“DON’T BE AFRAID”
The first words spoken Easter morning recorded by Matthew are, "Do not be afraid"–  the words the angel spoke to the two Marys. They are also the first words spoken by Jesus Easter morning to these same women. After He greets them, he says,  "Do not be afraid." John, in his gospel, lets us know fear was foremost in the feelings of the gathered disciples in the first two appearances of Jesus to them. The first was the evening of Easter, the one which Thomas missed.  John carefully notes, the doors were locked "for fear of the Jews." The second appearance to the disciples, a week later with Thomas present, John notes the doors were again locked, suggesting their fear. Both times, Jesus' first words were, "Peace be with you," as an antidote to their fear. Fear was everywhere that first Easter. Yet, everywhere our risen Lord went, He was banishing fear.

The reason there was so much fear that first Easter is much the same reason that we are so fearful. It had been a terrible few days in which it seemed evil had certainly had a heyday. If you’ve seen the movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” you certainly get the feeling of the darkness and how out-of-control those events must have felt to those early disciples. The best person to have ever walked the face of the earth is murdered with such brutality, we can hardly stand to watch it even in a movie. What would it have been like in real life? Jesus is the victim of ugly envy and jealousy on the part of religious establishment– men willing to do anything to maintain their position and power. We see Pilot choosing to be a people pleaser rather than doing what he knows is right. The fickle crowds, some of whom may have waved palm branches a few days earlier in Jesus’ triumphal entry are easily manipulated by religious leaders into shouting, “Crucify Him!” In it all is a horrible miscarriage of justice. The trials at night were illegal, and Jesus was framed by false witnesses. The guilty criminal Barrabas is set free and the innocent Jesus is executed.

I found the scene from the movie where they have taken the body of Jesus down from the cross and Mary the mother of Jesus and John and Mary Magdalene are there just holding that limp body especially powerful. The hopelessness, the despair, the emptiness all struck me with great force. Everything they had been living for was gone.

Living a good life, helping people, doing good, and being innocent of any wrong doing seem to count for nothing. No one has ever been better or done more for people. Jesus was totally selfless and absolutely pure in His motivation, loving everyone. If that gets you killed, then this is a a totally unpredictable, topsy-turvy world. Who wouldn't be afraid?

In addition, all the disciples were dogged by their own guilt. They had all forsaken him and fled– victims of their own weakness, cowardice, and selfishness– trying only to save their own skins. They were hiding, fearing they might be next in this purge, very aware they didn't have the "right stuff."

In Matthew’s account, he carefully notes that Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (likely meaning the wife of Clopas) were among the last at the cross. These same two women are now first at the tomb.  Coming to the tomb, and finding the huge stone rolled from the opening and seeing an angel is enough to account for their fear. But, I expect more is going on, since when they encounter Jesus and recognize Him, He also tells them, “Do not be afraid.” As Jesus’ words so often do, I think they penetrate past the surface of things, the immediate circumstances, right to the roots of our beings, the foundations supporting our fears. Jesus is saying His resurrection is the beginning of a whole new way to face life and the world. We need no longer be afraid.

“Just what difference does the resurrection of Jesus make for my fears?” you might be thinking. As we put together the Biblical teaching about the significance of Easter, I want to apply it specifically to the fears we face in life. Easter is indeed the antidote we need for the fears that dog our lives.

THE ANTIDOTE
I choose the word "antidote" carefully, for I think it is an accurate image for what Easter gives us. I don't think "cure"  or "deliverance" are too realistic. As long as we’re humans, fear will be an element of our lives. And, of course, some fear is necessary and good like fearing a grizzly or fear that leads us to be cautious in high places. But, Christ's resurrection does offer a totally adequate antidote for all the fears that are destructive to our living in joy and peace. It is an antidote that can be at work in our spiritual systems constantly and adequately counteracting the poison of fear. Let's look at three ingredients of this antidote.

#1– POWER to overcome the worst life can throw at us.
On the cross and in the resurrection, Jesus Christ triumphs over evil. Let man, the devil, and just the problems of life do their worst. Easter means that in Christ, God has overcome evil. This was the devil's big play and he lost. Jesus rose from the dead through the power of God. In Easter, God takes the worst, the ugliest man can do and turns it into the best that God can do: SALVATION. Jesus’ resurrection spells the ultimate doom of all evil, and the triumph of good.

