The Gravity of Breathing [1] Tired

Gravity of Breathing [1] Tired

John 4:6 (New International Version)

6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

•Why is Jesus tired?
is it just from the long walk? Then why doesn’t it say that the disciples are tired too? After all this is John’s gospel, why not say and we were all tired.
I don’t think the point of saying he’s tired is to stress how hard their journey was, these are men who walked everywhere. And I don’t think tired refers to just being physical.And If he is just tired why would he send all 12 disciples away, why not send 9 and keep the inner 3 so he could haveintamate time with them. The only time we see Jesus alone in the gospels is when he’s praying/ interacting with God. Then in Jewish culture disciples would never leave their rabbis feet unless he commanded them. So it’s clear that they didn’t decide to leave Jesus, Jesus commanded them all to go.

Greek
the word tired in greek is kopia/w (2872, kop-ee-ah’-o) it means to grow weary, tired, exhausted (with toil or burdens or grief).
This word comes from the word kopov/ (2873,kop’-os) to cause one trouble, make work for,
and from ko/ptw (2875, kop’-to) to beat one’s breast for grief, this same word is used in Luke 8:52

52…Now they were all weeping and lamenting (2875, ko/ptw) for her…
even the word journey in this verse comes from a root word (3598, odo) that means more then just travel it means a way of thinking, feeling, and deciding.
So this word is much more than just physical tiredness, It’s an emotional and spiritual fatigue. Some versions say Jesus was weary

Oxford American Dictionary
Weary=feeling or showing tiredness, as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep

So it goes from
…and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey

to
…and Jesus, growing weary, tired, and exhausted from thinking about burdens and griefs, because people were causing trouble and making work for him. Began to show emotional and spiritual fatigue from his excessive exertion of energy.

It’s that point in life when everything becomes heavy, your lungs start to swell, your breathing gets harder. There’s no easy way out. Even simple problems at this point feel like someone standing on your shoulders. And the first moment who have to stop, and breathe, you slump against the wall and slide to the ground with your eyes closed.

Have you ever been stuck under water?
It doesn’t take long to feel the pressure of not having air. You start to panic, and all you can think about is getting to the surface, “I just need one breath”

I think Jesus is experiencing a moment like that

Which is great news for us, it means it’s ok to feel like this, we’re not less of a christian.
Christ feels like this and he doesn’t stop being Christ.

So What happened to make Jesus feel this way

John 4 Jesus Goes to Galilee

1Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2(although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),

3He left Judea and went away again into Galilee.

So Jesus spends sometime in Judea baptizing, there must of been People crowded around waiting to be baptized. When the Pharisees hear this they become jealous, that anyone would follow someone other than them. So they take notice that Jesus is baptizing more than John. They making it about stats. Who’s got the higher numbers, I imagine them going between both camps spreading venom about who’s better, and causing all kinds of discord. They want nothing more than to cause trouble. Jesus realizing what their doing becomes frustrated and just leaves. They have turned something beautiful into a game. So he wants to go back to Galilee away from the Pharisees.

Now, when Jesus traveled it wasn’t a group of guys just walking silently from point “A” to”B”. He used that time to talk to and teach his disciples. He probably spent all day explaining why he decide to leave. Imagine 12 men confused about why they just left when people where waiting for them to baptize them. Jesus is not only irritated at the pharisees but frustrated that the disciples don’t get it. So after walking for several hours in the middle east sun, they stop atSychar to rest. Jesus sends his 12 off and for the first time in maybe days he was alone. So what does he do? he sits down to rest, to gather himself.
Now this story isn’t even about Jesus being tired, John 4 is the story of The Woman of Samaria. Which is a great story, but towards the end of the chapter his disciples come back.

31Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “^(AL)Rabbi, eat.”

32But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”

33So the ^(AM)disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?”
Something has happened here

Jesus was so tired he just wanted to be alone, and know he seems to be fully charged up. The disciples are again confused because there is no way a Samaritan gave him food. Jews and Samaritan didn’t interact. And Jesus says

34…, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
I think there is an important truth in here.

When we get to points in our lives where we are hardly holding on, and life is crashing into us.

God seems to be so far away, and all you want to do is close your eyes and wait until morning.

Jesus says its not about just surviving if that’s how you see life, life will crush you. It’s about finding out what God made you to do, and doing it.

Do you need hope? need some energy? need something good to happen?

Starting doing Gods will, advance the kingdom, preach the good news to someone else
when life becomes all about you, that’s the time to serve someone. to give of yourself.
Maybe when your tired the best thing to do is find someone else whose tired and serve them.