And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do notbe afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:9, 10)
Rusty Kidder was a pretty tough-looking kid. He was in the ninth grade, I was a senior, and we met with book-flying results in the middle of the hallway. I was angry, embarrassed, and arrogant. A bad combination. So I demanded that he pick up MY books as well as his own. He refused. I blustered. He ignored.
We agreed to meet after school and resolve the dispute with fisticuffs.
But before the day ended, I remembered something important. Rusty had a big brother, Ted. Ted not only LOOKED tough, he WAS tough. He had been kicked out of school for violence. He had earned black belts in a number of martial arts. He nails for breakfast.
And I knew that Ted would end up avenging Rusty. Because that is what family does. No wonder Rusty wasn’t afraid of fighting a senior.
I apologized. And Rusty and I are now, years later, facebook friends.
Jesus calls His disciples brothers. Most commentaries that I checked called this a tender phrase. But I see it as protective. Jesus, the Brother, is a reason to stop being afraid.
Jesus tells the women at the empty tomb to go to the disciples and give them instructions. Stop fearing and go to Galilee. Up to this point they were hiding in Jerusalem. Afraid of the Roman soldiers. Afraid of the Jewish leaders. Afraid of their mocking friends. Afraid of the future.
And because He is family, He urges them to action. Stop hiding. Get to work. And fear not. He’s tougher than Ted.
Christians are all adopted into that family. Jesus is our Brother, too.
If we are huddling in our upper room, afraid, remember our Brother. If we are more aware of the powers of the enemies, remember our Brother. If we don’t know what to do, remember our Brother.
Fear not, because Jesus is your Brother.