OpenTheo

Did Jesus Ever Experience Fear?

#STRask — Stand to Reason
00:00
00:00

Did Jesus Ever Experience Fear?

December 12, 2024
#STRask
#STRaskStand to Reason

Questions about whether Jesus ever experienced fear, why Jesus would pray three times for something he already knew he would be denied, and a song that seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in the garden of Gethsemane rather than on the cross.  

* Jesus came to earth and experienced the same things we go through—hunger, thirst, weariness, anger, sorrow, etc.—but did he ever experience fear?

* Why did Jesus pray three times, “Let this cup pass from me,” when he already knew he would die?

* I recently heard the song “Gethsemane,” which seems to state that Jesus paid the price for all in Gethsemane and doesn’t mention the cross. This feels off, but how can I explain why it matters?

Share

Transcript

This is Amy Hall. I'm here with Greg Koukl, and you are listening to Stand to Reason's hashtag S-T-R-S podcast. And our podcast depends on your sending in questions.
So if you have a question,
please go to X. You can just write out your question, and it'll be the right length. That's the link we're going for, just about two sentences, and use the hashtag S-T-R-Ask. Or you can go to our website at s-t-r-dot-org and look for our hashtag S-T-R-Ask podcast page.
And right at the top of the page,
you'll find a link where you can send us your question. So, Greg, we have questions about Jesus again today. We've had a few of these recently, but ‑‑ Imagine that.
So this first one comes from Chad. Christ
anger, sorrow, temptation, and pain, to name a few. However, did Christ ever experience fear? My gut says no, what say you? Never had that question before.
I'm trying to reflect. My gut says no to,
and that has to do with the nature of the God-man. So he is one person, two natures.
That person,
my take, is the second person of the Trinity, which entails the divine nature and adds to it a human nature. So, last session you cited from First John, the perfect love, casts out all fear. You know, I'm just wondering, we have to be careful how we use this, because now I'm thinking of our First John, says fear entails judgment.
And we're not under judgment, so there's no reason
for us to fear, okay? But of course, that's just talking about one kind of fear. You know, if a, if a rattlesnake was, you know, right in front of us and about to bite us, I think we would feel a natural fear of the human threat or the threat to our well-being. So these are other kinds of fears, and some people have characterized any kind of fear to be demonic.
So certainly Jesus didn't
experience the fear of judgment that John was talking about in First John. Could he have encountered a viper? You know, could he have, look, when the mobs were trying to push him over the brow of the cliff, you know, was there any anguish or fear, anxiety, if you will, regarding imminent, what appeared to be imminent, execution or punishment or harm that would come him, I don't, that would be natural. My God, again, is that Jesus didn't experience it even then, because his trust in the Father was perfect, his knowledge that the Father's plans would be fulfilled, and that would be three years hence from this occasion in what is it Matthew or Luke for, and the synagogue scene where everybody got mad at him and tried to kill him, Jesus demonstrated incredible equanimity, a peacefulness of mind in every circumstance, even though he was candid about his emotions, his anguish, and we see that in the garden, in his prayer to the Father, I don't, I don't think it's necessary to characterize that as the kind of fear that we experience.
So
my gut level certainly didn't fear judgment from the Father, though he experienced that on the cross, I think that the other occasions that fear show up naturally a threat to bodily harm. I think he could have been startled by something like say like a snake or whatever, right? Yeah, startled is different. That's caught by surprise.
That doesn't necessarily entail a fear
associated with it. So it's a good question. My, my sense is that God man's not going to be afraid of anything.
He's not going to feel fear in the sense that we think about it, even maybe even a
certain sense, a natural threat, because his equanimity based on his confidence in who he was and where he came from, where he's going, which by the way is a phraseology that she was in John 13 before he washes the disciples' feet. In other words, he was totally comfortable with understanding his role and who he was and his identity that it didn't, it wasn't an assault to his ego to wash the feet of the disciples. And I'm wondering if the same concept can be a leveraged here in other aspects of Jesus' life.
He knew who he was. He knew what he was there to do,
and he knew he was always doing the things the Father wanted him to do with John 5. And so I don't see, I think it would be really unlikely. This is a speculation, obviously, because we're just kind of thinking out loud here about the issue.
I don't know, what are your thoughts on that Amy?
Well, we certainly don't see it ever. All these other things, he says, are described as things that happen to him. But we certainly don't ever see an example in the gospels of him being afraid of something.
I'm trying to think if there's any kind of fear that's not in any way related to morality
or trust in God, but it's hard for me to think of one. There might be something I'm not thinking of, but certainly if you were to trust that you're in God's hands fully, you believe it, absolutely, you have no doubts about that. We wouldn't really have any reason to fear, even knowing that bad things will happen to us.
Like in the garden, anticipating that. Yeah, so and I would say
anticipation is not the same thing as fear. Obviously, if you're anticipating going through something painful, that use the word anguish, I think that's appropriate, but I wouldn't call that fear.
