Read Luke 12:1-14

“⁴ I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. ⁵ 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!”

Jesus’ command on fear is easily misunderstood by his followers, especially given that he begins by saying, “Don’t fear…”, then, “Be afraid, be VERY afraid” (verses 4-5). This can challenge our expectations of Jesus, the one we thought was here to bring “good news”. Furthermore, we are often unaware of the place that fear has in the frailness of our human nature.

At the beginning of Luke chapter 12, we see that the people pursuing Jesus were experiencing FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). No one wanted to miss out on their encounter with Jesus. They were so desperate to see him themselves, that they were trampling each other! Fear had taken over their better judgement and natural concern for those around them. This is likely due to some Jewish religious leaders ( Pharisees) having an oppressive, intimidating control over the Jewish people. Some were living in such fear that they had to either keep their real feelings to themselves or privately whisper them to each other (verses 2-3). They were not free to follow their conscience or God in the way they saw fit. Their lives were controlled by fear!

We know that this kind of ungodly fear isn’t the fear Jesus wants for us. It diminishes our humanity and makes us less than who we’ve been designed to be. This kind of ungodly fear seeks to control you and me to the point that we lose our self-control, threatening ourselves and others.

In contrast, Jesus is inviting us into what we might term a godly fear. Fearing God himself might sound like merely replacing one terror for another, but the reality is far from it. Your greatest fear in life will have the greatest influence on your life. In fact, for some, their greatest fear becomes like a god to them. This is why we fear God and not men or women. We want God to drive the purpose and destiny for our lives, not those who seek to diminish and destroy our future. When we fear God we become more of who we’re designed to be. We begin to grow into people who are not controlled by fear but begin to exude self-control. When we fear God, we come to realise that God’s infinite power is far greater than any man or woman who seeks to control us. We then gain a godly perspective on fear, fearing only whom we should, not those we shouldn’t.

This is like a child who is afraid of the dark. Rather than telling them, “There’s nothing to be afraid of”, we simply bring the presence of a greater power – mum, dad or another loved one – into their room. They then become assured that if mum or dad are there then they don’t need to be afraid of the monsters because mum and dad are more powerful! Likewise, Jesus wants us to live without fear of anyone else who seeks to control our lives. God is greater, and by fearing him we are set free from every other power and fear that we might enjoy true freedom.