Do Not be Afraid . . . For He is Risen
- May 4
- 3 min read
He is Risen Indeed! No cap.
On Resurrection Sunday we celebrated our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ's triumph over death. Pastor Brett preached a great sermon on Matthew 28:1-7:
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came 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 from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
From this text, Pastor Brett focused on four commands that the angel gave to the Maries.
Come - You're Invited
See - It's Real
Go - You're Free
Tell - It's For Everyone
But Pastor Brett skipped over addressing the angel's first command to the women: Do not be afraid.
This command, to not be afraid, is, allegedly, given 365 times throughout scripture; once for each day of the year.
So the women went out quickly from the tomb with great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word . . . right?
Wrong. Matthew 28:9 tell us:
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
They failed at obeying the first command: do not be afraid. But even though they were afraid, they were courageous which allowed them to overcome their fear and accomplish the four other commands of the angel.
The Bible also repeatedly tells us to have courage, which is defined as the "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty." As succinctly stated in Deuteronomy 31:6:
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
The women's courage allowed them to persevere through their fear to obey God's commandments and have joy. As Jesus informed us in John 15:10-11:
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."
But what happens when we are not courageous, when we succumb to fear, and don't keep the commandments of God?
Master Yoda, in his infinite wisdom, provides the answer.
I often find that the path Yoda refers to is true. Without the courage to persevere through fear, our potential joy instead becomes anger. Our conscience informs us that we failed to trust God in the storm. But in classical human nature, we don't want to be convicted and repent of our sin. Rather than take responsibility for our failures, we project our failures on others in anger. Just as Adam tried to blame Eve for disobeying God in the garden:
Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
Genesis 3:12.
But projection does not cleanse your conscience. Instead, it adds to your conviction. And when our projected anger festers, it turns to hate, of the individuals and groups we project our failures onto. That hate eventually turns into words and actions against those individuals and groups which leads to suffering, not only for others, but also for our eternal souls.
We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
. . .
Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:12, 15.
By succumbing to fear we rob ourselves of the promises of God, even eternal life.
It's time to be not afraid, have courage, and obey God's calling for your life . . . for He is risen indeed!
May the Fourth be with You.
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