Incidentally, all of the events that we have recorded that Jesus experienced from the betrayal on demonstrates that complete and total equanimity that I was referring to earlier. He was non-plussed, he was not frustrated, he had complete control. Don't you know that I can have you executed, you couldn't do anything unless it's been given to you from above.
Are you a king? My kingdom is
not of this world. You know, it's just the kind of responses under the pressure that in those cases pilot, but all the rest of them, you know, he just showed a tremendous presence of mind that doesn't evidence any of the kind of fear that I think is entailed in this question. And if he's not fearful in those situations, it's hard to imagine anything he would have been fearful in.
What amazes me is we could live so much more in that state of mind,
if we truly believed and trusted that God is working all things together for good. But we have something Jesus did not have, or actually Jesus had something we did not have, and I'm referring to the flesh. So having the flesh is a liability, a weakness, it's not the strength.
So that's going to play a part in, you know, I could be very confident that I'm going to
heaven when I die. But if you put a gun to my head, my palms would probably sweat, you know, that kind of thing. That's just a reality of being a human in the world, even though we have a strong confidence.
Now, I think there are people who went to their martyrdom even with complete
equanimity. You look at somebody like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for example, those who were involved in the execution said they'd never seen anything like this. You know, they've never seen anyone go into execution with that kind of, that he is where equanimity, but that's what they were referring to.
And in others, you read about the martyrdom and polycarpe, for example, and
others that the Book of Martyrs just faced this gruesome end with tremendous applause. It's hard to imagine for us, but that's a grace, I think, given at the time it's needed. So let's go on to a question from Gary.
In the garden, Jesus prayed, let this cup pass from me.
It is clear that Jesus knew both in his humanity, Isaiah 53 and John 3 14, and divinity that he would die and how he would die, yet he prayed a prayer he already knew the answer to three times, difficult to reconcile. What might you suggest here? Well, I'm not, it's not difficult for me to reconcile because I think if we have a robust understanding of his humanity, then we can understand the human anguish that he faced at that moment.
Think of him on the cross, my God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? Well, that's a citation from, he's repeating a verse that opens up Psalm 22, and the next line in that Psalm gives insight because this looks like, forlorn, and I don't know what's going on, and that's the way some people have characterized it. But the next verse says, far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. Here I am.
I need deliverance, I'm not
getting deliverance. And I take this as a cry from his humanity, not a question about what he said, you know, what is in Taylor, that whole Psalm is a Psalm that sounds like a, from a first, a crucifixion from a first person perspective, all the details that are in that Psalm. And in it ends on a note of hope.
Yeah, he has performed it. Well, it sounds like it is finished, you know,
a little bit like that. So the, the, there's an expression that Jesus cries out on the cross in the midst of all of this, that I think we have reason to believe is not an expression of doubt or, or confusion, but an expression of lament or anguish of a human soul enduring indescribable suffering.
And I think that we, that also helps us, I think, to understand what's going
on in the garden. It's interesting how he continues that prayer. If possible, let this cup pass for me, but not my will, but thy be done.
In other words, that's an acknowledgement that it's not possible,
he has understanding that his sacrifice is necessary to forgive sin. So this is another argument in favor of the blood atonement. Jesus had to go to the cross.
It wasn't just so he could
die and be an example to others or show his victory over the cross. These are different characterizations of the atonement, but he had to do this because somehow in the bookkeeping of God, it was a necessary component that provided for forgiveness. And so I take from that, even in the garden, that he is, he is fully aware of the necessity of this, yet he is, he is in the midst of anguish as he anticipates it because he knows the price he's going to have to pay.
And he is saying a thing that, you know, is understandable, you know, how if it's possible, let this pass from me, but not my will, but yours be done. This is something I think. So many of the Psalms are expressions of lament, and I think this is something that maybe we need to do more of, find a way to lament and be in anguish before God and express what we're feeling, even knowing, maybe like Jesus did, that it wouldn't be taken away and that he was submitting to his will, even in this anguish.
So what I would take from this is that the fact
that you're lamenting doesn't mean you're not submitting to his will. And so I would hope if anyone feels like they can never express that lament to God that they would feel free to express that because if Jesus can do that, knowing that nothing was going to change, then there must be something valuable in that and expressing that to God. And one thing that this does, the people around him would have seen the intensity of what he was going through and his willingness to go through it at the same time, because he wasn't demanding anything.
He could have
stopped anything at any time, and that was clear. But instead, he expresses how hard this is while at the same time submitting to God in this. And all of these things together are certainly glorifying God in many ways.
We see what he's going through. That makes
make clear to the people around him. His submission and the cost of that is made clear to the people around him.
His love for the Father is made clear through this that he is still putting that plan ahead
