Fear of Disappointing God April 6, 2015
“Do not bealarmed,” said the angel at the tomb that first Easter morning. “You seek Jesusof Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the placewhere they laid him.” (Mk 16:6) And with that one invitation to investigate theempty tomb, God set all our fears and anxieties to flight.
“Do not bealarmed.” In a nutshell, that is the significance of Easter. No more reason tofear. None! The resurrection of Jesus puts an end to ALL our fears. Fear ofdeath meets its answer in the empty tomb. So do our fears that our lives won’tmatter, that our loved ones may abandon us, that loss might overwhelm our joy.
One of themost common attitudes I encounter as a pastor is people’s fear of disappointingGod. It’s the feeling that my life is too dirty, my sins are too repulsive, myheart is too cold. God doesn’t—can’t—really love someone like me. The angelbrought a special resurrection message for sinners like me and you: “Go, tellhis disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee.There you will see him, just as he told you.” (Mk 16:7)
What if itwas only “Go tell his disciples that he is going before you to Galilee”? Peter would say, “You guys go. That’s not aninvitation for me. I messed up too badly, remember?” The word from theangel—especially those first and last lines—is utterly crucial. Opening line:“Do not be alarmed.” Even your sin hasbeen dealt with. Last line: “You will see him in Galilee,just as He told you.” He’s coming to meet you, you!, right where youare.
Ourinstincts tell us failure disrupts closeness to God. But the gospel says it wasprecisely our sin that brought God near. The Christian message is not “If yourepent, God might love and forgive you.” It’s “God has come near to you so youcan repent.”
Theresurrection tells us that our sins can be fully and freely forgiven. Theresurrection is God’s confirmation that Jesus’ work was enough. By raisingJesus from the dead, the Father in effect was saying, “I approve of what my Sonhas done. There is no penalty left to pay. My wrath is satisfied. He does notneed to stay dead. I hereby certify that my Son has done everything He neededto do for sin to be forgiven.”
So don’t bealarmed. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!