"Be Of Good Cheer!"

Matthew 9: 2; 9: 22; 14: 27; John 16:33; Acts 23:11

This sermon is about five familiar pictures in the New Testament.

The first is in Matthew 9: 2: " Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven."
These words were said to a man sick of the palsy who had been carried by his friends
into the presence of Jesus.
These words were said to a man physically trembling and troubled in heart
by the consciousness of sin.

The second picture is found in Matthew 9: 22: " Daughter, be of good comfort;
thy faith hath made thee whole."
These words were said to a woman struggling to reach Jesus due to the pressure of the crowd,
and troubled by 12 years of suffering.
She had 12 years of physical pain, and an illness which had ostracized her from
the company of others.

The third passage of scripture is in Matthew 14:27: " Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."
This third occurrence is that of a company of disciples in the mist of difficulties
which had arisen as they were doing what Jesus had told them to do.
Jesus had told them to board their boat, and go toward the shore on the other side.
On their journey across the sea, the wind was contrary, and the waves were high and threatening.

Here experienced fishermen are suddenly confronted by a new and nameless terror,
a ghost, moving on the waters toward them.

The fourth passage is found in John 16:33: " Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
The disciples had come face to face with three facts that were frightening to them.

First, was the fact that of their Lord's approaching departure in a manner that
they could not understand, and going to a place about which they knew nothing.
The second fear was that of the antagonism of the world to Jesus and to His teachings,
and that such antagonism would be transferred to them after His departure if they remained
loyal to Him.
The third fear was that of their own evident weakness.
It is a picture of a group of men who are troubled by the fear of the future.

The fifth passage is found in Acts 23:11: "Be of good cheer: for as thou hast testified
concerning me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
This last picture is that of a servant of God in prison who had been rescued from a mob
the day before, and who would be threatened by a new conspiracy tomorrow,
and troubled by the force of circumstances which hindered the progress of his service.

In all of these instances, we must notice that the central fact is not that of the troubled souls.
The central fact is that of Christ, and what He said to these people.
In each case, He challenged the fear, and uttered a call to courage,
and gave His reason for doing so.

The call of Jesus is "Be of good cheer."

In reading the New Testament, you will discover that these are the only occasions on which
there is any record of Jesus using these expressions.
Also, we need to recognize that no one else is ever recorded to have used exactly the same
expression in addressing people.
The word is almost peculiar to Christ.

We see it in the writings of Paul in certain applications; but this personal, direct, and
immediate call to be of good cheer was that of the Lord Himself.
So, it is important that we should see what He really did say.

In the King James Version the translation is, "Be of good cheer."
In each case, with one exception, which was His speech to the woman, the translators
of the King James version rendered the words of Jesus as, "Be of good comfort."

There is something comforting and hopeful about that word, "comfort,"
but we will see that it is not exactly what our Lord said.
When that word is translated that way, it causes us to miss the deepest value of the word.
" Be of good cheer" suggests the results rather than the cause.

The actual word which our Lord used to describe the cause, and this left us to discover the result.
There is another word in the New Testament for cheerfulness.
When Paul wrote, " the fruit of the Spirit is ... joy."
The thought is that of cheerfulness.

But that is not the word here.
Cheerfulness will be the outcome of what Christ commanded, but He did not command
men to be cheerful.
He never dealt with the surface of things.
He never told people to smile when they were in agony.
He dealt with the underlying agony, and then, He called men to an attitude of soul
which would make cheerfulness possible.

The word Jesus uses indicates, courage, rather than cheerfulness.
It indicates courage more as a feeling rather than an action.
"Be of good courage" rather than, " Do a courageous thing."

Our Lord did not say, "Forget your trouble by doing something."
That may help for the moment, but the trouble returns when the activity ceases.

The word that our Lord said to the man, to the woman, to the disciples, and to the
imprisoned apostle, was a word suggestive of that strength of heart which it is the
inspiration of daring and also the reason for cheerfulness.
The call is a call to freedom from fear, and to an absolute assurance of safety.

Now that we have seen the actual meaning of the Lord's word, let's look at these
pictures again to discover what Christ meant in each case.

First, we have someone whose conscience is troubled by sin; and to that man Jesus said:
" Do not have any fear, be of good courage."

Then, there is a woman whose heart is trembling and who has suffered for years,
and has become destitute.
And to that woman, Jesus said, " Have no fear; be of good courage;
there is nothing to be afraid of.

Then, look at those men on board their boat.
These men were accustomed to storms that would suddenly rushed upon the waters.
That night, their fear was not that of the storm, but it was of a ghostly figure moving across
the waters toward them.
They did not know what it was, and they were terrified.
And Jesus said, " Do not be afraid. Do not panic. Be at peace. Be of good courage."

Then, look at the group in that upper room.
They were filled with spiritual aspiration, but they were threatened by the opposition
of those who were angry with Jesus, and were about to crucify Him.
That little group of men in the upper room saw that Jesus was leaving.
They had hoped that He would always be with them.
But to be without Him, and have all those powerful forces against them filled them
with fear of what was going to happen in the future.
He said, " Be of good courage. There is nothing to fear. Do not be afraid."

