Jump start # 453 

Mark 4:38 “Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they; woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

  Does Jesus care? That’s the title of a hymn we sing, often at funerals. It’s more than a song, it’s a thought and a concern that many folks have. Does He care? Martha asked Jesus that as she was busy preparing food. She said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?”  (Lk 10:40). Do you not care?

  Our passage comes from the time when the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. A storm came up. Things got bad, fast. Many of those in that boat lived on that sea. They were experienced. They were scared. They thought they were going to die.

  Jesus was asleep during the storm. How, I’m not sure. I understand He was at peace. I understand He had great faith. But still, it was a storm, a huge storm. The boat was up and down. They were soaked with rain and sea. It was dark. Jesus slept.

  Their question is not theological. It is not one that they had been tossing around among themselves for some time. This was probably the first they ever thought of it. They were all nearly the age of Jesus, in their 30’s. The thought of dying wasn’t on their radar, not until they intersected with the storm.

  They thought they were going to die. That thought does something to a person. All of a sudden the everyday stuff doesn’t matter. Who wins the ballgame, how the stock market did, what color to paint the bedroom, the car needs oil change, the things that seem to occupy a normal day, do not matter when the day is no longer normal. They thought they were going to die. They were doing everything they could to keep that from happening. They were bailing water out of the boat. They were trying to steer their way out of the storm. Finally, someone woke Jesus. Do you not care? He’s not doing anything. He’s not bailing. He’s not holding the sails. He’s sleeping. Doesn’t He care?

  Of course He does. The big picture makes all of this silly. Do you think Jesus would come from Heaven to drown in storm? Do you think He chose 12 apostles only to have them all wiped out in a boating accident? Doesn’t He have more knowledge, control and power than that?

  We don’t fault the disciples. We’ve been there. Racing a child to the hospital, the storm of debt, the fear of job loss, the dreaded word, cancer—all of these can make us cry out in fear, “do you not care?”

  The answer is YES, yes, He does care. Does that mean every storm will be stopped. No. Some storm we must travel through. To get to the green pastures the shepherds had to take the sheep through the valleys, even the valley of the shadow of death. Do you not care? Sure, He does.

  Do you know what He cares about the most? Not the storms. Not water in the boat. Not pressure, stress, worry. He cares that we are perishing without Him. He cares that we journey through life on our own and then when a storm hits us, we wonder where He is. How many perish each day without Him? That’s what concerns Jesus.  Storms come and go. Some are bad and some and ok.

  God’s wish for you is not comfort. That’s our wish. It’s not luxury. That’s our wish. It’s to journey with Him. It’s to go the direction He’s going. It’s to trust Him. It’s to believe Him. It’s to know that someday I will perish, but He’ll be there and He’ll take me home, where He is.

  Do you not care? What a question. We wonder—does the government care? You wonder. Does the company I work for care? You wonder. Does my church care? You wonder. Even, does my family care? You wonder. Does God care? YES. Yes, He does.

  For the disciples, the storm ended. Someday your storms will end. Jesus cares.

Roger