Title: DO NOT BE AFRAID!
Focus: View life and participate in daily life through the story of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. Do so without paralyzing fear.
Function: To encourage the people to view and embrace the story of God’s salvation as our roadmap guiding us in our pilgrimage or journey of life.
Text: Luke 21:5-19
“Do not be afraid!” You have found favor with God.” That’s what the angel said to Mary, when he announced to her that she—though a virgin—would be with child.”
“Do not be afraid! And don’t let your hearts be troubled.” That’s what Jesus said to his disciples just before his betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.
“Do not be afraid! Jesus is not here; he has risen.”
That’s what the angel said to the women at Christ’s tomb on that resurrection morning.
And now we hear Jesus say these words again to his disciples in the text: “Do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
In some respect, one can argue that a healthy dose of fear is good. It is fear of lions, for instance, that may keep your son or grandson from climbing the fence in the zoo, wanting to pet the king of the jungle. It is fear of legal punishment that may keep some of us from always speeding with our vehicle. And it is fear from surprise attacks by insurgents that may keep our Marines on their toes and on guard. Fear can be a good thing.
But fear can also be a bad thing. It can paralyze or hinder us from functioning in a wholesome way. There are many people who suffer from all kinds of different “fears” or phobias. Recently, I ran into a list of phobias ranging from acrophobia—the abnormal fear of heights—to zeusophobia—the abnormal fear of god, or gods or religion. Many of these fears, such as agoraphobia—the fear of crowds—can make life miserable for people.
And then, of course, there are these other fears—the fears of alarmists sounding the trumpets of man-induced global warming, and of the rising potential of nuclear obliteration, and of the coming of the inevitable meteorite or comet that is on a collision course with planet earth. There is so much to fear that you may not want to get out of bed in the morning. That kind of fear is bad, however.
“Do not be afraid,” we read in Scripture time and again. But in some way, fearing things seems to be part of human nature. My grandparents, for example, having gone through WW, I, the Great Depression, and WW.II, feared for the future of their children. My parents, having gone through WW, II, the Korean War, the Cold War of the fifties and sixties, and the Vietnam War, feared for the future of us—their children; and today, us parents fear for the future of our children and grandchildren. After all, the war on terror is not over by a long shot.
And there are plenty of unstable, even hostile nations with nuclear power such as North Korea and Pakistan, and wannabe nuclear powers such as Iran. Surely, there are plenty of reasons to become paralyzed by fear today. Anxiety is on the rise today. And so is the use of anti-anxiety drugs. How then shall we cope as disciples of Jesus in this fear-filled world?
In light of today’s scripture I say: view life and participate in daily life through the story of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. That grand story is our roadmap, guiding us in our pilgrimage or journey of life.
THE PASSAGE
As we consider the passage, we notice that Jesus and his disciples are near the temple area in Jerusalem. King Herod has been at work for a long time to rebuild the temple of God. After a long period of deterioration and ruin, the people of Israel take pride again in the symbol and presence of a restored temple in their midst.
The building complex is impressive, vast in size, glorious in splendor, and worthy of admiration from all visitors to Jerusalem. The building blocks of the temple—you can still see them today—are huge. So much so, that for Jesus’ contemporaries and disciples the thought of the temple being destroyed again is an end-time scenario. That would be the end of the world—so the disciples thought.
Jesus said: “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” As the disciples inquired further about such an end-time calamity, Jesus said: “When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
Now the first thing that we should observe from the text is that Jesus views the present through the eyes of the future. That is to say, Jesus has a panoramic view of history, of the past, present and future. And Jesus allows us to scan the horizon of time—focusing our eyes on what is to come. Jesus, then views the present through the prism or eyes of the future.
Should we do the same? Yes, I think so. Note that the Lord Jesus does not discourage his disciples to inquire about future things. Jesus does NOT send us to palm readers or astrologers to inquire about the future. In fact, scriptures warn us against going to fortunetellers or crystal ball gazers who—for a fee—burden us with superstitious spells and oracles. Rather, the Lord Jesus introduces us to a perspective or prism—to a way of looking toward the future—that is given to us in Scripture and modeled by Jesus himself. (More on that later)
As Jesus views the present through the eyes of the future, the Lord Jesus cautions his disciples (and us) saying: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘the time is near.’ Do not follow them.” In other words, there will be many religious ‘loons’ who will make claims about being the Messiah, and about the end being near. (David Koresh, who along with his devoted followers perished at Waco a few years ago, was one of them). Jesus warns us against these religious frauds who make selfish, grand claims and thereby lead many astray. We must view the present through the prism or end-time glasses given to us by Jesus in the Scriptures.
