“Who are you that you are afraid of man who dies, and of the son of man who is made like grass?” (Isaiah 51:12)
We are reading through the gospels, watching the interaction between the religious bigshots as they bully the Lord Jesus Christ–imagine that!–and are brought up short by noticing the prominent role fear played in the lives of these people. Consider…
–“Herod feared the multitude” (Matthew 14:5). Ah, a good reminder that tyrants always fear their subjects. Always.
–“The Pharisees feared the multitude” (Matthew 21:46). And so do religious bigshots fear their people.
–King Herod feared John the Baptist (Mark 6:20). Wickedness fears righteousness because it cannot understand it, cannot control it, can’t intimidate it, and cannot silence it. God’s faithful people must never forget this for one minute.
–The chief priests and scribes wanted to destroy Jesus, but “they were afraid of him, for all the multitude was astonished at His teaching” (Mark 11:18).
–The Lord Jesus said to the disciples, “Why did you fear? Where is your faith?” (Mark 4:40). Even the Lord’s closest friends were filled with fear.
Nothing speaks so eloquently about who you are as what you fear. And whom you fear.
We are literally defined by our fears.