Why Are You Afraid?
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | March 31, 2024
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Read Mark 16:1 – 8 (NIV)
“Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
For our time together on this Resurrection Sunday, I want to focus our attention on a question that we might ask the women in our text… however, itis also a question we might pose to ourselves in the midst of chaotic and uncertain times. And that question is simply this:
WHY ARE YOU AFRAID?
What was it that caused the women in the text to be afraid?
Were they afraid that Jesus’ body had been taken away by someone and that the authorities might falsely accuse the women of having taken it themselves?
Were they afraid that if they went back and told the disciples what this stranger… this man in a white robe had said to them… they would be laughed right back out the door?
Were they afraid that they might be suffering from some type of mass hysteria that was causing all three of them to have the same delusion?
Well, the text does not tell us exactly why they were afraid.
What the text does tell us is that when these women were first walking toward the tomb, they were worried about who would move the stone away from the entrance. And yet, they went anyway… perhaps they thought they would run into some kind person who would offer them some assistance so they could get into the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus.
Although given what historians tell us about the size and the weight of the stone that covered the entrance to the tomb, it would have taken a whole lot of kind persons to help move it…
What the text also tells us is that when the women arrived, the stone had already been rolled away… and there was a young man, dressed in white, sitting inside the tomb on the right side. And according to the text, they were alarmed.
If we were to look at the RSV; however, it says they were amazed. However, if we were to look at the original KJV, it says they were affrighted. And if we were to look at Eugene Petersen’s Message Paraphrase, it says they were completely taken aback… they were astonished.
Alarmed, amazed, affrighted, astonished – take your pick… but suffice it to say, they were definitely caught off guard by the sight of this young man sitting in the tomb where they had been expecting to find the body of Jesus.
Now, the young man did at least try to calm their fear and anxiety. He told them not to be alarmed, amazed, affrighted or astonished (depending on which version of the Bible you have).
Why?
Because the One they were looking for, Jesus of Nazareth, the One who was crucified, was not there… He had arisen just like He said He would.
That’s good news! In fact, that’s great news! It’s joyous news! Jesus is risen! Now go back and tell the others! Spread the gospel… the good news! Jesus has risen just like He said He would!
But wait, there’s more!
The young man told them to tell His disciples, and Peter, that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee and YOU WILL SEE HIM THERE!
Go tell them… Our Friend who we watched as He was crucified on Friday is going to meet us in Galilee!
Go tell them… Our Friend who told us that He had to die but would be raised up on the third day really has come back!
[pause] Hold on… what did you just say? You want us to do what?
Apparently, something did not sit quite right with these women, at least according to what is recorded in Mark’s Gospel… because the text tells us that “Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.”
But is fear really such an unexpected response in light of the circumstances? Probably not.
In Mark 4, when the storm arose while Jesus was sleeping in the stern of the boat, the disciples woke Him up and said “Teacher, do you not care if we drown?” Jesus rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” He then went on to ask the disciples, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” (See Mark 4:35 – 41).
In Mark 6 (45 – 52) and John 6 (16 – 20), we read about Jesus walking on the water. And when the disciples saw Him, they mistook Him for a ghost and they were terrified… but Jesus told them to have no fear.
It would seem that fear is not an uncommon response in situations that are filled with uncertainty.
In fact, according to John Ortberg in his book, “If You Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat,” there are 366 “fear not” or “be not afraid” passages in the scriptures… one for every day of the year plus Leap Year.
So, it should probably come as no surprise that the text for the morning ends with the women leaving the empty tomb… not filled with excitement at the prospect that Jesus has risen… but fleeing in fear.
Sometimes fear can cause us to take flight. While at other times fear can be paralyzing.
Fear can keep us from doing the very things that God is calling us to do… often because we are afraid of failure. But sometimes because we are actually even more afraid of success.
I want to share something that at one time was mis-attributed to Nelson Mandela but was actually written by a somewhat controversial author named, Marianne Williamson. The quote comes from Williamson’s book, “Return to Love.”
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.We have not been called to live in fear. In fact, the exact opposite of that is true.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, Our presence automatically liberates others.
