Does The Saviour Care?
Mark 12:14 “Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest for no man.”
Luke 10:40 “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister left me to serve alone?”
Mark 4:38 “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?”
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”
Luke 10:40 “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister left me to serve alone?”
Mark 4:38 “Master, carest Thou not that we perish?”
1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”
There may be times when we come to a point in our lives when we doubt
our Saviour’s care. While we understand that He has died for us and
purchased us at a great price, yet circumstances can and do arise that
make us question His love. We are not unique in this, for those who were
closest to Him also had times when they doubted the love of their
Saviour; however, we hope to show that their doubts were without
foundation. There are three occasions where the Saviour’s care was
brought into question, and we will examine each in the following order.
First, in Mark 12 we have a statement of flattery, in Luke 10 we have a
question borne of frustration and in Mark 4 we have a question borne of
fear.
Mark 12:14 – Flattery
The Pharisees and Herodians in this instance were attempting to
catch, or snare, the Lord in His words, and towards this end they
attempted to flatter Him. In this flattery they exposed their snare, as
the Lord knew, for “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net
for his feet.” Furthermore, what they thought to be a compliment, was to
the Saviour an insult. This is generally the way. When worldlings
presume to flatter, often they insult, and when they intend to insult,
they often, unknowingly, state the truth. For example, when the
Pharisees sneered, “This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them,”
they stated a glorious truth which we rejoice in to this day. Likewise,
when the chief priests at the cross mocked, “He saved others: himself he
cannot save”, we understand this to be true, for if he were to save us,
he must not save himself. This was the great truth of the garden of
Gethsemane: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me except I
drink it, Thy will be done.”
While the Pharisees and Herodians possibly meant to say that since
the Lord taught the truth regardless of the opinions of man, He
therefore cared for no man, it is in the implication of these words that
we are interested. That is, that the Lord was uncaring. These men would
ascribe to the Lord the same characteristics as those of the unjust
judge of Luke 18 who “feared not God, nor regardeth man.” It should not
be surprising to us that the world would doubt His care, that the world
would see Him as the unjust judge and that they would even see this as
complimentary. It should, however, be a surprise to us that those who
were closest to Him on this earth could doubt His care. In the next two
passages we will see that He does truly care, both about the mundane and
the essential.
Luke 10:40 – Frustration
In Luke 10:38-42, we have an example of His care for the mundane.
Martha has the great honour of having the Lord in her house, and she is
concerned that everything be just right. As any sister would know, this
requires great attention to detail to ensure that everything is in its
place and that the meal is prepared. There is no doubt also that this
preparation was being done out of her love for the Lord. However in the
flurry of activity, she notices that her sister is no longer helping,
but rather is now at the feet of the Saviour. Martha possibly wonders if
she is not appreciated and therefore draws attention to the work she is
doing. She implies that since there is so much to do she needs the help
of her sister. There would be few of us that have not felt the same way
as Martha, feeling sorry for ourselves that we have been left alone to
do some task. Often the difference between ourselves and Martha is that
rather than going to the Lord, we simply sulk. Possibly Martha was
sulking also, though, while we find fault with her, at least she did go
to the Lord with her concerns.
Martha in her frustration identifies two reasons for her problem:
first she blames the Lord and secondly she blames her sister. Her
reasoning is that the Lord does not care and her sister has left her
alone. The answer of the Lord to this sudden interruption shows to us
the great care He has for His overwrought servant. There are seven
instances in the Scriptures when God addresses a person by repeating his
or, as in this case, her name. In each case, God shows both the urgency
of the matter and His great care for those being addressed. We feel the
rebuke here when the Saviour says, “Martha, Martha.” The Lord then goes
on to gently explain to her what she already knew, that is, that her
sister had chosen that good part which would not be taken away from her.
This is not to say that what Martha was doing was not needful; in fact,
in Acts 6:2-3, we see the high standard of those who would wait on
tables, but rather that her attitude toward her service was wrong.
The next time we read of Martha, after the raising of her brother
from the dead, she is again serving, but this time it is Judas, not
Martha, who fails to see that Mary has chosen the good part (John 12:2).
