I guess it wouldn’t help if I told you that they are a mere figment of your imagination?
There is a story about a tight-rope walker. He was performing in the local circus in the big-tent. He was more than 50 feet in the air and had no net. As he moved about there were oohs and ahhhs.
After his performance, a man and a woman walked up to him to congratulate him and while doing so, asked if he was not afraid of falling with no net to safeguard him.
In short, he told them that he had no fear other than driving a car and had therefore never bought a vehicle and had no desire to get a driver’s license. “Now that is what I am afraid of!”, the performer said.
Are you afraid to get behind the wheel of a car? I’ll bet not yet all of us most likely would not walk on a tight-rope. Why is that? It’s the mind playing games and is most likely linked to some personal experience in our past.
Matthew 17:1-9
Here we see that His loving disciples, Peter, James and John, were overcome with fear. What were they afraid of? They were afraid of the voice of God. To them, it was something they had never heard and most likely it was a booming voice that would literally put the fear of God into anyone.
That was not what Jesus had intended though. He was continuing His training, making them ready to jump into the ring of fire, so to speak. He saw the impact the voice of God had on them and stopped what He was doing and stood with them and touched them...perhaps on the shoulder...and said “Do not be terrified” or “Do not be afraid” or “Fear not”, depending on which version of the Bible you have.
There was nothing for them to be afraid of! Jesus was trying to make them understand that there was nothing going to hurt them...at least not now.
Shouldn’t they have had a little fear or trepidation when Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. Now, that’s something you don’t see every day!
Or how about the bright cloud overhead that eventually would echo a loud voice, that of our God’s. It was only the voice that scared them and caused them to bury their heads in the sand.
You would have thought two ghosts would have done the trick..and it did, although not mentioned here. The whole thing left Peter stammering. He knew not what to say, but instead came up with a question about building shelters. Seem odd does it not?
Mark 9:6
For he did not know what to say, for they were very much afraid.
Yes, everything before them had put fear into their very souls. What was this man up to, they might have been thinking? What would you have thought of everything mentioned here, had you been there yourself?
And Jesus knew that there was nothing to fear...and yet fear they had. Sounds like you and me...does it not? After all, they were only human, like you and me!
What is lost by many is that because they were so afraid and tried to bury their heads in the sand, they missed the meeting between Moses, Elijah and Christ.
There is a lesson here for all of us. If we cannot subdue our fears, we’re going to miss out on so many things that are important...including valuable lessons.
So, what was Jesus trying to teach these three? 1) He is the Son of God, 2) Moses and Elijah still exist and 3) We will all have bodies like He had for that moment on the mountain. He would stress #3 multiple times before the Romans would have their way with Him.
This taught the three something else of major importance and that was that Jesus was not just a man from Nazareth. He was more than a teacher. He indeed was the son of God.
That would stick with them the rest of their lives. Matter-of-fact, they would carry that picture in their minds to the death.
Peter also found out that he was to be the rock of the church. What did Jesus imply? Wasn’t Jesus the foundation of His church...Yes He was. First off, his name actually means “rock.” Second, someone had to step up and take His place once He was gone.
The church would need a leader and Jesus saw that in Peter. Remember, it was Peter who first proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God.
It was that kind of spirit that Jesus knew would be instrumental in the building of His church. Matter-of-fact, these three would be instrumental in converting an astronomical number of Jews to Christianity. That is what the Romans hated and why they were eventually killed.
Why are we not that strong? What makes us fear the repercussions of speaking out about Jesus? Jesus once told the devil himself to get behind Peter and basically “leave him alone!”
Jesus is still issuing directives like that from His perch in Heaven. When a person is saved...when they accept Jesus as their personal Savior, He is ready to defend them. He has countless angels to dispatch and guess what...Satan is scared to death of Jesus!
If we have learned anything at all...it is that we are to FEAR NOT! Jesus has said that if you use His name that the devil will flee.
This should all be a “No-brainer”, but for many it is NOT. That is where you and I come in. We could place our hands on their shoulders and say, “FEAR NOT.”
Jesus, at His departure, told His disciples and therefore we disciples that we could do bigger and better things. He gives us the power. We need to use it. Amen.
