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Once we see the text is about exhaustion a number of other things begin to fall into place. We see the disciples' complaint in 4:38 ("Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?") as a petulant, inappropriate rant rather than something that just shows their "lack of faith." How inappropriate, how unfitting it is for them to wake up a sleeping man and complain that he doesn't care about them. We are dealing with major-class klutzes and insensate people here...

But the point about Jesus' exhaustion opens up the passage that follows. The point is that the Son of Man not only had no place to lay his head, but that when he was most exhausted he had to do his most difficult work. For, in rapid succession after he rebukes the sea, they all come to the other side of the lake, meet a demon-possed man, run into the synagogue ruler whose daughter was at the point of death, encounter the woman with a 12-year menstrual cycle and, finally, receive a frosty welcome from Jesus' townspeople. In each one of these cases Mark presents the situation to highlight the gradual effect of exhaustion on Jesus, as if to show that the bright and energetic individual of 4:1 now becomes a rather wan presence by 6:6.

Here are a few texts which show what I mean. Mark has it that when the disciples and Jesus arrived at the other side of the sea, "immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man wiht an unclean spirit," 5:2. This is a particularly fearful person, one whose erratic behavior and uncontrolled self-punishment indicates that the darkest forces of the universe are at work in him. Jesus had to deal with this person 'immediately.' No welcoming committee; no break to "freshen up" after a difficult crossing. Immediately he deals with the man with a Legion of demons. In a few verses Jesus has gone from handling dumb disciples to a demon-driven man.

Well, he handles that situation well-enough, even if the solution (sending the spirits into pigs) is a bit unconventional. Then, he crosses the sea again, teaches some more and is met by the ruler of the synagogue, who tells him about the straightened condition of his daughter (5:23). Again, a multitude is present as Jesus goes to heal (5:24). But, while on the way to the healing, Jesus' garment is touched by a woman who says, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well" (5:28). Note how Mark portrays the reaction of Jesus to the touching:

"And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him," 4:30.

Whatever power he had left was now given to the woman. The scene is reminicent of the healings in The Green Mile, based on the book by Stephen King. The African-American man on death row, John Coffey (played by Michael Clarke Duncan) has mysterious healing powers, which he uses to heal a cancer of the superintendent's wife. But after the healings he is exhausted, spent, only able to sleep. Such is the unanimous testimony of the religious tradition--exorcism and healing drains the healer.

Jesus, then, must similarly have been spent after dealing with the man possessed by Legion as well as the bleeding woman. Then, finally, he comes home and, instead of receiving a hero's welcome, he is rejected. The people say:

"'Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brohter of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?' So they were offended at Him," 6:3.

This was the experience that then led to Jesus' inability to heal, "except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them," 6:5.

The "Message" From All of This

After establishing the point that 4:35-41 was best understood in the context of Jesus' exhaustion through teaching, meeting up with demons, healing and being rejected at home, I then observed that when we feel exhaustion in our lives, exhaustion that drives our inefficiency, crankiness, hopelessness and even rage, we should take to heart that Jesus has first felt the same, and worse, exhaustion. I observed that when we think we have done all the good and right things (such as teaching the multitudes and interpreting the teachings to the disciples), and that we should then, as it were, "deserve" a break, there is no rest. Life for the Savior of the world just continued relentlessly, and it wore him down. When we, too, are eroded by life, ground into fine pulverized dust, know that there is one whom we worship who has been there before us. He knows exhaustion, first hand.

But the good news is not only that we have someone who can identify with our exhaustion, but that there were yet 10 chapters in the Gospel of Mark after exhaustion and rejection. This means that exhaustion is not the last word. Sometimes when it hits, when the only thing we can see is limited and constricted visions for the future because of our tiredness, we think that quitting is the only logical thing to do. But Jesus didn't do so. He kept up his ministry. Indeed, he decided to divide up his responsibility by appointing the Twelve with powers over unclean spirits (6:7). He gave a little of the responsibility to others, but then continued in his ministry with renewed freshness. Exhaustion, then, is not the end of the line for us. It is a temporary condition, a sapping of strength that sometimes feels permanent, but it isn't.

Conclusion

Thus, the one who wants to claim Christ as Savior needs to realize that when tiredness and hopelessness sets in, we are just beginning our work. But Christ has been there first. And, there is life after exhaustion. Now isn't that a much better message than just to look at 4:35-41 and encourage each other to "try harder" to have more faith? I think so too!

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