Fear
Pastor Kirk recently spoke about suffering, the different ways we are impacted by it, and the different ways we respond to it.
In chapter 9 of the Gospel of John, we also read much about how fear can interfere with our faith.
FEAR? OR FEAR NOT?
One of the most repeated commands in the Bible: Do not be afraid.
Maybe you’ve read it as “fear not” (Isaiah 41:13) or “do not be frightened” (Joshua 1:9), but the resounding message is clear: God does not want us to live lives of fear.
Yet many of us do. We are fear-mongering fear-mongers, in fact. We have fear of failure, fear of abandonment, fear of war, fear of loss, fear of death. All kinds of fears.
We are also commanded to fear God. Is this a contradictory statement? Not quite. God is worthy of our reverent fear, while misplacing our fear in other people and places is unhelpful. (Matthew 10:28, NLT)
Fear is a natural response. That’s why we rely on a supernatural God to overcome it.
In the account of the blind man who is healed in John 9, we see three main accounts of the role fear plays in their lives:
The healed man’s parents
The Pharisees & religious leaders
Jesus
1. The healed man’s parents
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” John 9:18-23
After this man recovers his sight through the miraculous healing of Jesus, those around him are having a hard time believing what they’re seeing. (Ironic, I know. More on that later.) The Pharisees are particularly suspicious at these events. Following their initial interrogation of the healed man, they decide to ask his parents. His parents confirm that he is indeed their son, he was born blind, and he now somehow sees. But they stop short of declaring the “how” of this miracle, and more importantly, the “who”. Then, they quickly deflect and suggest that the Pharisees save these questions for their son. John suggests that his parents were aware of the “how” and the “who”, but their fear held them back.
What were they so afraid of? Persecution. Excommunication. Being kicked out of the club. Being mistreated. Most prominently, they’re afraid of people.
And in their fear, they’re unable to obey the aforementioned command to NOT live in fear, preventing them from believing in and receiving Jesus.
Sound familiar?
2. The Pharisees & religious leaders
Similar to the healed man’s parents, the Pharisees are also operating out of a fear that is holding them back from recognizing–or perhaps simply surrendering to–the truth of who Jesus actually is. As we see in John 9:22, they had already made the decision to remove anyone who believed in Jesus as the Christ from their presence. How come? Fear of loss: Loss of power, control and authority, that is. The Pharisees knew that Jesus challenged their authority and their self-righteousness, and they were afraid to lose the influence that their piety and domineering had granted them.
So what does it look like to not live in fear?
3. Jesus
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. John 8:58-59
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. John 9:1
In case you missed it, Jesus immediately goes from proclaiming himself to be God to barely avoiding a violent mob. Moments later, passing by, he notices the blind man and within moments begins the healing process. Nowhere in the transition from chapters 8 to 9–structural elements that were later added to the manuscripts for readability–do we see any indication that a significant amount of time went by.
Why does this matter? Jesus knew his life was at risk and continued his ministry anyway.
On what appears to be the same day as an attempted execution, Jesus is not living in fear. And this wasn’t just any particular day. This was the Sabbath. (John 9:14-16) Jesus was well aware of the further opposition that he would face in working and healing on the Sabbath, yet he still proceeded.
For Jesus, fear of the unknown is a nonstarter. Jesus knows all–this includes his inevitable death on a cross–and does not allow fear to interfere with God’s will for his life. The boldness, courage, and perseverance of Jesus Christ serves as our reminder to crucify the fear of our flesh and trust in God with confidence.
This doesn’t mean fearful things won’t happen. This means they will, and we do not need to be afraid of them.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
For the full message on John 9, listen here.