The Gift of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:8 "For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath." 

Mark 2:27 Then He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." 

Many times throughout the Gospels, Jesus would withdraw from the crowds but they would follow Him where ever He went. Nearing the end of His earthly ministry, He showed signs of exhaustion. He fell asleep in the back of the boat in the midst of a storm. He was able to sleep through the raging winds and the driving rains. His exhaustion had to be great. When you read His schedule during His three years on earth, there was little time for rest.  

The crowds followed Him everywhere. Even when He sought time alone with His disciples or time alone with His Father, they were there. Even time to grieve was not given to Him. His cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded. He crossed the sea with the twelve to have some down time but the crowd followed Him. He 'had compassion on them and healed their sick.' (Matthew 14:14) 

After He fed the crowd, He sent His disciples back across the sea. He dismissed the crowd and sought time for prayer. It was not unusual for Him to spend the night in prayer and then spend the next day healing and teaching. 

In the Song of Solomon, we are told to 'come away, My beloved.' Jesus wants us to step away from the stress and unending rush of our lives and spend time alone with Him. We can learn from Him the best when we separate from our busy lives and spend time at His feet. He praised Mary for doing just that. The work will still be there but the time apart is manna to our souls. We can refuel our energy by feeding on His word then step back into the world. 
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Jesus knows the cost of running on empty. He desires that we learn from His human experience. He desires that we seek Him when the way gets hard, when the shadows seem to overcome the sunshine. There will be times of storms and sorrow but He has walked that path and will walk it with us as we journey through this life and prepare for eternity.