He warned them and instructed them not to tell...

Luke 9:7-27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. ⁹ Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Him.

¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. Taking them with Him, He withdrew by Himself to a city called Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and welcoming them, He began speaking to them about the kingdom of God and curing those who had need of healing…

¹⁸ And it happened that while He was praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the people say that I am?” ¹⁹ They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen again.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.” ²¹ But He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, ²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.”

²³ And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

Why is it that Jesus often did not want anyone to tell others who He was? We see it throughout scripture, from the demons who recognized Him, as we see in Mark 1:23-25:  Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”, to those He healed as in Mark 7:34-37:  looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it. ³⁷ They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”, and in today’s text: “He warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone.”

 Perhaps we see part of the reason in Matthew’s account of Jesus question to the disciples and Peter’s response, Matthew 16:17-20:     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. ¹⁸ I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” ²⁰ Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.  The revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, comes from the Father. Jesus says:  ^“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44)

 If the revelation of Christ comes from the Father, through Him drawing people to Christ, what then is our role? Jesus has commissioned us, He says: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.    We are to preach the gospel, the good news to all creation.  Matthew 4:23 offers us some insight into the gospel we are to preach, it says: Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.  We are, like Jesus to share, to preach the good news of the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven which Jesus says is at hand, with us and even in us. We cannot convince people with our words, that Jesus is the Christ. That revelation comes from the Father, by the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, of the Holy Spirit: when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: ⁹ of sin, because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰ of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; ¹¹ of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11)  Sinners must be drawn by the Father and convicted by the Spirit. Jesus says we should: "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 5:16) We are to live in such a way, loving, serving, doing good, that our lives help to lead others to the revelation that Jesus is the Christ.

Again, we cannot convince others with our words. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:18:  For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.     Since the message of the cross is foolishness to the world, to those who are perishing, some have come to believe that we should no longer preach the cross, we should simply love, serve and share the good news and the good things of the kingdom. Yet Paul who says the message of the cross is foolishness also says:  And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, ⁴ and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.(1 Corinthians 2:2-5)     You see although the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, it’s also:   to us/they who are being saved it is the power of God. In Romans 10:13-15, Paul says: “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴ How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? ¹⁵ How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

The good news of good things, surely an important part of our message to the world is all the good things, the healing, the deliverance, the provision and protection that comes with the kingdom. The best news though is that: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.(John 3:16)  This too the world needs to hear from us. Matthew shares Jesus commission in Matthew 28:18-20:    “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  We should then both, live our lives in such a way that others see a revelation of Christ in the good that we do and speak our words, the truth of the gospel, the good news, the best news, we should share Jesus Christ and Him crucified, “the power of God”

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit thank You for drawing me, for convicting me, for giving me the revelation of Christ, the good news of the gospel. Holy Spirit guide me and empower me to live in such a way, to love to serve to be light in this dark world, that others may see Christ. Also though empower me to speak, to preach the good news, Jesus Christ crucified on the cross and risen with the Father. May the love in my life and the truth of my words both bring You glory.  Amen.