There is such a thing as good fear. For example, you should be afraid of what you might experience if you touch a hot iron. Some of us had to learn this the hard way. That is a fear that protects you from injury.

But there is also such a thing as bad fear. Fearing the wrong thing, for the wrong reasons. It can present itself in all kinds of ways, but it becomes especially damaging when you allow this fear to control your emotions and decisions, to the point of panic and irrationality. Instead, what you want is to fear the right thing, for the right reasons, so that you can respond to life situations the right way.

As we go through our text this week in Mark 11:27-12:12, we’re going to see how the religious leaders are afraid of the wrong thing. They fear how the crowd might respond to their dislike of Jesus, so they carefully approach their every move with him. Rather than fearing the Son of God who stood before them, they feared losing control of the situation (as if they ever had control) and feared what people might think of them. They could have spared themselves a great deal of trouble if they had simply stopped resisting Jesus and opened themselves up to him. Of course, all of this was divinely orchestrated by God and would soon bring Jesus to the cross, but there are some things for us to learn in this.

Series: The Gospel of Mark

Message: By What Authority

Text: Mark 11:27-12:12

Patrice Charade

Harvest Alliston

November 23, 2025

When I rightly fear the Son of God, I will…

…stop resisting him (11:27-33)

Mark 1:7-8

…start honouring him (12:1-9)

From a commentary on the book of Mark:

1) Know and appreciate that God is longsuffering.

2) Grasp and be saddened by human depravity.

3) Rejoice that God is just.

Romans 5:9

…marvel at his glory (12:10-12)