Jesus was a secret keeper

JESUS WAS A SECRET KEEPER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 8:3-4 3Jesus reached out his hand and
touched the man. "I am willing,"he said. "Be clean!"
Immediately he was cleansedof his leprosy. 4Then
Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But
go, show yourselfto the priest and offer the gift Moses
commanded, as a testimony to them."
Matthew 9:30 30and their sight was restored. Jesus
warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about
this."
Matthew 12:15-16 15Awareof this, Jesus withdrew
from that place. A large crowd followedhim, and he
healed all who were ill. 16He warned them not to tell
others about him.
Mark 1:34 (also 3:11-12)

Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also
drove out many demons, but he would not let the
demons speak because they knew who he was.
Matthew 16:20 20Thenhe ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was
the Messiah.
New International Version
Then he orderedhis disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
New Living Translation
Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the
Messiah.
English Standard Version
Then he strictly chargedthe disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
BereanStudy Bible
Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(20) Then chargedhe his disciples that they should tell no man.—We may
venture to analyse what we may reverently call the motives of this reticence.
Had the disciples gone about, not only as proclaiming the kingdom and as
preachers of repentance, but sounding the watchwordthat the Christ had
come, it might not have been difficult for them to gatherround Him the
homage of excited crowds. It was not such homage, however, that He sought,
but that which had its root in a deeper faith. It tended to present a false aspect
of His kingdom to the minds of men; it tended also to prevent the
consummation to which He was now directing the thoughts of His disciples as
the necessaryconditionof His entering on the glory of His kingdom. The zeal
of the multitude to make him a king after their ownfashion (John 6:15) was
what He deprecatedand shunned.
BensonCommentary
Matthew 16:20. Then chargedhe his disciples — Greek, διεστειλατο, he
strictly chargedthem: (Luke says, επιτιμησας αυτοις, παρηγγειλε, having
severelycharged, or chargedwith threats, he commanded to tell this to no
one:) that he was Jesus the Christ — The word Jesus is omitted here in many
MSS., some of which are of greatauthority and greatantiquity, and in several
ancient versions, and the omissionis approved of by some eminent critics.
Certainly the insertion of it is superfluous, and apparently improper: for the
context shows, that what our Lord forbade them to tell was simply that he was
the Christ, that is, the Messiah, or, as Luke expresses it, the Christ of God.
This truth, howeverimportant to be known and believed, the disciples were
not to announce to the people till the grand proof of it was given, namely, his
resurrection. Then they were by office to be his witnesses, andto declare
openly and publicly that he was the Christ, because then they could do it, not
only without suspicionof confederacy, but with greateradvantage and better
success, as Christwould then be no longer subject to those humbling
circumstances and sufferings, and that death, which could not fail to be a
greatobstruction to men’s receiving him as the Messiah, as wellas a great

stumbling-block in the way of his disciples, but would have takenpossessionof
his kingdom, and given evidence of it, by sending down upon his followers the
Holy Ghost, in his extraordinary gifts and operations, to enable them to
confirm this testimony. Whereas, hadhis own disciples publicly declaredhim
to be the Messiah, the king of the Jews, and the Son of God, while he was on
earth, as this would have lookedlike a confederacybetweenthem and their
Master, so, on the one hand, it would have encouragedthe attempt of a part of
the Jews to come and take him by force to make him a king, John 6:15, and,
on the other, would have provoked both the Jewishrulers and the Roman
government. “Certainly,” says Mr. Locke, “the Romans would not have
suffered him, if he had gone about preaching that he was the king whom the
Jews expected;and such an accusationwould have been forwardly brought
againsthim by the Jews, ifthey could have heard it out of his own mouth, and
if that had been his public doctrine to his followers, whichwas openly
preachedby his apostles afterhis death. Forthough the magistrates ofthis
world paid no greatregardto the talk of a king who had suffered death, and
appearedno longeranywhere; yet if our Lord had openly declaredthis of
himself in his lifetime, with a train of disciples and followers, everywhere
owning and crying him up for their king, the Roman governors of Judea could
not have forborne to take notice of it, and to make use of their force againstit.
The Jews wellunderstood this, and therefore they made use of it, as the
strongestaccusation, andlikeliestto prevail with Pilate againsthim for the
taking awayhis life, it being treason, and an unpardonable offence, which
could not escape deathfrom a Roman deputy, without the forfeiture of his
own life.”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
16:13-20 Peter, forhimself and his brethren, said that they were assuredof
our Lord's being the promised Messiah, the Son of the living God. This
showedthat they believed Jesus to be more than man. Our Lord declared
Peterto be blessed, as the teaching of God made him differ from his
unbelieving countrymen. Christ added that he had named him Peter, in
allusion to his stability or firmness in professing the truth. The word
translated rock, is not the same word as Peter, but is of a similar meaning.
Nothing can be more wrong than to suppose that Christ meant the person of

Peterwas the rock. Without doubt Christ himself is the Rock, the tried
foundation of the church; and woe to him that attempts to lay any other!
Peter's confessionis this rock as to doctrine. If Jesus be not the Christ, those
that own him are not of the church, but deceivers and deceived. Our Lord
next declaredthe authority with which Peterwould be invested. He spoke in
the name of his brethren, and this related to them as well as to him. They had
no certain knowledge ofthe characters ofmen, and were liable to mistakes
and sins in their own conduct; but they were kept from error in stating the
way of acceptanceand salvation, the rule of obedience, the believer's
characterand experience, and the final doom of unbelievers and hypocrites.
In such matters their decisionwas right, and it was confirmed in heaven. But
all pretensions of any man, either to absolve or retain men's sins, are
blasphemous and absurd. None canforgive sins but God only. And this
binding and loosing, in the common language of the Jews, signifiedto forbid
and to allow, or to teach what is lawful or unlawful.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Then charged... - That is, he commanded them.
Mark 8:30 and Luke Luk 9:21 say (in Greek)that he strictly or severely
chargedthem. He laid emphasis on it, as a matter of much importance. The
reasonof this seems to be that his time had not fully come;that he was not
willing to rouse the Jewishmalice, and to endanger his life, by having it
proclaimed that he was the Messiah. The word "Jesus"is wanting in many
manuscripts, and should probably be omitted: "Then he chargedthem strictly
to tell no man that he was the Christ or Messiah."
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
20. Then chargedhe his disciples that they should tell no man that he was
Jesus the Christ—Now that He had been so explicit, they might naturally
think the time come for giving it out openly; but here they are told it had not.
Announcement of His Approaching Death and Rebuke of Peter(Mt 16:21-28).
The occasionhere is evidently the same.

