The Messianic Secret

From Mark:

1:25\t"Be Quiet”
1:43\t"Don’t tell this to anyone”
3:12\t"Strict orders not to tell”
4:11\t"Everything is said in parables”
4:34\t"He did not say anything to them”
5:43\t"Strict orders not to let anyone know”
7:24\t"Did not want anyone to know it”
7:36\t"Commanded… not to tell anyone”
8:30\t"Warned them not to tell anyone”
9:9\t"Gave them orders not to tell anyone”
9:30\t"Did not want anyone to know”

10:48*\t"Told him to be quiet” (not Jesus)

14:62\t"I am”
15:2\t"Yes, it is as you say”
15:39\t"Surely this man was the Son of God”

It is funny. A couple brothers and I were just discussing this yesterday. Here are a couple of verses to add to the topic.

John 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk
in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jew's feast of tabernacles was at hand.
3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready.

John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Jesus sought to glorify the Father, not Himself. So, He said, "Don't tell anyone. Instead, go to the temple and show yourself to the priests as the law commands." It was the pattern of the covenant in force (See Gal. 4:4-5) and it allowed God the glory.

But there was a time when it was Jesus day to be glorified by the Father. It was the time of his death, burial, and resurrection.

1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.

2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3 And one called out to another and said,"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

5 Then I said,"Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.

7 He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Isaiah’s Commission

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!”

9 He said, "Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive;
Keep on looking, but do not understand.’

10 "Render the hearts of this people insensitive,
Their ears dull,
And their eyes dim,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their hearts,
And return and be healed.”
(Isaiah 6:1-10)

Many believe Isaiah saw the exalted and glorified Christ in his vision yet uniquely his commission was to go and proclaim so as to purposefully render people even more incapable of hearing and even more incapable of seeing. There must have been a reason for this and we know that God actively resists and purposefully hides Himself from pride. Ye the proclamation of the prophets and later Christ leaves people without excuse. A divine and seemingly contradictory dichotomy if there ever was one!

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 In their case THE PROPHECY OF ISAIAH IS BEING FULLFILLED, which says, You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;

15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:10-17)

It begs the question why would God tell one to go and proclaim yet go and proclaim for the very purpose of renedering listeners even more unable to hear. God actively hides Himself from pride so I'm assuming the further inability to hear or see or understand is the God allowed result of people who respond in pride to the proclamation. How can two people sitting side by side in a meeting hear the same message and one gladly and humbly responds and the person sitting right besides him bows up in pride and scornfully rejects the message of salvation. The very same message has rendered him even more incapable of hearing or seeing so Isaiah's sealed vision is still being fulfilled today in the sons of pride. Isarel's problem of that day was they missed the day of their visitation because thier pride was such an immense stumblingblock that God hid His face from it. Ye there was those who wre blessed because their eyes saw and their ears heard - "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear."

21 At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that YOU HAVE HIDDEN THESE THINGS FROM THE WISE AND INTELLIGENT AND HAVE REVEALED THEM TO INFANTS. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. (Luke 10:21)

God actively delights to hide His gospel from the wise and prideful and ever delights to reveal it to babes and infants who approach God with a lowly and contrite heat devoid of pride. Whoever receives the kingdom must receive it as a little child. Otherwise Isaiah's prophecy still has a relevant sting to it. Isaiah's prophecy made plain the fact that God resists pride and purposefully hides Himself from it. Christ did not want people telling others about Him so many times because He was set on letting God open the eyes and ears of people. He didn't want or desire His reputation to be spread even though that happened. Christ was taking part in the fulfillment of Isaiah's sealed vision as He relied on God to open the eys and ears and hearts of those whom He would and continue to seal the proclamation from those whom He would. The gospel is concealed from pride and remains a Messianic secret even in the plain hearing of it.

My initial thoughts when posting this was that Jesus was delaying his crucifixion so that He would have a few years to teach and be an example. Some think his sole purpose was to die so that we can go to heaven.

Obviously his death and resurrection was the penultimate reason but had he not took pains to stay out of the limelight his death may have come sooner than He/the Father wanted.

But you guys make excellent points.

Most of those verses are related to the miracles that Jesus performed, he asked the people who witnessed them not to repeat it to others. Why?

The Gospels tell us that from the beginning Jesus was being swamped with crowds bringing their sick and demon possessed. Jesus was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor and though the miraculous works would open doors for people to listen and also attest to His authority, I believe it got to the point where he was ministering to physical needs so much that the time to preach was being limited. Although Jesus rejoiced in healing the sick He new the deepest need of humanity was to be healed within, to be born again, as He told Nicodemus. So He desired most of all to preach the gospel.

I believe that this was at least part of the reason that He told others not to tell about the miracles.

