The New Testament Says, Don’t Be Afraid
If in many contexts the Hebrew Bible says, “Don’t be afraid,” the Greek New Testament and the gospels especially, reiterates the theme even more emphatically. Before a look at the particulars, I’ll note a kind of summation John includes in his first letter: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment. But the one who fears is not made perfect [i.e., mature] in love. We love him because he first loved us” (I John 4: 18-19). The charge, Do not be afraid, weaves through the gospels like a refrain, punctuating most high points of the story. The connection with love is not to be forgotten.
From the beginning of the story of Jesus, many are told not to fear. The angel Gabriel tells Mary she will bear “the Son of the Highest.” To her troubled look, he says, “Do not be afraid” (Luke 1: 30). About the same time, an angel tells her fiancé Joseph not to be afraid to take her as his wife, “For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matt 1: 20).
Jesus begins his ministry, calling fishermen Peter, James, and John to follow him. “Do not be afraid,” he says. “From now on you will catch men” (Luke 5: 10). Later, as he is on his way with a synagogue ruler to heal his sick child, a servant brings the message that she has died. Jesus says, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe” (Mark 5: 36; Luke 8: 50). The disciples battle a storm on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus comes, walking on the sea, and tells these terrified men, “Do not fear” (Matt 14: 27; Mark 6: 50; John 6: 20). At one point, he warns of persecution and enemies, three times forbidding fear: “Don’t fear them,” he says and explains: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” After observing that apart from the Father’s will, no sparrow falls, he adds: “Don’t be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matt 10: 26, 28, 31; Luke 12: 7). Again in a reassuring word, he says, “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12: 32). On the mount of transfiguration, Jesus tells Peter, James, and John, “Don’t be afraid.” They are like the Israelites at Mount Sinai, terrified by the voice of God though the voice is kind: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him” (Matt 17:7).
John’s gospel describes Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem with a prophetic quote to emphasize his nonthreatening approach: “Fear not, daughter of Zion. / See, your King is coming / Sitting on a donkey’s colt” (John 12: 15; Zech 9: 9). Jesus has a final meal with his disciples and comforts them, saying: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14: 27). They will need the encouragement. He will soon be crucified.
Fear is their first response when Jesus’ disciples and followers realize he is no longer dead. Angels bring the good news, but they are terrifying: “Don’t be alarmed,” one angel says. “You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen!” (Matt 28: 5; Mark 16: 6). To the women who encounter the risen Lord, Jesus first says, “Don’t be afraid” then adds: “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matt 28: 10).
In a raging ocean storm, Paul cheers his fellow shipmates, telling them that an angel of God appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar, and indeed God has granted you all who sail with you” (Acts 27: 24). In the last NT book, the glorified Christ gives John messages for the churches, in one instance a warning of persecution not unlike the message Paul received. Jesus says: “Do not fear any of those things you are about to suffer.” The charge comes with a promise: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you a crown of life” (Rev 2: 10; see also 2 Tim 4: 8).
Do not be afraid is a major biblical theme impossible to ignore, but the New Testament message is accompanied, as it is in the Hebrew Bible, with one clarifying exception: We are to fear God. God is to be held in awe, God is to be feared. Indeed, the writer of Hebrews declares, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10: 31). Yet this same writer quotes Psalm 118: 6: “The Lord for me, / I will not fear. / What can a human do to me?” (Heb 13: 6).
from The Edgefield Advertiser, oldest newspaper in South Carolina
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