GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 4:35
When It’s Time to Leave
Knowing when to leave is as important as knowing when to arrive. A quote usually attributed to Benjamin Franklin says, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” Socially, when the host begins to clear the dishes and rearrange the furniture, there’s the subtle hint that the visit is over. Or when the host stops offering food. Or when the host starts yawning. It’s always better to leave a little earlier rather than too late. That way, the visit will be remembered fondly rather than as lasting too long.
According to St. Mark, “And he said to them on that day, when evening came, ‘Let us pass over to the other side.’” (Mark 4:35) It had been an amazing day. When Jesus began to teach, a large crowd gathered—the crowd was so large that he got into a boat from which he continued to teach. His lessons all centered on the gospel, which he illustrated in several ways using the seed, something ordinary. It’s easy to imagine that every time someone from that audience picked up a handful of grain to plant, grind into flour, or eat, they remembered that lesson. But at some point, Jesus told his disciples in the boat that it was time to leave.
It was time for Jesus and his disciples to leave because evening approached. Often, the calendar or clock determines the leaving-time—the contract is complete, the retirement age has arrived, or an event has run its course.
It was time for Jesus to leave because the lesson was complete. There’s the impression that the crowd on the shore had not thinned out, so Jesus continued adding one parable after another. It was time, though, for the crowd to take the lessons and begin to apply them to their own lives—to live them. A fellow student during my college years had accumulated enough class hours to have graduated twice, but he continued to take classes. Now, there’s nothing particularly wrong with wanting to acquire more knowledge, but there comes a time when accumulated information should be applied—to be lived.
It’s time to leave when the end has come. More than one speaker has said, “In conclusion,” but continued to speak. An old farming aphorism says, “When the plowing’s done, turn off the engine.” It is likely that Jesus could have found many more seed-parables to illustrate his message, but he concluded that the lesson was complete. So he said, “Let us pass over.”
It’s time to leave when one considers the welfare of the audience. Mark doesn’t indicate how long Jesus’ teaching session lasted, but he did say, “And with many such parables, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear.” (Mark 4:33) It’s possible that the audience stood on the shore for many hours, perhaps even missing the midday meal. So, considering the welfare of his audience, Jesus said, “Let us pass over to the other side.”
Deciding when it’s time to leave one teaching opportunity, task, position, lesson, sermon, or circumstance often requires an imparting of divine wisdom.
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