Jesus on Silent, Solitude and Salvation (A Reflection on Mark 1:35-39)

“Very early in the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house.

He went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35, GNB).

Jesus is not too busy to pray. In the Gospel of Mark, there are three occasions where Jesus intentionally set apart time “to a lonely place”. After the feeding of the five thousand He “went away to a hill to pray” (6:46) and at the garden of Gethsemane He “went a little farther… and prayed” (14:35). In the midst of His popularity and success, amazingly, Jesus never let anything distracted His eyes from His Father. He loves people because He loves the Father. That was why He needed a quiet time to be alone and have fellowship with His Father.

We are so not like Jesus. We’re busy impressing God with our performance and service. We easily become proud when we are getting popular. We desire worldly success and then forget about the mission. We look at wealth, health and prosperity but not to Jesus anymore (Well, only when we need Him to rescue us from trouble and anxiety so that we can achieve more of our dreams. Just like a genie in the bottle). We are too loud to hear God speaks to us. We don’t remember how joyful it is to be alone with God. Maybe this verse is for you and me as a reminder.

Perhaps we are more like Simon Peter – loud and restless. “But Simon and his companions went out to search for [Jesus], and when they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’ But Jesus answered, ‘We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because this is why I came.’” (Mark 1:36-38). Peter and the others want Jesus to perform more miracles and win more crowds. Jesus, however, wants to go to the other places. They put miracles first, but Jesus put preaching the Good News first (1:39). They seek healings, but Jesus seeks the lost. Jesus had a mission not a goal.

We must remember that “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).This is why Jesus came. This is why you’re saved. This is why also you’re saved for – to preach the Good News from God about Jesus Christ to the lost! Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.