Awe-Inspiring Words from Saints Luke, John and Paul
Awe-Inspiring Words from Saints Luke, John and Paul.
“And the believers were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to community life, to the breaking of bread in common meals together, and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a deep sense of reverent awe (“phobeo”); and many wonders and miracles were taking place through the apostles; and all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42-43).
AWE: To encounter vastness, something beyond one’s frame of reference, outside of one’s mental grasp; inspires a profound curiosity, a desire to stretch into and explore the source of the awe; surrendering reverently to something greater than oneself; an outward-focused sense of wonder and astonishment; not just a momentary feeling, but a spiritual way of life; is a measurable neurological event that gradually rewires the human brain.
Awesome? Is there a word that has been more trivialized these days than the word “awesome?” I confess that I have unthinkingly become a culprit in this misuse of what is a wonder-full word. Awesome seems to be in the air and ready to escape the lips of practically everyone, describing everything from a hamburger to a TV show, from a dollar store to a restaurant, from a celebrity to a superstar. But the word itself means something vast that is worthy of awe and wonder and astonishment. So let’s get picky here… Really now, isn’t the Lord God, the Creator of the universe, the only one who could be worthy of awesome? In our common experience here on planet earth, it would seem wise to leave a reserved seat for awesome, front row, center aisle, in the worship section. Maybe we could think up some reasonable synonyms for awesome, like tremendous, terrific, superb, fantastic, spectacular, extraordinary, or even sublime or really cool. But I propose that we reserve the word awesome for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Aspects of Awe will be studied in this blog series as we consider the biblical quality of awe to be a diamond with a lot of facets. We’ll be looking at awesomeness in the Hebrew Bible, in the Gospels, and how the experience of awe affects our brain. Yes, to be in awe is a neurological event as well as a spiritual one.
Awe in the Hebrew Bible. Awe turned out to be a rather common experience in ancient Judaism and the Old Testament. The Hebrew word most used for awe is “yare,” which is often translated as “fear” and has a wide spectrum of meanings. Yare could be used for extreme terror when facing danger, or for reverent awe before the Lord; for withdrawing in fear from something vastly superior, or approaching God in adoration and wonder; an experience that leads to fleeing in dread or worshipping in reverence. Yare could signify escape from danger or obedience out of profound respect. Yare is used almost 400 times in the Hebrew Bible, and its meaning depends on the context. Awe in the OT could be a temporary emotional experience or a more permanent attitude in one’s walk with God. For the most part though, apparently starting with Abraham, yare and the fear of God came to mean awestruck adoration, reverent devotion, profound respect, fearful honor, and loyal obedience as a result of such awe of God. Biblical awe will be studied in the lives of many faithful heroes in the Hebrew Bible who were happy to be awed and to use the word awesome… from Abraham to Jacob; from Moses to David; from Solomon to Isaiah; from Habakkuk to Malachi. As we’ll see, these stalwarts knew how to use the word “awesome!”
Awe in the Gospels and Epistles. People during Jesus’ ministry were constantly awe-struck by Him. One can accurately say that Jesus had a truly awesome ministry. Those who were fortunate enough to see Him in action experienced all the different forms of awe… they were astonished beyond measure (“ekplesso“); completely amazed (“thaumazo“); flabbergasted with wonder (“existemi“); or filled with reverent fearfulness (“phobeo“ or “phobos“). We will look closely at every gospel passage in which those aspects of awe are used to express the awesomeness of Christ.
St. Luke is an Awestruck Reporter:
“When Zechariah saw the angel, he was startled and overwhelmed with awestruck fear (“phobos“).”(Luke 1:12);
“Surprise followed surprise: Zechariah’s mouth was opened immediately and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. A deep reverential awe (“phobos“) settled over the neighborhood and in all the Judean hill country. People talked about nothing else.” (Luke 1:64-65);
“Then Jesus came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. Jesus said, ‘Young man, I tell you, get up!’ The dead son immediately sat up and began talking. And Jesus presented him to his mother. All the eyewitnesses were filled with awestruck wonder (“phobos“), and they began praising God, saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us! God has come to help His people!” (Luke 7:14-16);
“And the believers were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to community life, to the breaking of bread in common meals together, and to prayer. And everyone kept feeling a deep sense of reverent awe (“phobeo“); and many wonders and miracles were taking place through the apostles; and all those who had believed were together and had all things in common.” (Acts 2:42-43).
“When Ananias heard Peter’s words, he fell down dead. And everyone who heard about it were awestruck and terrified (“phobos“)… Instantly Sapphira fell down dead at Peter’s feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband Ananias. A fearful awe (“phobos“) came upon the whole church and over all who heard these things.” (Acts 5:5,11);
“So the church all over the country – Judea, Samaria, Galilee – enjoyed peace and unity, and it continued to grow. They were permeated with an awestruck sense of reverence (“phobos“) for the Lord. The Holy Spirit was with them, comforting and encouraging them as they increased and prospered wonderfully.” (Acts 9:31);
“Peter fairly exploded with his good news: ‘It’s God’s own truth, and I am learning now that God plays no favorites! It doesn’t matter where you come from, for in every nation whoever reveres God in awe (“phobos“) and does what is right is accepted by Him!” (Acts 10:34-35);
“Then the demon-possessed man went berserk. He jumped the exorcists, beat them up, and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could. When this became known to the Greeks and Jews living in Ephesus, they were all seized with awestruck fear (“phobos“), and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted and held in high honor.” (Acts 19:16-17).
St. Paul is an Awestruck Encourager:
‘There is no worshipful fear (“phobos“) of God before their eyes. They have not learned to stand in awestruck reverence before Him. In fact, they don’t give God the time of day.” (Romans 3:8);
“Therefore, since we are living into an awestruck reverence (“phobos“) for the Lord and understand the importance of obedience and worship, we work hard to persuade others to reconcile with Him. But what we are is clear to God, and He knows we are sincere. I hope that in your consciences you too know us as we really are.” (2 Corinthians 5:11);
“Therefore, dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, striving to be completely holy by living in awestruck reverence (“phobos“) of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1);
“Submit to each other, placing yourselves under each other’s authority because of your awestruck reverence (“phobos“) for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21).
‘Since we are receiving our rights to an unshakeable kingdom, we should be extremely thankful and offer God the purest worship that delights His heart as we lay down our lives in absolute surrender, filled with reverent awe (“phobo“). For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29, maybe Paul).
St. John is an Awestruck Eyewitness:
“They each held the harps of God and they were singing the song of Moses, God’s servant, and the song of the Lamb… ‘Mighty and marvelous are Your miracles, Lord Yahweh, God Almighty! Righteous and true are Your ways, O Sovereign King of the ages! Who will not reverence You with awe (“phobos“), O Lord, and bring glory to Your name! For You alone are holy, and all nations will come and bow in worship before You, as Your blessings have been revealed!” (Revelations 15:3-4);
“Then the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell facedown and worshipped God, who sits on the throne, saying in agreement, ‘Amen! Hallelujah!’ Then a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his loving servants and all who reverence Him in awe and honor Him (“phobos“), those who are lowly and those who are great!” (Revelations 19:4-5).