In Christ,

Quote: """Jesus sought to glorify the Father, not Himself. So, He said, "Don't tell anyone. Instead, go to the temple and show yourself to the priests as the law commands." It was the pattern of the covenant in force (See Gal. 4:4-5) and it allowed God the glory.

But there was a time when it was Jesus day to be glorified by the Father. It was the time of his death, burial, and resurrection.""" (Great truth revealed.)

And Now, The Mystery, the greatest secret ever made known to mankind through the Church.

Ephesians 3:9-10 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places (might be known by the church) the manifold wisdom of God,

Ephesians 3:17-21 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Colossians 1:27-29 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: (Whom we preach), warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

This great secret mystery is given to the Body of Christ, the Church that it might be revealed to all that would hear it. This great legacy of the Church must be brought to the forefront and not let Satan suppress it in the Church because of its mystery which he does not want it known. May we boldy proclaim "Christ in you the hope of Glory".

In Christ: Phillip

The Gospel brought to light secrets heretofore hidden but now openly revealed and made plain.

1) The Messiah woulld not be a person with many admirable qualities that could unify people around Him but was indeed Yaweh Himself in flesh. The Messiah was not just another hero. (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1,14)

2) The Messiah was not to be someone worthy of following and emulating but through the power of His Spirit would end up actually dwelling within and empowering believers - Christ in you the hope of glory.

3)The coming of the Messiah would be twofold. He would not come once but come and leave and promise to return again as the blessed hope of all believers. Many of the OT prophecies could now be properly understood as pertaining to His second advent at the Day of the Lord.

4) It would be the risen and now departed Christ who would send the Holy Spirit from on high at the right hand of God. (John 16:7; Acts 2:33)

5) The Gentiles would be brought into the body then and NOW (Ephe 3:6) instead of at the return of the Messiah when all foes have been put down and the resurrection of the dead has taken place. (Acts 10:44-48)

6) Christ unexpectedly brought the powers of the age to come into this age BEFORE the great and notable day of the Lord. The Holy Spirit has been poured out now as it will be then (Hebrews 6:5) hence there is now an overlapping of the ages presently. The age to come and its powers are already present in this age.

25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past,

26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;

27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)

Later it was learned that when a door of salvation was beginning to be opened to the Gentiles and the Gospel preached in all the world that at the same time the covenant nation would be dispersed and in exile until the appointed time of its latter day return (Luke 21:20-24). This was a secret inconceivable to Israel who had largely missed the day of their visitation and would therefore remain under the curses of the Mosaic covenant. They would fall by the edge of the sword and be driven into exile in the nations at the same time the Gentiles began to have a door of salvation opened to them.

The Lord Jesus nevertheless spoke and acted with full assumption of divine authority backed with signs and wonders.

In Luke 5, when He was accused of blasphemy for saying " your sins are forgiven you" to the paralytic man, He asked the pharisees what is easier to say, "your sins are forgiven you or to say rise up and walk."

Any man can say your sins are forgiven you as it is but an oral activity, but to instantly heal a paralytic, can a mere human make it happen, and He actually did it before their very eyes. Yet they continue to despise Him with much evil in their hearts.

Which is the greater work, forgiveness of sin or physical healing?

We must see that Jesus began this event with the greater of the two, "Man your sins are forgiven". Then upon the foundation of all healing, Jesus spoke healing into the man and his obedience carried him and his belongings to his own house.

It is far greater by the work done on the Cross, the bloody sacrifice of the Lamb of God that gives truth to what was the greater work.

"Man your sins are forgiven", believe and obey, get up and walk. The proof of the greater work which Christ began, speaking first forgiveness of sin, then the man obeyed and went to his own house healed of sin first then the completion of that healing in the flesh, WALK. Jesus knew what was needed first for this man personally and He knows perfectly what is needed with every one the Father gives Him. He knows exactly what it is for my own miracle and He will finish the work He has begun in me. As most, I go kicking and screaming down the hall not conforming to His Love in obedience, but the hound of heaven will never leave of forsake. I am His and I will be by His perfect work on the Cross, perfect in Christ.

By who's working?

Colossians 1:27-29 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

"according to His working"

In Christ: Phillip

In Jesus's case it wasn't one or the other, but both.

Obviously in the overall scheme of things, forgiveness of sins is the "greater" work. But during Jesus's earthly ministry healing was up front and center. I don't think it was any "deeper purpose" than that he had compassion on people.

It is terrifying to suffer under the wrath of God,this is the ultimate agony a man can experience. God alone has the authority to grant pardon for the penalty of sin. The pharisees vehemently resented that the Lord Jesus declared an edict of divine absolution to the paralytic man and accused Him of blasphemy.

For some reasons not fully clear to me , The Lord rather shown proof of His divinity by performing a miracle before their very eyes:

Luke 5:21-26

...Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”””he said to the man who was paralyzed””"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.

This is our Mesiah, the Lord God Amighty, one who heals, one who forgives sin, our new life, our final salvation.