1

“TEARING DOWN THE WALL…OF FEAR” (4/17/11)

SCRIPTURES: Matthew 26: 14-56 & Philippians 2: 5-11
KEY CONCEPTS: Fear (& worry) steals our peace of mind & ability to follow Christ by loving
others without reservation or excuses.
LITERARY QUOTE: From Max Lucado’s book, “In the Eye of The Storm”):
The journey has been long…very long & stormy…burdens, partners, dreams, all
gone…sickness, bills, challenges. AND YOU ARE TIRED. And though the journey is
long & not easy; the arrival will be worthwhile. God may not do what you want, but
God will do what’s right & best! The trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast
& the face of Christ.
WILL YOU PRAY WITH ME? PRAYER:
OPENING THOUGHTS:
What are you afraid of? And is it something that you can actually do anything about? As you
probably know, some of our fears are well founded, while some of our fears are irrational.
This morning, I want us to look at the broad rendering from Matthew, chapter 26 – with a bit
of background – in order to discern what fear looked like in the final week of Jesus’ life &
ministry. AND to see how the disciples reacted “in the midst of their fear”.
GOSPEL READING – MATTHEW 26: 14-56:
Last Sunday, we were reminded of the story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead.
(John 11: 1-45) Raising Lazarus from the dead was a final straw for the religious leaders with
regards to Jesus…from that miracle (& moment) on; the social – political – religious leaders
aggressively looked for a way to kill Jesus. So, I want to paint a picture of how some of this
might have occurred & how fear (+ selfish & immature motives) led to Jesus’ arrest &
subsequent death:
 Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11: 1-45)
 Aggressive plot to kill Jesus begins by chief priests & Pharisees (John 11: 45-57 &
Matt. 26: 1-5).
 Back in Bethany – hometown of Lazarus, Mary & Martha – Jesus is a dinner guest of
Simon (who had leprosy). During the dinner, a woman (some writers said Mary,
Lazarus’ sister) anointed Jesus with some costly perfume. (Matt. 26: 6-13)
 Jesus’ Anointing & Judas Iscariot’s Rebuke (Matt. 26: 8-11)
 Jerusalem & Bethany were roughly 2 miles apart.
 Judas Iscariot agrees to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (Matt. 26: 14-16)
 Jesus’ Final Meal with disciples (Jerusalem) & Gift of Communion (Matt. 26: 17-30)
 Jesus Predicts the disciples betrayals; Peter vows to be faithful (Matt. 26: 31-35)
 Gethsemane: After midnight…11 of the disciples left with Jesus for the Garden.
 In the Garden: 8 were told to wait; Peter, James & John were taken into the garden &
told to sit & pray. But they were exhausted (as was Jesus) & so they fell asleep Jesus
prayed for a different outcome; he felt 100% alone & then Judas Iscariot arrived – for
as an insider he knew where Jesus would have gone.
 The Kiss of Death: Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss + all disciples scattered.
These are the basic facts of the events. So…what about the “fear” & other human emotions
that precipitated the arrest & subsequent death of Jesus?
 2

THE HUMAN EMOTIONS THAT ENSNARED JESUS:

Doesn’t it seem like raising someone from the dead would be a reason to celebrate life? Yet,
in this narrative, the raising of Lazarus from the dead was the “final nail in Jesus’ coffin” as far
as the political-religious leaders were concerned. Why? The basic emotions involved?
 That green eyed monster of ENVY.
These guys were greener than Idina Menzel was in the Broadway play, WICKED!
Envy & its first cousin, JEALOUSY, often feigns concern & “wanting what’s best for
the family, group, organization or nation” – all while back stabbing, gossiping & doing
shady, backroom deals” – to the destruction of another human being…or in this case,
the Human One of God!
 Basic Emotion #2: POWER OF THE DOMINANT CULTURE.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were in bed with Rome & the corrupt leadership of
that government worked day & night to oppress the common people & especially any
who were the least bit different.
 ANGER: I wonder if Judas Iscariot reacted out of anger when he decided to “turn
Jesus over for 30 pieces of silver”. Why? Because he had been embarrassed at
Simon’s house (the one with leprosy) because Jesus had called his hand on wanting
the perfume sold & the money given to him – as the treasurer – so he could steal from
it. Jesus had spoken to truth – to him & all of the people present - & Judas was faced
with the reality of who he was & instead of growing up, he stayed immature & small.
 FEAR: Finally, not only was Judas angry (& a thief), he was also a fearful little man!
As was Peter in Jesus’ moment of need…as was Jesus’ entire inner circle! Running
for your own life has a way of making all of us cowards, don’t you think?
TRANSITION:
So, where do you locate in this story?! Honestly, where do you locate? What’s interesting is
both Judas Iscariot & Simon Peter denied Jesus – due to various emotions & choices –
however, what came next was vastly different. Judas was remorseful, but never asked Jesus
to forgive him & ultimately took his own life. Peter, on the other hand, did eventually
recommit himself to Jesus (John 21:15-25) & ultimately died for Christ. (Tradition states that
Peter was crucified upside down…because he felt unworthy to die as Jesus had).
PERSONAL APPLICATION:
Therefore, on this the final Sunday before Holy Week begins…what’s our contemporary
lesson(s) from this narrative? There are probably a myriad of lessons based on where you
are on your spiritual journey….I submit the following possibilities:
(1) The value of how we live our daily lives in service to Jesus Christ: This
community, the nation & this world are hungry for quality men, women & children of
God to demonstrate the reality of God’s love in mature, selfless & humble ways.
(2) Mature people master their emotions; immature people use their emotions as an
excuse to behave badly & to hurt others.
(3) When – not if – we make mistakes; we can make it right by apologizing, learning from
the mistake & asking God for help us not to hurt people.
(4) When we allow fear to overtake us, we are not our best selves, nor do we make our
best decisions.
CLOSING:
In closing, I leave you with this thought. 92% of our worries & fears are needless because
 3

what we fear doesn’t occur. Worry is ultimately irrelevant, especially since it seldom brings
forth any positive action on our part. Worry is irrelevant for a follower of Christ, because it
also undermines one’s trust in God & God’s ability to “to do all things well”. We either believe
God is able, willing & desires only the best for us OR we don’t believe God is able, willing &
desires the best for us!
Our responsibility in tearing down our walls of fear – that enshrine us in not only worrisome
living, but also a weakened future – is to take the next right step toward a greater faith in
Christ & a greater willingness to believe that God, indeed seeks the best for us – regardless
of where we come from, what we’ve done (or not done) & who we are. Our present day help
from God comes most powerfully in our consistent commitment to “seek God & God’s will
above all else”.
If Jesus’ life & death teach us nothing else, it needs to teach us that Jesus’ peace of mind &
daily living came – not from an easy life – but from a life wholly committed & surrendered to
the will of God. May each of us, this final Sunday of Lent find our quiet, spiritual center &
dare to surrender our lives to God!