Brentwood Baptist Church
Simplify: The Truth About Living, Working and Playing in Busy Times
Priorities (Mark 1:35-39)
May 18, 2014
Teaching Plan
PREPARATION
> Spend the week reading through and studying Mark 1:35-39 and Hebrews 4:8-13. Consult the commentary provided and any additional study tools (such as a concordance or Bible dictionary) to enhance your preparation.
> Determine which discussion points and questions will work best with your group.
> Pray for the upcoming group meeting, your teaching, your group members, and their receptivity to the lesson.
HIGHLIGHTS
Biblical Emphasis: There were times when even Jesus could not be found. We must learn that there is a critical difference between urgent and important, and just because we can do something doesn’t mean we ought to do it. Jesus modeled this for His followers when He sought time alone to rest and commune with God in prayer.
Teaching Aim: As a result of today’s study, you will be challenged to 1) prioritize prayer (Mark 1:35-39) and 2) prioritize rest (Heb. 4:8-13).
INTRODUCTION
As your group time begins, use this section to help get the conversation going.
· Complete the following sentence: “I wish I had more time to …”
· Do you think we live in a culture that values rest and solitude? Why or why not?
As we continue to think about how to simplify our lives and live as believers in this busy world, it’s important for us to think about how we spend our time and what we give priority to. As we walk with God, part of that walking involves prioritizing time spent alone withHim.
UNDERSTANDING
Unpack the biblical text to discover what Scripture says or means about a particular topic.
> Have a volunteer read Mark 1:35-39.
The events of Jesus’ ministry up to this point had been rapid, coming one after the other. They also would have been emotionally and spiritually exhausting. The humanity of Jesus is evident in these words: “Jesus got up and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.” Even Jesus needed to recharge His batteries by withdrawing from the crowds and talking with His Father. This was a time of renewal and preparation for Jesus. Two other times in Mark’s Gospel we see Jesus getting away to pray (6:46; 14:32-41). Each time, He was preparing for a crisis.
· After a hectic day of helping others (vv. 29-34), Jesus needed some time to be alone and pray. What do you think He prayed for?
· How might this time in prayer relate to Jesus’ decision to move on (v. 38)?
While Jesus was concerned about focusing on God’s mission for Him, the disciples seemed to be caught up in the increasing popularity of Jesus. Perhaps they felt they should seize the day: Simon and his companions went to look for Him; and when they found Him, they exclaimed, “Everyone is looking for you!”
· How did the disciples’ priorities differ from Jesus’ in this scene?
· According to verses 38-39, how did Jesus view His mission? Why would time with the Father be critical to fulfilling this mission?
Jesus’ primary mission was to preach the good news. The miracles of healing and casting out of demons was secondary—a means to the end of presenting the gospel and getting people to respond to that good news. With such a challenging and important mission, prioritizing time alone with the Father was central to Jesus’ days. This time gave Jesus the opportunity to rest, refuel, and remain connected to God and His will for Jesus’ work.
· When it comes to your day-to-day mission as a disciple of Christ, how much of a priority is time alone with God?
· What is the greatest obstacle you face in your devotional life?
· Can you, like Jesus, confidently say “this is why I have come”? If so, what is your God-given mission, and are you being obedient to it at this time in your life? If not, what are some things that your prioritize above it?
Jesus’ time alone with God also provided Him the opportunity to rest. As we walk with God, part of that walking involves resting. But we can only truly enter into that state of Sabbath rest through faith, trusting in God’s finished work on our behalf. When we do, we will remember that because of Jesus, there is nothing else we have to do.
· In what ways do you feel like you are living on autopilot? How do the habits and routines you’ve formed keep you from resting?
· Why might our ability or inability to rest be more about what we believe than the commitments on our schedule?
> Have a volunteer read Hebrews 4:8-13.
· Earlier in chapter 4, the writer of Hebrews wrote about the failure of the Israelites to enter into the promised land of God (see Heb. 4:6). Why did those people fail to enter the promised land?
· What does that failure have to do with our inability to rest today?
Though the Lord had promised to give the people a rich land, they did not believe in His promises. Because of their lack of faith, they failed to rest in the land but instead wandered around and around for 40 years. Today, still, a failure to trust in the promises of God will lead us to a sense of wandering restlessness and an inability to discern what’s most important.
· This passage also addresses the fact that God Himself rested on the seventh day of creation. Why did He rest? What does His example teach us?
When we don’t rest, life can feel like an endless cycle—constantly running, but never really getting anywhere. To truly rest we must understand that rest isn’t always about sleep; it’s more about completion. That’s why God rested in creation. It wasn’t because He was tired; it’s because His work was finished and He could enjoy it. If we want to truly rest, then, we must examine at a deeper level what our inability to do so says about our hearts.
· What might an inability to rest because you over-commit yourself to activities show you about where you find your true significance?
· How might an inability to rest influence the way you interact with other people?
In each of the examples above, the true enemy of rest isn’t a busy calendar; it’s a failure to believe in the finished work of God at the cross. Because of the cross, we know that we are highly valued by God. Because of the cross, we know that God is out for our ultimate good and we needn’t worry about the future. Because of the cross, we no longer have to prove ourselves to others because God has justified us in Christ. Keeping the cross at the forefront of our minds helps us simplify our lives and practice restful time alone with God.
· One of the benefits of regularly practicing sabbath rest is that it helps us prioritize our service to God, rather than just surviving each day. Have you ever experienced the sabbath aiding you in this way? If so, share.
· Notice in this passage that rest isn’t a specific period of time, but an ongoing state of Sabbath. Does that mean we can even rest while we are working? How so?
