“See that you say nothing to anyone"

Mark 1:29-2:12

Crowds Healed

²⁹ And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they *spoke to Jesus about her. ³¹ And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them.

³² When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city had gathered at the door. ³⁴ And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.

³⁵ In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for Him; ³⁷ they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³⁸ He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” ³⁹ And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.

⁴⁰ And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread the news around, to such an extent that Jesus could no longer publicly enter a city, but stayed out in unpopulated areas; and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

Again in today's text from the daily reading in the One Year Bible(link available on links page), we read about many miracles of healing. Miracles are evidence that the kingdom of heaven has come to earth. They are the physical manifestation of the realities of what has been accomplished in the heavenly realm, by Christ, being seen and experienced here on earth. In today's text we see in verses 33-34     And the whole city had gathered at the door.  And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.     Jesus did not permit the demons to speak because they knew who He was.  James 2:19 confirms this.  You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 

   When we move forward in the text we see Jesus heals a lepor.    And a leper *came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and *said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He sternly warned him and immediately sent him away, ⁴⁴ and He *said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”    Jesus also told this man who had been healed to tell no one. Jesus often gave that instruction to those He healed, telling them not to tell that Jesus had done the healing in their body. Most often the people didn't follow Jesus instruction, but really who could blame them? Their lives were miraculously changed by an encounter with Jesus. We are left with the question though,  why did Jesus not want people to testify of what Jesus had done? Why did He not want the demons to acknowledge who He was?

I believe there are several reasons Jesus asked people not to tell what had happened. The first is found in our text today in verses 35-38.  In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.  Simon and his companions searched for Him;  they found Him, and *said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” ³He *said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.”     Jesus came to preach. The miracles, the signs and wonders which happened, as He preached the good news of the kingdom of heaven, were evidence to confirm that what He said was true. The kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus did not want the people to come seeking  only the miracles. He wanted them to come seeking the kingdom.     In Matthew 6:33, Jesus was speaking of God's provision for our needs when He says: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."      The principle is true though of miracles as well, they are after all a provision from God. He provides for our physical needs out of the abundance of His riches and  He provides healing from what is already accomplished by Christ's finished work on the cross.   Many people today follow ministers seeking healing. We too should seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. In Christ we will gain our victory or the grace to walk through our storms with Jesus by our side. Jesus says:

"... lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”(Matthew 28:20) That's His promise to us.

Another reason that Jesus restricted people from testfying of their encounter with Him, can I believe,  be explained by the account in Matthew 16:15-17   ¹⁵ He *said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.    Jesus says that the revelation that He is the Christ does not come by flesh and blood. The revelation that He is the Christ comes from the Father. John 6:44 says: "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him...  The testimony of miraculous things cause people to be drawn to the miraculous. Jesus want's those who are drawn by the Father to come. The revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior and Lord is a revelation from God not from man. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. John 15:26 says "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,   John 16:8 continues to describe the role of the Holy Spirit. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

So if the revelation that Jesus is the Christ is from the Father, by the Holy Spirit and Jesus told people not to testify of their encounter with Him, what about us? Are we not supposed to testify and declare the mighty works of God and the way our encounter with Jesus has changed us?   Revelation 12:11 says:  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.  First and foremost it is by the blood of the lamb.   Our testimony must always point to Christ and His finished work on the cross. Regardless of what else Jesus has done for us the single most important thing is that;

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.(Romans 5:8) 

It's not our responsibility to convince people of who Jesus is, as if we can debate them into the kingdom of heaven. It is the Father in heaven through the Holy Spirit who draws men to Himself and reveals who Christ is. It is also not our responsibility to convict people of their sinfulness. It is the Spirits job to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness. What then is our responsibilty in testifying to the world? We are to declare the good news of the kingdom of God, that it is at hand. We are to testify about our life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. In order for that testimony to be valid there must be evidence of that change in our lives. The lepor was told to say nothing to anyone, but to show himself.  Jesus says of us:    “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵ nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.(Matthew 5:14-16)

Just as a picture is worth 1000 words, a life lived for Christ is worth thousands of words.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, thank You for all You have done for me. Thank You most of all that while I was a sinner You died for me Jesus. Thank You Father that You drew me to Yourself and to Your Son Jesus. Thank You Holy Spirit that You revealed to me my need of a Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You that You have miraculously changed me and that You even dwell within me. What greater change could there be than to have the God of creation with me and in me. Help me Lord to be faithful to declare the good news of the kingdom. Most of all may my life be a testimony of Your love, the power of the cross and evidence that the kingdom has come.    Amen