Twin Enemy of Easter: Fear and Doubt

Bienhome Muivah *

Easter Sunday held at Manipur Baptist Convention (MBC) , Chingmeirong on April 20 2014 :: Pix - Shanker Khangembam

On Easter Sunday morning, Christians boldly proclaim "Christ is risen indeed!" They stand ready to confess the risen Christ and live for Him. But once the Easter glow fades, the twin enemies of Easter i.e. Fear and Doubt creep in to weaken the Easter faith.

Yes, Christ has indeed risen! What a victorious proclamation? Mary of Magdala has seen Him alive and tells the disciples. Nevertheless, fear grips them in the upper room. They lock the doors for fear. No Easter for them. No joy. No hope. Only fear.

Today, does fear stands between you and the risen Lord-Fear of death, fear of loneliness, fear of failure, fear of unknown? How do you lock the doors to protect yourself? Are you trying to hide, pretend, keep yourself busy, or build false security to handle your fear? Nothing will work. At its root, fear exposes our unbelief which is sin. No Easter. No joy. No hope. And only fear.

In John's account, however, Jesus conquers fear He comes right through the locked doors and say, "peace be with you".

On the other hand, we find in the scripture on the event of Christ' resurrection, doubt grips Thomas. He misses the Easter appearances of Jesus. He hears from the disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead, and appeared to them. But he declares, "unless I see the nail marks in His hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25). No Easter for Thomas because of His doubt.

Doubt can destroy Easter for us too. Satan raised doubts already in the garden of Eden. Our modern age questions God, the Bible, the resurrection, and Christian values. We doubt God, ourselves, others, and our future.

The twin enemies of Easter show their common birth. Fear traces to the root sin of unbelief, and so does doubt. "Unless … I will not believe it". Are you looking for a concrete proof like Thomas or you will not believe?

Jesus conquers doubt as early as fear. A week later, He appears again in the Upper Room and says to Thomas, "put your fingers here; see my hands, reach out your hand and out it into My side. Stop doubting and believe. All doubts melted, Thomas joyfully confesses, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27-28).

To us, Jesus says "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Jesus comes to us in our doubt with His peace and says "peace be with you!'

Today, as we celebrate Easter, the celebration of celebrations, lets dispel the twin enemy i.e. fear and doubt and fill our hearts with belief, joy and peace because we have so much to feel good and joyful about this Day, "our Lord indeed has risen" Christ has conquered death. Death gives way to life, thus transforming darkness into light and something new. Easter is about the triumph of eternal life over death. With the resurrection comes new hope, new possibilities, new life, new promise and change. This amazing act will forever be a reminder in the ages to come that God is in the midst of all change bringing about the new. Old forms, old ideas, old ways of doing things will die and pass away. Folks, how well can you apply the awesome power of Christ' resurrection to your daily life? You and I can face the future with boldness and courage knowing that, whatever happens, God is there.

Easter marks the birthday of your eternal hope. [Easter], literally means 'the feast of fresh flowers', and we celebrate it with pride and jubilation because the resurrection of Christ is the basis of our Christian faith. And it is the greatest of the miracles the human race has ever witnessed. It proves that Jesus is God. That is why St. Paul writes: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain; and your faith is in vain. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins … But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep (I Corinthian 15: 14, 17,20).

If Christ did not rise from the dead, then the church is a fraud and faith is a sham. Without Easter, Jesus would have remained forever a good person who met a tragic end. People would remember some of His good teachings, and a handful of people might try to live according to them. But all the basic doctrines of Christianity are founded on the truth of the resurrection. 'Jesus is Lord; He is risen' (Rom. 10:9) was the central theme for preaching of the apostles.

Today's gospel explains the empty tomb resurrection experience of Mary Magdalene, Peter and John. Mary Magdalene proclaims her personal experience "I have seen the Lord".

Today, on the event of Easter, the feast of resurrection, it gives us the joyful message that we are a "resurrection people". This means that we are not supposed to lie buried in the tomb of our sins, evil habits and dangerous addictions. It gives us the good news that no tomb can hold us down anymore-not the tomb of despairs, tomb of fear, tomb of doubt nor death. Instead, we are expected to live a joyful and peaceful life, constantly experiencing the real presence of the resurrected Savior in all the events of our lives.

Today, like Mary Magdalene, can we all say to the world around us without the twin enemy (Fear and Doubt) that "I have seen the Lord!"

May the infinite blessing of Easter be upon each one of you!