of everything else. So I think this accomplished many things in the way that we understand God and what happened here. And it also is a good model for us in that we can be open about our lamenting before God without crossing over into anger against God or accusing God, but rather submitting to what he has for us, knowing that all things are working together for God.
writer of Hebrews said that he endured the shame of the cross for the joy set before him. So that both our conscious elements, according to that passage, he was aware of the shame of the cross. And he was aware that joy would follow.
So I think he had full comprehension at all stages of this.
And what we see on the cross where he cites the opening line of Psalm 22 and the prayers in the garden are best understood and properly understood, I think, as the cry of a human being facing a daunting challenge that he knows he must go through, and he's willing to go through. But he is not unaffected emotionally by that, by the reality of that, ahead of him or while he's experiencing it.
Now imagine if we didn't have this record of, you know, maybe he just sat there in the garden and just prayed quietly with the beaming smile on his face, it would change the way we looked at the whole crucifixion. This, this reveals to us what actually was happening there, that this was real suffering. He wasn't just above it all in some ethereal state where it didn't touch him.
This
actually touched him. It actually mattered. It made a difference.
It was real. And all of that is
accomplished through his prayers and the people who heard him praying. Okay, here's a question from Christina.
I recently heard the song, Gethsemane. The song seems to state that Jesus paid the
price for all in Gethsemane. The song feels off because it does not mention the cross.
I don't know
how to verbalize how slash why this matters, but feel very much like it does. Well, your, your instincts are good ones because nothing was paid for in the garden. It was after the suffering of the cross, at the very end that Jesus said, to tell us I translated it is finished.
It was not finished
before them. Now you have an insight into this particular doctrinal statement. You might want to offer it now.
So as soon as I read this, I knew immediately what was going on because this is the
Latter-day Saint view of the atonement. And they think that it was the suffering in the garden that paid for us in rather than the cross. And I'm not sure, I'm actually not sure why they have gone this direction.
And this is from the very beginning. I think this is something
if not Joseph Smith, and it was certainly Brigham Young. So it's a very old belief of theirs, and this is why they don't have part of why they don't have crosses on their buildings.
But they think that everything was atoned for in the garden. They should have an olive tree. Oh yeah, that would be nice.
So I figured pretty quickly this was a Mormon song. And so I looked
it up and yes, it is. But I don't really know how they get there.
I'm not sure how they get there,
except to say that if you are the devil and you're creating something to lead people astray, you'd certainly want to take everyone's eyes off the cross as much as you could. So maybe this was just one last thing thrown in there. Notice in Islam, Jesus didn't, the Jesus of Islam didn't die in a cross.
So he didn't get
resurrected. They deny that. I think it's Judas is the one who died on the cross.
It wasn't Jesus.
The historical records in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are mistaken. They have their own characterization written 600 years later, right? But the same thing is in play here.
Let's deny the cross one way or
another. And I know, I mean, for all I know, we have Mormon listeners. We possibly do.
So hopefully
you can understand what I mean when obviously we think that the false religious ideas out there have some sort of origin that's not from God. Obviously, that's the case. So hopefully you will take it in that spirit when I say it's demonic, because I do think that that Mormonism is false and it does lead people astray.
Well, also there is an angel of light, even by their own assessment,
that is principle, a principle in Mormon Revelation, Moroni, and Paul actually two different places, one in Galatian and also in 2 Corinthians, I think makes a reference to deceptive angels of light. And that, and I think maybe in the Corinthians passages identifies this as a demonic influence. So clearly it's not a true angel.
It is member Lucifer, the original name of the devil,
means shining one. And now he's called Satan. He's not Colosseph or anymore.
Now he's called
Beelzebol and all these other nasty names that are appropriate to his fallen state in his fallen nature. But it's not surprising then that the authors of scripture would warn us against false teaching coming from a demonic source that will look like something good. They describe it angel of light.
So our assessment now of LDS is not a kind of a rank condescension. It is an analysis
based on biblical revelation. And by the way, if you are LDS, first I want to thank you for listening to the show.
Good for you. That's significant. And weighing the things that you hear us say,
but if you're LDS, you know the Mormon view of scripture of the Bible is the Bible is the word of God if it's properly translated, which Amy and I agree with entirely.
We don't think a poorly translated Bible is the word of God, at least in those points where it's poorly translated. So therefore, our assessment here is from the text that Mormonism affirms is true. Okay, so what you need to do instead of maybe taking Umbridge at our conclusion that that Mormonism is a demonic revelation from a so-called angel of light, is for you to look at the texts themselves and see if this is a reasonable conclusion based on the Bible you believe in, or you're supposed to believe in.
Thank you so much, Greg. I really
appreciate everything you said there. And thank you for sending in your questions, Chad, Gary, and Christina.
We appreciate hearing from you. This is Amy Hall and Greg Cocle for Stand to Reason.

