Jesus Christ and His Retreats
The following is an excerpt from I Went on a Retreat 365 Days in a Row!
This book will be published by Christian Faith Publishing, Inc. in 2025.
Life can be challenging at times for any number of reasons. We may be very tired when we have to make a very important family decision. One of our children is asking us to do something, and we have to meet a deadline for work. Some person has hurt us emotionally by the words he or she has spoken. Many people may be “pulling” us in many different directions. Maybe you made a decision about something and not everyone is happy with that decision. Everyone is faced with circumstances that may be challenging to deal with in one way or another. I am sure that you can come up with a few examples where life is challenging and you feel that you need to take a break from everything that is going at different times each day of your life.
Whatever you are confronted with or dealing with at a particular time in your life, it may be a good idea to take a break from everything and go on a retreat. The retreat you experience may be by yourself, with a spouse, with a good friend, with another couple, or with a group of family members.
Jesus Christ experienced some tough times during His three-year ministry. We need to understand that He faced many different situations that were challenging and very difficult to deal with, just like you and me. The following Scripture passages document a few examples of challenging circumstances that Jesus faced during his lifetime.
Times like these may have resulted in Jesus going on a retreat in order to take a break from what He was confronted with and had to face during His lifetime. When you have the opportunity, take the time to read the Scripture passages I include at the beginning of each chapter. These help to learn about several retreats that Jesus experienced during His time on Earth. If you have read them already, go back and read them again. Reading these Scripture passages may inspire you to think more about Jesus’s retreats and to take the time to experience retreats that are similar to His.
Jesus went on more than just these twelve retreats. These retreats struck an interest in me because they are similar to ones that I experienced during my journey of writing this book. Jesus’s retreats are there for you and others to read about so that you can understand that not only is Jesus Christ the Messiah, the One chosen by God to conquer evil and save us from our sins, but He was human just like you and me. He was human. Life was challenging for Jesus as a human being, just like it is challenging for you and me.
Jesus needed retreats to “get away” from different circumstances that were going on in His life. Not only can we use Jesus as an example for how we live our lives on a daily basis, but we can also use Jesus as an example for knowing that we should go on retreats to benefit ourselves and for our own well-being, which will consequently and hopefully benefit others.
Whether Jesus was alone or whether He was with a group of people like His apostles, retreats were beneficial to Him. Jesus’s time alone and His fellowship with others were opportunities for Him to refresh Himself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Retreats that Jesus experienced may be the types of retreats that can benefit you in a number of different ways also. Use the list of Gospel passages below to read about some of the retreats that Jesus experienced by himself, with one other person, or with a group of friends. I hope and pray that you enjoy these as much as I do; not just reading each one, but also going on retreats that are similar to the ones that Jesus experienced!
Matthew 3:13-17
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 9:10-13
Matthew 14:12-13
Matthew 14:15-21
Matthew 14:22-23
Matthew 17:1-8
Matthew 19:13-15
Matthew 21:14-17
Matthew 26:26-30
Matthew 28:16-20
Mark 1:9-11
Mark 1:32-35
Mark 2:15-17
Mark 3:7-12
Mark 3:13-19
Mark 6:30-32
Mark 6:45-47
Mark 9:2-8
Mark 14:22-26
Mark 14:32-36
Mark 16:14-18
Mark 16:19
Luke 2:46-49
Luke 3:21-22
Luke 4:16-21
Luke 4:42-44
Luke 5:15-16
Luke 5:29-32
Luke 6:12
Luke 9:10
Luke 9:18-21
Luke 9:28-36
Luke 10:23-24
Luke 11:1-4
Luke 21:37-38
Luke 22:14-20
Luke 24:13-16
Luke 24:29-31
Luke 24:36-49
Luke 24:50-51
John 1:29-34
John 4:4-7
John 6:1-3
John 6:10-15
John 8:1-2
John 12:1-2
John 13:1-10
John 14:1-14
John 20:19-23
John 21:9-13
(Note: Jesus’s retreats listed above would be a great topic for any small group community at your church!)