Come Away

“Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” Mark 6:31

Jesus sent off the twelve to preach repentance and heal the sick. When they came back, hot and dusty, they were bubbling over with stories about all they had done and taught. So many people were coming and going, and crowding round about them that they had not even had a chance to eat. Jesus then said that they should “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

They went away, taking a boat to a deserted place. No matter how many times we read the Bible, there will be details that will surprise us. In verse 33, we find that “many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.” Ran on foot? Got there ahead of them? How is that possible? What did Jesus do? Did He ask the disciples set off for another solitary place farther away? Did he shoo the crowds away? We read, “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.”

If we are to be like Jesus, there are times when we need to be away from the crowds, to find a place to be with our Father and rest. After all, how will we be able to hear Him, if we do not have the quietness needed to listen? “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) Listening, like everything else, requires practice. Even being quiet requires practice and intention. At the start, five minutes can seem like an eternity. But then, if we keep at it, day after day, five minutes becomes ten, and before you know it, we have spent an hour with the One who loves us best. 

And just like Jesus did with the crowd who followed Him, He will have compassion for us and teach us many things.