Why Does Jesus Rest?

Do you ever feel anxious about everything going on during the week? Or do you wish you had more time for the people in your life? If so, you’re in good company. Life often seems to demand for us to be busy. But Jesus invites us to a different (and better) way of living.

Check out this surprising passage from the life of Jesus:

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:15-16 NIV

Think about what this passage is saying. People wanted to hear Jesus speak and receive healing—yet Jesus chose to walk away so He could rest. When He sacrificed productivity and opportunities to help others in order to rest, it was a good thing. Why?

We can only be as helpful as we are healthy. So like Jesus, we can set boundaries with our time and purposefully slow down. All humans need rest, and because Jesus was fully God and fully man while on Earth, that limitation was true of Him, too.

Rest is also worship. The Bible begins with an account of God creating the world. The story uses a seven-day structure to describe God’s work. On the sixth day God created people, but the seventh day was a day of rest. Why is that important? Because humanity’s first full day on Earth was a day of rest—not work.

Throughout the Bible, the seventh day of the week is called the Sabbath. On that day, people are invited to worship by not doing work. But how is this worship?

It’s easy to forget this basic spiritual truth: God is in control; we’re not. When we forget, we tend to try to control our lives through work. We begin obsessing over our to-do lists and worry about falling behind.

When we choose to take a break from our tasks and to-do lists, we’re making a declaration that late tasks, unfolded laundry, and unread emails don’t threaten God’s plan for the world. That’s why the Sabbath, a time devoted to rest, is worship.

You might work long hours and have people who depend on you. Don’t feel guilty if you’re not able to take a full day off each week to rest. Instead, find moments to rest when you can. Jesus did the same. Once, when He was tired, He simply sat down by a well. Another time, He took a nap in a boat.

So, what about you? How might you add rest into each week, and how might you add rest into each day?