More From #STRask

How Would You Respond to Someone Referring to God as “She” in Church?
How Would You Respond to Someone Referring to God as “She” in Church?
#STRask
December 16, 2024
Questions about how to respond to someone referring to God as “she” during a church service, how to handle the tension between respecting the authorit
How Can So Many Professing Christians Support Things That Are Anti-Christian?
How Can So Many Professing Christians Support Things That Are Anti-Christian?
#STRask
December 19, 2024
Questions about how so many professing Christians can support things that are anti-Christian, such as LGBTQ issues and abortion on demand, and how to
What Words of Encouragement Would You Give to Men in Prison Who Love the Lord?
What Words of Encouragement Would You Give to Men in Prison Who Love the Lord?
#STRask
December 23, 2024
Question about what words of encouragement Greg and Amy would give to men in prison who love the Lord.   * I go into prison as an outreach of my chur
Will I Have to Give an Account for My Abortion When I Stand Before Jesus?
Will I Have to Give an Account for My Abortion When I Stand Before Jesus?
#STRask
December 9, 2024
Questions about whether a woman who had an abortion as a teen and later became a believer will have to give an account to Jesus for it when she stands
Are Our Physical Ailments Caused by Spiritual Warfare?
Are Our Physical Ailments Caused by Spiritual Warfare?
#STRask
December 5, 2024
Questions about whether our physical ailments are caused by spiritual warfare, how much agency demons have in light of the fact that God sometimes sen
Can Evil Spirits Come into Our Lives Through Certain Music and Movies?
Can Evil Spirits Come into Our Lives Through Certain Music and Movies?
#STRask
December 2, 2024
Questions about whether evil spirits can come into our lives through openings like certain music and movies and whether putting Bible verses under you
More From "#STRask"

