Mark 6:31
And He said to them, "Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
Come with Me
This phrase is an invitation from Jesus, emphasizing His role as a shepherd and guide. The Greek word for "come" (δεῦτε) is an imperative, suggesting urgency and importance. It reflects Jesus' desire for His disciples to be in His presence, highlighting the relational aspect of discipleship. Historically, rabbis would often call their disciples to follow them closely, not just in physical proximity but in lifestyle and teaching. Jesus, as the ultimate Rabbi, calls His followers to a deeper relationship and understanding of His mission.

by yourselves
This phrase underscores the need for solitude and personal reflection. The Greek word "κατ' ἰδίαν" (kat' idian) implies privacy and separation from the crowd. In the context of Jesus' ministry, this was crucial for the disciples to recharge and refocus. It reflects the biblical principle of withdrawing from the world to seek God, as seen in the practices of prayer and meditation throughout Scripture. This call to solitude is a reminder of the importance of personal time with God amidst the busyness of life.

to a solitary place
The term "solitary" (ἔρημον, erēmon) is often translated as "desert" or "wilderness," which in biblical times was a place of testing, revelation, and encounter with God. The wilderness is where the Israelites wandered and where Jesus Himself was tempted. It symbolizes a place of spiritual growth and dependence on God. Archaeologically, these areas were sparse and desolate, providing the perfect setting for undistracted communion with God. This call to a solitary place is an invitation to step away from distractions and focus on spiritual nourishment.

and rest a while
The concept of rest (ἀναπαύσασθε, anapausasthe) is deeply rooted in the biblical tradition, harking back to the Sabbath rest instituted by God. It is not merely physical rest but a holistic restoration of body, mind, and spirit. In the hectic pace of ministry, Jesus recognized the disciples' need for rest, reflecting God's care for human limitations. This rest is a foretaste of the eternal rest promised to believers, a reminder that true rest is found in Christ alone. Historically, rest was a rare commodity, making Jesus' offer both radical and compassionate.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is the one who invites His disciples to rest. His compassion and understanding of human needs are evident here.

2. The Disciples
They are the ones Jesus is addressing. They have been actively involved in ministry and are in need of rest and rejuvenation.

3. A Solitary Place
This refers to a quiet, secluded area away from the crowds. It symbolizes a place of retreat and reflection.

4. The Crowds
These are the people who were constantly seeking Jesus and His disciples, creating a busy and demanding environment.

5. The Event of Rest
This is a moment where Jesus emphasizes the importance of rest amidst the busyness of ministry.
Teaching Points
The Necessity of Rest
Jesus acknowledges the physical and spiritual need for rest. In our busy lives, we must prioritize time to recharge and reconnect with God.

The Balance of Ministry and Self-Care
While serving others is important, Jesus shows that self-care is also crucial. We cannot pour from an empty cup.

The Importance of Solitude
Solitude is not just about being alone; it's about being alone with God. It is a time for reflection, prayer, and renewal.

Following Jesus' Example
Jesus models a balanced life of ministry and rest. We should strive to emulate His example in our daily routines.

Listening to Jesus' Invitation
Jesus invites us to come away with Him. We should be attentive to His call to rest and respond by setting aside time for Him.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' invitation to rest in Mark 6:31 reflect His understanding of human needs?

2. In what ways can we incorporate regular times of rest and solitude into our busy schedules, following Jesus' example?

3. How does the concept of Sabbath rest in Exodus 20:8-11 relate to Jesus' invitation in Mark 6:31?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to ensure we are balancing ministry and self-care in our lives?

5. How can we respond to Jesus' invitation to "come with Me privately" in our personal spiritual practices?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus invites those who are weary to come to Him for rest, highlighting His role as the provider of spiritual and physical rest.

Psalm 23:1-3
The Lord as a shepherd leads His people to still waters and restores their soul, paralleling the rest Jesus offers.

Exodus 20:8-11
The commandment to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest reflects God's design for regular rest and renewal.

