I am the father of three brave girls. Well, they are brave most of the time. The other times when they are not so brave is often due to bugs. Bugs are their kryptonite. For you, it may be clowns (thanks “It”). What I have observed is that people can be brave but often they are not. The end of Mark’s gospel is a commentary on humanity today, “…they were afraid.”
The great thing about where I live in Colorado is that there aren’t many bugs. My family and I recently vacationed in Florida and in Florida there are bugs aplenty. All kinds of bugs and all kinds of reasons to be terrified. Walking back from the pool one afternoon we came across a gang of grasshoppers. They owned the sidewalk. My girls screamed and ran like the grasshoppers were trying to steal their souls.
I tried to tell them it was fine, “Don’t be afraid.”
“There’s no reason to be afraid of these grasshoppers. The only time you need to be afraid is when daddy is afraid.” Daddy would have been afraid if it was a cluster of spiders. If it was a spider crossing on that sidewalk daddy probably would have been fine (of course it depends on the size of the spider). One spider, no problem, but a hoard of them? Daddy would have joined in the hysteria. The apocalypse is now!
Part of our vacation was at the most magical place on earth, Disney World. In one of the parks, there is an attraction for families called, “It’s Tough to Be a Bug.” This aging attraction was created due to the hit animated movie, “A Bug’s Life.” I think they keep this attraction around as a prank to scare innocent, unsuspecting children.
**Spoiler alert!**
“It’s Tough to be a Bug” is what Disney calls 4D Theater. You wear 3D glasses for the short movie but there other elements that engage your senses. You smell the bugs, you feel the bugs, and they even employ animatronic bugs. During the climax of the show, with a darkened, smoke-filled auditorium, HUGE, black, hairy spiders with glowing green eyes descend from the ceiling.
**End spoiler.**
My. Kids. Lost. Their. Minds.
The tagline for this sinister family attraction should read, “It’s Tough to Be a Bug: They Were Afraid.” Cause every kid left that place in fear. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about.
… And they were afraid. In Mark 16 the crucified and buried Jesus of Nazareth is resurrected. Women who had followed Jesus and cared for his needs visited his grave to prepare his body for burial with spices. They were worried about how they were going to remove the stone from the entrance of the tomb. What they found was the stone had been rolled away and an angel of the Lord was within.
They were alarmed but the angel said to them,
Jesus was not dead. He was alive. The angel told the women that Jesus was not where they thought he would be because he was ahead of them on his way to Galilee. Jesus appeared to many people, over 500 witnessed the resurrected Lord.
The announcement about the resurrection was given to the women so that they could tell others. It was an amazing event, but they were terrified and told no one.
If you ask my oldest daughter what her favorite attraction was at Disney. She would say, “Expedition Everest.” But none of my kids would say, “It’s Tough to Be a Bug.” That was too scary.
It’s tough to be a human. Like the women at the empty tomb, we’re told the story of the resurrection without first seeing the resurrected Jesus. They didn’t see Jesus, they saw his empty tomb. Can you blame them for being afraid? They are told to tell the disciples and Peter, but they tell no one.
Peter was too afraid to be associated with Jesus during his trial and crucifixion. He abandoned Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t abandon Peter and he doesn’t abandon you when you are afraid. He rose from the grave to stand with you.
At Disney, we stood in line for attractions that we did not want to miss out on. We had a fear of missing out (#FOMO) on something special.
There are a lot of things you can be afraid of in this life, but a life without Jesus does not have to be one of them.
The only time to be afraid is when Jesus is afraid and Jesus isn’t afraid of anything.
He went to the cross for you. He went to the grave for you. He went into the pits of hell for you and came back from the dead. And love was what constrained him.
His love for you is what released him from the grave, and his perfect love for you drives out fear.
Jesus’ love for his disciples restored them, even Peter. Even you, even now, no matter what you have done or how much you are afraid.
The gospel of Mark ends with “they were afraid,” but that wasn’t the end of the story. And it doesn’t have to be the end of yours. Fear may have kept you from calling Jesus your savior, or from living for him or sharing his story with others.
That can end today if you chose to accept the love that Jesus has for you and put your trust in him.
The women and the disciples were afraid, but they were loved and with the resurrected Jesus life was just getting started.
You may be afraid, but you are loved. God’s not finished with you. He is just getting started.
Do not be afraid. He has risen!
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Jovan preaches for the Littleton Church of Christ near Denver, Colorado. Visit here to listen to sermons preached at the Littleton Church.