"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18).
Perhaps you have noticed something through the course of this study, and that is how often the disciples were afraid. All through the Gospels, we find time and again the disciples in various situations, and time and again the Bible records them as being afraid.
What was it in these various situations that caused them to fear? Matt. 14:27; 17:6, 7; Mark 10:32; Luke 8:25; 24:37; John 6:19. What can we learn from their experiences?
In all these situations, the disciples appear to be afraid of Jesus. Jesus continually assures them that they do not need to be afraid of Him. Jesus wants us to trust Him; not to be afraid of Him. He gave His life for us, so there is no need for us to be afraid of Him. (Alastair)
Read Mark 9:30-32. What made them fearful here? What important point can we take away from this example?
Again, the disciples were afraid to ask Jesus what He meant when He told them that He would be killed. Jesus does not want us to be afraid to ask Him for clarification if we don’t understand something. He wants us to have a reason for our faith; blind faith is not what he asks of us. Blind faith can be very dangerous. (Alastair)
What is so sad about this case is that they were fearing the one thing that offered them the greatest hope they could possibly have: salvation through the atoning death of Jesus on their behalf. They feared what they did not understand; they feared what they did not want to hear. Had they understood what the Cross was all about, they would not have feared. Hence, it was their ignorance that kept them fearful.
As disciples, as followers of Christ, we should, of all people, have the least to fear. The same Jesus who could walk on water during a storm, who could bring healing to a paralytic, who could feed five thousand with just a few loaves of bread, is the same Jesus who revealed His love to us by dying on the cross as our substitute. Sure, sin is real, the devil is real, hell will be real, and we need to be aware of the dangers to our souls (Matt. 10:28), but in the end, as disciples, as long as we cling to the reality of God's love as revealed in Christ, we should learn to live within the hope and comfort of God's amazing love for, and grace toward, us.