Matthew Poole's Commentary
We met with some charges of this nature before, given to those whom he had
miraculously cured, that they should tell no man of it, Matthew 8:4 9:30; but
this seemethto differ from them. There he only forbade the publication of his
miracles;here he forbids them preaching that Jesus was the Christ, a doctrine
necessaryto be believed in order to people’s salvation. We are not able to give
an accountof all our Saviour’s particular actions.
1. We are sure this was a precept but of a temporary force and obligation, for
we know that afterwardthey did sufficiently publish this abroad, only for a
time he would not have it published by his disciples. We cannot certainly
determine whether he forbade them;
a) Because theywere not as yet fit to publish so greata truth. Or;
b) Because the time was not yet come for the publication of it. Or;
c) He would not have it published till he rose againfrom the dead, having
triumphed over death, lestpeople, hearing of it before, should have had their
faith shakenby his death; which seemethvery probable, because in the next
words he begins to speak ofhis death.
d) That he might hereby (as much as might be) avoid the odium and envy of
the Pharisees. Or;
e) That himself might publish first this greattruth of the gospel, and confirm
it by his miracles.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Then chargedhe his disciples,.... WhenPeterhad so freely and fully confessed
him to be the Messiah, andwhich was the sense of all the disciples; and when
Christ had expressedhis approbation of his confession, andhad promised
such greatand excellent things upon it, he gave a strict charge unto his
disciples,
that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. The word Jesus is
not in some copies;and is left out in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions;
nor does it seemabsolutelynecessary;it was enough to charge them to tell no
man that he was the Messiah:his reasons for it might be, lest his enemies, the
Scribes and Pharisees, shouldbe the more provoked and incensed against
him, and seek his death before his time; and lest the jealousy of the Romans
should be stirred up, who might fear he would setup himself againstCaesar,
as king of the Jews, whichmight leadthem to take measures obstructive of his
further designs;and lestsome persons, hearing of this, should rise and
proclaim him king of the Jews, who were big with the notion of the Messiah
being a temporal prince: and moreover, because the disciples were to attest
the truth of this after his resurrection; and he chose, forthe present, that the
people should collectthis from his own ministry and miracles, which were
sufficient to leadthem into the knowledge ofit, without any declarations of
their's: and though they were possessedoftrue faith in him, as such, for
themselves, as yet they had not the gifts and abilities to defend those doctrines
respecting his person, and his offices, they had after the Spirit was poured
down upon them.
Geneva Study Bible
{7} Then chargedhe his disciples that they should tell no man that he was
Jesus the Christ.
(7) Men must first learn, and then teach.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary

Matthew 16:20. Διεστείλατο]He appointed, strictly enjoined. Comp. Plat.
Rep. p. 535 B; Aristot. Polit. ii. 5; Jdt 11:12;2Ma 14:28; Mark 5:43; Acts
15:24;Hebrews 12:20.
ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ Χ.] that He Himself is the Messiah. This αὐτός points back to
Matthew 16:14, according to which some one else was lookedfor as the
Messiah, while Jesus was only regardedas His forerunner. The reasonof this
prohibition is not that He wanted to anticipate any offence that might
afterwards arise in consequence ofHis sufferings (Chrysostom, Euth.
Zigabenus), for Jesus quite foresaw His resurrectionand δόξα, and the effect
which these would have upon His followers (John12:32); but (see note on
Matthew 8:4) its explanation is to be found in His uniform desire to avoid
awakening and fostering sanguine Messianic hopes among the people.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 16:20. διεστείλατο (T. R.), “charged” (A. V[97]) not necessarilywith
any specialemphasis = graviter interdicere, but = monuit (Loesnerand
Fritzsche). Cf. Hebrews 12:20, where a strongersense seems required. For
ἐπετίμησε in [98] [99]here and in Mk. Euthy. gives κατησφαλίσατο = to make
sure by injunction.—τοῖς μαθηταῖς:all the disciples are supposedto say amen
to Peter’s confession, thinking of Godand of Jesus as he thought, though
possibly not with equal emphasis of conviction.—ἵνα … ὁ Χριστός: no desire
to multiply hastily recruits for the new community, supreme regard to quality.
Jesus wantedno man to callHim Christ till he knew what he was saying: no
hearsayor echoedconfessionof any value in His eyes.—αὐτός, the same
concerning whom current opinions have just been reported (Matthew 16:14).
It was hardly necessaryto take pains to prevent the faith in His Messiahship
from spreading prematurely in a crude form. Few would call such an one as
Jesus Christ, save by the Holy Ghost. The one temptation thereto lay in the
generous beneficence ofJesus.
[97] Authorised Version.

[98] CodexVaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889
under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[99] CodexBezae
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
20. they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ] Lest the Galilæan
enthusiasm should endeavourto make Him a king.
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 16:20. Μηδενὶ, to no one) Jesus had not, even to His apostles, said
that He was the Christ, but He left it that they might discoverit themselves
from the testimony of facts. It was not suitable, therefore, that that should be
openly told by the apostles to others before His resurrection, which was to
corroborate the whole testimony to the fact of His being the Christ.[753]For
he who injudiciously propounds a mystery to those who do not comprehend it,
injures both himself and others. Had they done so, those who believed in any
way that Jesus was the Christ might have sought for an earthly kingdom with
seditious uproar; whilst the rest, and by far the greaternumber, might have
rejectedsuch a Messiahat that time more vehemently, and have been guilty of
greatersin in crucifying Him, so as to have had the door of repentance less
open to them for the future. Afterwards,[754]the apostles openly bore witness
to this truth.—ὁ Χριστὸς, the Christ) Soonafter the disciples had
acknowledgedand confessedthat Jesus was the Christ, He exhibited to them
His transfiguration (ch. Matthew 17:1-5), and openly spoke ofHimself among
them as the Christ; see Mark 9:41, and John 17:3.
[753]Inasmuch as even Peterhimself could hardly have reconciledthe
doctrine concerning the Son of GOD with that of His Passion.—Harm., p. 369.

[754]And that, too, after the lapse of but a few intervening weeks,—Harm., p.
369.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 20. - Then chargedhe his disciples. Immediately after Peter's confession
and Jesus'promise. St. Matthew's word "charged" (διεστείλατο)becomes
more emphatic in the other synoptists (ἐπετίμησεν), implying a command with
a rebuke attachedto it on its infringement; Vulgate, comminatus est (Mark
8:30). That they should tell no man that he (au)to) was [Jesus]the Christ. The
receivedtext inserts the word "Jesus,"but very many goodmanuscripts omit
it; and it seems to have been receivedby inadvertence, the point being that he
was Messiah. The injunction to tell no man (with which comp. Matthew 8:4)
was necessaryatthis time for many reasons. The time was not ripe for the
declarationwhich might have led to tumult and disorder among an excited
populace. Any ambitious ideas which the apostles might have formed from
what had just passedwere here nipped in the bud. They were not sufficiently
familiar with the true notion of the Messiah, especiallya suffering Messiah, to
be competent to preach him to others. This we see by Peter's inconsiderate
remonstrance in ver. 22. Till they receivedthe Holy Ghost after Christ's
ascension, they could not rightly and profitably preachof Christ's nature,
office, and kingdom. Jesus may have lookedforwardto their desertionof him
in his hour of trial, and prevented them from proclaiming his real character,
which, in the face of such desertion, would have proved a stumbling block to
the faith of believers. Some of these reasons we may reverently believe were
those which led Christ to lay this severe restrictionon the enthusiasm of his
followers (see onMatthew 17:9).
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
JOSEPHALEXANDER

20. This prohibition is to be explained upon the same generalprinciple with
those addressedto evil spirits and to persons whom he healed(see above, on
8:4, 9:30), not as an absolute suppression of the truth, but such a gradual
disclosure as might best secure the greatends of his advent, and especially
postpone its final issue or catastrophe till all intermediate ends had been
accomplished. The very verb translated charged(here and in Mark 5:43, 7:36,
8:15, 9:9) by its etymology suggeststhe idea of distinction or discrimination,
and may serve to remind us that this practice restedupon no fixed law or
generalrule, but on the wisdom and authority of Christ himself. That they
should tell no man (of him, Mark 8:30), what they knew of him, particularly
this which they had just confessed, to wit, that he was the Messiah.
21. Having now drawn from them a professionof their faith in his
Messiahship, he enters on the delicate and painful task of teaching them that
although he was the Messiah, andby necessaryconsequencea king, the
manifestation of his royalty must be precedednot only by prophetic but by
priestly functions, or in other words that he must suffer before he reigned (see
Luke 24:26). This doctrine, though distinctly taught by Daniel (9:26) and
Isaiah(53:4–10), had been gradually lostamong the Jews, andwas now
confined to that small class who still lookedfor redemption in Jerusalem
(Luke 2:38). The teaching even of the Scribes presentedthe Messiahas a
conqueror and an earthly monarch, who was to restore the throne of David
and Solomonand the long lost privileges of the chosenpeople. This delusion
seems to have been sharedby the apostles, so far as they had any views upon
the subject, and of this he now, from this time, began(and afterwards
continued) to disabuse them, by foretelling his various sufferings, his rejection
not by individuals but by the nation, representedin the Sanhedrim by the
three greatclasseshere distinctly named, and lastly, his resuscitationonthe
third day after his decease.
"By Way of the Cross"

