Another excellent biblical example of worship we find in Matthew 28:9. It reads:
And behold, Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
We know that God alone deserves to be worshiped. Interesting it is then, that Jesus doesn’t correct them after they worship him. All he says in response is, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
I want to point out a couple of things about this text. First is that this occurs when Jesus appears to them after his resurrection. This is a moment of awe. In fact, this is a moment that probably surpasses awe. This is a moment that’s too much for words even. There’s no way to express how they are feeling in words. All they can do is bow before him and tremble.
This is worship.
He has surpassed their expectations. In the resurrection, he’s accomplished something well beyond anything they could have imagined. His power. His holiness. His sovereignty. His reign. His rule over the powers of darkness and the reign of death in the world. This is more than anything they could have imagined. He was redefining existence altogether. He was redefining what it meant to be human in this world. They were expecting something totally different. He blew them away to the point that all they can do is worship.
Jesus tells them “Do not fear.” Why does he say this? Because what he’s done is so incomprehensible that it inspires fear; fear of the unknown. He’s burst apart their expectations to such a degree that they just cannot comprehend what’s happening. This shakes them to the core. This is the kind of work Jesus wishes to do in our lives.
Again, this is a moment of worship.
Concerning the notion of fear in the gospels, have you ever noticed that the demons were afraid of Jesus? Every time he came into their presence they begged for mercy. They were scared. But why? They were afraid of him because they knew who he was and what he was capable of! They were fully aware of his authority over all. They didn’t question his authority to restore life and drive out evil and darkness. The disciples, on the other hand, didn’t fully comprehend who he was at first and certainly not what he was capable of. The difference between the two (demon and disciples) is that the disciples, when realizing who he was (God), they responded with worship. The demons respond by running for the hills.
I think that when Jesus returns this is what it will be like. When he’s revealed in all his glory before the world, it will be so incredible that it will make people afraid. Some will respond with worship, others will respond by running for cover. Either way, he is one to be worshiped. He’s the King.
So what can we understand about worship through this passage? Worship is when we arrive at a moment when we’re overcome, beyond words, because of Jesus surmounting our expectations of who he is and what he’s capable of that all we can do is fall to our knees and tremble. He Is God. Worship is a moment of deep, transforming revelation.
