Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 29

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - WHO CARES?

WHO CARES?

When one looks at the present world and all that is happening, it is easy to ask the question as to whether anyone really cares or not. Do our leaders care? Do politicians really get bothered by how they act and speak? Is there any actual concern for individuals and how they exist and live and how they must feel? Individuals seem to be just invisible pawns in the overall scheme of world events. So does anyone really care? Does God care or is He also in the same category as everyone else?

To be in a situation where care seems to have been abandoned is really not new. In fact,  if one reads the book of Judges, it will soon be evident that whenever Israel abandoned their walk with God, it then seemed as if He abandoned them. It was only when the nation repented that the relationship with God was restored and the sense of abandonment abated. This happened frequently enough that one would think Israel would have gotten a clue, but it recurred over and over again.

Even in the time of Christ, the same feeling ensued. Those who were with Him for years still didn’t understand that Christ cared. When, in the boat on Lake Galilee, in the midst of a storm, the disciples, fearful for their lives, awakened Jesus and said:

…“Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 

(Mark 4:38)

Matthew also records this as:

 

Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, 

saying, “Lord save us! We are perishing!” 

(Matthew 8:25) 

But Christ chastised them to a degree and said:

…“Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” 

(Mark 4:40)

But are we not essentially the same? Do we not look at what is happening around us and wonder where God is? When something untoward happens do we not question why God hasn’t intervened even though in many cases we tend to forget or deny His very existence. We forget the care God has for us and His statement that:

 

I will never leave you nor forsake you. 

(Hebrews 13:5)

This actually is a statement that has been repeated a number of times in the Bible

He [God] will not leave you nor forsake you. 

(Deuteronomy 31:6,8)

…I will be with you. 

I will not leave you nor forsake you. 

(Joshua 1:5)

…my God - will be with you. 

He will not leave you nor forsake you… 

(1 Chronicles 28:20)

So, it is clear that there is evidence throughout the Bible that God is with us and that He cares for us. There is evidence that He is concerned as to whether on not we are perishing in the midst of a storm or even if we only have no bread. But in turn, we have to remember that of which God is capable.

…Why do you reason because you have no bread?

Do you not yet perceive nor understand?

Is your heart still hardened? 

(Mark 8:17)

If we truly want to know and understand how much God cares and wants to be with us, then we have to be aware of and understand what He has done and can do. If we understand and believe His record, then we should be able to believe and understand His love and care for us. And in turn, we need to reciprocate in our love and gratitude to Him. 

Just something more to think about.

SERVICE CANCELLATION Sunday January 25th

 Due to the extreme cold and the condition of the parking lot at the hall, there will be no service on Sunday January 25th.

Pastor Matthew Trott - Sunday Jan 18, 2026

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 28

Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - BOTH TOGETHER

BOTH TOGETHER

In the days of the Old Testament, the world seemed to be divided into two groups: those chosen by God, the Jewish nation, and all others called Gentiles. There was no love lost between the two for the Jews disliked the Gentiles intensely. The Jews, the males being circumcised, often referred to the Gentiles as being the uncircumcised. For this reason, David referred to Goliath…

…who is this uncircumcised Philistine, 

that he should defy the armies of the living God? 

(1 Samuel 17:26)

Could such peoples ever be one? It seemed unlikely and it came as a surprise when Gentiles started receiving the same Spirit as the Jewish people.

While Peter was still speaking these words, 

the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 

And those of the circumcision were astonished…

because the gift of the Holy Spirit 

had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 

(Acts 10:44-45)

The Lord had also spoken concerning Saul…

…he is a chosen vessel of Mine 

to bear My name before Gentiles. 

(Acts 9:15) 

But overall, this was not really something new or unexpected. Many times Isaiah had spoken of this happening. For example:

And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,

Who shall stand as a banner to the people;

For the Gentiles shall seek Him… 

(Isaiah 11:10)

And 

…I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles… 

(Isaiah 49:6)

The Gentiles shall come to your light… 

(Isaiah 60:3)

This all began when Abraham and Lot left Ur (Genesis 12) under God’s direction and with God’s blessing. Lot later separated from Abraham and God’s blessing when he went to live is Sodom, where he became morally and spiritually corrupt. After escaping from Sodom, Lot became drunk at the hands of his daughters who became pregnant by him and had children. They in turn gave rise to two immoral and inhospitable nations - Ammon and Moab. It was the king of the latter who tried to curse the Israelites through Balaam.

In spite of this historical separation between the Jewish people and the Moabites, it still happened that when a famine occurred in Bethlehem, Naomi and her husband left that city and went to Moab. Her husband, Elimelech, and her sons died there (some believe prematurely due to God’s displeasure with them), leaving Naomi and Ruth to return to Bethlehem. There, although Ruth was a Moabite woman, she met and ended up marrying Boaz, a Jewish man. In a way, this reconciled the descendants of Abraham, a Jew, with the descendants of Lot, a Gentile. And from Boaz and Ruth came the lineage of David and hence of Jesus. 

Thus, the church of Christ, brought together both Jews and Gentiles in one body…

and raised us up together, 

and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

that you, once Gentiles in the flesh…

were without Christ…having no hope and without God in the world.

…have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

For He Himself…has made both one, 

and has broken down the middle wall of separation… 

(Ephesians 2:6,11-14)

It’s amazing how a situation that began with Abraham and Lot, in the book of Genesis has come full circle with the marriage of Ruth and Boaz, and that this has resulted in the reunification of the Jewish and Gentile peoples in Christ and his church.

It certainly does give one something to think about.

 

Dr. Barclays Bible Study - The Gospel of Mark Part 27