Luke 12:4-7 - What Are You So Afraid Of?

Chad Werkhoven
Apr 30
5 min read

You ought to be afraid of Jesus. Very afraid. But you need not be frightened.

Text from Luke 12:5 over a sunset image, urging fear of authority after death. Emphasized words in bold white and purple. NIV version.

Luke 12:4-7 (NIV)

CONTEXT: Jesus is surrounded by a huge crowd, but His words are directed towards His disciples.

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Canons of Dordt

Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election

Point 2 - Limited Atonement

Article 1: The Punishment Which God’s Justice Requires

God is not only
1. supremely merciful,
2. but also supremely just.
3. This justice requires
  1. (as God has revealed in the Word)
  2. that the sins we have committed against his infinite majesty
    1. be punished with both temporal and eternal punishments,
    2. of soul as well as body.
We cannot escape these punishments unless satisfaction is given to God’s justice.

Summary

We've noted before that Jesus' tone changes near the middle of each of the gospel accounts. It's at this point the crowds hoping to witness or experience a miracle begin to diminish and Jesus speaks more plainly with His disciples about the coming trials. Our text today focuses in on a warning Jesus issues.

It would make sense at this point for the disciples to fear the future. Although the Pharisees were the minority party in the religious establishment, they were still plenty powerful and were growing more incensed with Jesus by the day. They could (and likely were) making the disciples' lives miserable at this point and they were already plotting to kill Jesus.

However, Jesus here indicates that those who kill the body aren't the guys to be afraid of. It's not at all that they can't inflict lots of pain - after all, they can kill the body - it's just that there's a much bigger threat that ought to capture our attention. And that threat is God Himself! In the bigger context, Jesus tells His disciples they ought to be more afraid of Him than the Pharisees.

Even though Jesus' statement here is stunning, His logic is simple. All our earthly enemies can do is kill the body, but after that can do no more. God, on the other hand can throw the one whose body has been killed into hell! In other words, people here and now can inflict serious pain and damage, even to the point of killing you, but even physical death pales in comparison to enduring the eternal suffering of Hell.

Dig Deeper

This isn't the kind of statement that's made Jesus the most popular individual to have ever lived. The crowds surrounding Jesus wanted to hear more teachings like the Golden Rule or to have Him to supernaturally change their circumstances in life. The crowds only want teaching that makes them feel warm and fuzzy, which is why the crowds get smaller and smaller in the second half of the gospels, up until the point that Jesus stands all alone.

Jesus here isn't trying to manipulate you into trusting Him by using fear to control you. Quite the opposite. He wants you to know the truth, and the truth is there is so much more to life than that which we presently see. He wants you to focus more on your eternal destiny than your fear of what might happen to you in this world.

Jesus also wants you to know your worth. If not one of the sparrows is forgotten by God, how much more are you loved by the One who knows the number of hairs on your head!

So Jesus doesn't teach you to fear Him in order to scare you, He tells you this to set you free from fear altogether. You need not fear those who can kill the body because you are held tightly in the hands of the One who controls both the present and the eternal future.

AAA Prayer (About)

ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who knows how many hairs are on our heads;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will fear God rather than fearing the world;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: