Do you not care!
“. . . do You not care that we are perishing?”
Mark 4:38
“Do you not care!” was the accusation the disciples made to Jesus. Their conclusion came from the circumstances around them. Calamity and fear overtook them as the storm tossed the boat around with the wind and the waves. They feared for their lives, they were sure to sink and drown! There was no way out!
And what was Jesus doing? He was asleep in the stern, on a cushion. To the disciples, that kind of peace in the midst of the storm reflected a lack of care. That is an interesting conclusion. What did they think would happen to Him if the boat were to sink? Why was caring about them more important than caring for Himself? This indeed was a sharp accusation against Jesus.
Like most calamitous situations the disciples focus was on the wrong thing. They were focused on the circumstances and their interpretation of the circumstances. They were arrogant enough to deem their interpretation as True and to come with an accusation to Jesus.
Jesus, before coming to earth in the form of a man, deemed the plan of salvation, His becoming man and bearing the sins of the world on Himself, as more important than His position of equality with God (Philippians 2:6[1]). He took on the form of a lowly man, a bond servant, limiting Himself in time and space, limiting His knowledge and power, to fulfill this plan. He even submitted Himself in obedience to His Father, God, to die an accursed death on a cross (Philippians 2:8[2]). The facts show that Jesus indeed cared, very much, and was in the process of paying a steep price for their salvation. Jesus was, even then, paying the price for their souls so that they would not perish for eternity.
Perhaps they did not know these things. They did not have the book of Philippians to state clearly His purpose and plan. Let us not be too lenient on them. They had the very presence of Jesus, the Son of God. By this time the disciples had seen Jesus perform miracles including the raising of the dead. Were the minds and the hearts of the disciples properly focused they would already know the love Jesus had for them. Were their minds and hearts properly focused they would have loved Jesus enough to warn Him of what appeared to be impending doom rather than waking Him with an accusation.
“Do you not care!” is still today an accusation too easily flung at God. Circumstances crowd in and calamity seems to rule around us. Things just aren’t going “right.” Apparently the end result will be death. All of this goes to show that God doesn’t care.
Part of the blessing of being a spiritual leader is that you can bring calm to the lives of those ruled by circumstances and chaos. You know the Truth. You know the price Jesus paid because of God’s love for them and you know the presence of God in your life. The broken hearted, the abused and the weary can be soothed through you by your sharing the many ways in which God has and is showing His love for the very people hurling accusations against Him. Time and again you can point out how appearances are false by pointing to the reality of who God is and who they can be in Him.
Jesus indeed cares!
© Written by Richard L. Roberts, director of Life Focus Ministries.
You can reach him at Richard@GrowLeaders.org or (423) 790-4994.
[1] Philippians 2:5-6 Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped NASB
[2] Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. NASB