Matthew 16:20-23
Theme: The wayof the cross was Jesus'purpose of heart before the Father.
(Delivered Sunday, July 1, 2007 atBethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise
noted, all Scripture references are takenfrom The Holy Bible, New King
James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We have spent the past few weeks looking carefullytogetherat a very
important passagefrom the Gospelof Matthew—a passagethat I have argued
is one of the most important in the Bible. In it, we were taught the central
affirmation of the Christian faith.
Let's look at it again. Matthew writes;
When Jesus came into the region of CaesareaPhilippi, He askedHis disciples,
saying, “Who do men say that I, the Sonof Man, am?” So they said, “Some
say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the
prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you saythat I am?” Simon Peter
answeredand said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus
answeredand said to him, “Blessedare you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and
blood has not revealedthis to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also
say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the
gates ofhades shall not prevail againstit. And I will give you the keys of the
kingdom of heaven, and whateveryou bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whateveryou loose onearth will be loosedin heaven (Matthew 16:13-19).
The affirmation that Petermade is the centralaffirmation of the Christian
faith. It was a "confessionoffaith" that was blessedby the Lord Himself, and
was testified by Him to be the very revelation of the Father concerning
Himself—that He is "the Christ, the Son of the living God". It was on this
confessionthatJesus pledged to build His church, with the promise that "the
gates ofhades shall not prevail againstit".
Every element of this short "confession" that Jesus affirmed is essential. Jesus
here proposes Himself to be the "Christ"—thatis, the Messiah. This speaksof
His humanity. It affirms Him to be the fulfillment of God's promise of a King
through the lineage ofKing David. It affirms Him to be the promised King of

the Jews, uponwhose shoulders the government of this world will rest. And
He also here proposes Himself to be "the Son of God";which speaks ofHis
deity. It affirms Him to be the secondPersonofthe triune Godhead—
eternally pre-existent in heavenly glory. It affirms Him to have condescended
to have taken full humanity to Himself, while still retaining His divine nature.
It affirms Him to be fully God, and fully Man; with both natures in one
Person;and as such, He is able to take the sins of all of humanity upon His
own sinless Personand die in our place for our sins as our substitute.
I do not believe that the importance of this confessioncanbe stressedenough.
If a man or woman affirms Jesus to be anything other than what He here says
He is—that is "the Christ, the Son of the living God"—thenthey will have
their faith in someone who cannot save them. They would have their faith
either in a transcendentbeing who is so far above human beings that he
cannot have any saving union to them; or in a man who is not divine, and
therefore cannot take their sins upon himself.
But praise God! Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God"; and
therefore, He can fully be—and is—our kinsman-Redeemer;our Savior and
our Lord whose sacrifice onthe cross is the sure trust for eternallife of
everyone who believes on Him.
* * * * * * * * * *
Now;that's what the passage we have just finished studying was all about. But
then comes the next passage;and if the first passagewas the most important
in Matthew's Gospel, then this next one is the most demanding. It teaches us
that, if we believe those things about Jesus, thena certain response is required
of us.
This next passageteachesus that this same Jesus fulfilled His Father's
purpose for Him by faithfully and obediently suffering the death of the cross
on behalf of sinners. And as a consequence, He tells those who desire to come
after Him as His disciples that they must embrace the example He set as the
whole principle of a brand-new way of living. They must deny themselves,
take up their cross, and follow Him.

After that all-important passage—afterJesus hadexpounded on that "blessed
confession"concerning Himself, Matthew goes onto write;
Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was
Jesus the Christ.
From that time Jesus beganto show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raisedthe third day. Then Petertook Him aside
and beganto rebuke Him, saying, “Farbe it from You, Lord; this shall not
happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Getbehind Me, Satan!
You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the
things of men.”
Then Jesus saidto His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoeverdesires to
save his life will lose it, but whoeverloses his life for My sake will find it. For
what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will
come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each
according to his works" (Matthew 16:20-27).
* * * * * * * * * *
There are two stories connectedin this passage. The lastinvolves Jesus'callto
His disciples to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow after Him. But
this secondstoryhas its basis in the first; because they are being calledto do
as Jesus Himself did.
Over the next couple of weeks, we'llbe looking at this passage as a whole—
and learning togetherof the high demand Jesus places onthose who would
follow Him. But let's begin by looking at the first story; and of how it teaches
us that the way of the cross was Jesus'setpurpose of heart before the Father.
* * * * * * * * * *
One of the things that has been very gratifying to me as we have studied
through the previous passagetogetheris that many of you had carefully read

ahead. Severalof you have pulled me aside and askedwhatthe twentieth
verse was all about. It says there that Jesus had "commanded His disciples
that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ". After that great
"confession" hadbeen made, and after He had gone to such great lengths to
commend Peter for having spokenit, why would He now command them to
keepit a secret? Wouldn't He want His disciples to now go out and tell
everyone?
Well; first of all, let's be clearthat it is okaynow to tell everyone that Jesus is
the Christ! After Jesus died on the cross, afterHe was raisedfrom the dead,
and after He presented Himself alive to His disciples, He told them;
“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessaryfor the Christ to suffer and to
rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remissionof sins
should be preachedin His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And
you are witnesses ofthese things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father
upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalemuntil you are endued with power
from on high" (Luke 24:46-49).
After Jesus ascendedto the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples.
And the Spirit empoweredthem to go out into the world and proclaim that
Jesus is the Christ. The Holy Spirit has been empowering the church to make
that proclamationever since! As one preachersaid, we're no longerunder the
Lord's "gospel-embargo". We are free in the powerof the Holy Spirit—and
are even commissioned—to telleveryone about Him.
But why was it that, before these things—that is, before the Spirit was given,
before the resurrectionand the ascensionofour Lord, before the sacrifice on
the cross—Jesuscommandedthat they tell no one that He is the Christ?
I believe there were two main reasons.First, of course, has to do with the
disciples themselves. They were not yet ready. For one thing, they were not yet
fully matured in their understanding of Jesus. The "confession" hadbeen
embracedby them; but the implication of it had not yet sunk into the depths
of their hearts. Even Peter—who hadjust made the confession—wouldshortly
thereafterdeny the Lord he confessed.

