Faith over Fear

Introduction

When I was working at my first Chick-fil-A back in 2015, I would have to get there very early in the morning, before everyone else to order truck. One morning, I had microwaved a sausage biscuit, hopped in my car and drove the half mile to work and parked in the parking lot adjacent to the store where we were told to park. As I was sitting in my car, eating my breakfast I noticed a flashlight and almost right after a knock on my window. I jumped because I was so startled. I had a moment of relief when I saw it was a police officer and then rolled down my window.

But then my mind started going: had I done anything wrong? I am allowed to park here, I’ve parked here every morning, right? Is there some city curfew that I’m breaking? How long had this police officer followed me?

The officer asked me what I was doing here and then told me I had a shirt on the trunk of my car. Indeed, I had taken off a flannel I was wearing while working in the yard the previous day and thankfully the nightly dew had glued it to the car so it didn’t come off.

That incident finally over, I began to go about my day. I unlocked to store and walked straight to the alarm to type in the code. I typed it in like I had every morning, but it didn’t work. I started to panic. I quickly texted the operator and another manager to ask about the alarm code. I found out later they had just changed it because we fired a manager, but they forgot to tell me. The alarm started to blare. I knew the security code, so I waited for the phone to ring. But then, there was a pound at the door. Of course, it was the same police officer I had just encountered. Immediately, the thought crossed my mind that he will think I’m trying to rob this place!

I went over to the door to greet him and the alarm was going off. This Chick-fil-A alarm had it all. There was a loudspeaker on top of the store saying, “Intruder, please vacate the premises, police are on their way.” I fumble for my badge and say, “Sir, I promise I do work here.” But I did not have my badge on me! Of course, I left it in the car. So I just said, “I have the key to get in.” I must have looked like a fool to this poor officer who was having a much more entertaining morning at my expense. The officer just told me he would walk the perimeter.

Authority is someone’s right or power to give orders. Someone’s ability to get other things to submit to one’s will. Authority includes both the idea of ability and intent. In that moment, I trusted the police officer’s ability. I believed he really was an officer of the law. He looked fit enough and carried a weapon and some handcuffs. But I did not trust his intent. I was fearful that he may see me as the culprit that needed to go to jail. My mistrust turned me into a coward.

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Are there any areas we may lack in trust in Jesus that can make us fearful instead? During the Covid time in 2020, a big “Faith over fear” movement started. People were not saying they were going to act foolish in the face of a virus; however, they were expressing the fact that they would rather allow trust in God to dictate how they live their life rather than fear of a virus.

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Today, we will look at Jesus’s authority, and especially people’s response to that authority. We will also see the benefits of embracing that authority.

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Turn over to Matthew chapter 8 and start in v. 23.

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As we go through these stories I want you to consider two things: 1. the level of authority that Jesus has and 2. The response to Jesus’s authority.

Quake on the Lake

Matthew 8:23–27 ESV

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

Revelation

A lot of us are very familiar with this story of Jesus’s authority. The storm rages, the Greek word is the word seismos where we get seismic from, though the Greeks would use the word for great storms as well. Think about how a loud clap of thunder can shake the whole house.

This storm is raging, but Jesus is asleep in the boat. Jesus continues to sleep both because of his extreme exhaustion from the constant ministry; but also because of his supreme confidence in God’s purposes.

In an ironic turn, the experienced fishermen call upon a carpenter to help with their seafaring problem. Obviously, the are calling upon Jesus as more than just a carpenter, they have seen his authority in many ways. In v. 25, They say “Save us, Lord” in the same construction that many Old Testament saints called upon Yahweh. However, their desperation shows they do not truly know the extent of Jesus’s authority. This desperation is seen at the end of v. 25 when they say “we are perishing.”

Strangely, Jesus takes the time in this account to rebuke his disciples before he rebukes the wind and the sea. He calms his disciples before he calms the sea. And I believe this is because Matthew is emphasizing not only what sort of authority Jesus has, but also how people come to know and respond to this authority.

The disciples see Jesus’s authority and are left in wonder. “They marveled” it says in v. 27. We do not see their full faith or trust in Jesus, but they do ask the same question we should ask, “what sort of man is this?” And certainly here is the point of this story. We should be left with this story wondering about Jesus not gathering facts about what he can do for me.

Relevance

You see, so many people allegorize the storms as the problems we face in life. Then they say, “Jesus can fix all those problems.” Is that a wrong statement? No. Certainly there is nothing outside of Jesus’s control. But the problem with that interpretation of the text is that it pigeonholes Jesus to be the problem fixer.

It’s like when Captain Hook sees Tinker Bell use her magic he decides to capture her and use her for himself.

The point of the text is not for us to capture Jesus and make him fix our problems. That is a theology that says Jesus has authority over everything except me. A theology which ignores Jesus’s intent and just uses his ability selfishly. The point is to get us to wonder: what sort of man is this? Obviously he is more than just “man.”

The disciples ignorance of the full extent of Jesus’s authority is what led them to cowardice. So if we what a fuller experience of faith without fear, we need a better understanding of exactly who Jesus is.

Swine Dive

Matthew 8:28–34 ESV

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Revelation

Notice the life of these demon-possessed men is one of disaster and destruction. Destruction is the result of all demonic influence. The question they ask Jesus is idiomatic to express they have nothing in common. Such as:

Matthew: A Handbook on the Greek Text Matthew 8:28–34

What business it is of yours to interfere with us?

Ironically, the demons have a better grasp of Jesus’s authority than the disciples do. This better understanding leads them to cowardice because they know that Jesus’s intent is for their ultimate destruction.

Jesus just says one word and sends them to the pigs. A couple of things to note about the extent of Christ’s authority:

The amount of demons, though not told in this account, is large because of the amount of pigs that were affected.