And then, we come to Paul who was troubled because he was a prisoner in chains.
He was in prison, and his mission for Christ was being hindered.
It was in the night that the Lord suddenly spoke to him, and said: " Be of good courage."
He was telling Paul that there is nothing of which .
He need not be afraid of neither the mob of yesterday, nor the conspiracy of tomorrow,
therefore be of good courage.

Now just saying, "Be of good courage" doesn't help much.
If Christ is going to help us, He must give us a reason for courage.
That brings us to the central value of this message which are the arguments of Christ
as we will find them in these stories.

Christ had one amazing argument with which to confront fear, and that was Himself!
There is nothing more to say.
To every force that challenges our souls, He, Himself, will oppose them.

Jesus never minimizes the forces that oppose us.
So, here is something we should think of and remember.

To the man sick of the palsy, He did not say, "You are mistaken about this palsy.
You don't have it."
He did not say, "There is no such thing as sin, so cheer up."

Jesus did not minimize the fact of sin.
He did not tell the woman who is in the grip of illness for 12 years that it was all in her head,
and so she should just make up her mind that there was nothing wrong with her.

Jesus did not laugh at His disciples because they were afraid of a ghost.
He didn't even rebuke them for that fear.

He didn't tell the men in the upper room that there was nothing in the world opposing them.
He knew its lure, its subtlety, and its insidiousness.

He did not tell Paul that the opposition was nothing.

Christ did not, and does not, minimize the reality of the antagonistic forces which
await us and confront us.
No, what He did in each case was to place Himself between the assaulted soul
and the assaulting foe.

Let's again look at the stories.

To the man sick of the palsy, Jesus said: "Thy sins are forgiven."
The rulers immediately objected: " This man blasphemeth ... Who can forgive sins but One,
even God?"

To this objection the Lord replied, "Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
For whither is easier to say, thy sins be forgiven, or to say, arise, and walk?
But that ye may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins
(then saith He to the sick of the palsy)
Arise, and take up by bed, and go unto thy house; and immediately he took up his bed,
and departed."

The man took up his bed, and walked.
This was the demonstration of the fact that Christ had dealt with the principle of evil
and sin as He did when He said, "Thy sins are forgiven."
Jesus stood between the sins that assaulted the soul of that man and the man himself.

To the woman, Jesus said: "Thy faith have made thee whole," and before He said it,
she was healed.
His power came between her and the assaults of her limitation and pain, and He canceled them,
and vanished them, and gave her a healthy life of joy.
"Daughter, be of good courage."
Jesus was saying to her that her need is supplied.

Look at the men as they are crossing the sea.
Imagine the terror and fear on their faces as they gazed at the strange, mysterious ghost
moving slowly toward them over the storm-tossed waters.
Christ challenged that fear in the words, "Be of good cheer; it is I."
" It, the ghost, is I"
That is all that is needed.

To the men in the upper room who are afraid of the forces of the world that would be
against them, He said, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
He is telling them that He has overcome, and that He has conquered the world,
and that there is no need for them to be afraid of it.
He was saying you will find in fellowship with Me that which shall minister to all your needs.

And finally, in the quietness and silence of the prison, Jesus stood between His servant,
and the brutality of the mob, and, He was the argument for courage.

As you study to these different stories, you'll find a suggestion of sequence in them.
First, be of good courage because of your sins are forgiven by the Redeemer.

Then, you can be of good courage because all your weakness and limitations can be supplied
by the virtue and the power that comes from Jesus Christ.

Then, when your soul is assaulted by some mystery, be of good courage and rest assured
that out of the heart of every mystery, Jesus will emerge.

Then, when the forces of materialism and of worldliness are opposing your soul,
and you are conscious of the difficulty of loyalty to Christ, be of good courage
because He has overcome.

Then, when you are devoted to high purposes and holy service, you are baffled, beaten,
prevented, and hindered, be of good courage for in the silence of the night, He will assure you.

So in everything, we look unto Jesus who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
So to every trembling, terrified, and troubled soul -- look to Jesus!
Keep your eyes focused and fastened upon Jesus, and you will hear Him say,
"Be of good courage!"

"Surrounded by a host of foes,
Stormed by a host of foes within,
Nor swift to flee, nor strong to oppose,
Single, against hell, earth, and sin,
Single, yet undismayed, I am;
I dare believe in Jesus' name.

What though a thousand hosts engage
A thousand worlds, my soul to shake?
I have a shield shall quell their rage,
And drive the alien armies back,
Portrayed it bears a bleeding Lamb;
I dare believe in Jesus' name.

Me I retrieve from Satan's hands,
Me from this evil world to free,
To purge my sins, and loose my bands,
And save from all iniquity,
My Lord and God from heaven He came;
I dare believe in Jesus' name."
-- unknown

Sermon based on a sermon by G. Campbell Morgan from the Westminister Pulpit.