If we read between the lines a little bit, we can see Jesus was trying to create a diversion of sorts, but the disciples were a bit resistant.  The phrase translated "He made them" literally means to compel, drive to, or constrain by force, threats, entreaties, or other means.  Jesus knew that if the crowd saw the disciples get in a boat and sail to the other side to Bethsaida, then the crowds would follow them there.  His idea was that He would stay behind, steal away, and get some alone time for Himself.

I can imagine the disciples voiced opposition to this plan.  "Don't make us leave.  We want to stay with You," they may have said.  Or they may have whined, "We're tired, too.  We need rest just like You."  The fishermen among them, who were accustomed to sailing, may have seen a storm over the Sea, and objected even more.  "It's dangerous" they might have said.  "Let's wait for the storm to pass."  Whatever their objections, I am sure they were reasonable and well thought out arguments from a human perspective.  Nevertheless, Jesus ordered them to take the boat out into the night.

And after He had taken leave of them, He went up to the mountain to pray.  And when evening came, the boat was out to sea, and He was alone on the land.  --Mark 6:46, 47

Jesus told the disciples that He would dismiss the crowd.  I'm sure many in the crowd saw the disciples launch the boat and started to walk around the Sea of Galilee on foot to meet them on the other side, assuming that Jesus was with them.  I'm not sure whether Jesus had to say goodbye to others in the crowd who may have been closer to Him, but it says He immediately went up on the mountain to pray.

Jesus needed time with the Father more than He needed sleep.  We, too, should place a priority on prayer.  Luke 18:1 says that we "ought always to pray and not lose heart (some translations say "faint")."  We also see that Jesus was persistent in prayer, praying a long time.  Notice the time lapse between verse 47 and 48.

And He saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.  And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. --Mark 6:48

Jesus had sent them out during the first watch of the night, during the late evening, probably after 7 or 8 pm.  The second watch of the night, between 9 pm and midnight, Jesus was praying and the disciples were sailing hard.  The third watch of the night, between midnight and 3 a.m., Jesus continued praying, and the disciples continued straining against the sea.  For six hours Jesus prayed.  When He was done praying, He could still see the boat from the shore, because of the severe headwind.

I have read that the Sea of Galilee is only about 13 miles across.  Under normal circumstances, it would only take about two hours to get to the other side.  For this trip, they had been straining for six hours and they still weren't anywhere near where they wanted to be.  In the companion passage in John 6:16-20, it says they had only gone about three or four miles.  If they were trying to sail against a headwind, they would have tried to tack one way and then the other, in a zig-zag pattern.  They may have tried that for a time.  They could have taken down the sails and tried to row, but the headwind was so strong that they would not have made any progress at all.

The word translated "making headway" (or "rowing" in some translations) literally means "to drive."  That is not to say it was an easy task; driving for us means sitting in a car and letting it do the work.  Many of us have tried to drive in inclement weather, and know how a two-hour trip could be extended like this.  However, the driving that they were doing was much more labor intensive.  It was fighting against a driving wind and rain, straining with all of their might, exhausted by the physical exertion.  

And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.  He meant to pass by them, but when they saw Him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw Him and were terrified.  But immediately He spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I.  Do not be afraid."  And He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased.  And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.  --Mark 6:48-52

They thought that they were doing the will of God, because Jesus had commanded them to get into the boat.  Six hours later they were not even halfway there.  I'm sure they were about to give up.  Faith gave way to physical and mental exhaustion, because when they saw a human figure appearing to walk on the water right past the boat, they immediately resorted to old superstitions.  "A ghost!" they thought.  Jesus heard their terrified screams above the sounds of the storm, and exhorted them to not be afraid.  When they  pulled Him into the boat, the storms calmed.

Mark makes a little commentary there at the end, saying that their hearts were hardened, because they didn't understand the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  This could mean that God had hardened their hearts so that He could perform additional mighty works for His glory, as He had done with Pharaoh in Egypt.  I don't know why God would harden all hearts of all the disciples (later we will learn that Judas' heart was hardened because of his disbelief) if they were believers.  I believe this may mean their senses were so dulled by physical exhaustion and mental fatigue that they did not equate God's provision of food for the 5000 with His ability to save them from the storm.  Even if they did not feel they were making headway, as long as they kept doing what Jesus told them to do, they would be blessed, and their physical needs would be met--including the need for rest.

Let's look at a few lessons from the passage in conclusion.

• When Jesus asks you to do something impossible (or illogical, or even foolish), He will show up in a big way if we are obedient.
• Be like Jesus; make prayer a priority.
• When it seems like we are making no progress, Jesus sees us.
• Don't be afraid when Jesus shows up.
• Don't let fatigue steal your faith.
• Remember Jesus' prior provision, where He showed up in a mighty way in the past, and take heart.

Walter Winchell said, "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."  We have no greater friend than Jesus.  Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in You."  Jesus is a friend who can walk on water when we are adrift, and we can rest is His blessed assurance of our salvation.