Matthew 8:23-27, Mark 4:35-41, and Luke 8:22-25
And they woke him and said to Him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38b) Mark has one take on what the disciples said to Jesus. Matthew and Luke have the disciples with a very different perspective: And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” (Matthew 8:25) I wonder if we don’t approach God in like manner – probably most often asking God for His help, other times almost demanding that He act on our behalf! I find myself asking impatiently why He has not done this or that. Every Sunday we pray for world peace and I often ask God why He does not intervene in those “enemy” nations that have no faith or whose faith encourages violence against Christians. My prayers most often end with “Your will be done”, but I still wonder why His will has not been according to my world view. At times He has reminded me, especially regarding those peoples who seem to hate us the most, that we have brought it on ourselves. Their perception of our immoral behavior is abhorrent to their faith – we’re the ones who have set this immoral standard before them, before the world, and they are acting with righteous indignation. We are reaping what we have planted. Still, God, how will it end? Come, Holy Spirit!!
See also: April 21 / Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25
Ooh, Fred. That strikes home. We ask even demand that God do _______ for us. (Fill in your own blank!) Yes, He says be persistent, but perhaps a big part of that persistence is to enable us to listen and hear better what He says, like you said, some of this we bring on ourselves. Especially in not seeing the log in our own eye. Ouch!
I had a similar take on the different perspectives on how the disciples presented their problem to Jesus in Matthew 8:25, Mark 4:38, and Luke 8:24. But before I say anything else, let me first just put to bed the notion that the writers “disagree” or “misquote” the disciples just because the words are different in each Gospel. Let’s just remember that there were multiple disciples in the boat, all saying something, so the three Gospels need not have identical quotes. I fully expect that each of the different lines was indeed uttered by somebody. So now let’s look at each one.
Matthew 8:25 (“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”) has the disciples telling the Lord what to do (“save us”) and providing a quick explanation of their dire situation (“we are perishing”). I find this one interesting because it expresses a mixture of both faith and nonfaith — nonfaith in that they expect to perish, but some faith in that they think that Jesus can somehow save them. I very much wonder what they expected Jesus to do, though, since they obviously did not expect Him to calm the storm! In any case, though, this I think represents our most common type of prayer, where we presume to tell God what to do while not really trusting that He already has our best interests at heart.
Mark 4:38 (“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”) seems to me to present the most cynical perspective, with the disciples effectively accusing Jesus of being utterly dispassionate about what happens to them. Not only do they not trust that God will care for them, but they think this Man Jesus is content to sleep through the disaster, devoid of concern for them. How often do our prayers take a similar path? We observe through human eyes and never manage to get God’s perspective, so we ask, “Why me?” and accuse Him of not caring.
Luke 8:24 (“Master, Master, we are perishing!”) is probably the “best” of the prayers, but still expresses nonfaith — the “best” simply because they at least do not presume to tell the Lord what to do. The disciples just express their predicament — or, rather, their limited understanding of their situation, which (to them) looks bleak.
I can easily relate to all three of these cries from the disciples. They all seem “perfectly reasonable” from our natural perspective. Yet Jesus asks “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:40) What?! How can Jesus say that? And, for that matter, how could He have been asleep during this horrendous storm? The answer, I think, again lies in God’s character and putting true faith in Who He is and that He always does what is right and good, and not in the expectation of any particular outcome. Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father’s care, and so could sleep through the storm knowing full well that the Father’s purposes for Him could not be stymied by a squall. Likewise, the disciples need not fear the storm — even if it meant perishing then and there, because God would still be doing what is best.
Thanks for the three different “takes”, John!
I like how you dealt with each of these translations of what the disciples might have said, John. It is interesting to see them side by side. I am particularly struck by the second one because it has an element of manipulation in it, and I wonder how often I fall into that whiny, wheedling tone with my Saviour…
I like your perspectives on the writers, John. Thank you.
I’m drawn personally to Luke’s verses, specifically Luke 8:25, “Where is your faith?”. A challenge was thrown down to me…. Is my faith in Jesus strong/unwavering/solid even to the brink of death? These apostles, at least a couple of them, were professional fishermen and knew a life-threatening storm when they saw one. The challenge to me was not only about control over the specific situation (storm) at the time, but could I trust Jesus completely (let the storm run its course-don’t control it, even if it kills me) even in death? Believing what He told me about everlasting life with Him?
Bingo, Bruce!
And that’s the real challenge. Sometimes I have heard folks say that ending a prayer for, say, healing with “Thy will be done” is a cop out and indicates a lack of faith — that we are not adequately trusting God for the thing we just asked for — and that with such a lack of faith it is no wonder that our desired outcome fails to materialize. I have no doubt that our faith is often weak and that with stronger faith we’d perhaps see more miracles or otherwise “move mountains.” But to say that “Thy will be done” is itself a lack of faith is ludicrous. The opposite is really the case, because “Thy will be done” — even if it means suffering and death for me — requires true trust in our loving Father.