Getting Emotional (Part 2)

Part 1 is here: Getting Emotional (with AI)

Last week we were discussing the emotions Jesus displayed. My challenge was that we might exhibit Christlikeness as we relate to others.

Another category of passages that use the words of emotion are found in Jesus’ teaching. Out of 255 verses referencing emotion, one fifth (20%) are verses where Jesus teaches someone about how they ought to feel. Half of those references are about fear and/or anxiety. They are mostly directed towards the disciples with admonitions like, “do not be frightened” (Mk 13.7) or “do not worry about your life” (Lk 12.22).

We all face many worries as disciples of our Lord Jesus. In the West, we live in cultures where Christians experience little or no religious persecution, but the potential for persecution is something that seems always to be part of our outlook. We have ample evidence of it in Church history, many Christians over the years have suffered for their faith. We also have present evidence in stories from around the world, where present-day brothers and sisters suffer because of antagonism towards Christianity. That’s one worry.

We also have some worry about the uncertainty of life. We have little ones, we have homes and possessions, we know that these things can easily be taken from us or harmed in some way.

These two concerns: persecution and our daily anxiety about food, shelter, clothing, and security — they are the very worries Jesus often addresses with his followers.

There seem to be two identifiable occasions where Jesus does a lot of this teaching:

• Matthew 10, when he is about to send out the twelve on their first preaching tour.
• Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, near the end of Jesus’ ministry, when he teaches them about the coming destruction of the temple and the fearful things that are to come as God’s plan unfolds.

There is another lengthy teaching session in Luke 13, after he begins warning them about the leaven of the Pharisees in 12.1.

These verses will give you the theme of what Jesus has to say:

^{Lk 12.4-5} ¶ “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. ⁵ “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

^{Lk 12.7} “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

^{Lk 12.22} ¶ And He said to His disciples, “For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on.

^{Lk 12.25} “And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span?

^{Mk 13.7} “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

^{Mk 13.11} “When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.

^{Mt 10.28} “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

^{Mt 24.6} “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

Clearly, Jesus wants his disciples to have courage. Fear and anxiety are debilitating. You can feel them so intensely that you seem to be paralyzed and you can’t act. Or if you do act, you hesitate, you stumble, and your fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy … you knew you wouldn’t succeed, why did you bother trying?

We know these fears when we witness to the lost. They aren’t likely to physically harm us, but we can be paralyzed by fear nonetheless. We need to ask the Lord for courage to make His name known, to call men to faith and repentance and to boldly proclaim the salvation that is available in Him.

There is one more surprising category of instances where Jesus teaches his disciples “Fear not!” When Jesus did something stupendous, he tells his disciples not to be afraid.

• When the disciples were rowing across the sea of Galilee after the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus showed up, walking on the water. They were freaking out (to put it in our vernacular). What did Jesus say?

^{Jn 6.20} But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”

• When Simon Peter shrank from Jesus after the stupendous catch of fish, Jesus said to him:

^{Lk 5.10} … And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.”

• When Jesus was asleep in the storm-tossed boat and the disciples were once again freaking out, Jesus said:

^{Mk 4.40} And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

By this time, I think we are past this kind of fear. When God brings about some remarkable work in our lives and ministries, we probably aren’t reacting in fear. We know the Bible, and we expect God to work in surprising ways at times. Yet there are times when we are in the storm, not sure where we will land (or if we will sink to the bottom of our metaphorical sea), and we are afraid. In these times, it is not courage we need, but faith.

Our God is interested in how we feel, especially when we are fearful and troubled. Rest in him, and act for him with courage and boldness.

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