Luke 5:16
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray, demonstrating the importance of solitude and communion with God.
Christ's Offer of RestA.F. Muir Mark 6:31
Coming and GoingA.F. Muir Mark 6:31
Recreative RestA. Rowland Mark 6:31
The Christian Worker's RestA.F. Muir Mark 6:31
A Victim to Want of LeisureA. Rowland, LL. B.Mark 6:30-31
Best by the WayH. J. Wilmot-Buxton, M. A.Mark 6:30-31
Ministers Need RestM. F. Sadler.Mark 6:30-31
No LeisureA. Rowland, LL. B.Mark 6:30-31
RecreationDr. Talmage.Mark 6:30-31
Recreative RestA. Rowland, LL. B.Mark 6:30-31
Rest and WorkE. Johnson, M. A.Mark 6:30-31
Rest AwhileR. N. Young, D. DMark 6:30-31
Rest from One Set of IdeasE. W. Shalders, B. A.Mark 6:30-31
Rest in NatureA. Rowland, LL. B.Mark 6:30-31
Retirement Essential to the Growth of True PietyStudiesMark 6:30-31
Retirement for ObservationH. W. Beecher.Mark 6:30-31
Seclusion with ChristC. J. Vaughan, D. D.Mark 6:30-31
Telling JesusA.F. Muir Mark 6:30, 31
The Christian Uses of LeisureJohn Ker, D. D.Mark 6:30-31
The Higher Use of RetirementH. W. Beecher.Mark 6:30-31
The Necessity for RestJohn Ker, D. D.Mark 6:30-31
The Richer for RestE. W. Shalders, B. A.Mark 6:30-31
The Saviour's Invitation to RestR. Glover.Mark 6:30-31
The Season of RestJ. F. Kitto, M. A.Mark 6:30-31
Rest and WorkE. Johnson Mark 6:30-34
Miraculous ProvisionJ.J. Given Mark 6:30-44
The Miracle of the LoavesR. Green Mark 6:30-44
People
Elias, Elijah, Herod, Herodias, James, Jesus, John, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Jude, Mary, Philip, Simon
Places
Bethsaida, Galilee, Genneseret, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee
Topics
Apart, Awhile, Desert, Deserted, Eat, Leisure, Lonely, Meals, Opportunity, Quiet, Rest, Secluded, Yourselves
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 6:31

     5057   rest, physical
     5582   tiredness
     7621   disciples, calling
     8328   quietness
     8438   giving, of time

Mark 6:1-56

     5357   journey

Mark 6:30-32

     4971   seasons, of life

Mark 6:31-32

     5386   leisure, nature of
     5901   loneliness

Library
January 6 Evening
The apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things they had done.--MARK 6:30. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.--The Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.--Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. When ye shall have done
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

September 4. "Come Ye Yourselves Apart" (Mark vi. 31).
"Come ye yourselves apart" (Mark vi. 31). One of the greatest hindrances to spirituality is the lack of waiting upon God. You cannot go through twenty-four hours with two or three breaths of air, in the morning, as you sip your coffee. But you must live in the atmosphere, and you must breathe it all day long. Christians do not wait upon God enough. It needs hours and hours daily of spiritual communion with the Holy Spirit to keep your vitality healthful and full. Every moment should find you breathing
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January 8. "It is I, be not Afraid" (Mark vi. 50).
"It is I, be not afraid" (Mark vi. 50). Someone tells of a little child with some big story of sorrow upon its little heart, flying to its mother's arms for comfort, and intending to tell her the story of its trouble; but as that mother presses it to her bosom and pours out her love, it soon becomes so occupied with her and the sweetness of her affection that it forgets to tell its story, and in a little while even the memory of the trouble is forgotten. It has just been loved away, and she has taken
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Herod --A Startled Conscience
'But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.'--Mark vi. 16. The character of this Herod, surnamed Antipas, is a sufficiently common and a sufficiently despicable one. He was the very type of an Eastern despot, exactly like some of those half-independent Rajahs, whose dominions march with ours in India; capricious, crafty, as the epithet which Christ applied to him, 'That fox!' shows; cruel, as the story of the murder of John the Baptist proves; sensuous
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Master Rejected: the Servants Sent Forth
'And He went out from thence, and came into His own country; and His disciples follow Him. 2. And when the Sabbath day was come, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are wrought by His hands? 3. Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary, the Brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon! and are not His sisters here with us? And they
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Martyrdom of John
'For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. 18. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. 19. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. 21. And when
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The World's Bread
'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
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ Thwarted
'And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.'--Mark vi. 5,6. It is possible to live too near a man to see him. Familiarity with the small details blinds most people to the essential greatness of any life. So these fellow-villagers of Jesus in Nazareth knew Him too well to know Him rightly as they talked Him over; they recognised His wisdom and His mighty works; but all the impression that these
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On Attending the Church Service
"The sin of the young men was very great." 1 Sam. 2:17. 1. The corruption, not only of the heathen world, but likewise of them that were called Christians, has been matter of sorrow and lamentation to pious men, almost from the time of the apostles. And hence, as early as the second century, within a hundred years of St. John's removal from the earth, men who were afraid of being partakers of other men's sins, thought it their duty to separate from them. Hence, in every age many have retired from
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Epistle of Saint Jude.
V. 1, 2. Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, but a brother of James, to those that are called to be holy in God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, mercy unto you and peace and love be multiplied. This Epistle is ascribed to the holy Apostle, St. Jude, brother of the two Apostles, James the Less and Simon, by the sister of the mother of Christ, who is called Mary (wife) of James or Cleopas, as we read in Mark vi. But this Epistle cannot be looked upon as being that of one who was truly an Apostle,
Martin Luther—The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained

