Mark 5:15 And Fear

[Wynteriii]

Mark 5:15 (ESV)
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Am I right in thinking that that the fear expressed here is not one of awe and reverence but of actual fear?

 

[arapahoepark]

Mark 5:15 (ESV)
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

Am I right in thinking that that the fear expressed here is not one of awe and reverence but of actual fear?

It seems that is the case. After all was Isaiah not expressing fear but awesome reverence when God came to him? The Almighty Creator God who could crush you more easily than a squashing a bug is magnified when you see these acts and know you are but, a sinner.

 

[Wynteriii]

It just seems like there are two ways (off the top of my head) to interpret this verse. The people were either expressing a kind fear that we see in the OT with the "fear of the Lord" (awesome reverence) or they were afraid of Him(Christ) who cast out demons and killed some of the crowd's swine. Would they have begged Christ to leave if they were the former?

 

[Ask Mr. Religion]

If you recall the earlier stories of the healing of the demoniac and the calming of the seas, note that both ended with fear, in particular of the power of our Lord.

How many times have we heard the non-believer claiming that they would not believe unless God manifested Himself. Yet, as this passage indicates, the reality is that the unholy would not want such a dreadsome experience and, if having this encounter, would likely respond as indicated in John 1:11.

 

[whirlingmerc]

fear has a range of meanings

'perfect love casts out fear, he who fears is not perfected in love' 1 John - more like the demon fear, fear of reprisal

'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom' Proverbs - awe, reverence

 

[whirlingmerc]

As the movie "left Behind' approaches debut. one has to ask if it inspires the wrong kind of fear

 

[Wynteriii]

So, are we in agreement then that what the kind of fear expressed by the crowd in Mark 5:15 is not the kind expressed in Proverbs but the kind that Patrick writes about?

If you recall the earlier stories of the healing of the demoniac and the calming of the seas, note that both ended with fear, in particular of the power of our Lord.

How many times have we heard the non-believer claiming that they would not believe unless God manifested Himself. Yet, as this passage indicates, the reality is that the unholy would not want such a dreadsome experience and, if having this encounter, would likely respond as indicated in John 1:11.

So is there a point to be made about how the demoniac reacts to Christ and how the Crowd reacts? One is submission (bowing down or proskyneō the other being the crowds fear and begging for Christ to leave.

John 1:11 (ESV)
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.