Pausing Amid Ministry
by Dr Jay Scott
Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.
After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
Mark 6:45-46
Perhaps you recognize these verses that bridge two well-known miracles by Jesus, the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water. This summer I have been reading the Gospel of Mark and while John Mark, mostly under the influence of Peter, is direct and to the point, it is Mark 6:45-46 that has caught my attention like never before.
Jesus most likely sent his disciples ahead of him after the feeding of the 5,000 because, as John tells us, the Zealots wanted to make Jesus king by force (John 6). Perhaps Jesus knew at this point the disciples would probably join in the plot to make Jesus king. On multiple occasions, Jesus had to point out and correct the pride of His Twelve because they obsessed over who is / would be greatest in God’s Kingdom (Matt. 18:1, Matt. 20:21, Mark 9:34, Luke 9:46, Luke 22:24). Had they been present as Zealots got the crowd of 5,000 men plus their families emotionally animated about making Jesus king, they could have easily joined the clamor.
But I wonder why Jesus went up to the mountainside alone to pray?
Sure, it is Jesus and He prays often. Sure, Jesus is tired and needs to recharge. However, the word “immediately” that John Mark uses to describe these transitional verses would imply that Jesus, without haste, sent his disciples ahead of him and, without haste, immediately withdrew to the mountain alone to pray. Why so urgent?
Perhaps, just perhaps, Jesus is experiencing Satan’s recurring temptation. I have read these verses many times over and this thought had never before occurred to me. At the beginning of the Gospels, we are told that Jesus was tempted before He began His ministry to turn rocks into bread, jump off the Temple mount, and bow down to Satan to receive earthly power. It has been suggested that Satan was tempting Jesus to be relevant (bread), exceptional (jump), and powerful (kingdoms).
Not one time does Satan deny that Jesus is the Son of God. However, it would seem as though Satan does what Satan always does. Satan twists the truth in a self-glorifying manner. Perhaps the reason Jesus is so immediate to send the disciples ahead and so immediate to ascend the mountain to pray is because the plot to force Jesus to become king stroked the three greatest temptations of mankind: to be relevant, to be exceptional, and to be powerful.
As I grow in my journey with Jesus, it is imperative that I reflect upon my own temptation to be relevant over faithful (Revelation 2:10), exceptional over obedient (Luke 17:10), and powerful over humble (Philippians 2:1-11). Thus, the words spoken by Jesus to Peter may be true of me, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:32).