Jesus did not resort to the magical practices usually used to exorcise demons

Jesus’s authority is such that the demons are compelled to obey him

The pigs are visible proof to the eyewitnesses that the demons are gone. And after this event, as told in the parallel accounts, restoration is brought to these men. And yet, Matthew is bringing out other’s responses to the forefront: in v. 24, they beg Jesus to leave. There’s a bit of irony that Jesus casts out the demons, and the people cast out Jesus.

But what is interesting is that these people have seen the full extent of Jesus’s authority. They have seen his ability to command the supernatural world. They have also seen his intent to remove unclean spirits and bring restoration. But they still reject him. One commentator says:

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke a. Exorcising Two Men (8:28–34)

But in the light of vv. 33–34, the loss of the herd became a way of exposing the real values of the people in the vicinity. They preferred pigs to persons, swine to the Savior

Relevance

Coming face to face with Jesus’s authority: his ability and intent, certainly has a way to reveal our value system.

We value not having to face any problems, any storms in life. We value comfort, long life, financial peace, physical ability, entertainment, on and on the list can grow. Certainly we are at a crossroad when our values come face to face with Christ’s authority.

Maybe we find, our values go hand-in-hand with his authority.

Deeper Healing

Matthew 9:1–8 ESV

1 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” 3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” 4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Revelation

This story brings together several of the themes that we have been examining: both Jesus’s authority and people’s response to that authority. We see two major responses: outright rejection and embrace.

Here we see the true need of Jesus’s authority. There is an irony that while we who are reading this would expect Jesus to heal the paralytic after the many other healings he has done. Instead, Jesus proclaims his sins are forgiven.

This points us to the greater problem than any physical ailment. The root of all misplaced value systems. The cause of all ignorance of Christ which leads to cowardice in the face of storms. And that is sin.

Jesus knows the scribe’s thoughts—showing his omniscience then asks the question” which is easier to say. . .?

Clearly, saying, “Your sins are forgiven” is easier because there’s no physical proof! It’s not as though a certificate floats down from heaven to certify all sins are gone. But to say to someone who cannot get up, “Walk right now,” that would be impossible without him actually taking those steps.

However, Jesus performs the healing to prove that this man’s sins are forgiven. He does the lesser healing with physical proof to prove the deeper healing that does not have physical proof.

And certainly we can say all these miraculous accounts have been pointing us to this conclusion. Jesus has authority over the natural world, he has authority over the supernatural world, and so he has authority over whether or not my sins are forgiven. This is not some high in the sky christological treatise on the authority of Christ, this is intensely personal.

The crowds respond with fear and one that leads them to glorify God. Which is another theme we have seen through these storied. The disciples feared the storm because of a lack of faith in Christ. The gentiles who saw the demons run feared their values being turned upside down and rejected Christ. And now, the crowd has a fear. They fear the one who holds their standing with God in his hands. He controls whether sins are forgiven or not.

Relevance

Are your sins forgiven?

The phrase, “Jesus died for your sins” is thrown around a lot but hardly ever understood. Some people just assume its automatic. As if “That happened, so I’m good to go no matter what.” But is that really the case? Why was the crowd afraid?

Consider this for a moment, if someone stood up here today and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had the authority to forgive your sins how would you respond?

When I was sitting in a parking lot at setting off alarms I was afraid the police officer was going to accuse me of crimes or cuff me. I knew the officer’s ability but was unsure of his intent because 1. I cannot read minds and 2. He did not express it to me.

And now we have before us in these stories clearly a man who has been given authority over all things and even over whether are sins are forgiven or not. Wouldn’t knowing that ability, like the crowd, cause fear in us? Shouldn’t it lead us to the next question. Not only would we ask, “what sort of man is this.” But we would also ask, “Will he forgive my sins?”

Picture yourself in this crowd before Jesus. Would your fear bubble in you and cause you to shout out, “Are my sins forgiven?”

Or do you get distracted by the storm raging in your life that you want Jesus to control? Do you get distracted by the pigs—or all that you value—running into the sea to drown? Or do you like the Scribes come up with all these religious reasons why he must be wrong and how you know you are already good with God?

We cannot let all our Christian theology keep us from Christ himself!

What I believe the text to be driving home is this: If Jesus has the authority to forgive sins shouldn’t we be afraid too? If our eternal standing with God is in Christ’s hands certainly we should fear.

And yet there are so many in our culture who are not afraid. Foolish Christians have soften the stakes. People have feminized Christ as some soft pushover who would certainly forgive anyone. Do you think this Lord who rebuked his disciples, quieted a great storm, commanded a multitude of demons, rebuked the scribes unbelief is simply going to look at your sin and say, “It’s okay?”

No! It’s going to move him to live a righteous life, set his eyes upon the cross, bear it up to Golgotha's hill, have nails driven into his hands and feet, endure derision from the crowd, die. And in death he’s still strong: conquering the grave and rising again. And now he sits at the right hand of the Father. And guess what? He still has authority to forgive sins.

Why do we presume upon his kindness? People would much rather sit and scroll endlessly on social media than come hear what his Word says. People would rather demand him to do something about the problem the are facing and get mad rather than deal with their sin. People would rather work all their time for something they value rather than dealing with their sin. People would rather create a vast systematic theology that explains everything to do with God rather than coming to this man who has authority to forgive sins.

If I could just drive you to this same fear. But know it does not end with fear. The fear comes from an ignorance of Christ’s intent. In other words, we only fear Christ’s ability to forgive sins if we do not know his intention toward us.

Romans 10:9 “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

It is our trust in Christ that brings us forgiveness.

It is faith that conquers this fear.

So while many are ignorant of Christ’s authority. Still more who are aware are distracted by other fears and values. We should allow knowledge of Christ’s authority to drive us to greater confidence in him.