Jesus was busy too… but he handled it way differently than most people.
Today’s post is brought yo you by the intelligence of the college students I lead for my congregation’s College & Career Ministry. Wednesday night we had a great Bible study kicking off an exploration of Mark which will continue through the semester. In our conversation about Mark chapter 1, Jesus’ busyness stood out to me.
Busy, Busy, Busy
If you are up to it, read Mark 1:21-45. In these several verses a lot happens. Jesus is teaching in the synagogue, he heals lots of people, crowds gather around him. Mark 1 shows that Jesus is getting famous. In fact, verse 45 even portrays that Jesus couldn’t go openly into a town without someone saying “Hey, that’s that Jesus guy!” and start a fanfare.
It’s not just all the content that gives you the sense that Jesus has a lot on his plate, but the pace of this chapter. Read Mark 1:21-45 and you’ll see the word “immediately” (or something similar) pop up over and over. Just as Jesus is rushed place to place, the reader is rushed through the story as well.
We don’t get a precise sense of Jesus’ feelings or mood in all this, but we can imagine the guy was exhausted. Maybe it’s just because I’m an introvert, but I cannot imagine being around people all day! All that teaching, all that walking, all that healing, all that listening. It’s a lot.
Modern people have so many advantages, but even so, it seems we have more things to get done that ever. Kids balance school, sports, and college entrance examinations. College students stack on school, adulting, and relationships. Young adults are still trying to figure out life, settle down, maybe raise a family. Even older adults have several events to attend–work, kid functions, hobbies, church. We are all so busy.
But Jesus gets it. Jesus had a full day too. Jesus can relate to having a full plate. Jesus was busy too.
Yet Jesus, both God and Human, didn’t handle the busyness the way most of us do. At least, I don’t always adopt these same practices. But I want to take the time to explain how to handle the stress that comes from busyness from a Chrisitan perspective. So here are three lessons I take from Jesus based off of Mark 1.
Take A (Meaningful) Break
As you read through Mark 1–being rushed through with Mark’s use of “immediately”–you intuitively slow down at Mark 1:35. This one verse reveals that, amidst everything going on, Jesus took the time to rest. More specifically, he prioritized a relationship with his Father; Jesus uses the alone the time to pray. Once the business of the world caught up with him, Jesus instinctually knew the right next move involves quiet devotion to God. We can infer from the text that this quiet time not only recharged him, but also gave him clarity.
We too can get the same benefits of a break. Making time for God in a full schedule isn’t easy (notice that Jesus had to get up extra early), but it’s important. Jesus’ alone time with God is a feature throughout the Gospels because the human side of him needed a chance to spiritually, mentally, and physically power up. When you and I carve out time just for silence and meditation on God’s Word or in prayer, we are training our minds to slow down and our hearts to focus on God. There are a lot of important things we probably have to do–but none of them are as important as maintaining our relationship with the Lord.
Notice the title of this section is “Take a (MEANINGFUL) Break.” Don’t take this the wrong way, but Jesus isn’t exemplifying sitting back and watching Netflix for a few hours. It’s not an instruction to break from the hustle and bustle by scrolling through social media. Instead, Jesus invites us to take a break that adds value and meaning to our lives, that directly helps us handle the busyness. Surely, you can take a mind-numbing brain brake time to time (I still love those) but that’s not Jesus’ example.
People Always Matter
The Gospels never reveal a time where Jesus closed up shop at 5’oclock, punched out, then headed to his car. Instead, to Jesus, the mission is never over. Additionally, Jesus believes every interaction with another human is important, powerful, and necessary. After Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, and the whole crowd came to the door hollering for healing, Jesus didn’t barricade the door. He continued to heal. He continued to value any and all who came to him.
A few years ago, in college, I realized that living with all your friends in the same dorm is really distracting. Homework often got pushed back to later in the night than I wanted because I got caught in a conversation with a buddy. Since I was the studious nerd and Honors student, a lot of times this bugged me. One friend in particular always seemed to have a crisis at hand or a deep theological question–and would drag me into a dialogue for hours. However, eventually, I adopted a new mindset: I decided that his needs were important–and if I got dragged into a conversation then it just meant God wanted me to bless him. I still used wisdom and had to practice self-care and time management, but it changed my life to see “distractions” as tools for impacting others with the Gospel.
Focus on the Mission
Jesus’ chief mission statement is laid out nicely in Mark. In Mark 1:15 (ESV), Jesus says “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” In 1:38, Jesus says he came to preach. This announcement formed Jesus’ ministry in Mark-; he wanted to preach the Good News that the Kingdom is coming.
Having a mission is important because it guides your steps and helps you decide what to do. At first glance, it seems like Jesus would have just wanted to preach. Doesn’t it make sense that it’s the CONTENT that people need to know? Is the other stuff just extra? Yet Jesus’ mission influences not just what he says or that he says something–it influences how he makes decisions and acts.
This means that Jesus is only filling his time with what’s important. Again, Jesus values people. The healing and relationship building is just as important as actually saying something about the Kingdom–Jesus does both. He also is on a time crunch since he doesn’t have more than a few years to live and tasked with changing the world forever in that short span. Thus he has to keep moving on to new places. All his choices are influenced by the mission.
Our mission is very similar to Jesus’ mission. We too have an announcement that the Kingdom of God is at hand, that the Gospel has the power to save, and that people and the world can be transformed by Jesus. This mission should inform WHAT we fill our lives with. When looking for a job, how it can help you contribute to the Kingdom is more important than how well it pays. And sometimes an impromptu therapy session is more important than that extracurricular activity. Let the mission impact how you spend your time and organize your life.
Conclusion
You’re busy. I’m busy. We are all busy. Hopefully, however, we can take a page from Jesus’ example and change the way we react to busyness and the way we structure our busy days. Jesus obviously has some advantages over us simple humans, but Jesus still works beautifully as a window into how to live our best life.
Above all, my friends, seek first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Once you focus on that, your entire outlook on life will change. Amidst the busyness, be like Jesus.
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