On this occasion it is written, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her
sister, and Lazarus” (v 5). The order of names is significant. We would
suggest that Martha had come to understand that “godliness with
contentment is great gain.”
It is difficult to apply the above to our own circumstances. It seems
that when there is the potential for the saints to be blessed through a
conference, Bible readings or a gospel series there is equal potential
for strife between brethren or sisters. When preparations are being made
for these meetings and as they continue, we need Marthas amongst us as
well as Marys. It is possible, however, for us to make things more
tolerable for our Marthas by remembering that because some Marthas are
on hall duty, because someone is cooking, and because someone is
cleaning, we can enjoy the ministry of the Word. Those of us with
children should take extra care to see that after we have enjoyed a
meeting, we clean up the bits of note paper, candy wrappers, etc before
we leave our seats. A word of encouragement or a helping hand will be
recognized by the One we all serve.
Mark 4:38 – Fear
In Mark 4:35-41, we have an example of the other extreme: His care
about what is essential. While this storm has been rightly compared to
the storms of life through which Christians often pass, it can also be
looked at from a different perspective. It is clear that the raging sea
often speaks to us of the world, the unregenerate nations, and that the
possibility of being swamped by the world around us is something to
guard against. For example, Dr. Heading, in Matthew, What the Bible
Teaches, notes that, “Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled”
(Psa 46:3), is interpreted as the raging of the heathen (v 6). Also Dr.
Heading notes, “The winds speak of a Satan-like power over the nations,
for Satan is the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2).”
The disciples here find themselves in great peril. They had followed
the Lord’s direction to “pass over to the other side”, but this had not
preserved them from the onslaught of Satan. Indeed, they feared that
they were in danger of being shipwrecked. While it is true that the ship
could not go to the bottom so long as the Saviour was on board, we can
make an application here. The Apostle Paul was concerned that if he did
not keep his body under subjection there was the danger that even though
he had preached to others, he might be castaway. While the term
“castaway” has the thought of being disapproved, it also refers to one
who has survived a shipwreck, one who has lost everything save his life.
Paul expresses a similar thought to Timothy when he speaks of “Holding
faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away conceming faith
have made shipwreck.” The experienced fishermen among the disciples no
doubt recognized the severity of the situation. They were not men who
would take the sea for granted. While they possibly tried first to bring
the ship safely to shore, they soon realized the sinister nature of
this storm, the intensity of which would be unknown to them. At this
point their only resource was the One who was asleep in the bow of the
ship.
We can contrast this attitude with that of another who faced a storm
in his life with marked difference from the men we are considering here.
While the disciples saw the storm and understood the significance of
it, Jonah was fast asleep in the hold of the ship. It is the unsaved
captain who rebukes Jonah with these words, “What meanest thou, O
Sleeper? Arise call upon thy God…” A question we should ask is, how do
we face temptations? Are we like Jonah, or the five wise virgins, asleep
amongst our unbelieving companions, or do we take heed to the
exhortation of Peter, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour” (I
Pet 5:8)? The mass mehia of the world, the television, the radio, the
magazines and the newspaper will lull us to sleep so that we do not see
the danger of being shipwrecked until it is too late. Others among us
see the danger of the storm and in fear and trembling turn to the One
who can calm the storm. Are we asleep or awake? “And that knowing the
time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our
salvation nearer then when we first believed” (Rom 13:11).
Regardless of how we face temptation, there is the possibility that
we, like the disciples, may make the mistake of thinking that the Lord
does not care whether we perish or go on well in our Christian life.
Clearly this is not the case. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?
and one of them shall not fall to the ground without your Father. But
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye
are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt 10:29-31).
The Lord answers the disciples question by first calming the storm
and then asks, “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”
(Mark 4:40). Not only does He care, but He marvels that we would ever
doubt this care.
1 Peter 5:7 – Faith
The Christian can have many cares. In some cases we may feel that
they are too trivial to bother the Lord with, and in other cases we may
feel that in our own power we will fight the storm, that we can stand
alone against the temptations of the world. Both of these attitudes are
wrong and therefore Peter, who from experience would know better than
the rest, exhorts us to continue in our Christian pathway, “Casting all
your care upon Him, for He careth for you” (1 Pet 5:7).
from Truth and Tidings Magazine, Dec. 2015