And for another thing, the Holy Spirit had not yet been given as the Lord
promised. They didn't yet have the divine enablement from the indwelling
Holy Spirit to be Christ's witnesses to the world. After His resurrection, Jesus
would tell them to “tarry in the city of Jerusalemuntil you are endued with
powerfrom on high” (Luke 24:49). It would be then—and only then—that
they would have the powerto be His effective witnessesto the world (Acts
1:8). But before that divine enablement had been given to them, it would not
be proper for them to go out and tell the world who He is.
And the secondmain reasonfor the Lord's prohibition has to do with those
who would hear the witness. The people had already held to unrealistic and
unbiblical expectations ofJesus. TheyexpectedHim to immediately be a
conquering Messiah, who would ride into town on a white stallion and rid the
Jewishpeople of all their oppressors. And there was even the fact, after Jesus
performed the miracle of feeding the multitudes with a few fish and a few
loaves of bread, that the people threatenedto take Jesus by force—thenand
there—and make Him king (John 6:15).
The reactionof the people to the premature announcement that He was the
Christ, the Son of the living God, would have been a terrible distractionand
obstacle to the thing that He truly came to this world to do—and that was, to
die on the cross for sinners.
It would have been so very easyfor Jesus to have won the favor of this world
to Himself. He could have been instantly and easilycrownedas King of kings
and Lord of lords without the cross. All He would have had to do was to
behave fully as who He was—the world would so marvel at all the benefits
they would have receivedfrom Him that they would have instantly bowedto
Him.
But that was not why He came. And now, the time had come for Him, in
obedience to the Father, to go to Jerusalemand suffer on the cross. And the
fact is that He shunned the favor of this world in order to—unhindered and
undeflected—fulfill the Father's will and die on the cross for you and me. And
so, without regardfor the favor of this world, He “steadfastlysetHis face to

go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51)—and to the hill on which He would be put to
death.
* * * * * * * * * *
Not only did He setthe glory and the favor of this world aside in order to go
forward to fulfill the will of the Fatherfor us through the cross;but His
commitment to the Father's will also moved Him to affirm that the cross was
absolutely necessary.
In our passage, Jesus forthe first time tells His disciples plainly what awaited
Him in Jerusalem. Matthew tells us that, "[f]rom that time Jesus beganto
show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raisedthe
third day" (v. 21). It was not the first awarenessthat He Himself had of these
things, but it was the first time that He made them knownso clearlyto the
disciples. And it had not been the first time He had hinted at these things
(9:15; 12:39-40;16:4); but it was the first time that He spoke of these things
"openly" (Mark 8:32). And it would not be the lasttime He would mention
these things to His disciples before they finally occurred (17:9, 22-23;20:18-
19; 26:2, 12,31). In fact, even after they occurred, the disciples didn't fully
understand them until after He rose from the dead and opened their
understanding, that they might comprehend the Old TestamentScriptures
that spoke ofthem (Luke 24:45).
There was a divinely-appointed inevitability about the things that Jesus had
said were about to occur to Himself. He "must" experience these things. In
fact, in the original language, it says that it was "necessary" (dei) that He go
to Jerusalemand experience them. One reason, certainly, was because they
had been promised in the Scriptures long beforehand. They were the
expressedpurpose of His Father for Him—just as He Himself had declared
that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His
life a ransomfor many” (Matthew 20:28).
But there was also a necessityto these things because, without His going
forward to Jerusalem, suffering under the hands of the leaders, being
crucified, and being raisedthree days later, you and I would not be saved. As

it says in Hebrews 9:27-28, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but
after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many."
How we should praise our Father for such a faithful Savior! He suffered these
things because, in the wise decree ofthe Father, and in His mercy toward us,
they “must” happen.
* * * * * * * * * *
And not only did He shun the glory and favor of this world, and feel the
necessityofthe cross as the Father's divinely appointed purpose for Him; but
Jesus also abhorredanything or anyone that would dare to swayHim from
that divine purpose.
Here, we find one of the strangeststories in the Gospel of Matthew. Peter
dares to rebuke the Lord. Peterhad no doubt been thinking himself very
important, since the Lord had just given him a greatword of commendation
and praise for the confessionhe had just made. He then heard Jesus talking
about His own death and thought such talk to be inappropriate. And so, he
dared to take the Lord aside as if to privately correctHim. He told Him, "Far
be it from You, Lord . . ."; or more literally, "Godhave mercy to You, Lord!"
It was as if he were saying that it could not have possibly been God's will for
Jesus to die. And then, he used the strongestnegative possible in the original
language so as to say, "In no way shall such a thing be to You!"
Now;I speak this cautiously and reverently. But I believe that this was a
moment of temptation for our Lord. The devil had already soughtto tempt
Him awayfrom the cross before. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness before
His public ministry began. In one of those temptations, the devil took Jesus up
to an exceedinglyhigh mountain, showedHim all the kingdoms of the world
and their glory, and—in the most outrageous actof blasphemy imaginable—
said to his owndivine Creator, "All these things I will give You if You will fall
down and worship me" (Matthew 4:8-9). It was an offer of "instant
kingship"—"instantMessianicrule". He was being told that He could have all
the kingdoms of the world without ever having to go to the cross—ifHe would
just bow down and worship the devil. What a test that was!

And do you remember our Lord's response to the tempter at that time? He
said, "Getbehind Me, Satan!" (Matthew 4:10; marginal reading). He told the
devil to get out of His way, and take his proper place out of His way and
behind Him. And now, as Peteris strongly suggesting to the Lord that these
things would never happen to Him, He turns—looks at the other disciples, as
it tells us in Mark 8:33; that is, at those for whom He was sent to die—and
says the same words to Peter: "Getbehind Me, Satan!"
I can't imagine what a horrifying blow that must have been to poor Peter. To
have heard such powerful words of rebuke from His beloved Lord—especially
after he had just been told that he spoke a confessionaboutJesus that was the
very revelationfrom the Father! This must have given Petera feeling of
sadness and rejectionbeyond human description! "But Lord," he might have
whimpered with tears welling up in his eyes;"I'm not Satan. I'm your beloved
follower—yourservant! I love You! Please don't castme awayas if I were
Satan! I only meant to say that . . . I mean . . . You're the Christ! You must
certainly go to Jerusalem;but only to conquer! Surely it couldn't be that You
would die! Not You!"
I don't believe that Jesus was meaning to say that Peter was Satan. But I do
believe that Jesus was realizing that Peter was being used by Satanat that
moment; and Jesus spoke directlyand sharply to the one who was seeking to
tempt Him through Peter. Jesus spoke further to the devil—and put His
finger on the motives that drove Peter, as well—when He said, "Getbehind
Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of
God, but the things of men." It's so often true that, to men, the message ofthe
cross is utter foolishness. It doesn't make sense that the King of kings would
come to suffer and die. And yet, Jesus here shows His devotion to the Father
by the fact that the devil's alternatives to the cross are an "offense"to Him.
Before I depart from this point, I wonder out loud if this doesn't also speak to
those times when the devil peddles his falsehoods in the church today. What
happens when churches lose their focus, and ceasespeaking ofthe cross to
which Jesus Himself was so committed? What happens when denominations
seek to soften the offense of the cross in their doctrinal statements, and try to
avoid shocking people with such a message?

Or what happens when the Holy Spirit is working the convictionof sin into
someone, and they feel the oppressive guilt of having shakentheir fist at God's
law; and then, one of us—as Jesus'professing followers—dares to come along
beside them, pat them on the back, and seek to comfort them when the Spirit
is seeking to convict them? What happens when, at such times, we tell them,
"There, there. You're not really so bad, you know." Do we then rob them of
the sense that they are truly so bad that they need a Savior? Do we then work
againstthe message ofthe cross? Do we—unwittingly—become instruments of
the devil in his opposition to Jesus'sacrifice?
Jesus Himself was committed to the cross. And He was committed to the
divine necessityof the cross. He even rejectedthe favor and praise of this
world in order to go to the cross. And if we stand in the wayof the message of
the cross, Iam daring to wonder if Jesus wouldturn to us, and say, "Get
behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the
things of God, but the things of men."
* * * * * * * * * *
So then; here's Jesus'stand. He is committed to the cross. He sees it as His
Father's divinely appointed purpose for Him. He shuns this world's praise
and glory because ofit. He approves of the divine necessityofit. And He
utterly rejects any of the devil's substitutes and alternatives to it. He had set
Himself resolutelyto the way of the cross. He, for the joy that was setbefore
Him, would endure the cross—despising its shame (Heb. 12:2).
Jesus rejectedthe easyway; and chose insteadthe hard way of the death of
the cross. And it was then that He turned to His followers and calls them to do
the same. He says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, andfollow Me."
Jesus does not callus to do something that He didn't do Himself first. May we
so look, and study, and learn from our Savior's example, that we too will live
in accordancewith His purpose!
Misseda message?Check the Archives!

