Topic: Fear and Amazement (Mark 10:32)
There is a common pattern that occurs in everyone’s relationship with the Lord. The trend that happens over and over, and the one that is mentioned in Mark 10:32 is this: an individual will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and grow closer and stronger in their relationship with Him, and become excited about how God is moving and working in their life; but they also become accustomed to certain spiritual patterns, and get used to God working in familiar ways.
Then God will ask the person to do what they’re not used to doing. He might ask them to take a step of faith and do something that doesn’t make much sense; and out of fear of the unknown that person may refuse to press onward and trust God, and refuse to grow any more in their faith. At that point their relationship with the Lord starts to suffer.
Mark 10:32, “Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him.”
Throughout Mark’s gospel, people respond to Jesus with amazement and with fear. They were amazed when Jesus healed a man who could not walk. They were amazed when He said that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of God. They were amazed when He instructed them to return to Caesar the things that were Caesar’s.
The people were afraid when they realized that a man who had been possessed by a demon had been healed. The disciples were afraid when Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus, and we are told that their fear left them speechless. The people were “amazed” by what Jesus did and said because He challenged much of what they took for granted, and they were “afraid” of the power that He possessed.
So, we see a pattern emerge from these verses that we all tend to follow at some point in our response to Jesus Christ. I believe we can learn something about our relationship with the Lord by examining why we often react in this way. Since we all become “amazed” and “afraid,” what do these two words mean? The word “amaze” means sudden surprise, wonder or astonishment arising from something extraordinary, unexpected or unaccountable. The word “afraid” means impressed with fear or apprehension. So, how and why are we filled with sudden surprise at Jesus, and why does this sometimes lead to fear?
When we come to newfound spiritual truths, many times we get excited. We’re excited that God actually spoke to us and showed us His will, and we’re also excited that His will includes us. However, as time goes by and as we come to grips with the actual challenges that we’ll face, we become afraid. We become afraid because we think we can’t do what Jesus asks of us. We start only looking at our own inabilities, instead of looking to what God is able to do through us by His power. We face a crisis of belief and we become afraid, and many times that fear will cause us to stop dead in our tracks and refuse to press onward into God’s will.
I would suggest that to be “amazed and afraid” is the state of being in which two things are happening. First, a believer is able to recollect those times in their lives when they felt that God was very present. Secondly, it is also a time when a believer stands on the threshold of new, uncharted territory, a future which is hazy and uncertain. That is what it means to be “amazed and afraid.” The passage from Mark’s gospel speaks of a group of people who are somewhere in between their past, of which God was definitely a part, and their future, which is unknown and frightening. To be amazed and afraid is a mix of hope and fear.
In those moments push through in following Jesus. If you stop now, you will miss the resurrection of new life.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem