What Mark 4:35-41 tells us about fear and how to respond to it

This week’s readings have discussed the overriding importance of staying close to God. We’ve seen how vital it is to not let fear, preoccupation with worldly things, and even otherwise legitimate things get between us and what God desires of us. Today’s reading, Mark 4:35-41, gives additional insights into one of those potentially distracting things—fear—and illustrates several encouraging things about it.

One is that even godly, faithful, folks experience fear and that it does not disqualify them from relationship with God. Here we see that the disciples—people who literally dedicated their lives to following Jesus—experienced great fear. We see that elsewhere in the gospels, during other storms and in connection with Jesus' passion.  But Jesus did not give up on them; He still loved and used them. So do not despair when you experience fear; fear does not equal failure and doubt does not equal disqualification.  

Another thing this reading shows us is to bring our fears to God; prayer is a powerful response to fear. Here, the disciples brought their fears to Jesus, prayer in its most direct form, and received peace. That is consistent with what we see in Philippians 4:6-7  and  1 Peter 5:7; those verses tell us that we receive peace when we bring our fears to God. So go to God when you are scared, you will experience peace from the very process of sharing your fear with Him. The fear causing circumstances may not be immediately changed, but your ability to deal with them will be. 

 Finally, this reading shows that we do not have to be shy about bringing our fears to God; we can express our fear without inhibition.  The Greek word translated in a very understated way as “said” in verse 38 actually connotes a much stronger communication. It describes commanding, exhorting, speaking emphatically. Jesus didn’t reject the disciples or their plea because of that. In fact, he later instructed them to be bold in presenting their concerns to God. Luke 11:5-8, Luke 18:1-8. We see that elsewhere in scripture, God’s faithful servants presented raw emotion to Him and did so with great intensity, but God was not offended. 1 Samuel 1:4-28, Psalm 55:1-8, Psalm 42:2-4.   Relatedly, Romans 8:26-27 assures us that we can bring our raw emotions to God even if we are so upset that we cannot clearly articulate them. So do not pull your punches with God, pour your heart out to Him.

 

Prayer:

Lord, draw us to you when we are afraid. Do not let our fear separate us from you, but help us boldly cast our cares on you. 

 

Fear does not equal Failure and Doubt does not equal Disqualification

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

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16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.  18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:5-10, 16-20 (emphasis added)

Woven into the great good news of the resurrection is the subtheme that Jesus uses us in spite of our fears and doubts.  We see that in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ response to the women who first discovered His resurrection and some of His disciples’ doubts.

To fully appreciate what’s going on there we must consider what preceded it.  The women and the disciples had been with Jesus for three years, immersed in His powerful teaching and witnessing His great miracles, including several instances where raised the dead. Indeed, they had participated in and were direct beneficiaries  of  some of His miracles. Further, and of particular importance here, Jesus had repeatedly told told them that He would be murdered and resurrected. They therefore should have known that His death would not be the end of things. 

Yet, being human, they were overwhelmed by the traumatic circumstances of Jesus' death and the apparent failure of all they had lived for. They lost sight of Jesus’ plan and experienced fear and doubt, even in the face of powerful evidence that what Jesus said was going to happen was actually happening.  In short, they didn’t “get it,” their perception was clouded.

But rather than giving up on or condemning them, Jesus understood their frailty and continued to use them. He gave them immediate missions (to tell the others about the resurrection, to meet Jesus at a particular place), and that lead to their being restored to very fruitful service.

         So what does that meant to us, 21 centuries later? At least two things.

First, it shows us that God uses us in spite of fears and doubts, that our human failings do not disqualify us from effective service.  Jesus’ patience with the women’s fear and the disciple’s doubts are part of a broader pattern of God getting us past our initial fears/doubts and using us in spite of them.  Abraham, Moses,  Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Mary, Peter, and Ananias each had initial doubts about what God called them to do, and God used them in spite of those, and even later, doubts.

Second, it shows us how we should respond to those fears and doubts: by taking the immediate next step God asks of us. The women did that by relaying the message Jesus gave them, in spite of their own fear. The doubting disciples showed up where Jesus told them to meet Him. Neither were huge tasks, but both got those folks past their fears/doubts and back into the pattern of productive service.