Copyright © 2007 BethanyBible Church, All Rights Reserved
BARCLAY
THE GREAT REBUKE (Matthew 16:20-23)
16:20-23 He gave orders to his disciples to tell no one that he was God's
Anointed One. From that time Jesus beganto show his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed and be raisedon the third day. Petercaught hold of him,
and beganto urge upon him: "Godforbid that this should happen to you!
This must never come to you!" He turned and said to Peter, "Getbehind me,
Satan! You are putting a stumbling-block in my way. Your ideas are not
God's but men's."
Although the disciples had graspedthe fact that Jesus was God's Messiah,
they still had not graspedwhat that greatfact meant. To them it meant
something totally different from what it meant to Jesus. Theywere still
thinking in terms of a conquering Messiah, a warriorking, who would sweep
the Romans from Palestine and lead Israelto power. That is why Jesus
commanded them to silence. If they had gone out to the people and preached
their own ideas, all they would have succeededin doing would have been to
raise a tragic rebellion; they could have produced only another outbreak of
violence doomed to disaster. Before they could preach that Jesus was the
Messiah, they had to learn what that meant. In point of fact, Peter's reaction
shows just how far the disciples were from realizing just what Jesus meant
when he claimedto be the Messiahandthe Son of God.
So Jesus beganto seek to open their eyes to the fact that for him there was no
way but the way of the Cross. He said that he must go to Jerusalemand suffer
at the hands of the "elders and chief priests and scribes." Thesethree groups
of men were in fact the three groups of which the Sanhedrin was composed.
The elders were the respectedmen of the people; the chief priests were
predominantly Sadducees;and the scribes were Pharisees.In effect, Jesus is

saying that he must suffer at the hands of the orthodox religious leaders of the
country.
No soonerhad Jesus saidthat than Peterreactedwith violence. Peterhad
been brought up on the idea of a Messiahofpowerand glory and conquest.
To him the idea of a suffering Messiah, the connectionof a cross with the
work of the Messiah, was incredible. He "caughthold" of Jesus. Almost
certainly the meaning is that he flung a protecting arm round Jesus, as if to
hold him back from a suicidal course. "This," saidPeter, "must not and
cannot happen to you." And then came the greatrebuke which makes us
catchour breath--"Getbehind me, Satan!" There are certain things which we
must graspin order to understand this tragic and dramatic scene.
We must try to catch the tone of voice in which Jesus spoke. He certainly did
not sayit with a snarl of angerin his voice and a blaze of indignant passionin
his eyes. He saidit like a man wounded to the heart, with poignant grief and a
kind of shuddering horror. Why should he reactlike that?
He did so because in that moment there came back to him with cruel force the
temptations which he had facedin the wilderness at the beginning of his
ministry. There he had been tempted to take the way of power. "Give them
bread, give them material things," saidthe tempter, "and they will follow
you." "Give them sensations,"saidthe tempter, "give them wonders, and they
will follow you ... .. Compromise with the world," said the tempter. "Reduce
your standards, and they will follow you." It was preciselythe same
temptations with which Peter was confronting Jesus an over again.
Nor were these temptations ever wholly absent from the mind of Jesus. Luke
sees farinto the heart of the Master. At the end of the temptation story, Luke
writes: "And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from
him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13). Again and againthe tempter
launched this attack. No one wants a cross;no one wants to die in agony;even
in the Garden that same temptation came to Jesus, the temptation to take
another way.
And here Peteris offering it to him now. The sharpness and the poignancy of
Jesus'answerare due to the fact that Peterwas urging upon him the very

things which the tempter was always whispering to him, the very things
againstwhich he had to steelhimself. Peterwas confronting Jesus with that
way of escape from the Cross which to the end beckonedto him.
That is why Peterwas Satan. Satanliterally means the Adversary. That is why
Peter's ideas were not God's but men's. Satan is any force which seeks to
deflect us from the wayof God; Satanis any influence which seeksto make us
turn back from the hard way that God has setbefore us; Satan is any power
which seeks to make human desires take the place of the divine imperative.
What made the temptation more acute was the factthat it came from one who
loved him. Peterspoke as he did only because he loved Jesus so much that he
could not bear to think of him treading that dreadful path and dying that
awful death. The hardest temptation of all is the one which comes from
protecting love. There are times when fond love seeks to deflectus from the
perils of the path of God; but the reallove is not the love which holds the
knight at home, but the love which sends him out to obey the commandments
of the chivalry which is given, not to make life easy, but to make life great. It
is quite possible for love to be so protecting that it seeksto protect those it
loves from the adventure of the warfare of the soldierof Christ, and from the
strenuousness ofthe pathway of the pilgrim of God. What really wounded
Jesus'heart and what really made him speak as he did, was that the tempter
spoke to him that day through the fond but mistakenlove of Peter's hot heart.
THE CHALLENGE BEHIND THE REBUKE (Matthew 16:20-23 continued)
Before we leave this passage, itis interesting to look at two very early
interpretations of the phrase: "Getbehind me, Satan!" Origen suggestedthat,
Jesus was saying to Peter:"Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me.
It is your place to follow me in the way I choose, notto try to lead me in the
way you would like me to go." If the phrase can be interpreted in that way,
something at leastof its sting is removed, for it does not banish Peterfrom
Christ's presence;rather it recalls him to his proper place, as a follower
walking in the footsteps ofJesus. It is true for all of us that we must ever take
the wayof Christ and never seek to compel him to take our way.

A further development comes when we closelyexamine this saying of Jesus in
the light of his saying to Satanat the end of the temptations as Matthew
records it in Matthew 4:10. Although in the English translations the two
passagessound different they are almost, but not quite, the same. In Matthew
4:10 the RevisedStandard Version translates:"Begone, Satan!" and the
Greek is: "Hupage (Greek #5217)Satana (Greek #4566)." In the Revised
Standard Version translation of Matthew 16:23, Jesus says to Peter:"Get
behind me, Satan," and the Greek is:"Hupage (Greek #5217)opiso (Greek
#3694)mou (Greek #3450), Satana(Greek #4566)."
The point is that Jesus'command to Satanis simply: "Begone!" while his
command to Peteris: "Begone behind me!" that is to say, "Become my
followeragain." Satanis banished from the presence ofChrist; Peteris
recalledto be Christ's follower. The one thing that Satancould never become
is a followerof Christ; in his diabolicalpride he could never submit to that;
that is why he is Satan. On the other hand, Peter might be mistaken and might
fail and might sin, but for him there was always the challenge and the chance
to become a followeragain. It is as if Jesus saidto Peter:"At the moment you
have spokenas Satanwould. But that is not the real Peterspeaking. You can
redeem yourself. Come behind me, and be my followeragain, and even yet, all
will be well." The basic difference betweenPeter and Satan is preciselythe
fact that Satanwould never getbehind Jesus. So long as a man is prepared to
try to follow, even after he has fallen, there is still for him the hope of glory
here and hereafter.
JIM BOMBKAMP
20 Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the
Christ” - Having revealedwho He was to His disciples and heard Peter’s (and
their corporate confession)of Him as being God the Son, the Messiah, Jesus
now warned them not to tell anyone He was the Christ

6.1. Jesus knew that the multitudes had on a couple of occasionsalready
consideredtaking Him by force and making Him king, so in order to keep
something like that from being attempted by a mob, Jesus wiselywarned His
disciples now to keeptheir revelation of who He was to themselves for now
6.1.1. This was just one of many opportunities that Jesus had and turned
down where He could have utilized an opportunity to manipulate people and
circumstances in order to place Himself as head over the nation of Israelas
king, howeverJesus knew that His kingdom was not of this world, and that
His purpose was to go to the cross and procure the salvationof mankind and
the total defeatand overthrow of the devil.
JOHN BROADUS
Matthew 16:20. Then chargedhe his (the) disciples. 'His' was added by
copyists, as in Matthew 16:5. The plural shows that they shared the conviction
which Peter as their spokesmanhad expressed. Thathe was Jesus the Christ.
'Jesus'was insertedby copyists. Until their ownviews of his Messianic work
were greatly corrected, as the Masteratonce began to do, (Matthew 16:21)
any statementby them that he was Messiahwouldhave done harm rather
than good. It would have brought him prematurely into open antagonismto
the Jewishrulers, and might have awakenedthe fanaticismof the masses, who
would take it for granted that the Messiahmust collectan army for
conquering, and this would have excitedthe jealousyof the tetrarchs and the
Roman government. (Compare on Matthew 14:22 and Matthew 8:4) After he
had suffered and died, (Luke 9:21 f.) they could tell everybody that he was the
Messiah, andcould then give correctideas of the Messianic work.