The second thing that we should note from Jesus’ approach (viewing the present through the future) is that Jesus plants our feet firmly in God’s decrees. Jesus says, for example, “When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.” Here the Lord Jesus speaks of the divine “must.” Here the Lord Jesus draws us back to the eternal counsel of God—a counsel that leads us into mystery too deep for us to fathom, with actions and decrees that unfold throughout history and that give structure to our lives.
Jesus lives by that structure or divine “must” of his heavenly Father. In the upper room, for example, when he introduced the cup of thanksgiving to his disciples, the Lord Jesus said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him.” Jesus showed a similar awareness on the day of his resurrection when he said to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus: “ How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”
The point is simple: Jesus plants our feet firmly in God’s decrees. He reminds us that what God has ordained and decreed will come to pass. And Jesus implies that nothing happens outside of the parameters of God’s decrees—whether these decrees are hidden to us or revealed to us in Scripture. The present, past and future—they all unfold under the sovereign hand and guidance of God.
The third observation flows from the previous one. By viewing the present through the eyes of the future, and by planting our feet firmly in God’s sovereign design and decrees, Jesus encourages us to face today and tomorrow with courage. There is no need for paralyzing, crippling fear that squeezes the joy out of life.
Oh, to be sure. Jesus does not play games with us. Calamities, persecutions, oppression, betrayal and all kinds of trials will come our way. Death and martyrdom will be part of the story of the church and all God’s people. But, says Jesus: “…make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that no one of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict…not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.”
A life of roses, Jesus does NOT promise. Hardship and death will be part of our times and story. But still, there are reasons NOT to be crippled by fear. Here’s why we may face the future without paralyzing fear:
(1) Jesus says so. Jesus calls us NOT to live in fear. Jesus is trustworthy. He is truth; his words have proven to be true; his prophetic insights have underscored the truthfulness of the Scriptures. Jesus is utterly trustworthy. Therefore, we shall rest in his assuring words: “Do not be afraid.”
Global warming may be a serious issue. But I shall not panic, nor shall we presume that we can change the weather patterns and laws of nature by mere manipulation and changes of lifestyle in one or two generations. Paralyzing fear by the world’s leading scientists and government officials will not drive us to frantic, shrill, and anxious living. We shall live with awareness; we shall do what we can to be good caretakers and stewards of the earth. But we shall not be like Chicken Little, crying that the sky is falling down every time our scientists discern a natural but alarming trend.
Volcanic eruptions, powerful earthquakes, climatic changes, droughts and forest fires, wars and revolutions, persecutions, horrific acts of terror—they are part of the present landscape of history. As we pilgrimage through life, and as we spread the fragrance of Christ and his rule in our fear-filled, frightening world, we shall not be crippled by fear. For Jesus says so. Here’s another reason:
(2) Jesus calls us to view all of life through the eyes of God’s grand story of Creation—Fall—Redemption—New Creation.
If I view all of life through the eyes of a Muslim, I end up with fatalism and despair—For Allah is a willy-nilly power. You never know with him.
If I view all of life through the eyes of a Hindu, I can only hope for a better future—through reincarnation into a more enlightened position perhaps.
If I view life through the eyes of atheists or secular progressives, I only end up with disillusionment and discouragement. For I can only hope for some comfort and happiness in this short life of ours. But that’s it. My mortality and final end is death. That’s it.
But when I view our world and our lives through the eyes of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, I can live with hope, and assurance, and with courage and encouragement. Why?
Because Jesus, the Son of God, has conquered death; paid the wages of our sins; has granted us the gift of his Holy Spirit; assures us of eternal life; and reminds us that he is making all things new. I shall not be crippled with fear. Why? Because God so loves his creation—though it is fallen and stooped in sin—God so loves this world, that He has sent his Son to restore it, to renew it, and to endow it with his abiding, glorious presence forever and ever.
So then, view life and participate in daily life through the story of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. That story—found in Scriptures and centered in Jesus Christ—is our roadmap guiding us in our pilgrimage or journey of life.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.