Mark’s Gospel, chapter 4 verse 35 to chapter 5 verse 43
No Need to be Afraid
Terror of spiders!
But mostly spiders are not that hard to deal with.
What about the things we can’t control? Can’t deal with? Dark things, evil things. What scares you? Dying? Demons or spirits? Sickness? Being alone? Losing a loved one?
Jesus came to deal with these.
- Fear of storms. A mega-storm terrifies experienced seamen. Jesus is asleep. “Don’t you care?” Great calm. Mega-storm becomes mega-calm. Why afraid? Didn’t they know that they were safe when Jesus was with them? Now they wonder, and fear him. Being with Jesus is the safe place to be.
- Safe on land? A demon possessed man meets them. Rushed at them. A terror to all the people of that place. Many cultures filled with fear of evil spirits. Here an army of demons is afraid of Jesus. Now the people fear Jesus.
- Jairus’ daughter. The fear of death. A woman comes in the crowd with an incurable disease. An outcast. Alone and desperate. Jesus is her only hope. Healed, she falls at his feet, afraid. He is not angry. “Go in peace”.
- Jairus fear. Losing time. Now the news come – “Dead!”. So close, but “failed” to save his daughter. Into his sorrow Jesus speaks words of the greatest comfort – “Don’t be afraid, just believe”. “Little girl, get up”. Pulled her back from death. Three fears had been under shadow of death, but here was death itself. Jesus had power over death too. No one else can do this. All our science and effort can’t control these evils. Nature, demons, disease, death itself must now bow down before Him.
Jesus, don’t you care! What are you doing about it?
But He does care.
He came from heaven because He cared. More than this storm, this evil, this disease, this dying. To defeat all such, He faced all the things that we fear, to death, to conquer them. Then it was just a taste of His power, but at the last the full amount. Then all will be conquered, all fixed, forever without fear for those who will listen to His “Don’t be afraid: just believe” . But all who reject Him must remain in fear.
“Don’t be afraid: just believe”