Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
The speaker connects the 12 memorial stones from “the midst of the river” to Jesus choosing 12 apostles as enduring “stones” that preserve “the faith once delivered,” then argues if Israel feared Joshua the type, “how much more should we fear” Jesus—what would “fear” of the risen Christ look like in daily decisions and church life today, and where does modern evangelical emphasis on comfort and assurance potentially dull that fear?
Another way to ask: What would it look like to “fear” the risen Jesus in your everyday choices and in church life today? How might a focus on comfort and assurance make that fear weaker in modern evangelical churches?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, fearing the risen Christ means responding to Him with deep reverence, obedience, and seriousness because He is the greater fulfillment of Joshua and “lives among us forever.” The transcript doesn’t discuss evangelical comfort directly, but it implies fear is dulled when we reduce holy realities to “symbols” and lose a sense of Christ’s active presence.
- Joshua’s memorial stones become a lasting witness: they were to answer children’s questions, “a memorial…forever,” declaring God’s power.
- He connects the twelve stones to the apostles: Jesus “also chose 12 stones or apostles…entrusted to them his teachings…authority to baptize…establish the church.”
- He emphasizes apostolic endurance: “These rocks…have stood the test of time,” connecting us to “the faith once delivered to the saints.”
- Joshua was “magnified,” and Israel “feared him…as they did Moses,” showing fear as respect and recognition of God’s authority.
- The greater point: “if the nation of Israel feared the type, how much more should we fear…the one who…deliver[ed] us from Satan and the power of sin…Jesus…lives among us forever.”