When we are in Christ, we can live in a state of rest even when we are physically tired. The finished work of God enables this state because it transforms the way we work. We don’t do so to prove ourselves or to secure some kind of future; we do so as a celebration of what God has already done for us in Christ.
APPLICATION
Help your group identify how the truths from the Scripture passage apply directly to their lives.
As we see in Mark’s Gospel, there were times when even Jesus could not be found. We must learn that there is a critical difference between urgent and important, and just because we can do something doesn’t mean we ought to do it. Jesus modeled this for His followers when He sought time alone to rest and commune with God in prayer.
· As you evaluate your day, what can you conclude are your main priorities? Starting tomorrow, what needs to change about your daily routine in order to help you prioritize your relationship with God?
· Is there anything you are saying “yes” to right now out of a lack of faith or an effort to prove your value and worth? What is it?
· What is one practical way you can help your family learn to prioritize time in prayer and rest with God? What do you hope will happen as a result?
· What are some of the evaluative tools or questions you can use to help you discern the difference between something you can do and something you ought to do?
PRAY
Close in prayer about the specific situations mentioned above. Thank God for His finished work that enables us to walk with Him in rest. Pray that we would be intentional about not only drawing boundaries for rest, but that we would live in a state of rest.
FOLLOW UP
Midway through this week, send a follow-up email to your group with some or all of the following information:
> Questions to consider as they continue to reflect on what they learned this week:
· Have you evaluated your priorities this week, in light of our study? What have you learned about yourself and your relationship with God?
· How have you rested this week?
· How have you reminded yourself that with God, it is finished? What is something you can do today to plan for your next family sabbath?
A note of encouragement, following up on any specific prayer requests mentioned during your group gathering.
> The challenge to memorize Hebrews 4:11.
The text for next week’s study, so group members can read it in anticipation of next weekend: Psalm 90:12.
Brentwood Baptist Church
Simplify: The Truth About Living, Working and Playing in Busy Times
Priorities (Mark 1:35-39)
May 18, 2014
Commentary
1. Prioritize prayer (Mark 1:35-39)
1:35. The word translated solitary place is the same that is translated desert in 1:3, 4,12,13 and perhaps suggests the same kind of spiritual testing described in the last two. There was no desert near Capernaum, and obviously Jesus wanted to find a secluded place apart from the crowds and even the disciples. The imperfect tense suggests prolonged prayer. In only two other places did Mark indicate that Jesus prayed, in 6:46 after walking on the water and in 14:32-42 in Gethsemane. All three were times of crisis when Jesus was tempted to take an easy way rather than that of suffering and death.
1:36. Mark perhaps referred to Simon and his companions (Andrew, James, and John?, vv. 16-20) rather than the disciples because they did not act as disciples should (though Mark did not use the term disciple at all until 2:15). The verb translated went to look for usually means to pursue with hostile intent. Of course it reflects Mark’s point of view, not that of the disciples.
1:37. Here Mark indicated the error of the disciples. They wanted Jesus to take advantage of His growing popularity and perform more miracles. However, Jesus’ primary mission was not to be a miracle-worker but a redeemer. The disciples failed to understand that the popularity itself made Jesus want to withdraw. The people of Capernaum apparently had no interest in Jesus beyond His miracles or any interest in coming under the reign of God. The verb Mark chose near the end of verse 37 is filled with irony. Whatever Aramaic verb the disciples used, they meant it in a good sense. Everywhere else in Mark, however, the Greek verb, which is not the same as in verse 36, translated “looking for” means to seek with evil or inappropriate intention. Mark recognized that the acclaim of the crowd was not good. Verse 37 is the first instance in Mark where the disciples failed to understand the mission of Jesus.
1:38. Jesus’ answer contains an ambiguity. The last statement could be translated literally, “For this [purpose] I have come out.” The question is whether the reference is to leaving Capernaum, going into all of Galilee, or having come from God. Luke’s parallel (4:43) takes the third possibility, and Mark probably meant the same thing (cf. Mark 1:24).
1:39. This Markan summary characterizes Jesus’ ministry as one of synagogue preaching and exorcisms. Their synagogues possibly reflects the separation of the church and synagogue in the time of Mark, or it may have been a reference to Galilean synagogues.
2. Prioritize rest (Heb. 4:8-13)
4:8. Joshua had given rest to Israel in his day (Josh. 23:1), but God had more than political security in mind in the use of the term rest. Joshua gave his followers temporal rest by leading them to defeat their enemies. God has provided spiritual rest for those who approach him through faith in Jesus Christ as is made clear in verses 9-10.
4:9-10. These two verses provide a conclusion (v. 9) and the explanation of the conclusion (v. 10). Then introduces the conclusion: God’s people enjoyed a rest patterned after God’s own rest on the seventh day. Sabbath-rest is a new word, appearing only here in the New Testament. The author of Hebrews may have coined the word to express the special significance which he wanted to communicate. God’s people will share in God’s own rest. Those who enjoy this rest will be believers, those who have approached God through Jesus Christ.
Just what kind of rest can believers enjoy? When do they enjoy it—now, at death, or in the resurrection? This rest is not merely the entrance into Canaan. It is a present experience with Christ in which the Lord provides His presence, peace, and joy to replace the labor and heavy burdens of life (see Matt. 11:28-30).
God’s own rest (see 4:4) becomes the pattern of the rest of the believer. God’s rest involved the completion of His work and not mere cessation of activity. Believers have become complete in Christ (see Col. 2:10), and they can live in the light of a fulfilled relationship to Jesus as their exalted head.