The Apostle Paul told his protégé, Timothy, that “… God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV).
Whether it is fear of failure or fear of success… the question for us to consider today seems rather straightforward, WHY ARE YOU AFRAID?
But if we are being perfectly honest… stepping out on faith…, moving forward in spite of fear… that is not always so easy to do.
In Matthew 14 (22 – 27), the story is told of Jesus walking on the water just as it was told in Mark 6 and John 6. However, in Matthew’s account, the ever- impetuous Peter says to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” And according to the Scriptures Jesus told Peter, “Come.”
Now, as the story goes, Peter climbed out of the boat and started walking on the water toward Jesus. That is until he took his eyes off of Jesus and saw the wind and became afraid and began to sink.
I’m sure some of you have heard me use this story as an illustration on more than one occasion of how to pray so powerfully that you get amazing results.
After all, in this story, Peter utters a truly prolific prayer. Although it is not filled with a lot of thees and thous… it is not comprised of an excessive amount of flowery language… in fact, Peter’s prayer contains only three one-syllable words – “Lord, save me!”
However, the prayer was extremely effective because the Scriptures go on to say that IMMEDIATELY, Jesus reached out His hand and caught Peter. No delays, no detours, no dismissals, and no denial… IMMEDIATELY Peter’s prayer for salvation was answered.
There are going to be times when we are called to step out on faith… to get out of the boat and trust that even if things start to go wrong… even if we take our eyes off of Jesus… the Lord will still be right there to rescue us.
But this is the thing… we have to be willing to get out of the boat… to move beyond our comfort zone… to take a chance that what seems utterly impossible to us is absolutely possible with God.
The young man gave the women at the tomb a message… to go tell the disciples and Peter that they would see Jesus in Galilee… he gave them the good news to share that Jesus had risen.
The message sounded impossible… “but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
And here is the key for us… the message that was given to the women at the tomb has been given to us as well… Go and tell the good news… Jesus has risen, just like He said He would! There is no need to look for Him in a borrowed, empty tomb… He’s not there.
So, will we be like the women who fled from the tomb in fear? Or will we refuse to give way to our fears and go out and tell a dying world about a living Savior which is Christ the Lord?
Will we take that leap of faith… get out of the boat… and step out of our comfort zone to tell someone else about the good news of Jesus Christ?
Will we run the risk of rejection and ridicule?
Will we face the opposition and take an opportunity to tell someone that Jesus died for them?
Will we set aside our fear to set the record straight… as we explain to someone else that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? (see Romans 3:23)
Will we let down our guard so we can lift the name of Jesus higher so that He can draw all men, women, boys, and girls to Himself?
Will we be courageous and press on… in spite of our fear to do what the Lord has commanded us to do? To “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything” He has commanded us? Knowing that He is with us, always, even to the end of the age… (Matthew 28:19 – 20).
Rest assured, we can do all of that and more… because Maundy Thursday was not the end of the story. We can do all of that and more… because Good Friday was not the final act. We can do all of that and more… because Holy Saturday was not the closing curtain.
We can do all of that and more… because on that first Resurrection Sunday… when the women went to anoint Jesus’ body… He was not there… He had risen… just as He said He would.
And yet, as we read in the text… the women were afraid… uncertainty can do that…
They were uncertain about who moved the stone… uncertain about who the man was in white… uncertain about where Jesus body really was… uncertain about how they were supposed to tell the disciples what had happened.
But from our vantage point roughly two-thousand years later… we do not have to live in uncertainty… we do not have to question… and we do not have to be afraid… because we know that when Jesus said, “It is finished” as He hung upon the cross… it was not over… because early on Sunday morning… He got up from that grave with all power in His hands!
So, the call to us today is to step out on faith… to move beyond our comfort zones… even at the risk of rejection and ridicule… and courageously press on to tell the world that no matter what things may look like… we can hold onto hope by holding on to Jesus… trusting and believing that a borrowed tomb was not enough to keep Him from coming back then… and it is certainly not enough to keep Him from coming back again.
And so, on this Resurrection Sunday, if you know that to be true… I want to invite you to stand and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Christ the Lord Is Risen Today #216 Return to News
