Jesus and the Apostles Take a 3-Day Vacation 

In the summer of 27 CE, Jesus and the apostles spent time in Samaria and among the gentiles, where they preached the gospel. This was hard for the apostles, given their deep-seated distrust of the Samaritans. They felt that the Greeks and Romans did not take them seriously. In addition, they were all having some difficulties with personal issues and general problems in harmonizing themselves with the apostles and the teachings of John the Baptist.

One day in late summer, Andrew came to Jesus, desiring to talk with him about what to do about all of this; he felt overwhelmed. Instead of offering advice to Andrew, Jesus invited him to gather the apostles and join him for a three-day vacation. Andrew did as the Master instructed, and the twelve accompanied Jesus to Mount Sartaba for some rest and relaxation.

By the summer of 27 CE, the apostles were trying hard to harmonize themselves and learn to live and work together with the disciples of John the Baptist. They had begun preaching to the Samaritans, which was a great trial for them because of their deep-seated prejudices against these people. And they felt that the Greeks and Romans were not taking their message seriously. In addition, nearly all of the apostles were dealing with personal issues and nervous tension, which made them all irritable. So Andrew, being the chief apostle, went to Jesus for advice. But instead of offering advice, Jesus instructed Andrew to tell the apostles that they were invited to go with Jesus on a short sojourn in the mountains. And then he told Andrew to go to each apostle personally and counsel him that he was not to bring his troubles along on this trip. And Andrew did as Jesus instructed him to do.

In addition to these problems, John and James were suffering emotional troubles of heart and mind. Matthew was worried about money. Peter was more excitable than usual, and Judas was more selfish than usual. Simon was perplexed over the issues of his own patriotism versus the ideals of the brotherhood of mankind. Philip was growing evermore bewildered at the general state of things; Nathaniel seemed to be losing his sense of humor since being among the Samaritans, and Thomas was in a deep depression. The only apostles who seemed to have no worries were the twins, James and Judas Alpheus. But all of them harbored deep concerns about how they were going to get along in peace with John’s disciple.

The apostles had a wonderful experience on the first day, going up the mountain with Jesus. Hardly anyone spoke of their troubles. When they reached their destination, they all sat down while Jesus said: “My brethren, you must all learn the value of rest and the efficacy of relaxation. You must realize that the best method of solving some entangled problems is to forsake them for a time. Then when you go back fresh from your rest or worship, you are able to attack your troubles with a clearer head and a steadier hand, not to mention a more resolute heart. Again, many times your problem is found to have shrunk in size and proportions while you have been resting your mind and body.”

The next day, they visited each other and talked about old times together. Their work for the kingdom was not discussed at all, but Jesus did give each of them a topic for later discussion. Even Jesus was so relaxed that he did not say his usual prayer of thanks over their noontime meal. This had always been a formality, but on this occasion, formality was abandoned.

On the third day, they started back down the mountain, but something wonderful had happened. This short respite from their day-to-day problems helped each of them discover that leaving their problems behind for a time had made them shrink. Sometimes, problems that seem overwhelming are nothing more than magnified fear or worry about the future. They learned that leaving it all behind for a time effectively made problems seemingly disappear or diminish in importance.

They were all amazed and delighted when they returned to camp; many of the apostles even displayed a newfound lightness of heart; their spirits were cheerful, and they laughed with joy when seeing how everyone’s attitudes had improved for the better. After this brief vacation, their relations with John’s followers began to greatly improve. And most importantly, that sense of nervousness and irritability had vanished as a result of their vacation.