RICH CATHERS
0 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was
Jesus the Christ.
Doesn’tsound very evangelistic. But this is just a temporary command. One
suggestionis that Jesus is trying to keepthe crowds from getting too large and
proclaiming Him to be the king before the right time. The day will come later
when He will send them out to preach.
J. LIGON DUNCAN
And then Jesus says something absolutelyflabbergasting. He says to the
apostles in verse 20: “Tellno one that I am the Messiah.” Well, I mean think
of it. If they can't figure out that He's not Jeremiah, Elijah, or one of the
prophets, what in the world would they do with the acclamationthat He was
the Messiah? Whatin the world would they do with that? How would they
misconstrue that? And so Christ tells His disciples not to proclaim that
publicly because ofthe potential and dangerof misunderstanding.
ReformationStudy Bible – Matt 16:20
Resources» ReformationStudy Bible » Matthew » Matt 16:20
Matt 16:20
16:20 tell no one. See 8:4. Popular conceptions of the Messiahwere far from
recognizing His suffering ministry. To allow His disciples to proclaim His
messiahshipopenly might have instigated a political movement that would
have hampered His real mission (John 6:15).

SPURGEON
20. Then chargedhe his disciples that they should tell no man that he was
Jesus the Christ.
As yet they were to be silent as to our Lord’s highest claims, for fear the
people should in rash zeal set him up as king by force of arms. It was
dangerous to tell such an ill-instructed multitude what they would be sure to
misunderstand and misuse. The command to tell no man must have sounded
very strangelyin the disciples’ears. It was no business of theirs to discoverthe
reasonof their Lord’s orders; it was enough for them to do as he bade them.
We are under no such embargo, and therefore we will tell to all that our Lord
is the Savior, the Anointed of God, or, as he has himself wordedit, “Jesus the
Christ. ”
Bible Dictionaries
Holman Bible Dictionary
Messianic Secret
Resource Toolbox
Print Article
Title Bible students use to explain Jesus'commands to His audience and His
disciples not to revealwho He was after His performance of messianic
wonders. Throughout the GospelofMark, Jesus made every attempt to
concealHis true identity as the Christ. Although the messianic secretcanbe

found in the Gospels ofMatthew (Matthew 8:3-4 ; Matthew 9:29-31 ;
Matthew 12:15-16 ; Matthew 17:9 ) and Luke (Luke 4:41 ; Luke 8:56 ; Luke
9:21 ), Mark used the mysterious unveiling of the messiahshipof Jesus as the
unifying theme of his Gospel. Typically, Matthew understood the messianic
secretas the fulfillment of prophecy (Matthew 12:17-21 ); Luke provided no
explanation. Mark, however, usedthe messianic secretto organize his story
around the progressive revelationof the personof Christ and the messianic
consciousnessofthe disciples. Demons demonstrated that they recognized
Jesus immediately: “I know who You are—the Holy One of God!” (Mark
1:24-25 ,Mark 1:24-25,1:34 ;Mark 3:11-12 ; Mark 5:6-8 ; Mark 9:20 NIV);
nevertheless, Jesussuppressedtheir confession. Jesus prohibited public
professionby those who experiencedmiraculous healing ( Mark 1:43 ; Mark
5:43 ; Mark 7:36 ; Mark 8:26 ). The parables of Jesus were offeredin order to
keep“outsiders” from learning the secret(Mark 4:11-12 ). Even the disciples,
once they related that they understood the “mystery of the kingdom of God”
(Mark 4:11 ), were swornto silence (Mark 8:30 ; Mark 9:9 ). Why did Jesus
want to keepHis messiahshipa secret?
Perhaps Jesus avoidedthe title due to the popular messianic expectations of
the people—theywere looking for a political deliverer. Some believe that
Jesus prohibited messianic proclamationso that He could continue to move
about freely in public. The only parable of Jesus whichMark recorded
exclusively may provide a clue to the purpose of the messianic secret. Jesus
introduced the parable of the secretgrowing seed(Mark 4:26-29 ) with the
proverb: “Fornothing is hidden, exceptto be revealed;nor has anything been
secret, but that it should come to light” (Mark 4:22 NAS). Jesus intended for
people of faith to learn the secretofHis messiahship( Mark 4:11 ,Mark
4:11,4:34 ). He comparedthe mystery of the kingdom of God to a man who
sows seedand discovers, to his amazement, that seededground produces
plants which secretlygrow at night—”he knowethnot how” (Mark 4:27 ).
Like the seedwhich is coveredby ground, the secretof Jesus'identity would
be concealedfora season:discovering the messianic secretwouldtake time.
Jesus did not force people to acceptHim as Messiah;“those who had ears to
hear” must learn the secreton their own. The disciples not only needed time

to recognize Jesus as Messiah(Mark 4:41 ; Mark 6:52 ; Mark 8:17-21 ), they
also neededtime to come to terms with His messianic agenda:messianic
suffering precedes messianic glory(Mark 9:31-32 ). Complete human
understanding of the messianic secretwouldonly be possible after the
resurrection(Mark 9:9-10 ). Therefore, no immediate messianic profession
would possess anydepth of understanding (especiallydemonic confession!).
Jesus forcedthe disciples to think about the secretuntil they could articulate
the secret. See Jesus;Christ; Messiah.
Rodney Reeves
Matthew’s Explanation of the “Messianic Secret”
Postedon December6, 2012 by Matt Dabbs • 3 Comments
One of the big topics in the Gospelof Mark is what is known as the
“Messianic Secret”. Overand over againin Mark, Jesus tells people not to tell
others about who he is. This happens up until Mark 8 when Jesus askshis
disciples who they think he is and Peter says he is the Christ or Messiah. It
seems kind of strange for Jesus to tell others not to tell people about what they
have seenuntil half way through the book. Some believe the reasonfor this is
because Jesusdidn’t want people to misunderstand his mission and follow him
for all the wrong reasons (to receive food like when he fed the 5000 in Mark 6)
(Jesus 101, p 22).
I was reading in Matthew today and it looks like Matthew actually gives an
explanation as to why Jesus told people not to tell. It has to do with fulfillment
of prophesy from Isaiah42:1-4. Here is what Matthew tells us in Matthew
12:13-21,
13 Then he said to the man, “Stretchout your hand.” So he stretchedit out
and it was completelyrestored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the
Pharisees wentout and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
God’s ChosenServant

