Jeremy L. Berg

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons” (Mark 1:35-39).

Several lessons pour forth from this little episode.

1. First, Jesus had a daily habit of quiet prayer time with God to center and sustain him in ministry. If the Son of God made this a habit in his ministry, how much more do I need to make room for this. Thankfully it is spring time in Minnesota and the air is warmer for me to resume my regularly prayer walks. If not prayer walks, I recommend shower talks, or car chats on the way to and from work.

I don’t think it’s reading too much into the text that Jesus both “got up” and “left the house” in order to meet with God.  In my experience, bedtime prayers and coffee table devotions, while good practices, still don’t have the same power as physically finding some sacred space outside the home.  Is there a park?  A walking trail?  A building that more powerfully gives off that holy aura?  I have a little fishing pier jetting out into Lake Minnetonka at a small, unknown beach just a few blocks from our home that I have made a holy meeting space for prayer and solitude.

2. Second, we find an strange scene where Jesus intentionally avoids a crowd of seekers.  Just another reminder that Jesus’ model of ministry wasn’t always as seeker-sensitive as we would like it to be.  There is a lesson in here.  Even Jesus couldn’t (or at least didn’t) minister to everyone’s needs.  He wasn’t the omnipresent pastor we leaders often feel we need to be.  He had his mission, and therefore said ‘no’ to many good ministry opportunities in order to say ‘yes’ to his primary task. This kind of resolve takes great discipline, focus and growing more and more comfortable upsetting others and letting people down.  Are you willing to disappoint others in order to please God?

3. Third, and related the above, Jesus is not enamored by and addicted to the attention of those who follow him.  How many of us would bask in the sunshine of those flattering words, “Jeremy, everyone is looking for you.”  Many leaders need to be needed.  Many leaders are animated by a messianic complex that constantly rubs their ego and whispers “These people need you” and “This ministry depends on you.”  With firm resolve and lazar-focus, Jesus is able to respond to the fact that everyone is looking for him with the words, “Let us go somewhere else…”

4. Finally, there’s a church-planting principle hidden in this passage. Jesus is drawing a crowd in this village, doing great ministry and has plenty of ministry left to do before moving on.  For a missionary or church planter, you dream of having crowds flocking to you.  This is a strange time to say, “Time to move to the next town.”  Yet, his mission is NOT to plant a mega-church, settle down and build a fully functioning community and spend the next 30 years preaching on the sabbath.  His mission has an urgency and his strategy is to establish a pocket of believers in each town and village and see the Kingdom advance as broadly as possible.  This is a good reminder for church planters.  When people begin flooding our gatherings, it may be time to move on and plant the next church in the next town.