The first day of any new task inevitably arrives with a certain level of tension, anxiety, apprehension, or even fear, along with excitement and anticipation. So many school-age children have trouble eating the first day of each school year. And the first day of a new job, and the first day of marriage, and the first day of parenting, and the first day of a ministry responsibility, and the first day of a cancer prognosis often bring various concerns and fears.
So it was, evidently, with the disciples. For after Christ called the Twelve to follow Him, He very quickly sent them on their first ministry tasks (Matthew 10). And in preparation for sending them, Jesus told them many things for which they were not to fear, and gave them antidotes to that fear.
The instruction Jesus gave them serve as lessons for us in our fears as well. Notice what Jesus told the Twelve.
They were being sent to minister a hostile environment (v. 16). Their ministry would not be easy; they were being sent among “wolves.” But they were not to fear. Rather, they were to cultivate and maintain wise discernment (“shrewd as serpents”) and purity (“innocent as doves”). Additionally, when they were falsely accused and beaten, they were not to fear for their responses; the Lord would give them wisdom to speak rightly in that moment (v. 20).
They would be hated, and not only by outsiders, but also by brothers and fathers and mothers. Their own families would turn against them (vv. 21-23). Yet they were not to fear that something uniquely problematic was happening to them. Since the world called the Lord of glory the “Lord of the flies,” the disciples could not anticipate escaping persecution (vv. 24-25). And they were not to fear, for the Lord would reveal (and judge) all things rightly in the final day (v. 26).
The disciples would be tempted for fear for their lives (v. 28). They were not to fear losing something temporal like life over fearing the loss of eternal life. Fear has a place in the life of the godly man — he is to fear the Lord who has the power and authority “to destroy both soul and body in hell” (v. 28).
The disciples would be tempted to fear for their daily provision. Don’t fear what you will eat or wear; if the Lord knew the numbers of hairs on their heads and knew and cared about the falling of a sparrow from the sky, He’d care for them — ones who were far more valuable in the eyes of their Father (vv. 29-31).
The disciples would be tempted to live in the fear of man’s opinions and seek to preserve the love of family at all cost. So they might be attracted to loving father and mother more than Christ. They were not to fear (i.e., have an ungodly regard for, or inordinately pursue) those relationships. Instead they were to fear (worship) the Lord and follow Him wherever He called them, and then they would find real life (vv. 37-39).
The opposition and losses that the disciples were facing were very real, as are the circumstances of our own lives. Yet, they had no reason to fear, if they trusted the One they were following. So also our fears will be quenched when we find comfort in Christ more than anything else.
Do not fear.
Words of Grace 