Pilate was a busy man at the crucifixion
of Jesus. He had many visitors. First, there was the visit of his wife who gave
him “keep-your-hands-off-of-Him” counsel. After his decision to release Jesus
to be crucified by the Jews, Joseph of Arimathea knocks on his door and asks
permission to bury the corpse. Perhaps his shadow is barely removed when the
doorbell rings again. It’s not Avon calling, but the panicky Jews.
If you stick your ear tightly
to the pages of history, you might be able to hear the beating hearts of the
Jews. They are scared to death that the disciples will steal the lifeless body
of Jesus, and in the process, steal the allegiance of the crowd from them.
Their disbelief in the messianic claims of Jesus have raised their antagonistic
voices so loudly that they have drowned out all of the possibilities of
reality. They fear men. They fear the disciples of Jesus. They fear the loss of
their following. They fear the exposure of their possible error. There is no
room left in their hearts for a genuine fear of God.
In those final painful moments before our
Lord “gave up the ghost,” there must have been a moment of pleasure in His
heart as He heard one member of His final congregation arguing with another:
“Have you no fear of God?” (Lk. 23:40).
The wisdom writer of the Old Testament tells us that the fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom. In today’s world, there seems to be almost an epidemic of
the absence of fear of God. What is the cause of this? Is it possible that the
love of God has been taught out of balance with the justice and the holiness of
God?
Fear is one of the most powerful emotions
that God has given us. There is a fear that repels and a fear that attracts.
Often times, the fear of God is seen as “awe.” There is no biblical
justification for this softening of the term. The thieves on the crosses did
not appear to be talking about respect or awe. The congregation’s fear of Mount
Sinai appears to be more of a life-and-death-survival fear than respect or awe.
When the history of the doctrine of fearing God is viewed
carefully, the question is raised: Are we missing something here? Does modern
man have a blind spot in his concept of God?
Is it possible to see God as loving, yet One to be feared? Are these
mutually exclusive? Are we supposed to obey God because we love Him or because
we fear Him? If we fear Him, as the Scriptures indicate that we should (“work
out your salvation with fear and trembling”), does this have any impact on the
other fears in our life?
THE
JEWISH FEAR
Matthew 27:62-66
Introduction
The fear driven life
1. Phobias
2. Faith
Instruction
I. Mirror fear
II. Lion fear
III. Snail Fear
IV. Garden fear
V. Mountain fear
VI. Covenantal fear
VII. The three question solution to fears
1.
2.
3.