Afraid Of Jesus

How could anyone be afraid of Jesus? He was opposed to evil of whatever sort. He abused no one. He only loved, supported and healed the hurting, especially those who society rejected. So how is it that Luke, a doctor no less, would record a litany of people in the book he wrote, who were terrified of Jesus? In Luke 8 we find that the disciples initially feared they would drown due to the terrible, raging Sea of Galilee. But when Jesus calmed the water, they became even more afraid of Him. They were terrified and said, “Who is this man? … When he gives a command, even the wind and waves obey him!” (v 25 NLT). When a group of demons saw Him, they shrieked and fell down in front of Him, screaming, “Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please, I beg of you, don’t torture me!” The citizens of Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for “a great wave of fear swept over them.” (Luke 8:28-38) They were afraid Jesus would take away the source of their income. When a woman touched the fringe of Jesus’ robe, He asked, who touched me? The woman began to tremble and fell to her knees before Him. How is it that so many people were afraid of Jesus, but we are not? Could it be we have misunderstood Him?

Psalms 111:10 reads, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (ESV) Perfect love casts out lesser fears (1 John 4:18) and teaches us to hug the appropriate fear of the Lord who commands waves, demons, and sickness to do His bidding. Hum… If we don’t fear and only love Him, are we missing something? How do we reconcile fearing Jesus and fully loving Him at the same time? Can both emotions exist within us at the same time? Or could it be there are two sides of the same coin?

Loving God and fearing Him come to a common result. If we love God, we will fear Him. If we fear Him as the Bible teaches, we will love Him. Jesus Himself said, “…I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear.” Luke 12:5 (NLT2) Could it be that the fear of God serves as a motivator to not turn away from Him? There is a type of fear where we don’t want to be close to someone and a type of fear where we don’t want to be separated from someone. It is the same way you may fear your mom or dad. You love them, but you often follow their rules out of fear of hurting them. Fearing God isn’t about being afraid but about acknowledging His ultimate power, which produces sobering awe.  Paradoxically, fearing God leads to intimacy, not distance. The Psalmist wrote, “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14 (ESV). The Bible portrays the relationship between loving and fearing God as complementary, not contradictory. One does not replace the other, but instead, they reinforce each other to create a whole and healthy relationship with God. We can be so focused on solving the problem of God’s fearsomeness with the gospel that we may not give people a chance to really let it sink in how deeply sinful they are or how fearsome God really is. Philippians 2;12b reads, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (ESV) Someone has said, there is a terror when outside of Christ and a different kind of trembling when in Christ.

Do you have a healthy fear of God or just love Him? I dare say if you only love Him, you are more vulnerable to breaking His heart due to false presumption of His grace. God is not tolerant of willful sinning. Think about that. Don’t be afraid of fearing Jesus.

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