Did Jesus practice self-care?

Mark 4:38Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

Mark 6:30-31The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

Jesus experienced hunger and fatigue just like the rest of us. He didn’t treat himself like a machine that always needed to keep working. He made time to rest and take care of his physical needs. This wasn’t lazy or selfish—it was wise and healthy.

Luke 4:42-43Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.”

Jesus understood his priorities. When people challenged those priorities, he was able to express them clearly and stand firm. Setting boundaries is a critical part of self-care.

Mark 3:20-21One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. “He’s out of his mind,” they said.

Matthew 16:21-23From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Jesus even set boundaries with the people who cared about him the most. His family and his closest friends sometimes doubted—or even opposed—where his Father was leading him. Jesus was firm and bold in standing up to them, but that didn’t mean he loved them any less.

Matthew 19:13-15One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.

Luke 7:34-35“The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”

Luke 19:5-7When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

John 2:1-2There was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.

Jesus wasn’t too self-important to spend time with little children. He wasn’t too busy to attend a week-long wedding celebration. To Jesus, having dinner with one sinful man who hungered for grace was worth more than the attention and approval of the crowds. It can be tempting to neglect social interaction in order to have more time to get things done. But as Jesus showed us, God often does his best work when we create margin for community and conversation.

Matthew 14:12-13Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.

John 11:33-36When Jesus saw her [Mary] weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him [Lazarus]?” he asked them. They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!”

Jesus experienced grief. Even though he knew the grand picture of his Father’s plan, he didn’t discount such emotions. Jesus took time to pray and process after John the Baptist’s death. And even though he knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead, he still wept over the pain that Lazarus’s death had caused. Jesus didn’t stifle his emotions; he took time to express and process them. We should too.

Mark 6:32-34So they [Jesus and his disciples] left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

Mark 6:45-46Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Prioritizing someone else’s needs is a godly thing to do. Jesus delayed his need for rest in order to meet the crowd’s immediate spiritual and physical needs. But after he had met those immediate needs, Jesus sent the crowds away so he would have space to rest and pray. There is a great difference between delaying our need for rest and denying our need for rest altogether.

Mark 1:35Before daybreak . . . Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

Luke 5:16Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 6:12-13Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

Overworking ourselves often leads us to neglect our prayer lives. Our time is valuable, our responsibilities are many, and often, prayer doesn’t feel like it produces any measurable results. Jesus had three years of ministry—three years of the most perfect teaching this world has ever heard; three years of the most incredible healings this world has ever seen; three years to recruit and train the followers who would impact the world for thousands of years to come. His time was more precious than anyone else’s. Yet prayer was never a waste of Jesus’ time.

Matthew 26:36-38Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Luke 22:41-44He [Jesus] walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Jesus wasn’t sinful or weak. Far from it. Yet when faced with his impending crucifixion, Jesus experienced the emotions any of us would have experienced. In this time, Jesus sought his Father in prayer to prepare himself for his death. He also requested that his friends be with him to support him. Ignoring our emotions, “powering through,” and trying to be “the strong one” on our own is not healthy—and it is not the kind of strength Jesus modeled for us.