An exhortation delivery by Pastor Brian Phillips during worship on Sunday, July 21st, 2024.
“The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 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. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.”
- Mark 6:30-33
The setting of this text is important (as always). The disciples had been sent out by Jesus earlier in this chapter and they went to teach, cast out demons, and heal the sick. Now, they come back and they tell Jesus “all that they had done and taught.” And Jesus tells them that their great need is rest – “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”
The needs of others, the demands on the disciples’ time and energy were so great that they did not even have “leisure to eat.”
“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?’ And he said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they had found out, they said, ‘Five, and two fish.’ Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.”
- Mark 6:34-44
As we see in this part of the passage, the needs and demands did not go away. They were all still waiting, still in need, still in demand. After Jesus teaches them, the needs still don’t go away; they just change. Now the people need physical food. Jesus asks the disciples what they are going to do. What are you going to do for them? What do you have to give? Can you take care of them? The answer is a resounding, “We don’t have enough.” So, as we know, Jesus takes what they have and multiplies it. It becomes more than enough.
We normally think of this passage as an example of the miraculous things Christ can do and a reminder of what we cannot do. That is true, of course, but there is another lesson here that deserves attention. Jesus received the disciples back after their work and gave them rest. And when the needs pressed in on them again, and the disciples did not have enough to give, Jesus took what little they had, blessed it, and multiplied it. So the passage does highlight the miraculous works of Christ, but it also highlights the goodness of our limitations.
The limitations of the disciples were precisely the space in which Christ’s sufficiency was made known. You cannot do everything. You cannot be everything. You cannot give everyone what they want and/or need. You need rest. You need peace, quiet, and time.
But even rest will not make you enough. To every exhausted mom, overworked dad, anxious teenager, searching young man, I say (in contradiction of our foolish cultural mottos) “You are not enough” – not enough for your calling, for your work, for your spouse or children, for your future spouse and children. You are not enough, but you are not supposed to be.
Our anxiety accomplishes nothing. Our failure to rest accomplishes nothing. Do your duty. Give what you have to Christ. Rest in Him. And He will multiply it to be more than enough. Let us confess our sins...