Transcript:
Modern life is busy, hectic, and full of activity that constantly demands our time and attention. Electricity makes it possible to treat nighttime like it is daytime. Thus, the hustle and bustle of life does not even slow down when it gets dark outside.
The frantic pace of life is often driven by our selfish desires to gain more possessions or experience more pleasures. It is also often motivated by numerous opportunities to help people or make life better in our society. This means our over-extended lives are often the result of not being able to say no to engagements that benefit other people.
Jesus experienced all this. When He started healing people, there was a never ending stream of people who also needed help. Jesus had compassion and didn’t want to say no to anyone. However, amidst the pandemonium that surrounded Him, Jesus recognized that He and His disciples needed to rest. We should also make time for rest.
Yesterday, we read in Mark 6:7-13 that Jesus sent the twelve out in pairs to preach repentance, cast out demons, and heal people. Mark 6:14-29 is an interlude in the story about Jesus and His disciples which informs us about Herod, Herodias, and the death of John the Baptist.
Herod married Herodias. Herodias was the wife of Philip, brother of Herod. John the Baptist criticized the marriage, saying it was not lawful. Herod imprisoned John, but kept John safe because Herod knew John was a holy man. Herodias, meanwhile, held a grudge against John and wanted to put him to death.
Mark 6:21 And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his great men and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;
Mark 6:22 and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”
There are a couple well-known ways to exploit men and manipulate them into doing something wrong or stupid. You can bribe them with money. A second option is to get them drunk. Another method is to exploit sexual desire.
I assume the dancing of Herodias’ daughter was sexually alluring. Herod was so enticed by the dancing that he promised to give the girl anything in exchange for a single evening of dancing.
Mark 6:23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.”
Herod was so blinded by the visual entertainment he was willing to give away half of his kingdom as thanks for only a single evening of dancing. Herod was not thinking very clearly.
The word “swore” is very important. In their culture they used oaths to make legally binding agreements. When Herod swore he would give the girl anything, he was not merely making a verbal promise, he was doing the equivalent of signing and notarizing a written contract.
Mark 6:24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
Herodias had been wanting to put John to death, so she seized this opportunity.
Mark 6:25 And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
Mark 6:26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.
This is what happens to men who do not guard against greed, alcohol, or sexual desire. They end up doing things they should not do or don’t want to do.
Mark 6:27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison,
Mark 6:28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.
Mark 6:29 And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
We read in Mark 6:7-13 that Jesus sent the twelve out in pairs to preach repentance, cast out demons, and heal people. Mark 6:14-29 is an interlude in the story about Jesus and His disciples which informs us about the end of the life of John the Baptist. In verse 30 Mark returned to his account of Jesus and the twelve.
Mark 6:30 ¶ And the apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.
Mark 6:31 And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
The second sentence in this verse communicates the busyness and chaos that surrounded Jesus. He and His apostles did not even have time to eat. The first sentence sets forth the response of Jesus to all the activity. Jesus wanted to get away so they could rest.
In our society we are also very busy. Life is hectic. Electricity and modern conveniences make it possible to engage in work and entertainment even after the sun has gone down. The is no relief from the constant barrage of things demanding our time and attention.
If Jesus and His apostles needed rest, then we need rest. Since Jesus made a deliberate attempt to get away from the tumult of life, we should do the same. In the midst of all the stresses of life, we need to intentionally pursue some down time.
Mark 6:32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Mark 6:33 ¶ And the people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them.
In this case the plan to get away to rest did not work. The crowd got to the desolate destination before the boat arrived.
Mark 6:34 And when Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.
This illustrates why it is hard to get rest. Jesus knew they needed to rest, but he could not ignore the large crowd of people who were like sheep without a shepherd. He had compassion for them.
In our lives there is a never-ending barrage of good things we can do. It is hard to say no to beneficial activity. However, at some point we need to say no. We need to rest.
Mark 6:35 And when it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and began saying, “This place is desolate and it is already quite late;
Mark 6:36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
Mark 6:37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them something to eat?”
Mark 6:38 And He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
Mark 6:39 And He commanded them all to sit down by groups on the green grass.
Mark 6:40 And they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
Mark 6:41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves. And He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all.
Mark 6:42 And they all ate and were satisfied,
Mark 6:43 and they picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish.
Mark 6:44 And there were five thousand men who ate the loaves.
Modern life is hectic. The activity does not even stop when the sun goes down. The frantic pace is driven by selfish desires to gain more possessions or experience more pleasures. It is also motivated by opportunities to make life better for ourselves or other people. It is hard to say no to good things.
Jesus experienced all this. When He started healing people, there was a never ending stream of people who needed help. Jesus had compassion and didn’t want to say no to anyone. However, amidst the pandemonium that surrounded Him, Jesus recognized that He and His disciples needed to rest.
We need to do the same. Amidst the frenzy of modern life, we need to find time to slow down and stop. We need to take breaks from the tumult. We need to rest on a regular basis.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”
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