Do not be afraid

by Paul Ice            

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah . . .

(Luke 1:12-13 ESV)

            But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary . . .

(Luke 1:29-30 ESV)

            And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea,

(Luke 1:63-65 ESV)

All three of these accounts are in Luke 1.  When you read these accounts it is very interesting that their first response was fear.  Have you ever considered why they were stuck with fear?  There are obvious things that come to mind, but I wonder what an encounter with the Angel of the Lord is like.  I wonder what their preconceived notions were concerning a message from God.

Well, whatever all the factors were, they are not alone.  The scripture is filled with people that were struck with fear when God or an angel spoke to them.  And, many of them were encouraged with a response, “Do not be afraid.”  Over 300 times in the Bible we see a phrase similar to, “Do not be afraid.”

John tells us what all the excitement is about (“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:9 ESV). 

Oh, and there will be more people filled with wonder and fear coming in the next couple of readings.  Probably the most famous:

“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.”