It’s said there are four compelling motives in life that move people to action: faith, hope, love, and fear. For many, the greatest of these is fear.
Peter, James, and John would have agreed in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew. The chapter begins with Jesus leading His inner circle of three up a high mountain. While no one knows the exact location, tradition identifies it as Mount Tabor in Galilee overlooking the Valley of Megiddo. There on the mountain Jesus was transfigured in front of His amazed disciples. For a brief moment, Jesus’ appearance changed as His eternal glory came brilliantly shining through. Even His clothes dazzled in radiant light.
As the three disciples looked on in wonder, Moses and Elijah appeared from out of nowhere and began having a private conversation with Jesus. Never one to be at a loss for words, Peter started to say something when a bright cloud appeared and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” This was supernatural overload on steroids!
What would you have done had you been there? Some super-spiritual person might say they would have basked in the glory of the moment. Maybe so. Others would have set a new world’s record for the one-hundred-yard dash. But Peter, James, and John didn’t run down the mountain. They were too scared to move (Matthew 17:6).
Seeing that His three disciples were paralyzed with fear, Jesus went to where they had fallen and touched them saying, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” As a result of His quieting touch, Matthew writes in v8, “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” All their fears were gone. With just one touch, the Master who calmed the wind and stilled the storm, silenced their fears.
In a moment the disciples were overcome with fear. In a moment their fear was gone. If fear is having it’s way in your mind, I recommend to you the quieting touch of Jesus. Jesus is the answer for all of life’s fears. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3 NLT).
Pastor Todd Weston
Peter, James, and John would have agreed in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew. The chapter begins with Jesus leading His inner circle of three up a high mountain. While no one knows the exact location, tradition identifies it as Mount Tabor in Galilee overlooking the Valley of Megiddo. There on the mountain Jesus was transfigured in front of His amazed disciples. For a brief moment, Jesus’ appearance changed as His eternal glory came brilliantly shining through. Even His clothes dazzled in radiant light.
As the three disciples looked on in wonder, Moses and Elijah appeared from out of nowhere and began having a private conversation with Jesus. Never one to be at a loss for words, Peter started to say something when a bright cloud appeared and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” This was supernatural overload on steroids!
What would you have done had you been there? Some super-spiritual person might say they would have basked in the glory of the moment. Maybe so. Others would have set a new world’s record for the one-hundred-yard dash. But Peter, James, and John didn’t run down the mountain. They were too scared to move (Matthew 17:6).
Seeing that His three disciples were paralyzed with fear, Jesus went to where they had fallen and touched them saying, “Arise, and do not be afraid.” As a result of His quieting touch, Matthew writes in v8, “When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.” All their fears were gone. With just one touch, the Master who calmed the wind and stilled the storm, silenced their fears.
In a moment the disciples were overcome with fear. In a moment their fear was gone. If fear is having it’s way in your mind, I recommend to you the quieting touch of Jesus. Jesus is the answer for all of life’s fears. “But when I am afraid, I will put my trust in you” (Psalm 56:3 NLT).
Pastor Todd Weston