Now, we await Christ's return at the end of history for the completion of the overcoming of all that is bad. But, that return is certain, and victory is inevitable because of Easter. The preaching of the New Testament resounds with the truth that Christ's resurrection means we live new lives right now! Paul says, "The same spirit that raised up Christ from the dead dwells in you" (Rom. 8:11). Right now, through the Holy Spirit He gives, we benefit from the power of His resurrection. So, anything the powers of darkness can throw at us is not final. Certainly terrible things may happen to you, and they probably will. Each bad thing that happens is a kind of loss–  a little death. Maybe it is the death of a hope, a dream, an opportunity, the loss of health and quality of life or the loss of someone we love. That's Good Friday. Let it go, release it all to God. Sunday is coming, the day of resurrection. God will take that death and give it back to you in resurrection life to never die again. It all comes back greater, better than we imagined.

This is not just in heaven, though we must wait for heaven for much that is incomplete to be realized. But also now in surprising ways. God keeps giving us better gifts than we could imagine in better ways than we could have hoped for. So, there is ultimately nothing we need fear that this world can do to us. Jesus has the last word. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord and ruler over all.

 

Something amazing is going on right now in our world showing the incredible power of God. Certainly we all feel the threat of radical Islam, and the terrible message of hatred it spreads. But, I read an amazing news report about Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” Charles Colson referred to it in a recent “Breakpoint” commentary. In the first three days of its opening, nearly 10% of the Muslim nation of Qatar saw the movie. Qatar is one of the small Persian Gulf states bordered by Saudi Arabia.  In fact, the movie is running to full theaters throughout the Arab world. In Qatar and Jordan it is booked into theaters for two months. It has been cleared by the mullahs, because they falsely view it as anti-Semitic. Since they hate Jews, they’ve wanted Muslims to see it and hopefully stir up more anger against Jews. Muslims recognize Jesus as a prophet. Although they deny His resurrection and believe Muhammad superseded Him, they still revere and respect Christ. 

But, thousands of Muslims are seeing it in quite a different light. One viewer observed, “When they show a story of the Romans... in ancient times, it doesn’t mean present-day Italians are responsible.” By analogy, he reasoned, even if one construed the film as depicting first-century Jews as instigators of Christ’s crucifixion, that would not be an indictment of modern Israelis. A missionary in Qatar observes, “In two short hours more Qataris heard the Gospel than I have been able to reach in nearly five years living here.” Missionaries report requests for the New Testament in Arabic, noting the film is generating huge interest in Jesus and the Bible. And then this quote from a missionary,
“How interesting that God is using this film to communicate the Gospel in the very opposite spirit that might be motivating Muslims to see it. The message to love your enemies, and Jesus’ praying for them to be forgiven while on the cross, would hit the Muslim moviegoer in a powerful way.”

Amazing, isn’t it? In the darkness of the hatred we hear spewing from radical Islam, is God still able to get through? Could this be the beginning of something really big that armies and diplomacy can never bring about? I see it as the power of the resurrection still at work.

#2– HIS PRESENCE is with us. Because He lives, we can have His daily presence and help.
Indeed, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus lives within us. In fact, that's the proof of the resurrection you see reiterated throughout the book of Acts. In essence, after Pentecost, the apostles are proclaiming,

"We know Jesus is alive.  He's sent us the  Holy Spirit just as He promised and is now living within us.  Look at the works being done through us.  It is just like what Jesus was doing while He was here. Therefore He is here, present with us through the Holy Spirit."
If the term “Holy Spirit” seems too ethereal to you, the apostles use, “the Spirit of Jesus” interchangeably. This is Jesus’ presence with us. It is all because Jesus is not dead, but alive. Remember, the early Christians weren’t conducting tours of the empty tomb. They weren’t interested in the tomb because Jesus was alive, present and active in and through them.

 

Think about it: for those who have received Jesus into their hearts, He is with them every minute, every second of every day. That ought to do something for our fears. We have the Lord of the universe, the One through whom all things were created, with us. He even knows the future so He can prepares us for what we don’t know. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). This is emphasized in Jesus’ statement to the women outside the tomb,
"Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
                                                                                                                                             Matt 28:10
Galilee is home, their place of work. He is saying, “I will be there, with you continuing my work through you.”

#3– HEAVEN is promised for believers. We are assured that nothing done for the Lord is ever lost. 1 Cor. 15  is Paul's great chapter on the resurrection and how it is the assurance of our resurrection. He concludes it all, giving us the bottom line, vs. 58,
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because we know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Nothing will be lost if done in the Lord. This includes every act of giving, any kind action, every word, any service you give–  whatever is done motivated by Christ within us will be rewarded. Even though it may look like it's not worth it here and now, and it may seem like evil is trampling our good, mocking it– just wait. Resurrection means, that all that is done in Christ is treasured up and valued and will have its reward. In the end, He has the last word.

Some of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous words, the evening before an assassin’s bullet claimed his life, stir my heart, because he captured this truth memorably. Speaking to a crowd of 2000 gathered at Clayborn Temple in Memphis, he said:
“I don’t know what will happen to me now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter to me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. I won’t mind.
Like anybody else, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’‘m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land.