10. Silence in Scripture: The Messianic Secret

10. Silence in Scripture: The Messianic Secret.

In what has come to be known as “the messianic secret,” Jesus deliberately seemed to conceal his identity of Messiah, and He implores demons, crowds of people, and even His own disciples not to tell anyone else about various miracles. The Gospel of Mark is known for this curious, more secretive side of Jesus’ ministry, because he records it ten times. But Jesus is also recorded as saying, ‘Shhh, Keep this Quiet for now,” four times in Matthew and three times in Luke. Since Jesus made a big splash wherever He went, leaving people astounded, astonished, full of wonder, did He really expect for all these dumfounded people to keep Him a secret? As we would suspect, it seemed the more Jesus asked someone to keep Him a secret, the more they spread the news anyway. Despite what Jesus asked, there were many times in the gospels reporting that He could no longer even openly enter a village, that people were flocking to Him from everywhere. It remains puzzling why Jesus wasn’t afraid to multiply fish and bread in front of thousands of people, and yet still wants often enough to maintain a messianic secret. We’ll try to explore that thought below.

Shhh! Don’t tell a soul about this. Let’s keep this our little secret.

Telling the Demons to Keep Quiet:

“Immediately, there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit, who cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit, convulsing the man, cried out with a loud voice and came out of him.” (Mark 1:23-26).  

“And the whole city was gathered at the door to the house. And Jesus healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And Jesus would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.” (Mark 1:33-34).

“All who had diseases pressed around Jesus to touch Him. And whenever the evil spirits saw Jesus, they fell down before Him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God!’ And Jesus strictly ordered them not to make Him known.” (Mark 3:10-12).

Requesting Secrecy After a Healing:

“After Jesus touched the leper, the leprosy immediately left him and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to the man, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest.” (Mark 1:42-45).

“While Jesus was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house a messenger who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Rabbi any further.’ Jesus said, ‘Do not fear, only believe’… When they came to the ruler’s house, they entered the room with the dead girl. Taking her by the hand, Jesus said to her, ‘Little girl, I say to you, Arise!’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking. And Jesus strictly charged them that no one should know this.” (Mark 5:35-43).

“And they brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had a great speech impediment, and they begged Jesus to lay His hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, He put His finger into his ears, and after spitting, touched the man’s tongue. His ears were opened, his tongue was released, and the man spoke clearly. And Jesus charged those around him to tell no one. But the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.” (Mark 7:31-37).

“When Jesus had spit on the blind man’s eyes and laid His hands on him, He asked him, ‘Do you see anything?’ And he looked up and said, ‘I see people, but they look like trees walking.’ Then Jesus laid His hands on his eyes gain, and he opened his eyes, and his sight was fully restored, seeing everything clearly. And Jesus sent the man to his house, saying, ‘Do not even enter the village.” (Mark 8:22-26).

“When Jesus entered the house, two blind men came to Him, and Jesus said to them, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They both said to Him, ’Yes, Lord!’ Then Jesus touched their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it done to you.’ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ‘See that no one knows about it!’ But they went away and spread His fame through all that district.” (Matthew 9:27-31).

“The Pharisees went out and conspired against Jesus and how to destroy Him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed Him, and He healed them all and ordered them not to make Him known. This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Behold my servant who I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon Him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel, cry aloud, nor lift His voice, nor will He be heard in the street…” (Matthew 12:14-21 and Isaiah 42:1-2).

Demanding Silence from His Disciples:

“And Jesus went on with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told Him, ‘John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah or one of the other prophets.’ And He asked them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered Him, ‘You are the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah!’ And Jesus strictly charged them to tell no one about Him.” (Mark 8:27-30).

“After the miraculous Transfiguration on the mountain top, Peter, James and John no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves.” (Mark 9:2-9).

“They went from there and passed through Galilee. And He did not want anyone to know, for He was teaching His disciples…” (Mark 9:30-32).

