Christmas in Hebrews – Fear Not! D Fevig, December 18, 2021April 9, 2024 Hebrews 2:14-15Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. I’ve always liked this as a Christmas scripture, since Jesus became flesh to die for us. The manger points to the cross. I also like it because it deals with our most basic fear; the fear of death. The sentimentality of Christmas in our culture ignores the fact that Jesus came to this earth to die. He shared the same fate as all of us. His death, however, had the power to destroy the devil who holds the power of death. And his death, coupled with his resurrection, frees us from the slavery of the fear of death. That’s the complete message of Christmas, going far beyond the beautiful story of the birth of Jesus. Fear Then Throughout the scriptures, whenever angelic beings appeared to people, the universal reaction was fear. The angels’ first words were often “fear not!” or some variation. We see this in the Christmas story. An angel appeared to Zacharias, father of John the Baptist in Luke 2:12-13. “Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias…” The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary a few months later. In Luke 2:30 he told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary…” The angel to Joseph in Matthew 1:20, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife…” The shepherds experienced a miracle on the night Jesus was born. Luke 2:9-10. “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” We fear so many things; the unknown, the future, and most of all, death. Fear Today The Hebrews scripture above seems particularly appropriate in our time as many people are still living in fear of the coronavirus. As scientists discover new variants, the fear goes on. This fear precipitated lockdowns and closings that left many in fear of their livelihood. I think it’s a symptom of our culture; we seem more obsessed with our safety and survival than previous generations. We have had more lethal viruses in the past, but we haven’t had this strong of a reaction. We seem much more risk-averse. I think the root of this obsession is the fear of death. In fact, this fear becomes a form of slavery, which the Hebrews writer points out in the verses above. Those who live in fear are slaves in a sense, slaves to their homes, their safe places, unwilling to really live. Solution to Fear The solution to fear? Not vaccines, not masks, not lockdowns, not which political party is in power, not scientists, but faith in Jesus who destroyed the one who holds the power of death! By faith in him, we are free to live life to the fullest, free to venture into places and situations that seem dangerous to the worldly mind, but places where God may direct us to go. I’m not suggesting that we ignore certain safety precautions. God wouldn’t have us testing him like Satan tempted Jesus to do in Matthew 4, telling him to throw himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, because God would surely catch him. Jesus responded from Scripture, “you shall not put the Lord your God to the test”. But I am suggesting that we find a balance between safety, and living as God would have us live, sharing his love and good news with others as he leads us. Our focus as followers of Jesus is not our lives, but others. Jesus Frees Us From Fear of Death Revelation 12:10-11 says this: Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. In Jesus, we can face death bravely, because our lives no longer belong to us, but to him! Because of Christmas, Jesus, Although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8 Because he came into the world, we are free! No fear!Merry Christmas! Christmas/Easter Christmasdeathfearfree
Christmas/Easter Advent – Jesus Became One Of Us December 13, 2021April 9, 2024 The Church has celebrated the season of Advent for over 1500 years. The word “advent” is defined as “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event”. The Latin word “adventus” means “coming”. John wrote at the beginning of his Gospel (1:1-3, 14), “In the beginning was the Word, and… Read More
Christmas/Easter The Wise Men of Christmas November 29, 2021April 9, 2024 The Christmas decorations are going up everywhere! Every manger scene this time of year contains three wise men bearing their gifts, along with shepherds, animals, and angels surrounding Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. And of course the star of Bethlehem overhead. These displays are like an executive summary of… Read More
Christmas/Easter The Five Dreams of Christmas December 7, 2021April 9, 2024 In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth, it is striking how many dreams are mentioned, and the significant roles each one played. Joseph had four dreams, and the wise men had one. The Old Testament prophet Joel predicted: It will come about after thisThat I will pour out My Spirit on… Read More
Perfect love casts out fear! It took many years of relationship with Jesus, as my Savior, for me to embrace His perfect love. I would have never chosen the Hebrews passage but I understand how imprisoned we would be if He never was born and died to set us free.
Thanks Mary, great scripture, perfect love casts out all fear. It was his perfect love, laying down his life for us (there is no greater love than laying down our lives for others) that delivers us from fear!
I would suggest that the fear of God’s Messengers, aka angels, was a wise response (Pro 9:10). Perhaps it was the fear of hearing a message of judgement, a reflexive falling down on one’s knees (as sung in the refrain in O Holy Night). But to their surprise is was not a message of judgement: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” It was an inclusive message of salvation, a kind of modeling of what we as His messengers might do, i.e. to tell all the world about the Christ Events: His birth (The Word became flesh), teachings (The Beatitudes), miracles, substitutionary death, resurrection, and promise of eternal life (Jn 3:16). We are all called to be His messengers in both what we say and what we do. May God bless you and yours with continued health and happiness in 2022 and beyond for being that public messenger for all the world to see.