42
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
January 1928
V. 35. "And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.” The day referred to is the day on which He spoke
while Jesus was asleep in the stern, rest ing upon the cushion. This cushion was not a luxurious pillow but, a$. has been suggested, probably a block of wood or “the leathern cushion of the steersman that is usually on the low bench on which the steersman sometimes sits and the Cap tain sometimes rests his head, to sleep.” Jesus, during His life, did not enjoy the comforts and luxuries with which people of the modern world are acquainted. In stead of -traveling in Pullman cars and boats with fine cabins and every Conve nience conceivable. He gladly and willing ly, for the sake of suffering humanity, en dured privations, living as the poorer class of people of His day. Being excited at the threatening danger, the disciples immediately awoke Jesus, asking Him if He did not care that they perished. Of course He cared. He is interested in everyone of His people and assures them that “not a hair of your head shall perish” (Lk. 21:18). He is deeply concerned with' theamost trivial things isf the life of every child of His—even the most trifling, insignificant matters, for it is. the little things that make up life. It is the will of Christ that no man perish eternally, but that all should have life. It is the will of Christ that His people should live lives of, true consecration and service in His king dom, being a blessing to all, V. 39. “And He _awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” Jesus permitted the storm to rage and to go just far enough, and at the proper time He rebuked the' wind and the sea. “He doeth all things well.” Like-, Wise He does all things at the i proper time. He permits the dark clouds to over- shadow even the most faithful of H is’ children in order .to develop their faith and to teach them the lesson that they are utterly dependent upon Him, and that He' cares for them. The mighty seas and all Of the elements are absolutely under His . control. Hence there is no reason for one who lias faith in God to be afraid of winds and storms. At His command'the storm became a great calm. Not only does He have control of the winds and waves; but He has Control of govern ments, nations and beasts. He can, has, and will, if necessary, use His i omnipo tence to intervene in behalf of one of His children. Daniel, the faithful servant of God, at the time of the Babylonish cap tivity was unjustly thrown into the lion’s den; but Daniel’s God, Who is our God, shut the mouths of lions, delivering His' faithful servant. V. 40. “And He said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith?” j'e marvels that at least those disciples Who followed Jesus immediately after the temptation (Jno. 1) should lack faith, see ing they had enjoyed such wonderful op portunities; but let' it be noted that though miracles may stimulate faith, they:- do_ not have the power of sustaining it. It is the Word of God that does the latter. V. 41. “And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” -The disciples were conscience-smitten when they saw a new vision of Jesus. His rebuke, furthermore, seems to have had the desired effect. It becomes necessary for even the best of children to be re buked by the Lord at times. 5:15. “And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with de
mons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion : and they were afraid.” In vs. 1-14 of this chapter appears a record of Christ reach ing the eastern shore of the Sea of Gali lee, and of His being met by the Genesene demoniac, out of whom He cast a legion of demons, permitting the latter to enter into a herd of swine which ran into the sea and were drowned. The herdsman immediately reported to the owner of the swine what had occurred to them, and the latter came to the place where Jesus was and beheld the man who had been possessed with the demons sitting, enjoy ing the proper exercise of his mind. Doubtless these people were well acquaint ed with this man and had seen(some of the supernatural feats which he had per formed by the strength of the demons which possessed ■him. But now, , .seeing that he was an entirely different man, sit- ting quietly with Jesus, they were af frighted. V. 16. “And they that saw it declared unto them, how it befell him that was pos- Kfsfissed' with demons, and concerning the szmne.” The people ■who had observed Jesus’ coming, casting out of the'demons, and the destruction of the swine, re counted to the swine owners the things which they had witnessed. One wonders if. these witnesses, who were unregenerated men, could state the facts and conditions really as they were; for the natural man is unable ; to;1understand spiritual phe nomena. V. 17. “And they began to beseech him to depart from ' their borders?’ Being more interested in money-making and the pleasures of this life, the swine-owners, together possibly with others,- urged Jesus that He depart and that He not disturb them. By so doing, they were rejecting the greatest blessing that had ever come into their lives. So far as the record re lates, Jesus never again. bothered those people with His ministry. -Life is a serious thing; and one should be very Careful in rejecting, light, blessings and opportunities which God by His provi dence brings to him, for in doing so he may be rejecting eternal life and eternal glory. V. 18. "And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with de mons besought him that he might be with him.” Jesus, granting their request, en tered into a, boat to depart to the other side. The man out of whom Jesus cast the demons, urgently requested Jesus that he be permitted to go with Him. Jesus had done so very much for him that he was willing to leave everything, and to follow Him. Jesus means all to the faith ful child of God, and gratitude to Him should lead each one to sacrifice all for the Lord. V. 19. . "And he suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and how he had mercy on thee.” God blesses people in order that they may become a blessing to others. The place where God wants one to begin to work for Him is usually in his own family, then ameng his imme diate friends and relatives; afterwards, frequently He permits him to minister in a larger sphere (cf. Acts 1:8). Even though the people of that community had rejected Jesus, Jesus still wanted them to have another opportunity of hearing the message of love and life. The man was to tell what great things God had done for
the series of parables, two of which ap peared in the lesson of last Lord’s Day. It seems that the im mediate reason for Jesus’ decision to go to the other side was that the excitement of the hour was very in tense, and that in
order to avoid trouble, He wished to de part quietly from the scene and to permit the excitement to pass away normally. Jesus was not afraid of trouble; hence He never ran from it, but His leaving was simply a precautionary measure dictated by wisdom. There are times when the servant of the Lord should quietly with draw; at other times to Withdraw because of difficulties and persecutions would -ap proach at least a temporary betrayal of the Lord. There is great need of divine wisdom in order that one may know when to stand at his post and when to withdraw quietly. V. 36. “ And' leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.” Having received the command from Jesus to withdraw, the Apostles rowed quietly away toward the east side of the lake. Though He was able to get away from the great mass of people, it seems that certain ones followed in other boats. Evidently these people in the boat were sincere, seeking to know more of the wonderful truths which Jesus, was teach ing. The heart which craves to know truth and to learn more of Jesus experi mentally, is willing to make any sacri fices and to give- up anything in order JUST TO KNOW HIM, V. 37. " And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling,.” - The language of this verse simply states that there arose a storm, speaking of it as if it were the result of purely natural forces. Mark knew well that lying be hind what men in the modern world call “laws of nature” is the invisible, omni potent and omnipresent God Who works “all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11; Psa. 135:542; Amos 5:7-9). The natural man,-—i.e., the unregenera.ted man, would say that this storm “happened” to occur at this time. The word “happen” carries with it the original idea of chance. There^ is no such thing as “chance” and ■ luck” in a world which is ruled and over ruled by such an omnipotent and loving God as our God (Rom. 8:28; Psa. 76:10). Christ permitted this storm to come upon them in order that the disciples might have the opportunity of seeing that their Lord and Master was likewise the Lord and Master of what is termed the natural world. To know that He who loves one has control of all things, is indeed a source of great comfort to him. The waves not only dashed against the boat but were filling it. Doubtless Jesus permitted this occurrence in order to test their faith, and that He might have the privilege of strengthening the same. , V. 38. “And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion : and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish?" All the
Made with FlippingBook Annual report