A Mosaic of the Possible Reasons for the Messianic Secret:

1. Telling the Demons to Shut Up after an Exorcism: Perhaps Jesus didn’t want the assistance of a demon from hell to reveal His identity. Evil spirits are not worthy of such a privilege. Maybe He didn’t want evil demons to be the ones to spread the Good News. Maybe Jesus didn’t want to hear a confession of Him that didn’t consist of any faith in Him. Jesus no doubt wanted the people to believe in Him because of what He said and did, and not merely believe the word of an evil spirit. It also was important for the people to know that Jesus had authority over the demonic world, that the demons had no choice but to obey Him.
2. Asking that He Remain a Secret after Healings: Jesus was not particularly shy, but neither was He a glory hound. He was not motivated by some thrill in becoming famous. He didn’t want to be the Next Big Thing or a celebrity superstar with His name in lights. Jesus was just as comfortable in limiting His popularity, because there was a hint of modesty in this Man who said, “I am meek and humble of heart.” He was not a natural at self-promotion, since His ego wasn’t tainted by egotism and a need to be acclaimed. Much later, one of His followers, Thomas A’Kempis, reflected this self-effacing part of Christ’s personality by saying, “Learn to be unknown.”
3. Telling the Disciples to Keep His Identity Secret: Jesus wanted to control the narrative of His story on earth as much as possible, because He was especially sensitive to the Father’s timing in His mission. He wanted the freedom to set His own agenda without it being forced upon Him. He wanted to be the only one managing the timing of the major events in His mission according to the Father’s will. On the one hand, He would welcome interruptions with both arms. On the other hand, He would say things like, “My time has not yet come.” (John 2:4). He wanted to closely guard His identity by observing Kairos time, not Chronos Kairos is God-time, the appointed time set by God to do His will, the sacred time chosen for God to act. Consulting with His Father all the way, Jesus wanted to be personally managing the divine timing of His ultimate goal… the cross, the empty tomb, the return to His home in heaven.
4. Keeping Himself a Secret from the Roman Powers: It might hasten the day if Roman authorities were aware that there is a Man in their empire who is claiming to be a king. They wouldn’t stand for that challenge to their authority for a second. Once it was revealed that there was Jew in Israel who was speaking of spreading His kingdom, Jesus knew His days on earth would be numbered. Once again, timing is everything in Jesus’ march to redeem the world. Jesus did not want the Romans to get in the way of his agenda until the end.
5. Keeping Himself a Secret to Reshape Public Perception of Messiah. Most of the people in Israel had a limited idea of what a messiah means for them. Jesus wanted time to widen everyone’s understanding of who He is as Messiah. Most everyone was expecting a political savior, not a Suffering Servant. They wanted to be delivered from Rome, not from their sinful nature. Jesus needed as much time as possible to reveal the true nature of messiah. He wanted time to define His true identity. So too much publicity early in His ministry would lessen the time needed to educate the people, including His own disciples.
6. Keeping His Miracles a Secret to Protect His Full Identity. Jesus didn’t want to be seen as merely a miracle worker, a sort of spiritual magician with a big bag full of tricks. He wanted to be recognized as Savior and Redeemer, not the latest healer or exorcist. He was so much more than a worker of miracles, and He wanted to be known instead for being God’s Son, full of grace and truth. He didn’t want people to flock to Him just to get rid of their illnesses or demons. Yes, miracles are a sign of His role as Messiah, but His mission cannot be limited to that. The longer the time He had to educate the people, the better.
7. Keeping Himself a Secret to Keep the Crowds Away. Jesus fully knew that once word of His healings and exorcisms were broadly publicized, there would be an overwhelming surge of people from everywhere to swarm to Him. But He wanted the freedom to travel wherever He wanted to go. Huge crowds would hamper the effectiveness of His ministry, and it would limit the areas of His outreach. If His name was broadcast too widely, He would have less travel freedom, less ‘elbow room’ for His far-reaching ministry.
8. Keeping Himself a Secret for the Sake of His Privacy. Time and time again in the gospels, Jesus would try to sneak away from people for His private time. The more Jesus was crowded in His ministry, the more demands on His time from multitudes of people, the less time He had for private prayer, and the less time for the simple human need to decompress from stresses and pressures of His intense ministry. His ministry was largely a prayer ministry in the sense of prayer being the foundation for everything He did. He prayed for saints and sinners, privately and publicly, with His face to the ground and His head up facing the heavens. He prayed in grief and He prayed in gratitude, while exhausted and while full of energy. Jesus prayed with His dying breath and He prayed after He rose from the dead. He prayed before major decisions and during dramatic miracles. He prayed spontaneously and He prayed in words prepared thousands of years before Him. He prayed short, one-sentence prayers (John 12:28), and He prayed at least one long prayer that seemed to encompass just about everything (John 17). Jesus developed a lifestyle of prayer that would be hampered by constant demands on His time.
9. The Messiah was Prophesied as Having a Quiet Side. Matthew makes a particular point of Jesus asking for others to keep a lid on His presence and His work because Isaiah prophesied that this would be a quality of the Suffering Servant, the true Messiah. (refer above to this passage in Isaiah).

“And from there Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet He could not be hidden.” (Mark 7:24).