Mark 4:41

4:41 They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? ¹  Even the wind and sea obey him!” ² 

Mark 5:15

5:15 They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind – the one who had the “Legion” – and they were afraid.

Mark 12:12

12:12 Now ³  they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So ⁴  they left him and went away. ⁵ 

[4:41]  ¹ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

[4:41]  ² sn This section in Mark (4:35-5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.

[12:12]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

[12:12]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:12]  ⁵ sn The point of the parable in Mark 12:1-12 is that the leaders of the nation have been rejected by God and the vineyard (v. 9, referring to the nation and its privileged status) will be taken from them and given to others (an allusion to the Gentiles).