Mark 6:30 ¶ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33 And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. 34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.
30
¶ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all
things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31 And he said unto
them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there
were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32 And
they departed into a desert place by ship privately. 33 And the people saw them
departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and
outwent them, and came together unto him.
Jesus
Christ mandates rest, not pushing yourself to death. There are people who think
they can substitute obedience with causing themselves unnecessary personal
suffering as a sign of spirituality.
Pastors
need a balance. Christians need a balance. God didn’t call us to go without
sleep or to not eat right under ordinary circumstances. It proves nothing.
There were medieval Catholic monks who whipped themselves and performed all
sorts of disciplines that ravaged the body and mind in an effort to prove that
they were pious and spiritual. None of this means anything. It is the worship
of the will, masochism, and self-hate.
We’ll
see in a couple of chapters that Jesus lays down as one condition of following
Him is to deny yourself.
Mark
8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he
said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross, and follow me.
But
this is not about causing yourself suffering or denying your basic needs of
nourishment and rest. Self-abuse is not a sign of obedience to Christ.
Colossians
2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why,
as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21 (Touch not;
taste not; handle not; 22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the
commandments and doctrines of men? 23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom
in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to
the satisfying of the flesh.
See
here while Paul acknowledges that denying yourself in this way does deny the
flesh, it is a form of worship of your own will and only a show of wisdom, a
pretense. People who cause themselves pain and anguish supposedly for Christ
are only drawing attention to themselves. We are to be pointing to Christ not
to ourselves.
Jesus
told the disciples to come apart and rest. There are times when you need to
separate yourselves from your responsibilities to pray, reflect, and recover.
Do not mistake your martyr complex for spirituality. It is mere self-promotion
and pride.
One
of the great things about uniting with a small church body on Sunday mornings
is taking yourself out of the world and the cares of the world to worship and
sing and rejoice with like-minded fellow believers. It is a coming apart from
the world, a refreshing, and very important for the Christian. The church
meeting shouldn’t be a place where you hide in a crowd, sing half-heartedly,
pray reluctantly, and give a few unenthusiastic hellos because some
self-righteous person has made you feel that it’s your duty to be there. It
should be a place of refreshment and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Take
this verse out of its context in Nehemiah and reflect on what they did then,
thinking about your worship.
Nehemiah
8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and
send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto
our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength
Another
set of verses that would do us well in the church age are in Psalms.
Psalm
100:1 ¶ «A Psalm of praise.» Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. 2
Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. 3 Know ye
that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we
are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter into his gates with
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless
his name. 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth
endureth to all generations.
The
people in this passage would not be denied, though.
Modern
Bible versions have changed this passage to reflect only the desperate people’s
knowledge and need for the disciples and not Jesus alone. It was Jesus they
wanted, needed, and longed for and the modern versions often deny that fact in
this passage.
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