Do not be afraid! This is a big part of the Easter message. When Mary entered into the empty tomb, the angel met her and declared, “Do not be afraid.” When Jesus revealed himself to her, she grabbed his feet and worshipped. Jesus spoke and said, “Do not be afraid.” The risen Savior speaks into all of our fears and calls to us as well – “Do not be afraid.”
Fear is something that strikes at all of us. It is one of the most powerful human emotions. Fear is the first negative emotion that is expressed in scripture. After Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God, they hid from him. Adam said to the Lord, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid” (Genesis 3:10). Man’s heart became filled with fear. He was now afraid of God. He was afraid of the future. He felt as if he was now on his own and somehow had to survive in a dangerous world. That can be scary. Know what I mean? Sure you do. I am convinced that fear is truly rooted in our separation from God. Sin has left us disconnected from Him. Even as Christians, there are times we still feel disconnected from our Father. We feel that we can’t trust Him. We feel all alone and vulnerable. There are times that fear takes us hostage.
What is that you are afraid of? Some of us are afraid of death. We might be afraid of a bad diagnosis from the doctor. Many of us have been fearful of the financial future. The economy has exposed our insecurities, and we face the future with a lot of anxiety. Some of us are afraid of people. We are scared of rejection and fearful of failure.
So what do we do? What does Easter say to our fears? Jesus stepped out of the tomb and proclaimed, “Do not be afraid.” I think he was seeking to bring peace to his disciples who were fearful of the future. They felt they had disappointed God, and perhaps no longer felt secure in their relationship with Him. They had developed an unhealthy fear of God. He wanted to calm their fearful hearts.
The death and resurrection of Jesus has the power to remove our unhealthy fear of God and assure us of the power of God’s love for us. Many people fear God’s true commitment to them. They feel that God is one day going to give them what they fear they deserve. God’s love is too good to believe in their opinion, and eventually they are going to be punished. Scriptures says, “(Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5). The truth is that God has already dished out what you and I deserve. He poured out our punishment onto Jesus. We do not have to fear that God is going to one day give us what we think we deserve. It has already been dealt with. Jesus absorbed God’s wrath. We no longer need to be afraid of God’s intention towards us. When we receive Christ, we can fully receive the love of God. It is ours. His love has been purchased for us.
Jesus has also conquered death on our behalf through his resurrection. The apostle Paul declared, “Where O Death is your victory? Where O Death is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). As Christians, we will still die physically, but it no longer has power over us. We have no need to be afraid of death, afraid of the future. If death no longer has power over us, then we should truly be free to live. A Risen Savior offers His life, His hope, His peace, His presence. What does Easter say to our fears? It says everything. It says, “Do not be afraid.” And that’s the Word.
