Afraid of dying? Hebrews speaks to it

Mark: Every time I walk past a hospital, my chest gets tight. This one's for you too, if you feel that. Can anyone really stop being afraid of dying?

Sarah: I feel that too. There's a passage in Hebrews 2 about fear of death, so let's read it together.

Scripture: Since then the children have shared in flesh and blood, he also himself in the same way partook of the same, that through death he might bring to nothing him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might deliver all of them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Mark: Okay. But I've wondered why Jesus would go through death himself.

Sarah: I don't have every answer, but the passage around it says he's not ashamed to call those who are sanctified his brothers, and that he was made like his brothers in all things.

Mark: But I'm still scared, honestly. Does the fear just vanish if I believe the right thing?

Sarah: Maybe not overnight, and I'd never promise that. But this passage says he shared our flesh and blood so that through death he might deliver those held in bondage by fear of death. I need that too.

Mark: You might expect a list of rules. What would a first step even look like?

Sarah: Try one honest sentence: God, I'm scared, and I want to know you. Carry this today: Hebrews 2:14-15 speaks about fear of death. My door's open.