COME UNTO ME, YE WEARY

Rev. Bernt P. Tweit

Old Testament Lesson; Jeremiah 23:1-6
Epistle Lesson; Ephesians 2:13-22
Gospel Lesson; Mark 6:30-34
Sermon Text; Mark 6:30-34

Our sermon text for today is the Gospel Lesson, which is recorded in Mark, chapter 6, looking at verses 30 – 34.

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.

These are Your Words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your Word is truth.

Amen

My family loves enjoying time, out on our boat. As we go out on one of the local, Madison lakes, we enjoy going to a certain place that has endearingly become known to us as "The Favorite Spot." It is in that spot that we see the busyness of the city of Madison around us. We can see the airplanes busily coming and going from the airport. We can see the cars, as they are cruising up and down the roads. And, we can see the boats as they are cruising around the lakes. It is in this spot that we love to see the children playing in the water. It is in this spot that we love to converse with one another. It is in this spot that we 'recharge our batteries'. And, it is in this spot that we find rest.

In our text for today, it is Jesus who is speaking to His disciples about rest on a boat out on the water. Let me just share with you some of the things that were taking place in and around the Sea of Galilee, when our text was taking place. It was at this point and time that Jesus had just sent out His twelve disciples. And, they went out two by two, preaching in Jesus' name. They were preaching their very first sermons. It was at this time that Jesus gave the disciples the authority to heal people of their physical illnesses. Jesus gave them the authority to drive out demons in those people who were demon possessed. And so, there was a lot of excitement in this area. Jesus' ministry was growing in popularity and the people were desiring to hear about Jesus.

But, it was also at this time that there was some shock and awe in the air. You see, the people in and around the Sea of Galilee learned that John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod. And the people were wondering, "Here was the forerunner of Jesus. Here was the disciple of Christ and his life was cut short, as he was beheaded."

Then, it is going to be right after our text for today that Jesus sits down with these people who were like sheep without a shepherd. He feeds five thousand men, with five loaves of bread and two fish.

As Jesus asks the disciples to come with Him by themselves to a solitary place and get some rest, He is first of all speaking of the physical rest that He wanted for their bodies. The disciples had just gotten back from some strenuous work. They had been walking to many different towns and villages, proclaiming Jesus' name to everyone they came across, healing those people who were sick, and curing those people who were demon possessed. Certainly, they were tired and needed rest.

That is why we ask our foreign missionaries to come home each year on a furlough, so that they can find rest for their physical bodies and to reconnect with their family and friends. That is why it is important for our teachers and our pastors, after a year in school, to find rest for their physical bodies. And you, also, need to take time during the week and the year to find rest for your physical bodies.

That period of rest that we need for our physical body is one that originated with God, our Heavenly Father. It was after God created the heavens and the earth in six days that the Bible tells us what God did on the seventh day. In Genesis, chapter two, it says, "By the seventh day, God had finished the work He had been doing. So, on the seventh day, He rested from all of His work. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done."

God rested on the seventh day. It was in that garden, which He had created, that He placed Adam and Eve, to work for and to care for the garden. But, He also asked them to find a time of rest. With you, too, and with me, also, God has given us work. But, He also desires us to take a time of rest for our physical bodies.

Not only does Jesus want us to find rest for our bodies, but in our text for today, we also see how Jesus wants to comfort our troubled hearts. Think about what the disciples were thinking and feeling. Here they had come back to Jesus, from their work. They go with Jesus in a boat to this solitary place and what probably is weighing heavily on their mind is the death of John the Baptist. Here was the forerunner of Jesus. Here was a disciple of Christ and he had been beheaded by Herod. I am sure the disciples were thinking, "If Herod did that to John the Baptist, what might he be willing to do to us?" And so, their hearts were troubled. While they went with Jesus at that solitary place, Jesus was able to bring comfort to their troubled hearts.

There is also sadness that troubles our hearts in our lives, as well. Maybe, like the disciples, it is the death of a loved one. It is the death of someone who is very near and dear to us. During our current financial times, maybe it is a loss of a job. Maybe, for our young people, there is friend who has moved away. Our hearts are troubled by these things that weigh us down. It is Jesus who is able to come to us and to comfort our troubled hearts. Jesus tells us,

"Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in Me."

But, sometimes there are moments in which we despise the comfort that Jesus desires to bring to us, or there are times where we despise the rest that He desires to give to us. And, when might we despise the rest that Jesus desires to give to us, or when might we despise the comfort that Jesus wants to offer us? It is when we neglect using our Bibles. It is when we neglect coming to His holy Supper. It is when we neglect gathering to worship with our fellow believers. Jesus wants to bring comfort and rest to us, but sometimes we push back, push away, and we despise that comfort and rest that He desires for us.

Recently, I had two conversations with the same person. The conversation went something like this: It probably is our youth who are in high school and college that are bombarded the most with a world view that rejects the Bible, that rejects salvation through Jesus.

As I was having that conversation with this individual, we noted how, unfortunately, it may be this group, those who are in high school and college, who are farthest from God's Word, at that point in their lives. And, at a time in which God's Word is needed most, it may be a time in which our youth are farthest from God's Word, to find that rest and that comfort that they need for their souls.

You see, in our text for today, while Jesus wants us to have physical rest for our bodies, Jesus is more greatly desiring spiritual and eternal rest for our souls. The author of the book of Hebrews put it this way, when he was talking about a Sabbath rest for God's people.

"There remains a Sabbath rest for God's people.

For anyone who enters God's rest,

also rests from his own work,

just as God did from His.

Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest,

so that no one will fall."

Well, how do we enter the rest that Jesus is desiring for us to have for our souls? We enter that rest and we receive that rest, as we believe that Jesus is our Savior. The word "Savior" means "to save from sin". As we believe that Jesus is our Savior who died on the cross, to pay for our sin, to give us eternal rest with Him in Heaven, then we have eternal spiritual rest for our souls.

The disciples went with Jesus on a boat to a solitary place to find rest. Today, you have come here to worship, to find rest, not for your physical bodies, but for your spiritual souls. As the disciples went away in a boat to find that rest, picture our sanctuary here as that boat. As you look up at the ceiling you see the bottom of a boat, with the trusses being the frame of that boat, and the wooden slats being the bottom of the boat. It is here in this place that we find rest, rest for our souls, onto everlasting life in Heaven. Jesus says,

"Come onto me,

all you who are weary and burdened and

I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you,

and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart and

you will find rest for your souls."

Today our souls have been comforted. We have received rest from God's Word. We have received that rest in Jesus. We have received that rest in the cross. We have received that rest in the forgiveness of all of our sin.

Amen.

Top of Page || Church Sermons || Return to Home Page