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Dealing With “Fear” in the Christmas Story
Matthew 1:18-25 (NASB) says, “18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” 24And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, 25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”
When looking at the traditional Christmas story concerning the birth of Christ, while heaven resounded, “Peace and good will toward men”, Joseph and Mary would have to face fear head-on. Let’s look at some of the internal questions they would have to answer, as well as perspectives to put into question.
Joseph’s Perspective:
- I can build a home, but I can’t build a family. Will she remain committed to me while I am building our home?
- Can I really trust my wife? Is she really faithful to me? I am spending this time working on a house, and she is pregnant while away from me. Where has she set her gaze?
- Am I worthy or even capable enough to raise the Son of God?
- How do I raise a King, the Messiah, the Anointed One? All I can teach Him are the ways of carpentry, not the depths of the law or the Rabbinical traditions.
- Joseph had to come face-to-face with several fears in his life because of the responsibility he was carrying. You can only overcome what you are willing to face. “Fear Not” is the most often repeated command in scripture. Faith should never function in ignorance! You worship what you fear. Fearing something is when you’re afraid of the negative something can bring. Here are some of those fears:
Mary’s Perspective:
- People will think I am crazy. How will anyone believe I am a virgin? My integrity, wellbeing and sanity will always be questioned by everyone around me.
- Who am I to carry and give birth to the only begotten Son of God? I did not ask for any of this. I was never prepared for this. Why me?
*The Fear of Unfaithfulness – Joseph’s fear was Mary being unfaithful to him based on what she was carrying, becoming an embarrassment to his reputation and destroying a marriage that had not yet begun.
*The Fear of Never Being Good Enough – He feared failure as a result feeling inferior the Word Mary was carrying. He felt incapable and unworthy, but God’s Word and love trumps fear! Once you truly grasp the revelation of who you are in Christ and that you belong to the Father, you will never have to struggle with inferiority again because you will know you are made worthy through the sacrifice of Christ!
*The Fear of Failure – He would undoubtedly have to battle the thought of raising the King of Kings and Lord of Lords: the Messiah! He wasn’t chosen because he was a carpenter, but because of his humility and pursuit of righteousness! Having the authority to name “Jesus” gave him the opportunity to lead as the shepherd and priest of his home!
*The Fear of Opposition – From King Herod’s threatenings to not being able to find Jesus for 3 days, he would have to battle the fear of being able to protect Jesus, but God will never call you to an assignment that you are not capable of fulfilling in Him! In other words, you cannot do this without God, but with Him, all things are possible! God will never promote you without His protection!
*The Fear of Exposure – Joseph and Mary would have to deal with the fear of exposure, especially once Mary began to show signs of her pregnancy and how Joseph would react to it. John 3:20-21 (NASB) says, “20“For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21“But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” A fear some have is that of being exposed: the true intentions of the heart. Therefore, instead of turning to the Light of Christ, we become comfortable by covering up our sins. Cover-ups give a false sense of comfortability when exposure to the Light results in the comforting of the Holy Spirit! When you’re walking in the righteousness of God, you have another to fear. In fact, the testimony of exposure prophesies healing, freedom and deliverance to those who will lay down the fear of exposure and run to the glorious light of Yahweh! Exposure shows those gaps in our lives that only Christ can fill!
*1 John 4:17-18 says, “17Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
*2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”