More on OpenTheo

What Would You Say to an Atheist Who Claims to Lack a Worldview?
What Would You Say to an Atheist Who Claims to Lack a Worldview?
#STRask
July 17, 2025
Questions about how to handle a conversation with an atheist who claims to lack a worldview, and how to respond to someone who accuses you of being “s
What Would Be the Point of Getting Baptized After All This Time?
What Would Be the Point of Getting Baptized After All This Time?
#STRask
May 22, 2025
Questions about the point of getting baptized after being a Christian for over 60 years, the difference between a short prayer and an eloquent one, an
Is It Wrong to Feel Satisfaction at the Thought of Some Atheists Being Humbled Before Christ?
Is It Wrong to Feel Satisfaction at the Thought of Some Atheists Being Humbled Before Christ?
#STRask
June 9, 2025
Questions about whether it’s wrong to feel a sense of satisfaction at the thought of some atheists being humbled before Christ when their time comes,
Can You Really Say Evil Is Just a Privation of Good?
Can You Really Say Evil Is Just a Privation of Good?
#STRask
April 21, 2025
Questions about whether one can legitimately say evil is a privation of good, how the Bible can say sin and death entered the world at the fall if ang
Licona and Martin: A Dialogue on Jesus' Claim of Divinity
Licona and Martin: A Dialogue on Jesus' Claim of Divinity
Risen Jesus
May 14, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Mike Licona and Dr. Dale Martin discuss their differing views of Jesus’ claim of divinity. Licona proposes that “it is more proba
Jay Richards: Economics, Gender Ideology and MAHA
Jay Richards: Economics, Gender Ideology and MAHA
Knight & Rose Show
April 19, 2025
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose welcome Heritage Foundation policy expert Dr. Jay Richards to discuss policy and culture. Jay explains how economic fre
If Jesus Is God, Why Didn’t He Know the Day of His Return?
If Jesus Is God, Why Didn’t He Know the Day of His Return?
#STRask
June 12, 2025
Questions about why Jesus didn’t know the day of his return if he truly is God, and why it’s important for Jesus to be both fully God and fully man.  
If Sin Is a Disease We’re Born with, How Can We Be Guilty When We Sin?
If Sin Is a Disease We’re Born with, How Can We Be Guilty When We Sin?
#STRask
June 19, 2025
Questions about how we can be guilty when we sin if sin is a disease we’re born with, how it can be that we’ll have free will in Heaven but not have t
Do People with Dementia Have Free Will?
Do People with Dementia Have Free Will?
#STRask
June 16, 2025
Question about whether or not people with dementia have free will and are morally responsible for the sins they commit.   * Do people with dementia h
No One Wrote About Jesus During His Lifetime
No One Wrote About Jesus During His Lifetime
#STRask
July 14, 2025
Questions about how to respond to the concern that no one wrote about Jesus during his lifetime, why scholars say Jesus was born in AD 5–6 rather than
Are Works the Evidence or the Energizer of Faith?
Are Works the Evidence or the Energizer of Faith?
#STRask
June 30, 2025
Questions about whether faith is the evidence or the energizer of faith, and biblical support for the idea that good works are inevitable and always d
Full Preterism/Dispensationalism: Hermeneutics that Crucified Jesus
Full Preterism/Dispensationalism: Hermeneutics that Crucified Jesus
For The King
June 29, 2025
Full Preterism is heresy and many forms of Dispensationalism is as well. We hope to show why both are insufficient for understanding biblical prophecy
Bible Study: Choices and Character in James, Part 2
Bible Study: Choices and Character in James, Part 2
Knight & Rose Show
July 12, 2025
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose study James chapters 3-5, emphasizing taming the tongue and pursuing godly wisdom. They discuss humility, patience, and
What Evidence Can I Give for Objective Morality?
What Evidence Can I Give for Objective Morality?
#STRask
June 23, 2025
Questions about how to respond to someone who’s asking for evidence for objective morality, what to say to atheists who counter the moral argument for
Is It Problematic for a DJ to Play Songs That Are Contrary to His Christian Values?
Is It Problematic for a DJ to Play Songs That Are Contrary to His Christian Values?
#STRask
July 10, 2025
Questions about whether it’s problematic for a DJ on a secular radio station to play songs with lyrics that are contrary to his Christian values, and