Afraid of Jesus
Who would be afraid of Jesus? Does that even make sense? For many the answers would be, “Surely no one would be afraid of Jesus” and “No, to be afraid of him makes no sense.” But not so quick.
Indeed, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, is the manifestation of God’s love for us. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul asked in his letter to the Romans (8:35). In his book to the Ephesians, he asked husbands to love their wives, “as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (5:25). John quotes Jesus as saying, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (15:9). Over and over, we are shown how much he loves us, including the Bible’s most famous verse, John 3:16, where we learn that God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus. Jesus epitomizes this love.
So, why would we fear this man? And yet, we find these references…
Jesus is in the boat with his disciples, crossing the Sea of Galilee, when a huge storm sweeps down the hills next to this lake and threatens to overtake them. Certainly, they were fearful of the storm. Jesus, meanwhile, is sleeping, exhausted from all the recent activity. The disciples wake him, Jesus surveys the situation and merely says, “Peace, be still.” The wind ceases, the waves are calm. Then Jesus asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Then we are told the disciples fear switches, from fear of the storm to fear of Jesus. “Who is this man, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” they ask.
They continue across the lake and when they arrive on the east side, Gentile territory, they are confronted by a demoniac, a man from the tombs possessed by demons. No one can constrain him, not even with chains, he roams among the tombs crying out and cutting himself. He comes and falls at the feet of Jesus. “What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most-high God? Do not torment me.” The demons ask to be cast into a herd of swine nearby and Jesus allows it. The pigs run into the sea. The herdsmen rush into the nearby city of Gadara. Leaders of the city come out to investigate and when they find the demoniac he is, “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind,” and we are told they were afraid (of Jesus). They beg Jesus to leave.
Jesus leaves and they return across the lake. Once back on the western shore he heals a woman of a disease when she touches him, and we’re told, “the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before Jesus.” Then he raises the daughter of Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue, from the dead! Jesus must tell them, “Do not fear, only believe.”
From one episode to the other, we find people afraid of Jesus. Why? I believe it’s because they are recognizing who he really is, the Son of God, and a healthy respect for God is needed, a fear that realizes we are sinful in his presence and powerless, needing to yield. This is not a feel-good love thing, but a proper understanding of who is in their midst. We need such a fear also.
Jesus would say it succinctly, “I tell you, friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:4, 5). God will cast no one into hell who does fear him and yields to him in faith-filled living with Jesus as Lord. He epitomizes love, but there’s a real sense that we need to be afraid of Jesus! He will one day come in judgement (Acts 17:31 etc.).
Indeed, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, is the manifestation of God’s love for us. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” Paul asked in his letter to the Romans (8:35). In his book to the Ephesians, he asked husbands to love their wives, “as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (5:25). John quotes Jesus as saying, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love” (15:9). Over and over, we are shown how much he loves us, including the Bible’s most famous verse, John 3:16, where we learn that God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus. Jesus epitomizes this love.
So, why would we fear this man? And yet, we find these references…
Jesus is in the boat with his disciples, crossing the Sea of Galilee, when a huge storm sweeps down the hills next to this lake and threatens to overtake them. Certainly, they were fearful of the storm. Jesus, meanwhile, is sleeping, exhausted from all the recent activity. The disciples wake him, Jesus surveys the situation and merely says, “Peace, be still.” The wind ceases, the waves are calm. Then Jesus asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” Then we are told the disciples fear switches, from fear of the storm to fear of Jesus. “Who is this man, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” they ask.
They continue across the lake and when they arrive on the east side, Gentile territory, they are confronted by a demoniac, a man from the tombs possessed by demons. No one can constrain him, not even with chains, he roams among the tombs crying out and cutting himself. He comes and falls at the feet of Jesus. “What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most-high God? Do not torment me.” The demons ask to be cast into a herd of swine nearby and Jesus allows it. The pigs run into the sea. The herdsmen rush into the nearby city of Gadara. Leaders of the city come out to investigate and when they find the demoniac he is, “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind,” and we are told they were afraid (of Jesus). They beg Jesus to leave.
Jesus leaves and they return across the lake. Once back on the western shore he heals a woman of a disease when she touches him, and we’re told, “the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before Jesus.” Then he raises the daughter of Jairus, a leader in the local synagogue, from the dead! Jesus must tell them, “Do not fear, only believe.”
From one episode to the other, we find people afraid of Jesus. Why? I believe it’s because they are recognizing who he really is, the Son of God, and a healthy respect for God is needed, a fear that realizes we are sinful in his presence and powerless, needing to yield. This is not a feel-good love thing, but a proper understanding of who is in their midst. We need such a fear also.
Jesus would say it succinctly, “I tell you, friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:4, 5). God will cast no one into hell who does fear him and yields to him in faith-filled living with Jesus as Lord. He epitomizes love, but there’s a real sense that we need to be afraid of Jesus! He will one day come in judgement (Acts 17:31 etc.).