Fear. All experience fear in one way of another. Fear can manifest as cowardice. Cowardice drives us to run and hide in that moment when we know well that the right thing to do is to stand firm. There are many other negative aspects to fear but this post will partly focus upon the cowardice aspect of fear. Interestingly, fear is also connected to reverence. Reverence is showing a measure of respect towards another. When we say, “I fear God,” we are verbally expressing awe and reverence to our Maker. Reverence is a positive kind of fear.
Luke 12:4-7 offers a profound message from Jesus Christ about fear. The Lord tells the disciples: “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do” (Lk. 13:4). [1] Christ is giving instruction on facing threats of physical harm from wicked persecutors. He recognizes that “those who buckle under persecution are afraid because of the pain and deprivation of physical death” but He also wants His followers to know that “such fear needs to be conquered because bodily pain is all that their adversaries can inflict.”[2] Christ encourages us to not let fear or cowardice take control, and reminds us that those who harm the body have limited power; they can only cause temporary suffering.
“But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Lk. 12:5). In this verse, Jesus shifts the focus from fearing mere mortals to fearing the almighty God. In this case, fear takes on a different connotation — it conveys reverence, awe, and respect. Book of Proverbs finds the fear of the Lord being the beginning of all wisdom. The fear of God is then a healthy recognition of His divine authority and sovereignty over all creation.
Sinful mortals can snuff out physical life, but God’s prerogative is to raise the dead, either to everlasting life or everlasting condemnation (Jn. 5:28-29; Rev. 20:11-15; cf. Dan. 12:1-2). The authority to kill the body and soul, or cast the wicked into hell, belongs to God alone.[3] The wisest thing a person can do is stand up against the threats of the wicked and live the life that honors and respects the God of the universe.
English Bibles use the word “hell” to translate the Greek word geenna [γέεννα], which appears in Luke 12:5 but also in the other Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 5:22 and 18:8-9; cf. Mark 9:43-48), and depicts “a place of torment.”[4] Geenna is actually the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew ge hinnōm [גֵיהִנָּם] meaning “Vally of Hinnom.” The Vally of Hinnom had an unsettling history. We know that “because it had been used for infant sacrifices (2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6), which was repulsive to the Jews. Josiah attempted to prevent its use in this way (2 Kings 23:10), but apparently its reputation continued. Jeremiah labels it as a place of future judgment (Jer 7:32; 19:6). The idea of a place, of which this valley was an analogy, for punishment after death was developed in the intertestamental period. Jesus taught the reality of hell unambiguously.”[5]
Genna was more than just the garbage dump filled with burning trash. Neither was it the experience of a calamity of one’s own doing, like the lonely abandonment of a misanthrope whose offenses end in social isolation and aloneness. Burning relational bridges is a kind of hell but not the Hell to which Jesus speaks. Jesus warns of that final judgement of the wicked in the eschaton. It is the eternal conscious punishment that befalls those who rage against God, His way, and His people (Matt. 25).[6] But those who were martyred for their faith will be vindicated (Rev. 6:9-11).
Now reverence is not about trembling in terror but acknowledging God’s sovereignty over our lives and decisions. Reverent saints understand well that our choices have everlasting effects and that living in alignment with God’s will brings forth eternal rewards. Reverential fear of God sets the calibration for our moral compass or guiding principles from which we make good decisions.
Christians can be confident that God is also concerned over their welfare, and nobody is too insignificant for Him to bother. Jesus said, “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Lk. 12:4-7).
Here Jesus makes a lesser to greater comparison, and reassures His followers that God cares for them intimately. The example of sparrows, the least expensive birds sold in the marketplace, emphasizes God’s care for even the most insignificant parts of creation. [7] If God values sparrows to the extent of knowing when one falls, how much more does He value us, His children? If God is concerned over little things, like the sparrows, He will most certainly care over the humans made in His image.
The message here is clear: as believers, we are called to have a fearless courage in the face of threats. Our courage comes from trusting in the God of glory rather than fearing the harm that the wicked may inflict upon us. Faith empowers us to stand up for what is right, even when it comes at a personal cost. But Christ is the object of our faith.
Jesus invites us to release our anxieties and worries because God, who cares for the smallest creatures and is intimately acquainted with the details of our lives, is watching over us.
We never really turn off feeling fear; rather, we must gain mastery over fear. Fear cannot be the guide for that is cowardice. Fear can be channeled in the right way. Properly channeled, fear can sharpen our senses, help us become better aware of our surroundings, move us to take proper precautions, and strive harder to overcome the obstacles that keep us from our objectives and goal. But mastery over fear begins with the fear of the Lord.
God knows our joys and pains, likes and dislikes, achievements and yearnings. He understands what is missing in our lives and all that is needed to make us complete. He sees our brokenness. He is our Savior, Redeemer, and Provider. It is because God cares for us deeply that we have nothing to fear, we can be courageous in facing up to life’s challenges. Fearlessness comes because God is on our side. Put another way: “God remembers and cares for the person who is suffering persecution; God has not forgotten, and no suffering can touch a person without first passing through God’s hands.”[8]
In Luke 12:4-7, Jesus provides a comprehensive perspective on fear. He acknowledges the natural fear of physical harm but encourages us to find courage in our faith. He calls us to revere God and align our lives with His will, recognizing the eternal consequences of our choices. Finally, Jesus reminds us to release our anxieties and trust in God’s loving care for us, knowing that we are immensely valuable in His eyes.
— WGN
Notes:
[1] All Scripture cited from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), unless noted.
[2] Thomas Schreiner, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, ed.Gary M. Burge and Andrew E. Hill (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2012), 1085.
[3] God also has the power to grant the righteous martyr the resurrection to everlasting life. He holds eternity in His hands.
[4] Walter L. Liefeld, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 959.
[5] Ibid., 959.
[6] For further reading on hell, see Robert A. Peterson, “The Dark Side of Eternity: Hell as Eternal Conscious Punishment,” Christian Research Journal, 30, 4 [2007] https://www.equip.org/articles/the-dark-side-of-eternity-hell-as-eternal-conscious-punishment/ and Fr. Lawrence R. Farley, “In Defense of the Church’s Traditional Doctrine of Hell,” Christian Research Journal, 44, 1 [2021]: https://www.equip.org/articles/in-defense-of-the-churchs-traditional-doctrine-of-hell/
[7] New Testament scholar Craig Keener notes, “Sparrows were one of the cheapest items sold for poor people’s food in the marketplace and were the cheapest of all birds. According to Matthew 10:29, one could purchase two sparrows for an assarion, a small copper coin of little value; here it appears that they are even cheaper if purchased in larger quantities. This is a standard Jewish ‘how much more’ argument: If God cares for something as cheap as sparrows, how much more does he care for humans? The hairs of one’s head being numbered was an Old Testament way of saying that nothing could happen to a person without God allowing it (cf. 1 Sam 14:45; 2 Sam 14:11; 1 Kings 1:52)” (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993], Lk 12:6–7).
[8] Schreiner, 1086.
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