Do Not Be Afraid! Matthew 28: 1-11

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1 Matthew 28: 1-11 What makes you afraid? Can you name your fears? I ve heard of people who say that they re not afraid of anything. If they are being truthful, I think that is a very rare person. I found a list of identified human phobias all these are names of fears that have been used in some printed/ published material somewhere the current list totals 542. Which is interesting, unless you suffer from arithmophobia, (a fear of numbers). Hopefully none of you are afflicted with homilophobia (a fear of sermons although you might develop that after today.) I found a chat stream on Yahoo, where people wrote their responses to the question what are you most afraid of? Surprisingly, most of the responses were very thoughtful, and there was quite a variety of them all of which were found on my phobia list. Spiders ranked right up there. A recent addition which tops many people s list these days is the fear of terrorism, which is perhaps understandable in this unstable world. Some of them are ironic, like hippopotomonstro-sesquipedaliophobia- (fear of long words.) At, or near the top of that discussion list was glossophobia the fear of public speaking and thanatophobia the fear of death or dying. Which, of course, led me to suppose that there is some poor soul out there today having to share a sermon about death hitting the trifecta of fear I m glad that s not me. It occurred to me that many of the most common phobias actually are related to the fear of death terrorism, spiders, accidents, etc., are feared because we have the anxiety that these things or events might cause our death in some way. There was an article on BBC news website a year or so ago, reporting the result of an American Medial Association study which concluded that people with strong religious beliefs appear to want doctors to do everything they can to keep them alive as death approaches. People who regularly prayed were found to be more than three times more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging care than those who relied least on religion. They were much more unlikely to sign a do not resuscitate order. Page 1 of 7

2 Now, in response to that, even some atheists like Craig James, author of The Religion Virus warns against reading too much into it, pointing out that while it seems logical that those who believe in an afterlife would be less likely to fear death than those who don t, it could in fact, simply be that those who don t fear death in the first place are far more likely to become Atheists. James also suggests that this is more of a hard-wired fear, built into us, rather than something that comes about through rational thought processes. But I think that there is more to it than that perhaps religious people in general are more concerned about what happens at or after death. (This could be one factor that brings people into a religion, certainly.) But if this is so, the study does at least suggest that the Christians represented in it aren t getting the main message of the very faith we proclaim. In that Yahoo discussion stream, one person s response (to the question what are you most afraid of ) was a quotation, (which I found is from Shakespeare s Hamlet) which is very specific about the source of their fear the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of 1 (It seems that the Bard had the scoop on the AMA by quite a few years.) Well, I bring all that up because I noticed something in our Scripture reading for this Easter morning that, honestly, I never noticed before. It s amazing how you can read passages of Scripture over and over this year will be my 31 st Easter message but it s still amazing how the same Scriptures are constantly revealing new things to us. Like this: In Matthew s Resurrection account, the word afraid is used four times in just 8 verses, and the context of all these uses are different. The first time the word is used is in describing the response of the guards at the tomb to the appearance of the angel. Remember, these were Roman guards, appointed by Pilate at the request of the High 1 William Shakespeare, Hamlet (written about 1600), act three, scene one Page 2 of 7

3 Priests. They heard rumors that Jesus had said something about rising on the third day, and these guards were sent there to keep the disciples or anyone else from stealing Jesus body and causing much turmoil among the people. Let s keep in mind that these are grizzled veterans (otherwise they wouldn t have been sent to Palestine the most volatile area in the Roman empire), lethal fighters who had no doubt seen and experienced many terrible things in their careers. Hard to shock, to say the least. Matthew writes of their reaction to seeing the angel: 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. So, the first time we hear the word afraid it is referring to the guards at the tomb. This isn t telling us that they died, because in fact, they go right after this and report to the priests what happened, gladly accepting their bribe to keep quiet about it all (and in return the priests would protect their careers and lives from the Roman rulers). The second time the word is used, it is in the mouth of that same angel, the one who so terrified the guards. Apparently, the women who came early to the tomb were frightened as well (who wouldn t be an earthquake, an angel sitting on the rock that had sealed the tomb entrance, shining like lightening, the stone rolled away all happening first thing in the morning, that would be pretty scary!). This angel speaks. And his first words are, Do not be afraid What is interesting to me here is that the text is very specific this isn t a general statement, but it is directed only to the women. To them he says, Don t be afraid A more literal translation would be Stop being afraid. The rest of his message is: 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. The third time we see the word used is in the next verse. The women, (both named Mary), leave the tomb, hurrying to do what they were just told to do. And Matthew writes that they now were experiencing a combination of emotions So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. There was still some fear in them, but at the same time, it was fast being replaced with something totally different now, joy was beginning to flood their souls! They were Afraid, yet filled with joy. Page 3 of 7

