Fearless to a fearing world

Mk 16:1-8 - When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

This is situation where fear of God and fear of man clash and it looks like the fear of man wins. They are supposed to tell the disciples and Peter that he is going to Galilee. But they told no one. One wonders why they told no one, but you have to wonder if it was because she was a woman, that she was even at the tomb, and that she had a spotty past. Why would Jesus show up first to her? And yet the fear of God had consumed her with trembling and astonishment. We can’t be afraid to do that which the world doesn’t understand, and it will only be a true fear of God and the Holy Spirit’s enablement that will help us be fearless to a fearing world.

Fear that breaks hard hearts...

Mk 6:45-52 - Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Could it be that it is our hard hearts prevent us from fearing God? They shouldn’t have been utterly astounded by walking on water because they had seen him feed five thousand. I am not sure which is easier: breaking loaves or walking on water. I think they are both the same in degree of difficulty. So, when the disciples saw Jesus walking on water, if there hearts were hard, they wouldn’t have been so astounded. But, they were astounded because they didn’t have the proper fear of God, yet. God said do not be afraid because I am the only one worthy of true fear. But, this is a great insight into what keeps us from true fear, namely, heart hearts.

Fear of God follows faith...

Mk 5:35-43 - While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

It seems that there are two options when it comes to fear. Either you fear or you have faith. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus commands people not to fear, but to have faith. The natural default seems to be fear and so we must actively have faith for faith to win out. After Jesus healed this daughter against the face of adversary and opposition, they were overcome with amazement or awe or in essence, fear. When we have faith and we see God work, it leads to a correct fear. The more we fear God, the more he can do through us. The previous chapter was about a woman who was bleeding for many years and she had faith that even an indirect touch would heal her. Her faith was rewarded and when Jesus discovered who had touched her, she fell down with fear and trembling. Fear of God follows faith but fear of man hinders faith. Faith requires risk as in this situation where the ruler of the synagogue had put his reputation at risk as the mourners laughed at this desperate man, he trusted Jesus and was rewarded with the life of her daughter, brought back from the dead.

Faith that dissolves fear

Mk 4:35-41 - On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he 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?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

Again, this is a great example of God teaching true fear through nature and miracles. The disciples are at first fearful of the boat being capsized by the water. Than they are commanded not to fear anything. And then after seeing a miracle, they naturally fear God. They move from fear of creation and death to fear of God who is greater than both death and creation. It is interesting that Jesus asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” It seems that these are two mutually exclusive. You can’t fear or be afraid and have faith, too. Such a simple statement with far reaching results. If we have a faith in an almighty, in control God, we will not need to be afraid of anything.

Fear unto worship

Mt 28:1-10 - Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

What a great story of fear in all dimensions. The guards became like dead men when they saw the angel, but the same angel said, “Do not be afraid!” So they depart with fear and joy only to see Jesus who says, “Do not be afraid!” We see in the passage the awesomeness of God and his angels that well up fear in our bodies, and then we also see the care and love that we are commanded not to fear. Fear God and fear no one. God is to be worshipped above all.

Fear transfigured

Mt 17:1-8 - And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

In this account, the fear of God and the command do not fear are placed side by side. Jesus said, “Have no fear” after the three disciples had experienced the fear of God. In this account we see both the awesomeness of God as well as the tenderness of God. May we live within the tension that is illustrated for us, revering God and his might, but also obeying God’s command to not fear.

The fear that can('t) walk on water

Mt 14:23-33 - And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This passage so clearly and graphically details both how the fear of things destroys us and the fear of God builds us up. The disciples feared what they thought was a ghost and Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid.” Than Peter not only isn’t afraid, but walks on water. But, he sees the wind, and becomes afraid and Jesus rebukes, “Why did you doubt?” And when Jesus got back in the boat, and the wind ceased, the fear of Jesus fell upon the people. This passage shows both the heights we can soar with a proper fear of God and how desperate we can become when we fear anything but God. This should encourage us to no end that if we keep our eye on God, we will by faith be able to conquer things that are impossible, fears that are rational and hearts that are impassable. Our God who is control of everything is also our Father. But, we need to, to by fear, step out of the boat and come to him, keeping our eyes on Him, only. "Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid."