Don't be afraid

Do not be afraid

Someone has counted the number of times “Don’t be afraid” appears in the Bible. It is 365 or 366 times. This is more than any other command in the Bible. William shared this with us at the Zoom Bible Study and commented that he likes the fact that the message to not fear is given for each day of the year!

Jesus told his disciples to not fear in Matthew 17, at the end of a spectacular and supernatural occurrence. Jesus’ appearance had become dazzling white and two important characters from Old Testament times had appeared in heavenly glory with him. Moses, who represents the Jewish Law and Elijah, the chief prophet, who pointed people towards God. Jesus initiates the new testament (promise) from God that brings to completion the previous work of the law and the prophets and opens the way to God for everyone.

Money

Teaching about money also has a large number or occurrences in the Bible. We looked at Matthew 19 and the account of Jesus speaking with a rich man. The man wanted to know how to receive eternal life. Jesus said to keep the commandments and the man recited the commandments of our dealings with others but did not give the first four of the Ten Commandments that speak about our relationship with God. It seems that the rich man did not have his priorities right. He valued his wealth more than his relationship with God. William gave the challenging question to us, “What do you place your trust in?” If it is anything other than God, it will not satisfy, either in this life or the life to come.

Generosity of God

William reminded us of the generosity of God which is seen in Jesus’ parable of wedding feast in Matthew 22. God provides the correct clothing for those invited to the feast. William compared this with Isaiah 61:10 “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness…”

Love your neighbour

We ended our Bible Study by discussing what Jesus meant by, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” in Matthew 22:39. It probably does not mean love your neighbour as you love yourself, rather, think of your neighbour as being just like you, experiencing similar things in life, and care for them. Rob added that it shows we are equal as we are all human beings, who need God and care from each other.

If you’d like to join the weekly virtual Bible Study, please email barbarabrittain212@gmail.com for the Zoom meeting code.