4 As I read this, I wonder if the fear in this verse is different from their initial fear seeing a heavenly visitor, at a graveside, early in the morning, two days after the most intense grieving you ve ever experienced would without doubt strike fear in anyone. Even without an earthquake! Whatever caused these war-seasoned guards to fall to the ground paralyzed with fear, would certainly have affected these grieving peasant women as well. But now, I wonder if their fear is a different sort; perhaps a doubting fear They are running back to tell the disciples something that they surely had a hard time grasping themselves. And they re thinking: Is this really happening? Can this even be true? They had, remember, seen Jesus die. They had seen him taken down from the Cross, carried off to the tomb. They may not have been 21 st century scientists, but they knew he was really dead and they knew that people don t come back from the grave. But their hearts were responding to the message of the angel and their joy was growing. But there s a fear that they might be wrong. Afraid yet. And then suddenly Jesus appears to them. They apparently hadn t gone very far John places this meeting just outside the open tomb. But once again, Jesus uses that word. This time, the forth usage, Jesus is also addressing the women 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. I find it interesting that while there are two groups of people who are afraid (the women and the guards), those words, Don t be afraid were only directed to the women. I think it is obvious that the fear being referred to here is more than just being startled by beings who suddenly appear to them. This is a deeper level of fear that is being addressed a basic affirmation that something foundational has shifted. Something is dramatically different in the world and as a result, there is no longer any reason to be afraid the kind of existential fear that keeps us up at night, the fear that sucks the meaning and the joy out of life. He s saying: That s gone do not fear! There s a line in the new hymn See What A Morning by Keith Getty that really sums up the change: Death is dead Love has won Page 4 of 7

5 Christ has conquered! We need not be afraid. Ever again the sting of death has been removed, That s the reason that the angel and Jesus himself could tell these women Stop being afraid. Love has won! The battle is over. Now, why didn t anyone say this to those guards? Because, surely, if we understand anything about the work of Jesus, we know that Christ died and rose for all, for them as well? Right? So, why are they left out? **Frederick Buechner, an American writer and preacher once wrote: If there is a terror about darkness because we cannot see, there is also a terror about light because we can see. There is a terror about light because much of what we see in the light about ourselves and our world we would rather not see, would rather not be seen. The Light of Christ does not bring welcome and peace everywhere it shines. The new reality that Jesus established by defeating death would come as bad news to anyone who chooses to deny the reality of God, and particularly Christ s Lordship over us. If Jesus has risen from the dead, then all his claims over us are validated. He is our Lord, we are accountable for the things we do, and say. Now, if we listen to him, we realize that there is hope for us all. His death came out of love; his conquering of evil took place so that we would not have to be judged for our sins. The way of Christ is a way of hope but again, not everyone is willing to see that. These guards, apparently, were not willing. Not because they were rough, or because they were soldiers or anything like that. Remember, one of Centurions (and in Matthew, actually all of those) who actually participated in the Crucifixion of Jesus, were deeply moved by what they saw. Luke writes, The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, Surely this was a righteous man. (Luke 23:47) Matthew goes even further, (Matthew 27: 54) When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, Surely he was the Son of God! Page 5 of 7

6 There was something in their fear that was more of a holy awe, and it brought them to a recognition that this was a divine visitation this was the Son of God. Apparently, that was not the case with the guards at the tomb. Their hearts were hard, and there was no good news for them on this day, only more fear. But these women they were able to hear; they were able to receive the good news. The same was true for the disciples, and the first witnesses in the early church, and on and on rippling through time, until here we are today in Now, let me say this, the way God works in human hearts is far beyond our complete understanding. But one thing we can know with certainty, and find great hope in, is that in the power of God, nothing that is, must remain as it is. Or, put it like this: nothing that is, has to be. To the ancient Israelites, people who constantly disobeyed God, dishonored him, ignored him, and angered him, God two times says this: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26) 2 I don t know what ever came of those guards but I know that there is hope for all of us. I don t believe God ever writes off anyone. Because we are living in the age of grace, the message of Easter is a message of love and hope. It is the good news that something other than the laws of destruction, and death, and decay are in play. Easter is God s emphatic NO! to the messengers of doom, of hate, of hopelessness, of grief, of pain, division, and selfishness. It is a loving embrace to all the cynics who laugh at people who are trying to live for something beyond themselves, it is a hopeful touch to all those whose souls have been shrunken with the Leprosy of sin, anger, hurt, pain and grief. Easter is the triumph song of love. And as John wrote, with the wisdom of one who has lived many years: There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life fear of death, fear of judgment is one not yet fully formed in love. 2 God says virtually the same thing in Ezekiel 11:19 Page 6 of 7

7 Do not be afraid, says the angel to the women at the tomb! Do not be afraid, says Jesus to the same women! And to us he is saying the same thing: Stop! Stop living in fear! You are loved! Perfectly loved! And perfect love casts out all fear. There is no room in love for fear. Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid! He is risen! Our Risen Lord, we pray for the strengthening of our hearts this morning so that we might hear your Word in a way that we will never forget. Help us to understand that your words to the women at the tomb are meant for us, too. Help us to be willing to name our fears and then put our whole trust in you, so that your perfect love would cast them out. Grant us your perfect peace as we trust in you, walk with you, and lean on you, both now and to eternity. In the powerful name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Page 7 of 7