Mar 6:30-31 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord has sent out His twelve disciples in . Here they come back to Him without having received a special command. They are called “apostles”. Apostle means “sent one”. They come back to the humble Servant to tell Him all that they have done and taught. In their report they begin with their deeds. Then they tell Him what teaching they have given. It is good that they come back to their Master to report. It is an example for us to report back to Him when we have been allowed to do something for the Lord. Let us also learn from the example of the disciples that with us it should not be so much about what we have done as about what we have passed on from Him in teaching. This can be verbal, but also through our example. Each week we should be able to say what we have learned from the Lord in God’s school, for as long as we live, we are in school. When Paul and Barnabas report, they tell all that God has done with them ( ). The Lord is full of attention for them. He also knows that they need some rest after their service. The many who come and go enjoy the blessings of the service of the apostles. Yet they have no real interest in the Lord because they do not stay. Such experiences can be particularly discouraging. It requires a great deal of effort, while the result seems so small. There will always be an abundance of work that can occupy them (and us) to such an extent that there isn’t even time to eat. The Lord has not turned His servants into robots that can go on and on forever. He takes them to be with Him, for true rest can only be found in His company. He finds it necessary for His servants to occasionally separate themselves from the work in order to be alone with Him. A suitable environment must also be found for this. That suitable environment is not the city with all its noise and amusement, but a secluded place, where nothing can excite the senses and one can allow oneself to be taught by the Lord in complete rest and undisturbed. Finally, He says that they may rest “a while”. It is not the intention to withdraw completely from the work, but to regain with Him the necessary strength for the next service. The apostles follow His advice. They leave the field of work by boat and the many who come and go, to a secluded place by themselves. But the rest is limited to the rest in the boat. The people see the Lord leaving with His disciples. They also see where they are going. The Lord does not let the boat take a different course, for He never shames expectations. The people who want to come to Him hurry so much that they are at the place where the boat comes ashore even earlier than the boat.

‏ Mark 6:30-31

With the Lord

The Lord has sent out His twelve disciples in Mk 6:7. Here they come back to Him without having received a special command. They are called “apostles”. Apostle means “sent one”. They come back to the humble Servant to tell Him all that they have done and taught. In their report they begin with their deeds. Then they tell Him what teaching they have given.

It is good that they come back to their Master to report. It is an example for us to report back to Him when we have been allowed to do something for the Lord. Let us also learn from the example of the disciples that with us it should not be so much about what we have done as about what we have passed on from Him in teaching. This can be verbal, but also through our example. Each week we should be able to say what we have learned from the Lord in God’s school, for as long as we live, we are in school. When Paul and Barnabas report, they tell all that God has done with them (Acts 14:27 ; Acts 15:4).

The Lord is full of attention for them. He also knows that they need some rest after their service. The many who come and go enjoy the blessings of the service of the apostles. Yet they have no real interest in the Lord because they do not stay. Such experiences can be particularly discouraging. It requires a great deal of effort, while the result seems so small. There will always be an abundance of work that can occupy them (and us) to such an extent that there isn’t even time to eat.

The Lord has not turned His servants into robots that can go on and on forever. He takes them to be with Him, for true rest can only be found in His company. He finds it necessary for His servants to occasionally separate themselves from the work in order to be alone with Him. A suitable environment must also be found for this. That suitable environment is not the city with all its noise and amusement, but a secluded place, where nothing can excite the senses and one can allow oneself to be taught by the Lord in complete rest and undisturbed. Finally, He says that they may rest “a while”. It is not the intention to withdraw completely from the work, but to regain with Him the necessary strength for the next service.

The apostles follow His advice. They leave the field of work by boat and the many who come and go, to a secluded place by themselves. But the rest is limited to the rest in the boat. The people see the Lord leaving with His disciples. They also see where they are going. The Lord does not let the boat take a different course, for He never shames expectations. The people who want to come to Him hurry so much that they are at the place where the boat comes ashore even earlier than the boat.