Chapter 38—Come Rest Awhile
This chapter is based on
Matthew 14:1, 2, 12, 13
;
Mark 6:30-32
;
Luke
9:7-10
.
On returning from their missionary tour, “the apostles gathered
themselves together unto Jesus, and told Him all things, both what they
had done, and what they had taught. And He said unto them, Come
ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were
many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.”
The disciples came to Jesus and told Him all things. Their intimate
relationship with Him encouraged them to lay before Him their favor-
able and unfavorable experiences, their joy at seeing results from their
labors, and their sorrow at their failures, their faults, and their weak-
nesses. They had committed errors in their first work as evangelists,
and as they frankly told Christ of their experiences, He saw that they
needed much instruction. He saw, too, that they had become weary in
their labors, and that they needed to rest.
But where they then were they could not obtain the needed privacy;
“for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so
much as to eat.” The people were thronging after Christ, anxious to be
healed, and eager to listen to His words. Many felt drawn to Him; for
He seemed to them to be the fountain of all blessings. Many of those
who then thronged about Christ to receive the precious boon of health
accepted Him as their Saviour. Many others, afraid then to confess
Him, because of the Pharisees, were converted at the descent of the
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Holy Spirit, and, before the angry priests and rulers, acknowledged
Him as the Son of God.
But now Christ longed for retirement, that He might be with His
disciples; for He had much to say to them. In their work they had
passed through the test of conflict, and had encountered opposition in
various forms. Hitherto they had consulted Christ in everything; but
for some time they had been alone, and at times they had been much
troubled to know what to do. They had found much encouragement in
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