The First Sayings of Jesus --His Ideas of a Divine Father and of a Pure Religion --First Disciples.
Joseph died before his son had taken any public part. Mary remained, in a manner, the head of the family, and this explains why her son, when it was wished to distinguish him from others of the same name, was most frequently called the "son of Mary."[1] It seems that having, by the death of her husband, been left friendless at Nazareth, she withdrew to Cana,[2] from which she may have come originally. Cana[3] was a little town at from two to two and a half hours' journey from Nazareth, at the foot
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Chronology
45. The length of the public ministry of Jesus was one of the earliest questions which arose in the study of the four gospels. In the second and third centuries it was not uncommon to find the answer in the passage from Isaiah (lxi. 1, 2), which Jesus declared was fulfilled in himself. "The acceptable year of the Lord" was taken to indicate that the ministry covered little more than a year. The fact that the first three gospels mention but one Passover (that at the end), and but one journey to Jerusalem,
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

The Friend of Men 223 in Nothing Does the Contrast Between Jesus and John the Baptist Appear More Clearly than in their Attitude Towards Common Social
I The Friend of Men 223. In nothing does the contrast between Jesus and John the Baptist appear more clearly than in their attitude towards common social life. John had his training and did his work apart from the homes of men. The wilderness was his chosen and fit scene of labor. From this solitude he sent forth his summons and warning to his people. They who sought him for fuller teaching went after him and found him where he was. They then returned to their homes and their work, leaving the prophet
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Twelve Baskets Full of Fragments Gathered from the Miracle of Christ Feeding the Multitude.
1.--MAN NEEDS HELP. "They have nothing to eat." (Mark vi. 36.) 2.--GOD IS BETTER THAN GOOD MEN. "Send them away," said the disciples. (Mark vi. 36.) "They need not depart," the Lord replied. (Matt. xiv. 16.) 3.--MINISTERS SHOULD ALWAYS BE ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR THE CHILDREN, THEY GIVE HELP AS WELL AS TROUBLE. Andrew said, "There is a lad here." (John vi. 9.) 4.--YOUTH CAN GIVE TO JESUS WHAT NO ONE ELSE POSSESSES. "There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves." (John vi. 9.) 5.--UNBELIEF
Thomas Champness—Broken Bread

The Historical Books. 1 the New Testament...
CHAPTER XXIX. THE HISTORICAL BOOKS. 1. The New Testament, like the Old, is not an abstract system of doctrines and duties, but a record of facts involving doctrines and duties of the highest import. This record does not constitute an independent history, complete in itself, and to be explained in its own light. It is rather the necessary sequel to the record of the Old Testament. It interprets the Old Testament, and is itself interpreted by it. The two constitute together an organic whole, and can
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Right to Privacy
"There were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."--Mark 6:31 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them."--Matthew 9:36 I had just come back from a strenuous month in the country. Mr. and Mrs. Sprightly, the young married couple who were in charge of the mission station, and I were relaxing around the tea table. I told about the work I had been doing, and answered interested questions. Finally the talk drifted into lighter channels, and
Mabel Williamson—Have We No Rights?

Set at Liberty.
(MARK VI. 27.) "Hush my soul, and vain regrets be stilled; Now rest in Him who is the complement Of whatsoe'er transcends our mortal doom, Of baffled hope and unfulfilled intent; In the clear vision and aspect of whom All longings and all hopes shall be fulfilled." ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. The Genesis of a Great Crime--The Strength of Evil Influences--An Accomplice of Satan--The Triumph of Hate--The Baptist Beheaded--A Place of Repentance The evangelist Mark tells us, in the twenty-first verse of this
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

The King's Courts
(MARK VI.) "The number of thine own complete, Sum up and make an end; Sift clean the chaff, and house the wheat; And then, O Lord, descend. "Descend, and solve by that descent This mystery of life; Where good and ill, together blent, Wage an undying strife." J. H. N. Under Royal Surveillance--"It is not Lawful."--The Revenge of Herodias--The Upbraidings of Conscience--Devotion to Truth--"A Sin unto Death." Our story brings us next to speak of the Baptist's relations with Herod Antipas, son of the
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Rejected in his Own Country
"And He went out from thence; and He cometh into His own country; and His disciples follow Him." MARK 6:1-6 (R.V.) WE have seen how St. Mark, to bring out more vividly the connection between four mighty signs, their ideal completeness as a whole, and that mastery over nature and the spiritual world which they reveal, grouped them resolutely together, excluding even significant incidents which would break in upon their sequence. Bearing this in mind, how profoundly instructive it is that our Evangelist
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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