Don’t Tell

When I was in school I remember keeping secrets. A friend would tell me something about another person and they would make me pinky swear not to tell another living being. I agreed to this but the message was clear, don’t tell.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus healed many people. He was traveling the countryside healing and teaching.  God sent his son to the earth for one reason, to forgive the people of their sin and to establish an everlasting relationship with them through his love. In his quest he succeeded in healing many people and teaching them about God’s love. 

Jesus had all kinds of wonderful healing and teaching moments, but through all of this he told those he healed to do something I never understood. He told them not to tell anyone. I’ve always wondered why he did this. Didn’t he want the people to know about the goodness of God? Then why would he instruct people not to tell anyone? 

Jesus not only told his followers not to tell anyone but his disciples too. Matthew 16:20 says, “Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone he was the Messiah”. But why? Maybe because no one would have believed them? Would people think they were crazy? 

In the book of Mark Jesus’ “no tell” instructions were often called the Messianic secret. It is thought that Jesus didn’t want people to know about his identity because many would have attributed it to Jesus being a political figure. Jesus also didn’t want the people to know about his identity too early so he could fulfill his earthly quest set down by God. 

The Pharisees were following Jesus trying to find fault with him wherever they went. They wanted to expose Jesus as a magician or some kind of charlatan. Matthew 12:9-14 is the story about Jesus healing the man with a withered hand. Verse 14 says, “The Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him”. Even from the beginning the Pharisees wanted to have Jesus killed. So if the Pharisees were opposing him, wouldn’t he want more people in his favor by having them tell about him? 

I thought that if Jesus would have let many people tell others about what he was doing this could have caused near riot conditions. It was bad enough that crowds of people were so thick that Jesus had to sit in a boat to speak to them on the shore. Besides, I believe he wanted the people to gradually find out about his message. Not to startle and confuse them. He wanted to perform more miracles so the people would see why he came and believe in him. 

It is interesting to note that when Jesus healed the demon possessed man in Mark 5:1-20 Jesus told the former demon possessed man to go and tell others. Now this is a 360 from what he was saying earlier. Had Jesus felt that it was time to draw his ministry to a close? Was it time for his death and resurrection so he told the man to tell others? Did he know this would cause great conflict between the people? 

Jesus knew his fate. He knew he would be crucified. He told his disciples of his death and resurrection many times and they still did not get it. Jesus was in complete control of his fate as expressed in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked his father to “take this cup” from him. Jesus didn’t want to go through with God’s plan but he obeyed his father and did what he wanted. 

Jesus knew what his ministry would entail when it began. His “don’t tell”, “tell” commands helped to shape what Jesus’ ministry would be like on earth. His ministry was amazing and would not have been so had he not followed his father’s commands. Jesus was the “go between”, what was needed to bridge the gap between the people and God. Jesus’ life and death on the cross provides everlasting life for you and me. 

So now it is our time to tell, God tells us to tell everyone about Jesus and what he can do for us. Go and tell!

Dear God, we know that you had an ultimate plan for Jesus’ ministry while on earth. You led him through what was to be his death and resurrection. As followers of Christ we promise to go and tell others about God’s love and what Jesus did for us. Amen 

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