Do Not Fear

Do Not Fear

In Gospel Luke chapter 12, the Lord Jesus mentions “fear” multiple times.

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.” Luke 12:4.

“But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell (Lake of Fire). Yes, I tell you, fear him.” 12:5.

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!” 12:7.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” 12:32.

The Lord’s words say not to fear, but also to fear. These words are placed in very close context within the same chapter for a specific purpose. If we only focus on the word “fear” itself, we will be bewildered, not knowing whether the Lord wants us to fear or not to fear.

Whom to Fear

“Fear” is a neutral word, not always carrying a negative meaning. Man must fear God (revere God); this is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible. A normal relationship between man and God always begins with reverence. Even if the chronological order in some people’s experiences is different, one will eventually find this sequence in his relationship with God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10).

Note that although Chinese translations use two different words, “惧怕” (jùpà – fear, dread) often referring to the negative, and “敬畏” (jìngwèi – revere, hold in awe) referring to the positive, they often correspond to the same word in the original biblical languages.

Therefore, concerning fear, the key lies in the object and the reason for fear, not the subjective feeling. Similarly, concerning not fearing, the key also lies in the object and reason, not the subjective feeling. The object of fear is often not neutral but has its own fixed stance. Thus, whether to fear, whom to fear, and what the consequences will be, are determined by the fearer’s stance (i.e., which side they are on).

Do Not Fear Those Who Can Kill the Body

In Luke chapter 12, the Lord Jesus first speaks of not fearing those who can kill the body.

In these words to the disciples, what the Lord truly refers to is absolutely not just the disciples’ attitudes and psychological states in their earthly lives, but the conflict between two kingdoms, namely the conflict between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God.

When the Lord Himself was on earth, this conflict became increasingly apparent and intense, culminating in the Lord Jesus being nailed to the cross. When the Lord spoke these words to His disciples, He knew, on the one hand, what was about to happen to Him, and He Himself was already prepared without a trace of fear. But at the same time, He wanted to train the disciples and prepare them. After He left this earth, persecution would come, and those who persecuted them might even take their lives.

The Lord did not promise the disciples that they would never suffer bodily harm. On the contrary, the Lord knew what would happen on earth, knew the final outcome of this conflict and battle, and also knew the price His disciples would have to pay in the process.

But He told them not to fear those who can kill the body.

Why Not Fear

The Lord did not just admonish the disciples not to fear and stop there; instead, He gave them extremely sufficient and profound reasons.

The reasons for “not fearing” given by the Lord are described in detail through the Lord’s own words in Luke 12:

1.

What Satan can kill is only the body, and only our temporary body while on earth, whereas man’s spirit and soul are eternal. The One who can kill the soul, namely God Himself, is the One who truly needs to be feared. Although Luke 12 here only mentions “throw into hell (original language should be more accurately translated as ‘Lake of Fire’, see below)”, in Matthew 10:28, the Lord explicitly says that being thrown into hell (Lake of Fire) is the end result of the soul’s death and destruction (the original text only says “soul,” ψυχή psychē, not “spirit,” πνεῦμα pneuma).

2.

Fearing God (revering God) is an appropriate warning for everyone, whether disciples, the crowds, or the Pharisees and scribes. However, when the Lord spoke here to the disciples, He did not use the word “warning,” but “show” or “indicate.” “I will show you whom you should fear…” The meaning of this word in the original text is “let me tell you a secret.” Unfortunately, some popular English versions, including the authoritative King James Version, translate this word as “forewarn.” This is inconsistent with the tone of the Lord’s speech here.

This statement was indeed specifically addressed to the disciples, but the Lord was not warning the disciples. What was said concerns the fate of those hypocrites who were about to persecute the disciples. Although what the Lord said can generally be a warning to everyone, including the disciples, the emphasis of the Lord’s statement at that time was not to warn the disciples, but to tell the disciples a hidden matter, explaining why they did not need to fear those who can only kill the body. Because those used by Satan to kill the disciples will face the real judgment and fall into a truly terrible end, where not only their bodies will be destroyed, but their souls will also be killed and destroyed, and it is an eternal end, with no possibility of resurrection.

Therefore, the Lord’s words implicitly tell the disciples why they need not fear.

This relates to the opposition of the two kingdoms. The Lord’s speech presupposes placing the disciples on the side of God’s kingdom. Which side one stands on is decisive regarding whether to fear, whom to fear, and the meaning of fear. We must not, due to inaccurate wording in translations, unconsciously place ourselves in the wrong position to hear the Lord’s words, often resulting in misunderstanding our Lord. In fact, making such mistakes is not accidental, because the sinner’s nature tends to automatically place oneself in opposition to the Lord, often unconsciously. And in reality, this is not always just an illusion, but the unfortunate reality of the sinner. May we all choose to be on the Lord’s side to hear His words.