15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followedhim, and he
healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to
fulfill what was spokenthrough the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Am I reading that right? Why haven’t I read anyone just offering Matthew’s
explanation and why have so many tried so many other explanations if it is
right there? Maybe this has been mentioned in commentaries dozens of times
and I am just ignorant. This link seems to say the prophesy isn’t about the
secretbut instead points back to Jesus (in that instance)being unwilling to
engage the Pharisees. Idid a little more poking around and the Holman Bible
Dictionary offers this as a possibility. Thoughts?
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Filed Under: Bible, Christianity, GospelofMark, Gospelof Matthew, Jesus,
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3 Responsesto Matthew’s Explanation of the “Messianic Secret”
baritonejp says:
December7, 2012 at11:19 am
I do think this is telling us of Jesus’characterbut I also think is an example of
the dispensationof time or in respectto God timing.
Reply
jesusandthebible says:
December7, 2012 at1:06 pm
Matthew’s use of Isa 42 is indeed important for explaining the Messianic
secret. In fact, the voice from heaven at Jesus’baptism already alludes to Isa.
42:1 as well as Ps. 2:7. The words “This is my beloved son, with whom I am
pleased,” revealthat Jesus is addressedlike the newly anointed king in Ps.
2:4-7 (You are my son; today I have begotten you) and like the servantof Isa.
42:1 (the servantwith whom God is pleased). He will be a servant Messiah
(king).
The quote of Isa. 42:1-4 in Mt. 12:18-21 reinforces this, showing that Jesus is
not the Messiahpeople think he is, including the Pharisees who see his
possible ruling power as a threat to their power, and plan to kill him. They all
think he could be, or wants to be, an overpowering imperial Messiah(king).
Instead, Jesus quotes Isa. 42:1-4 to show that he is a servantMessiah, the one
on whom God puts the Spirit and pleases Godby announcing justice
(righteousness)to the nations, not just Israel.
So Jesus is not a politician seeking public support among impressedcrowds.
He does not cry out in the streets to contend againstothers on his own behalf.
After healing many, Jesus tells the crowdnot to make him known. He will not
“break a bruised reed;” he will not recruit oppressedand bruised crowds to
fight on his behalf so he can become the imperial Messiah. And he will not

rule like others who are overbearing towards the poor, the weak, and the
outcasts.
Instead, all along his main messagehas beenabout a new kingdom. Jesus’
kingship comes from heaven(the Spirit from heavenanoints him as king at
his baptism), and is different from all the kings of earth. He calls disciples to
become part of his international kingdom where some Gentiles as well as Jews
come to follow him and live out his new gentle and loving righteousness
through the powerof his Spirit given to them.
Reply
Andrew Patrick says:
December8, 2012 at2:24 pm
I don’t think it’s a question of whether that passageofMatthew applies, but
rather why it would apply. He chargedthem not to make it known(that it
might fulfill the prophecy) but why would he choose to work in this way?
Mat 12:16-21 KJV
(16) And chargedthem that they should not make him known:
(17) That it might be fulfilled which was spokenby Esaias the prophet, saying,
(18) Beholdmy servant, whom I have chosen;my beloved, in whom my soul is
well pleased:I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the
Gentiles.
(19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the
streets.
(20) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
(21) And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.
I think we canfigure out the reasonfrom anotherinstance within Matthew as
well, when Jesus reminds Peterthat he had the powerto deliver himself from
his owntrial if he so chose… but what reasondid he give for holding back?

Mat 26:52-54 KJV
(52) Then said Jesus unto him, Put up againthy swordinto his place: for all
they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
(53) Thinkestthou that I cannotnow pray to my Father, and he shall
presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
(54) But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
If Jesus had prevented an unjust arrestthrough force and power, would he
have been crucified? If Jesus had been knownas the Messiahand/or the Son
of God, would the Pharisees have brought out their true natures? Or would
they have been obsequious and fawning over the Son of God, which is God?
Jesus couldhave come with thunder and lightning and angels, but that’s not
how he wrote the script this time around.
Mar 3:11-12 KJV
(11) And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried,
saying, Thou art the Sonof God.
(12) And he straitly chargedthem that they should not make him known.
There is an old story about a prince that walks among his people as a pauper.
Some nobles would ignore him or send him away, saying that they were
preparing for an important person. Some were abusive, and some were evil,
but there would be the few that were kindly regardless ofperceivedrank and
status. The prince did not maintain his disguise for ever, but for a while he
remained incognito.
Maybe this story is derived from the gospels, ormaybe not, but I think the
principle still applies. If Jesus had come with might and glory, how would he
have been received, and how would these things have been fulfilled? Is he
looking for those that will only respectpowerand status or is it something else
he desires?
I don’t think it’s a complicatedanswer. Perhaps a complimentary answer, but
not complicated.

How Do We Explain the Messianic Secret?
Forthis week’s Readers’Mailbag, Iaddress a questionofcentralimportance
for understanding the GospelofMark, ourearliestGospelandoftenthought to
be the one that bestrepresents whatactuallyhappened in the life of Jesus. I’ll
have to *explain* the questionbefore answering it (!). Thenmostofthis post
will be setting up the answerwiththe crucialbackgroundinformation, which,
as it turns out, the vast majority of casual Bible readers have nevereven
thought of or heard.
QUESTION;
I’ve lookedback throughthe archives, butI can’t find anything on Mark’s
“Messianic secret”. It’s possible Isimply missedit, but if you haven’t dealtwith
it before would you considerdoing a poston the subject, please?!Particularly
on why it’s no longeracceptedbyscholars.
RESPONSE:
The “messianic secret”is a term that overa century ago came to be applied to
the GospelofMark to explain one of its most distinctive and puzzling features.
Mark portrays Jesus clearlyas the messiah. Note the very first verse! “The
Beginning of the Gospel ofJesus the Messiah.” Manyscholars think, infact,
that Mark meant this opening line to be the actual title of the book. It’s all
about Jesus as the Messiah.
But there’s a strange feature in mark’s portrayal of the messiahshipofJesus.
Mark is unique among the Gospels inhaving Jesus tellhis disciples and

everyone else who starts to recognize who he is NOT to tellanyone. He tries to
keepit hushed up. Butwhy?
The most commonexplanation among mostreaders, inmy experience, is that
Jesus does this so he doesn’tgetarrestedtoo soonandcrucifiedbefore his time.
Makes sense.
https://ehrmanblog.org/how-do-we-explain-the-messianic-secret/
Messianic Secret
A theory about the gospels.It was observedby William Wrede in 1901 that
the inconsistenciesin the narrative about Jesus in Mark render incredible
some accounts of the life of Jesus. It is not possible to trace how Jesus became
during his ministry increasinglyconscious ofhis Messianicstatus. Wrede
remarkedon the oddness that Jesus commanded people he had healed to be
silent about it (surely an impossibility! Mark 5: 43). Indeed sometimes (Mark
7: 36) they immediately disobeyedthe request.
Wrede explained that Mark was giving not a historicalaccountbut a
theologicalinterpretation. It was impossible for Jesus'Messiahshipto have
been accepteduntil after belief in the resurrection. Then it was realized that
Jesus had been the Messiahallalong. But how was it that he was not
recognized? The answerwas that he had sworn people to secrecy—thoughthe
demons, being supernatural beings, recognizedthe truth (Mark 1: 24). When
Jesus spoke in parables, Mark's view was that they were deliberately couched
in language which concealedthe truth from the listening crowd(Mark 4: 12).
So Mark's editorial explanation is given as an injunction of Jesus in 9: 9.
It is generally agreedthat Mark's gospelis a theologicalinterpretation born
out of the Church's post‐ resurrectionfaith, but Wrede's theory is not
acceptable as it stands. The secrecymotif embraces much more than
Messiahship(as indeed with the public miracles). And some apparently

