What is the biggest secret you've ever had to keep? Did it involve a present for someone? Maybe it was a misdeed committed by a friend, or even by yourself? Imagine finding the Messiah, and having to keep it to yourself! 8:1 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. 8:2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 8:3 And Jesus put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 8:4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 16:14 And they said, Some [say that thou art] John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 16:20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. 17:1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 17:2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 17:3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 17:4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 17:5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 17:6 And when the disciples heard [it], they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 17:7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 17:8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 17:9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 1:40 And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 1:41 And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth [his] hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. 1:42 And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. 1:43 And he straitly charged him, and forthwith sent him away; 1:44 And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. 5:35 While he yet spake, they come from the ruler of the synagogue's `house' saying, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Teacher any further? 5:36 But Jesus, not heeding the word spoken, saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe. 5:37 And he suffered no man to follow with him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 5:38 And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he beholdeth a tumult, and `many' weeping and wailing greatly. 5:39 And when he was entered in, he saith unto them, Why make ye a tumult, and weep? the child is not dead, but sleepeth. 5:40 And they laughed him to scorn. But he, having put them all forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother and them that were with him, and goeth in where the child was. 5:41 And taking the child by the hand, he saith unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. 5:42 And straightway the damsel rose up, and walked; for she was twelve years old. And they were amazed straightway with a great amazement. 5:43 And hecharged them much that no man should know this : and he commanded that `something' should be given her to eat. 8:22 And they come unto Bethsaida. And they bring to him a blind man, and beseech him to touch him. 8:23 And he took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, Seest thou aught? 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold `them' as trees, walking. 8:25 Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked stedfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. 8:26 And he sent him away to his home, saying, Do not even enter into the village. 8:27 And Jesus went forth, and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and on the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? 8:28 And they told him, saying, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. 8:29 And he asked them, But who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 8:30 A nd he charged them that they should tell no man of him. Mark 8:27-30
4:40 Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them. 4:41 And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking [them] suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. 5:12 And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on [his] face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 5:13 And he put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. 5:14 And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. There may have been any number of reasons why Jesus told the people not to tell about Him. For one thing, Jesus was in the flesh at the time, and needed a little peace and quiet to commune with the Father 5:15 But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. 5:16 And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed. Jesus needed to protect His ministry. Too many people at a time could render a single man ineffective. Remeber the leper in Mark 1? He didn't keep quiet, and as a result, "Jesus could no longer enter a town openly, but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to Him from everywhere" (Mark 1:45). Also, He needed to protect Himself from those who would seek to end His life before God's appointed time. 9:20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God. 9:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded [them] to tell no man that thing; 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. 9:23 And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. The threat on His life was real. Jesus did not seek to be just a magician, and to give reason for a show did not appeal to Him. It did not glorify God, so He avoided it. No, they couldn't kill Him until He said it was time, and He intended to wait until God said, "Go." The place and time was set by God, so Jesus protected Himself in the meantime. 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 10:37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father [is] in me, and I in him. 10:39 Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, Notice how He just "escaped out of their hand"! How did He slip out without being seen when He was the focus of the attention of so many people? Another miracle ... 11:49 And one of them, [named] Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, 11:50 Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. 11:51 And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. 11:53 Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.11:54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the Jews. Instead He withdrew to a region near the desert, to a village called Ephraim, where He stayed with His disciples. Jesus was also concerned for the safety of those who received the miracles. A short time after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead: 12:9 Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. 12:10 But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; 12:11 Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. What were the chief priests thinking? Put to death someone who was already dead once, and that Jesus raised?! It makes me laugh! Did they think He couldn't do it again? For a long time, Jesus said "don't tell anyone." For whatever the reason, He knew what He was doing. Then one day, the game plan changed! 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first [day] of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead [men]. 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 28:7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goethbefore you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. 28:8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word. 28:9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him. 28:10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. After the victory of the resurrection, no one could hurt or hinder Jesus ministry any longer. Jesus declared from the cross "It is finished," now go tell everyone! 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. No more secret! Lord Jesus, open my mouth to proclaim Your gospel of good news to all who will hear. Give me bold words of truth and grace; anoint all who preach and teach in Your Name. Let the word be spread to all nations, in Your name and by Your power and for Your glory! Amen 28:5 But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 28:6 He is not here; for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 28:7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you." |
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