But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid Zacharias, for your earnest prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will give birth to a son and you will name him John.

Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid Mary, for you have received favor from God.

Then all those who lived in the area became afraid; and people were talking about all these things throughout the entire hill country of Judea.

[Suddenly] an angel from the Lord [was seen] standing near them and the glorious presence of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid.

And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for look, I am bringing good news that will cause great joy to all people.

Simon's partners James and John, sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. So, Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will catch people."

Then He said to the disciples, "Where is your faith?" They became afraid and were amazed, saying to one another, "Who can this [man] be, that he can even command the winds and the water and they obey him?"

People went out to see [i.e., to find out] what had happened. And [when] they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the evil spirits had been driven out sitting down at Jesus' feet with his clothes on and perfectly sane, they were afraid.

But when Jesus heard this, He said [to the man], "Do not be afraid. Just believe [i.e., in my power to restore your daughter] and she will be made well [i.e., restored to life]."

And while he was speaking, a cloud appeared and engulfed them and the apostles were afraid as Moses and Elijah entered the cloud [i.e., and disappeared].

But they did not understand what He was talking about, for it was hidden from them, so that they would not understand its meaning. And they were afraid to ask Him about what He had said.

And I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who can kill your body and after that can do nothing more.

[God even knows] the number of hairs on your head [Note: The average full head of hair has approximately 25,000 hairs]. [So], do not be afraid, for you are [much] more valuable than many sparrows.

" [And], do not be afraid, little flock [Note: Jesus refers to His small band of disciples as sheep following Him as their Shepherd], for your Father was pleased to give you the kingdom.

for I was afraid of you, knowing you are a hard man to deal with and that you pick up [and keep] something you did not lay down [i.e., lose], and you harvest a crop that you did not plant.'

And when you hear of wars and uprisings [going on], do not be afraid, for such things must necessarily happen first. But the end will not come right away." [Note: By "the end" here Jesus probably alludes to the downfall of Jerusalem, in AD 70, with its attending destruction of the Temple buildings].

And the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses were looking for a way to kill Jesus because they were afraid of the people [i.e., that people would riot if it were done during the Festival. See Matt. 26:5].