“Do not be afraid."

Matthew 28 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. ² And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. ³ And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. ⁵ The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. ⁷ Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

⁸ And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

¹¹ Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

¹⁶ But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. ¹⁸ And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

In today’s text, after the resurrection, it says:  “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”  Twice the women were encouraged to not be afraid. We too, because Jesus is risen, should not be afraid. On the cross, in John 19:30, Jesus said:  “It is finished!”  He fully accomplished all that He came to do. Isaiah 53:4-6 says:  Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.   1 Corinthians 15:57 says:  Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  We should not be afraid. The finished work of the cross has given us victory over grief, sorrow, sin and death. It has provided healing for every disease and infirmity and while it was finished; fully accomplished there on the cross, the resurrection gives us confidence and comfort that we need not be afraid. The chorus of the familiar Bill Gaither hymn says:  Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!  

The text says:  Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.  Imagine that, a conspiracy to hide the truth; to keep people from believing what really happened. I guess some things never change. Even today we see that science and politics have conspired to hide the truth about God and Christ. They have repeated unfounded theories as truth. Contrary to what God says: “Do not be afraid,” they use fear as a weapon against our society. In John 8:31-32 Jesus says:  “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”  The truth frees us from fear. In psalm 23:the psalmist says: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Even death has no power over those who know and believe the truth. It is merely a shadow with no substance because through the resurrection, Jesus has conquered death. We need not be afraid knowing that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The text says:  The eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Perhaps we should not be so hard on ourselves if fear and doubt creeps in from time to time. Some were doubtful even seeing the resurrected Christ. It really is not a matter of if we have fears or doubts as much as it is a matter of how we respond to doubt. In Mark 9:21-24 there is an account of Jesus healing the son of a man.  “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”  Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  There is grace and help for us also, if we will cry out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  

Jesus says: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  That too should be our response, even if we have doubts. We should respond in obedience to Jesus commandment and commission. Acting in the authority of Christ, confident that He is with us, we should tell the truth to others.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the finished work of the cross and the assurance of the resurrection. Because Jesus lives all fear is gone. I can face both today and tomorrow. If ever fear or doubt creeps in, may I remember to pray, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”  May I walk each day, obedient to Your commandment, knowing You are with me, may I share the truth with everyone.  Amen.