Life of Christ #13 – Fear Not: Following Jesus Without Fear

…anything, or this Word of the Lord brought to his disciples, I would call it a message on the fear of death; I think that’s what’s here. I can’t be certain of that, but after having spent the time that I have pondering it, my impression is that this is on the subject of death resulting from being a worker following the Lord Jesus Christ. I like to hold this not to my life nor yours. Maybe we make some applications, but I’d like to hold this to the scene that’s here. This isn’t for me, and it isn’t for you, but it’s for 12 men about to go out in pairs. He’s giving them final instructions that will last not only for this tour that they’re going out on, but for the rest of their lives.

Now, I have to find the Father in this. Where is the Father in this word that the Lord Jesus passes on? Where is the Lord Jesus’ reference to the Father in this matter? What has the Father said to Him? What has the Lord sensed of His indwelling Father in this? What has the Father experienced? What is the Lord’s experience with the Father in persecution, and ultimately, persecution that could even result in death? Two overriding words keep coming up: “fear not.” Fear not.

Now, the Lord opens His words for the disciples, saying, “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.” As I read the rest of this passage, I see that everything about it is in … I’m seeing the Lord speaking of being bold, and I’m seeing him say, “Go as sheep, be very bold, be not afraid of anything. Don’t be afraid, but be like a sheep.” I want to ask Him, “Which do you want me to do?” Which do you want them to do? Then I see that my Lord went like a sheep, and He was bold.

My strong impression is that Jesus Christ was not a controversialist, at least in this respect. I know there are exceptions, but He did not deliberately go out declaring trouble and war on the system. When they came before Him, He confronted them, but most of His ministry was not aimed particularly at that. His ministry was positive and upbeat. It was not mostly tearing down. He was not…He was a sheep… With all those thoughts running through my mind, I have to go back further and say, this isn’t far enough. What’s really going on here? He mentions sheep. Innocent sheep. Wise serpents. Sending you to wolves.

Now, He got that from the Father. Where does the Father get the impression that this is what’s going to happen? I think that the next paragraph gives the secret. He says, “You are not greater than I am.” A slave is not greater than his master. It is enough that you be like your teacher. It is enough that the slave be like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub…

Now, I stopped there, and I say to myself, the Lord Jesus was called prince of demons, Beelzebub. His disciples will be called prince of demons, Beelzebub, but surely the Father has not. Then I stop and realize that my God and my Lord has been looking down on this planet for hundreds and hundreds of years, long before the Lord Jesus got here. I realized two things; one of them is that He is constantly seeing His work being called the work of Satan, that it is the nature of men to attribute the work of men to the devil, godly men. That work is actually God’s; God did it.

God is quite used to having that which he does attributed to the devil’s doing, or put it another way, God’s work is called the work of Satan. Long before the Son was incarnated, the Father was told, “That’s of the devil,” yet the Father knew the heart of men, and we see this right here. So suddenly I can come back and say, I can see the Father say to the Son, “I am sending you a sheep to wolves.” They’ve been doing this to me for hundreds of years; they are about to do it to you. The work that I have done and the prophets…the work I’ve done by my own hand, it is the nature of man to attribute it to Satan because it doesn’t fit their doctrine, it doesn’t fit their religion, it doesn’t fit their belief, it doesn’t fit their disposition.

Son, I’m casting you to wolves. I send you out as a sheep among wolves. I am sending you to be devoured. There can be no other conclusion: if a sheep goes out, he will be devoured. The Father knew  He was sending His Son out to be called a worker of Satan, because the Father had been called…His works had been called the work of Satan; He knew men were like that, and He knew this was going to happen to His Son. Therefore, He said to the Son, “Be as guileless as the dove but as wise as the serpent.” I’m sorry that when a sheep goes out as guileless as the dove and as wise as the serpent, it does not prevent Him from being called a son of the Devil, nor does it keep Him from being eaten alive.

You, be as wise as a serpent, as guileless as a dove, and you’ll last a little longer. That’s all. If you go out without realizing you’re going out in the midst of wolves, you won’t last six months. If you start waging war with wolves, you’re gonna be ended before you start; by the way, that was true of the Son, and it’s true of any man who, working for the Lord, doesn’t exercise great wisdom in how he ministers.

What’s under discussion here is just as simple as it can be: he who proclaims the Father gets in trouble; he who proclaims the Son gets in trouble. He who opens his mouth gets in trouble. It’s that simple. When you open your mouth, be wise, because you’ll get in trouble. Be guileless; you’ll be in trouble. Then the Son says, “The Master has been called Satan. Do you think the disciple won’t?” You’re gonna be called Satan more often than I’ve been. Don’t think you’re going to be wiser or more sagacious than I am, and don’t think you’re going to be more guileless or more innocent than a dove. You’re not going to get out of this.

Now, I’m not sure you know where the Lord is headed in this. I think all of us here right this moment are thinking that we need a little wisdom and a little understanding of what’s going to happen to us. I think something is going to be said here that’s quite interesting. I think the Lord recognizes how shocked the disciples are going to be when they get called a son of the devil by other men. What’s the shock? That they’ve been called that? No. The psychological reaction to it is devastating.