Note: The original word for “hell” here is γέεννα (Gehenna). This was originally a valley south of Jerusalem where the city’s filth and dead animals were disposed of and burned. Therefore, it corresponds to the Lake of Fire mentioned in Revelation, symbolizing the eternal end of destruction for the wicked. Translating this word as “hell” is actually inaccurate because the Lake of Fire is the eternal end, whereas the hell (Hades) mentioned elsewhere in the Bible is part of “the underworld” (阴间, yīnjiān), a temporary place reserved for the wicked after death until the final end when the Lord Jesus returns, everything has a final outcome, and the wicked will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to be destroyed. See Revelation 20:13-15.

Conflating the eternal Lake of Fire with the temporary hell of Hades is a very common misunderstanding. (See: Hades, Hell, Lake of Fire; Paradise, Heaven, Eternal Life)

(Note: At the same time, regarding the final fate in the Lake of Fire for those whose names are not written in the Book of Life, Revelation only states that they were thrown into the Lake of Fire; it does not say they suffer eternal torment in the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:15. This Lake of Fire is the second death, the outcome is eternal death. Contrasting this with what the Lord Jesus said in Luke 12 and Matthew 10, the second death in the Lake of Fire should be a one-time destruction, that is, eternal destruction, eternal death, rather than still living and continuing to suffer torment. Comparatively, this is not entirely the same as the fate of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, who suffer torment day and night forever and ever in the Lake of Fire. See Revelation 20:10.)

3.

However, the Lord immediately followed with the analogy of the sparrows: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!” 12:6-7.

Why, after just saying not to fear those who kill the body, did the Lord immediately use the analogy of sparrows, and even contrast it with the disciples’ hair? Isn’t hair part of the body? Since even the whole body can be killed, why bother mentioning hair?

This is because God allowing the disciples’ bodies to potentially be killed in trials is not because God considers the human body unimportant. Quite the contrary, in God’s eyes, the saints’ bodies are extremely important. All who have died in the Lord Jesus Christ will be resurrected and receive a new body in the future, much more so those who were martyred for the Lord, sacrificing their bodies. The new resurrected body far surpasses compensation for the loss of the original body. It is precisely in this sense that the Lord used “numbering the hairs” to express that although believers’ bodies may be harmed or damaged now, they will be compensated in the future, and this compensation will be both sufficient, comprehensive, and transcendent.

The Lord Jesus did not mean that if you believe in Him, you won’t lose even a single hair in this life. But meanwhile, the Lord did not mean it doesn’t matter if your body is harmed now because your soul will be preserved in the future. The Lord here specifically means that although the current body may be harmed, the saints will absolutely not suffer loss in their future resurrected bodies. The resurrected body will be a completely new body, a glorious body, a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44), not merely a spirit, but a substance. This new body is no longer limited by time and space. The Lord Jesus’ own body after resurrection is a clear testimony.

Sparrows were bought and sold to be offered as sacrifices in the Temple. In the Jewish context, the sole purpose and market for buying and selling sparrows was for sacrifice. Sparrows were the smallest and cheapest sacrificial animals. Therefore, the Lord here uses sparrows to represent sacrifice in a general sense.

Sparrows represent the smallest in sacrifice. The Lord Jesus said that even a sacrifice as small as a sparrow is not forgotten before God. Because this concerns a matter of qualification, having the smallest included means all others are also included.

How much more so the martyred saints?

We need not fear those who can kill the body, not only because our present body is temporary, but more so because the Lord will prepare a better body for us. Regarding this, the Lord keeps a clear account. He has even numbered the hairs of those who believe in Him; for us to worry about our bodies is foolish.

4.

But the value of the disciples before God is essentially different from that of sparrows; it is not a difference in quantity, but in quality. The Lord said, “you are worth more (literally ‘differ more’) than many sparrows.” Here, “more valuable” (original διαφέρω: diapherō) does not mean “has more the same value” compared within the same category of goods, but means a completely different category of attribute, a completely different kind of value.

What exactly is the unique value of the disciples in the Lord’s eyes?

The Lord immediately explained the reason: “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever disowns me before others will be disowned before the angels of God.” 12:8-9.

This is the unique value of the disciple. Among all creation, only humans have a potential to produce something that is the most valuable thing in the entire universe before God among all creation. This thing is “testimony”, meaning someone can acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ before others at critical moments. Even when facing the threat of bodily death, they still acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the core reason why God chose man in His eternal plan. If we do not understand how important and precious this matter is in the eyes of God and Christ, we do not yet understand the heart of the Father God and the heart of Christ.

The Lord is saying here, you must understand, you will produce a testimony in your life, and what kind of value that testimony has in the Lord’s eyes, how could He possibly let you suffer loss in the end! If we understand this, we will not fear those who can kill the body.

Kingdom, Little Flock, Do Not Fear

In the same chapter of Luke, the Lord Jesus continues to speak about the conflict between the two kingdoms and the disciples’ witness and life on earth. He tells the disciples not to worry about life, what they will eat; or about the body, what they will wear, because life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Their Father knows that they need these things. They only need to seek God’s kingdom, and these things will be given to them as well.

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” 12:32.

This is the summary of all the reasons why they need not fear. The Father is pleased to give them a kingdom, filled with the richness and glory of Christ, where the saints’ spirit, soul, and body are entirely sanctified, entering into and enjoying the richness and glory of Christ. What earthly encounter could possibly make them fear?