ἀναπαύω

G373, anapaúō, is a Greek verb for giving rest, taking rest, resting upon, or refreshing someone. Jesus promises rest to the weary who come to Him, then speaks of learning under His yoke. He also invites exhausted disciples to withdraw and rest when crowds have left them no time to eat. Paul uses the word for believers whose love, presence, and obedience refresh another person's spirit or heart. Peter says the Spirit of glory and of God rests on those insulted for Christ, and Revelation promises rest to slain witnesses and to those who die in the Lord. The word can describe bodily pause, relational relief, divine presence, and final rest, but each passage defines its own gift.

Not every apparent rest is faithful. Jesus' sleeping disciples are described as resting while the hour of betrayal arrives, and the rich fool tells himself to take it easy because his barns seem secure. Luke immediately exposes that self-assurance as folly before God. G373 therefore cannot be reduced to comfort, leisure, or freedom from obligation. In Matthew 11, Christ's rest comes with His yoke and His instruction; it relieves crushing burden without abolishing discipleship. In Philemon, Paul asks for refreshment in Christ through a costly act concerning Onesimus, so relational refreshment cannot be separated from truth, reconciliation, and another person's dignity.

Pastoral use should honor embodied need and eternal hope without making easy promises. Mark 6 supports food, withdrawal, and physical rest for overextended servants. Revelation honors the dead and persecuted without romanticizing violence or telling suffering people to endure preventable harm. Paul's examples show that communities can refresh hearts through love and trustworthy presence. Jesus remains the giver at the center: weary people come to Him, learn His gentle and humble way, and receive rest that is neither self-salvation nor permission to avoid love. The word invites churches to become places where burdened people meet Christ's truthful gentleness and where care restores rather than controls.

G373 describes Christ giving rest to the burdened, disciples receiving bodily rest, foolish ease built on wealth, saints refreshing one another, the Spirit resting on the insulted, and the faithful dead receiving promised rest while their deeds follow them.