Don’t Be Afraid; Jesus Is Coming

Don’t Be Afraid; Jesus Is Coming

As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding.” –Daniel 9:21-22

We struggled in the process of naming our son Gabriel. We wanted his name to be as significant and meaningful as Hope had been for our daughter, but uniquely his own. David sent out an e-mail the day Gabriel was born, saying, “We chose his name because we believe that he, like the angel Gabriel, is sent from God. We will not be surprised if he has heavenly messages for us to hear, if we will listen. And significantly, whenever Gabriel appeared in the Bible, he reassured his stunned audience: ‘Don’t be afraid!’ ”

In the Old Testament book of Daniel, God sent the angel Gabriel to explain to Daniel the meaning of a vision. Gabriel explained the imagery in the dream and the future restoration of God’s people, which included the coming of the Anointed One—Jesus. Then, in Luke 1, Gabriel came to Zechariah, an elderly priest in the Temple, telling him that his wife would bear a son, John, who would “precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival” (1:17). And again in Luke 1, God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary, telling her that she would have a son, Jesus, who would be “very great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (1:32).

Gabriel’s message is always the same. It’s Jesus. “Don’t be afraid; Jesus is coming.” For Daniel and his people, held captive in a godless land, hope was found in the revelation that Jesus was coming. For Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, disappointed and disgraced by life, hope came in the angel’s promise that Jesus was coming. And Mary, confused, disturbed, and frightened about the future, was filled with hope in the holy confidence that Jesus was coming. And for you and me, as we listen for God in the midst of our pain, the message is the same: Jesus. Don’t be afraid as you face the future. Jesus is coming.

I suppose some had hoped for some supernatural message from our little angel, Gabriel—perhaps something we’d never heard before. But because God has a message he wants us to hear, he sent more than an angel or a baby—he sent his own Son. “The Word became human and lived here on earth among us” (John 1:14). Jesus is the ultimate articulation of God’s love for you and me. Jesus is everything God wants to say to us.

Jesus, I believe you are coming, and it takes away my fear.

DIGGING DEEPER