And do not be afraid of those who can kill your body but not your soul. Instead, fear Him [i.e., God] who is able to destroy both your soul and body in hell. [See note on 5:29].

When the disciples saw Him walking on the water they became frightened, saying, "It is a spirit!" and cried out with fear.

So, they sent their disciples, [along] with the Herodians to Him [Note: These were members of a political party favoring King Herod], saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and that you teach the truth about God's way. You do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone or allow the position of any person to influence you.

And the guards shook with fear at seeing him, and became as dead men.

So, they left the grave site quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to give the message to His disciples.

But the woman became afraid and trembled with fear, for she knew what had happened to her [i.e., the healing], so she came and fell down in front of Jesus and told Him the whole truth.

And when they arrived, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and [that you] do not care for [i.e., do not fear or give in to] anyone. For you do not allow [the position of] any person to influence you, but teach the truth about God's way. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?

Zacharias became disturbed when he saw the angel and was gripped by fear.

that we would be delivered from the [destructive] hand of our enemies and [then] serve Him without fear

Then everyone was gripped with fear and gave honor to God, saying, " [Surely] a great prophet has arisen among us and God's [presence] has come to His people."

Then all the people around the district of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their area because they were gripped with great fear. So, He entered a boat and returned.

And when the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling [with fear] and fell down in front of Him, declaring before all the people why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed.

But I am warning you about whom you should fear. Fear the One [i.e., God] who, after He has killed [i.e., the body], has power to throw [you] into hell [See note on Matt. 5:29]. Yes, I tell you, fear Him.

Men will become despondent from fear, and from dreading the [terrible] things which will come upon the earth, for the forces of the heavens will be shaken.

But the other criminal spoke harshly to the first one, saying, "Do you not even have any fear of God [left], since you [too] are experiencing the same sentence of condemnation?

For every person who practices evil things hates the light [of truth] and does not come to it, for fear of having his deeds exposed [as sinful].

However, no one said anything about Him openly for fear of the Jews.

However, even many [Jewish] leaders believed in Him, but did not admit it, for fear of being expelled from the synagogue.

After this happened, one of Jesus' disciples (but secretly, for fear of the Jews), named Joseph from Arimathaea, asked Pilate if he could remove Jesus' body [from the cross]. Pilate granted him permission, so he went and removed the body from the cross.

So, when it was evening on that day, [which was] the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday] and the doors [of someone's house], where the disciples were gathered, were closed [i.e., probably locked] for fear of the Jewish authorities, Jesus came and stood among them. [Note: Probably Jesus passed through the closed door miraculously]. He said to them, "May there be peace in your hearts."

When Ananias heard these words he fell dead [instantly] and his spirit left his body, [causing] everyone who heard [about it] to be gripped with fear.

So, the whole church and everyone else who heard about these things were filled with great fear.

I am the God of your forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.' Moses shook with fear, not [even] wanting to look [at the bush].

The jailor called for torches [to be brought], then rushed in [to the cell block], shaking with fear, and fell down [on his knees] before Paul and Silas.

For you did not receive the Holy Spirit, to enslave you again to fear, [Note: Some translators take "Holy Spirit" here to be "spirit," making the verse say "you did not receive the spirit of slavery"], but you received the Holy Spirit [who produces] sonship, so we can call out, "Abba", [which means] "Father."

Now the Lord [i.e., Christ] is the Holy Spirit, and there is freedom [from the bondage of sin and fear] wherever the Spirit of the Lord is.

See how the very fact that you were made sorry from a godly motive has produced earnestness in you! [It produced] a desire to vindicate yourselves [i.e., by making amends for your wrongdoing]; an attitude of just anger [i.e., toward the wrongdoers]; a sense of fear [i.e., a fear of God for doing wrong]; an eager desire [i.e., to do the right thing]; a zeal [i.e., to correct problems]; and an attitude of avenging [i.e., that punished the wrongdoer]. You demonstrated in everything [you did] that you were pure [i.e., innocent] in this matter. [Note: This whole description of their conduct appears to be a reference to the incident mentioned in 2:1-11].

And he has great affection for you when he remembers how obedient all of you were [i.e., obedient to his or Paul's instructions to the church], and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling [i.e., with a respectful, submissive spirit].

For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus' brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him].

And most of the brothers in the Lord's [service], through my imprisonment, gained confidence to speak out God's message with greater courage and without fear.

So then, my dear ones, just as you people were always obedient [to my teaching] when I was there with you, so now, in my absence [also], be [obedient] all the more. [Continue to] complete your own salvation [i.e., by living faithfully to the end. See Rom. 13:11] with fear and trembling [i.e., with a reverent and submissive spirit],

And [also He could] release all of those people who, because of their fear of death, were [kept] in bondage all their lives.

So, as long as God's promise of entering into a state of rest with Him [still] remains, we should fear that someone among you will appear [in the end] to have fallen short of [attaining] it. [Note: In this section "entering into rest" refers to Israel entering Canaan (verses 6, 8) and to Christians entering heaven (verses 3, 9). The "Sabbath day rest" is represented as a type of both].

And the sight [of all these things] was so terrifying that Moses said [See Deut. 9:19], "I tremble with fear."

You believe that there is [only] one God; that is good! Even the demons believe [that], and they shudder [with fear at the thought].

There is no [reason for] fear if one [really] loves, but a complete love removes fear [from us] because fear produces punishment [i.e., mental anxiety], and the person who is [always] afraid does not have a complete love.

These people are like rotten spots [contaminating the food] at your love feasts, while they gorge themselves without fear [i.e., unashamed of their selfish indulgence]. [Note: This passage may mean "like selfish shepherds, looking out only for themselves, they eat the grain set out for the animals"]. They are like clouds that blow over without producing rain; [they are like] trees in the fall that do not produce any fruit and have been uprooted, [thus] being dead twice [i.e., fruitless and rootless].

you should save others [from hell, as though you were] snatching them out of the fire. And you should show pity toward some people, [coupled] with a fear [of the consequences of sin], hating the clothing contaminated by a physical sore [i.e., hating sin so much as to avoid it at all costs].

And he said [to them] in a loud voice, "Fear God and honor Him, for the time has come for Him to judge people. Worship Him who made the heaven, the earth, the ocean and the springs of water."

O Lord, who will not fear [you] and honor your name, for only you are holy? [So], all the nations will come and worship in front of you, for your righteous deeds have been revealed."

They will stand far away, out of fear over her torment [Note: They will keep their distance for fear of becoming involved in the torment themselves], saying, 'It is too bad for the great, strong city of Babylon! Your judgment has come in a single hour.'

The store owners who sold these things and were made wealthy from her [i.e., from the prosperous trade with Babylon] will stand far away, out of fear over her [See verse 10], crying and mourning,