Luke 12:4-7 “Fear Not”

God hears everything. God hears the birds singing. God hears the roosters crowing. God hears the crows roistering. (Yes, “to roister” is an English verb! Ha ha.) God even counts every single hair on our heads! Yes, God is counting backwards on some of our heads. We can consider that like the countdown to a space launch.

The larger less-used English term for this is that God is “omniscient.” Everything in the universe is known by God. In our present “age of information” we can begin to appreciate the ramifications of omniscience. Today we have computer listening devices set up in our homes and places of business feeding Artificial Intelligence.

We have also seen that cameras are everywhere. I pointed out in another sermon recently that we now enjoy three cameras on every intersection on Rice Street in Lihue. Whatever you do there, it will be recorded. I also should point out that it no longer takes someone to review the tape recorded video feed to determine that a crime has been committed. Artificial intelligence can determine while a crime is happening that it is a crime and report it in real-time directly to law enforcement. With the soon-to-arrive Palantir nationally cross-referenced security database, the camera will also be able to identify you in milliseconds. So, even if police do not arrest you in the act, you may have to deal with the arrest later at home.

If you have security cameras in your place of work or even at home, the time is coming that if you misplaced something in the house, an AI voice will be able to tell you exactly where that item is. It will be able to tell you who drank the last of the milk and put the container back in the fridge. It will most importantly let you know who ate the last Fig Newton.

Think how that can be used for political purposes by the way; for instance. The computer hears what your political views are, and the next thing you know you're being asked for donations. Or, the computer hears what your political views are, and the police come to arrest you on sedition. Everything that we think we say in private, could be broadcast now. To be sure, we no longer just watch television, the televisions are watching us.

Humanity is hurling itself headlong into omniscience! When I was a young man living in Germany, I would cross in those days into East Germany, the old communist stronghold. You could buy books super cheap there. The communist state was everywhere and all-knowing. They watched my every move. I always liked trying to figure out who was assigned to follow me every step I took while there. One out of every three East Germans in those days worked for STASI, the East German secret police. STASI knew everything about everybody!

Before the East German STASI, there was of course Hitler’s Gestapo in Germany. They also knew everything about everybody. That means that Artificial Intelligence can work not that much differently than from Heinrich Himmler. So, we have to be wary of what our information is being used for what. We should be a little fearful.

However, for me divine omniscience is a comforting thought. God knows everything. I am comforted in this because I know that God is also all-good! God always wants what is best for me. God wants to know me because God wants to have a good relationship with His children. That is why God sent Jesus to us. That is God telling us, “I am not just some voice and automated listening device; Here I am in the flesh before you!”

God is real. Our relationship with God must be a real relationship. God is not just some voice up in heaven. God is not just collecting data on your life for obtuse reasons. God already knows the truth about your life. We have no secrets from God. We know one day we will be face-to-face with Jesus once again. If we ever thought we had a secret from God, then we will learn the truth coming right back at us!

I mention all of this because in our series on the “Commands of God” we have yet to come to ask the very question about the issue: Why does God need to command us to do anything? The answer seems to be right here. God is all-knowing and all good. God knows that we need guidance, His Word in our lives, in order to be His children and be in His Kingdom.

If you get a command from someone who knows nothing about you and does not have your best interest at heart, then you may ignore it. God tells us what we must do because God loves us like a father in heaven. God wants us to be saved!

On to the command we received today: “Do not fear!” As I have mentioned before in other sermons, this is the commandment that is repeated most often in the bible. It is mentioned exactly 365 times. WE are commanded this as many times as days in the year. Once a day we must hear the command not to fear.

Although I am commanded by God not to fear, I am not sure that I have much control over that emotion. Sometimes I simply find myself being fearful. I recall once coming out of the pastor’s office late at night when I served the church back in Los Angeles. Two men ran towards me with guns drawn. I was staring down the barrels of two guns. Yeah, I was frightened. The one man looked at me and stated to the other, “Wrong color.” They were police officers as it turned out. They holstered their firearms and stated that they were looking for someone else.

One time the family was driving to grandma’s house. Suddenly a bullet hit the side of the car right below the driver’s side mirror. This was also in Los Angeles. I had a bullet hole in the side of the car. If the bullet had hit just six inches higher, I would have been killed, and most likely the car would have crashed too. How can Jesus say not to fear these things? How am I not to fear death itself?

Our scripture for this morning is very difficult to understand. It is a command that seems impossible. The verb that we have in the Greek “to fear” is however strangely reflexive: φοιβεμε. Perhaps you can hear the English word “phobia” that is taken from this Greek word. Perhaps you can hear the “me” on the end that makes it point back at the one who is fearful. I like to translate this as “Do not fear for yourself before death.”

The scripture then goes on to point out that we should rather fear for ourselves before the Lord. Do not fear for anything in this world, even the greatest thing to fear which is death, rather we must fear for ourselves before the Lord. After all, if you were to die, the next thing you would know is that you are standing before Jesus. Fear for yourself before Jesus.

I want you to hear this carefully: Do not fear Jesus. Love Jesus with all your heart, soul, and strength. Just because of that, fear for yourself before Jesus, that you will not have disappointed Jesus in your life.

In reading this scripture we cannot be confused about what Jesus is saying: “Fear for yourself before the one who has the authority to cast you into ‘gehenna’ (or hell).” Now, I have heard this said in another sermon that this is a reference to Satan. It is not. Satan does not have the authority to cast you into hell. Jesus is referring simply to himself in this moment. That is the only way this makes sense, especially since the word for authority here is the exact same word that is used in Luke and elsewhere to describe that power that is given by Jesus. Eξουσιος is a spiritual power given to us by Jesus. So, we need to fear for ourselves before the spiritual power of Jesus.

In verse 6 Jesus mentions sparrows. Some people think that this is for the birds. You need to be a first century Jew to understand the reference that Jesus is bringing up. In order to get rid of your sins in the Jewish Faith back then, you had to make a sin offering, a sacrifice, in the Temple in Jerusalem. The cheapest offering you could make was a sparrow. They cost almost nothing. A couple of pennies would get you five sparrows. Yet, not one sparrow is forgotten in God’s sight.

In simple terms, you need not fear death because you are of value to God. God will remember your sacrifice to Him no matter how small. John 3:16 God so loved us all, the world, that He sacrificed His only Son.

I want to close today by jumping up to verse 32 where we read again the command “Do not be afraid.” “For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” We trust in this. Although it is up to Jesus, we trust in grace that we will not be forgotten or cast away. We have no more fear for ourselves in death.

Saint Paul says in Romans 14:8, “If we live, we live to the lord. If we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”

Amen.