Messianic events (e.g. the entry into Jerusalem)attract no command to
secrecy:cf. Luke 19: 40. There was no reasonin the Jewishupbringing of the
disciples for them to have come to regard Jesus as Messiahas a result of the
resurrection. Another explanation of the material is that in the 1stcent. CE
there were a number of Messianic conceptions onoffer (as in the book of
Jubilees). If Jesus was to reveal in any wayhis sense ofself‐ understanding, he
was bound to use the categories thatwere available. It was necessaryto
disavow, for example, any obviously nationalistic, xenophobic features of
Messiahship. The injunctions to secrecycouldtherefore have been a
precaution takenby Jesus, not always with success (since some followers
refused to keepsilent, Mark 7: 36–7). Jesus'wishto keephis status secretwas
perhaps takento be an implied permission for Mark's readers to keeptheir
faith hidden from public scrutiny. But a time for ‘outing’ their allegiance
would come later, for he was a Messiahaiming to save by suffering and
service;and he calledupon the disciples to tread the same path; which
perhaps explains their horror (Mark 8: 32) and foreboding.
http://www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com/article/opr/t94/e1244
NEW VERSE STUDY
Matthew 9:30 30and their sight was restored. Jesus
warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about
this."
New Living Translation

Then their eyes were opened, and they could see! Jesus
sternly warned them, “Don’ttell anyone about this.”
English StandardVersion
And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned
them, “See that no one knows about it.”
Berean Study Bible
And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them
sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”
Berean Literal Bible
And their eyes were opened. And Jesus strictly
instructedthem, saying, "See that no one knows!"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(30) Straitly chargedthem.—The word, implying originally the panting
breath of vehement emotion, is one of the strongestused by the New
Testamentwriters (Mark 1:43; Mark 14:5; John 11:33;John 11:38) to express
repugnance, displeasure, or the command that implies annoyance. It is as if
our Lord saw the garrulous joy on the point of uttering itself, and sought by
every means in His powerto restrain it. The reasons may be sought, as
elsewhere,either(1) in its being goodfor the spiritual life of the men
themselves that they should show forth their praise of God, not with their lips,
but in their lives; or (2) in the shrinking from mere notoriety, from the gaze of
crowds drawn togetherto gaze on signs and wonders, and ready to make the
Wonder-Workera king because He wrought them, which St. Matthew, at a
later stage, notes as characteristic ofour Lord’s ministry (Matthew 12:16-21).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
9:27-31 At this time the Jews expectedMessiahwouldappear; these blind
men knew and proclaimed in the streets ofCapernaum that he was come, and
that Jesus was he. Those who, by the providence of God, have lost their bodily
sight, may, by the grace of God, have the eyes of their understanding fully
enlightened. And whateverour wants and burdens are, we need no more for
supply and support, than to share in the mercy of our Lord Jesus. In Christ is
enough for all. They followedhim crying aloud. He would try their faith, and
would teach us always to pray, and not to faint, though the answerdoes not
come at once. They followedChrist, and followedhim crying; but the great
question is, Do ye believe? Nature may make us earnest, but it is only grace
that can work faith. Christ touched their eyes. He gives sight to blind souls by
the powerof his grace going with his word, and he puts the cure upon their
faith. Those who apply to Jesus Christ, shall be dealt with, not according to
their fancies, nor according to their profession, but according to their faith.
Christ sometimes concealedhis miracles, because he would not indulge the
conceitwhich prevailed among the Jews, thattheir Messiahshould be a
temporal prince, and so give occasionto the people to attempt tumults and
seditions.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And their eyes were opened - Immediately. That is, their sight was restored:
"And Jesus straitly chargedthem." He enjoined it on them in the most
earnestand solemnmanner.
See that no man know it - That is, do not make proclamation of this; do not
make it your business to tell every man of it; do not go forth as if I wishedthat
you should proclaim this abroad. The injunction could not mean that they
should screenthe factthat no one "should" know it, for there were witnesses
of it, and it would be made known; but they were not to make it a point to
proclaim to the world what was done to them. This was in accordance withthe
usual habit of the Saviour Matthew 8:4; Matthew 12:16, and also with his own
precepts to others Matthew 6:1-4.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
30. And their eyes were opened: and Jesus straitly chargedthem—The
expressionis very strong, denoting greatearnestness.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Matthew 9:30".
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And their eyes were opened,.... Some copies read, "immediately";and so do
the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions:and this was certainly the true and
real matter of fact, that as soonas Christ had touched their eyes, and said the
above words, their sight was perfectly restoredto them; and they had a clear,
full, and true sight of objects, as men have, whose vision faculty is in its full
strength and rigour, and their eyes open:
and Jesus straitly chargedthem, saying, see that no man know it. This was a
very strict charge, and according to the signification of the word here used, it
was given with greatausterity of countenance, and severity of expression, in a
very rough and threatening manner; which Christ might be the rather
induced to, because he had given such like orders already, and they had not
been observed:the reasons forconcealing the miracle are not very obvious; it

seems likely, that with the same view he took no notice of these blind men in
the street, but went into an house, and cured them; which seems to be, to shun
all appearance of vain glory, or seeking popularapplause, that he gave these
orders; or it may be, he did not choose to be made more known by this
miracle, or at this time, or by these men; he might foresee thatit would be
attended with ill consequences;either the more to irritate the resentments of
some persons againsthim; or to put others on doing things which were
disagreeable to him; as setting him up for a temporal prince among them,
being David's son.
Geneva Study Bible
And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly chargedthem, saying, See that
no man know it.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 9:30 f. Ἀνεῴχθησαν … ὀφθαλμοί]they recoveredtheir power of
seeing. Comp. John 9:10; 2 Kings 6:17; Isaiah30:5; Isaiah42:7; Psalm 146:8;
Wetsteinon this passage.
ἐνεβριμήθη (see the critical remarks): He was displeasedwith them, and said
(see on John 11:33). The angry tone (Mark 1:43) of the prohibition is due to
the feeling that an unsuccessfulresult was to be apprehended. To such a
feeling correspondthe strict terms of the prohibition: take care to let no one
know it!
διεφήμισαν, κ.τ.λ.]“propter memoriam gratiae non possunt tacere
beneficium,” Jerome. ἐξελθόντες: out of the house. Matthew 9:28. Paulus,
notwithstanding the context, interprets: out of the town. See also Matthew
9:32, where αὐτῶνἐξερχομένων can only mean: whilst they were going out
from Jesus, out of His house.

Expositor's Greek Testament
Matthew 9:30. ἠνεῴχθησαν, a Hebraism. The Jews thought of blind eyes as
shut, and of seeing eyes as open.—ἐνεβριμήθη, sternlyenjoined (vide Mark
1:43). The paraphrase of Euthy. Zig. gives a vivid idea of the meaning,
“lookedseverely, contracting His eyebrows, and shaking His head at them, as
they are wont to do who wish to make sure that secrets will be kept”.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
30. straitly charged]The word in the original is a remarkable one, Literally,
to roar, then (1) “to charge with vehement threats,” then (2) “to enjoin
strictly,” (here and Mark 1:43); (3) to be loudly indignant (Mark 14:5); (4) “to
groanin the spirit;” said of our Lord at the grave of Lazarus (John 11:33;
John 11:38).
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 9:30. Ἀνεῴχθησαν, were opened)The same verb is used also in the
case ofears, Mark 7:34-35, and of the mouth, Luke 1:64.—ἐνεβριμήσατο,
straitly charged)perhaps lest an opportunity might be given to the Pharisees.
Cf. Matthew 9:34.[431]—ὁρᾶτε,see)A word used absolutely; for neither does
the following imperative depend on this.
[431]It would have been better for them to have obeyed His injunction of
silence:and yet their conduct is not without affording us means of inferring,
how greatis the effectwhich the powerof Christ has on those who have
experiencedit.—V. g.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 30. - And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly chargedthem
(ἐνεβριμήθη αὐτοῖς). The notion is of "coercionspringing out of displeasure.
The feeling is called out by something seenin another which moves to anger
rather than to sorrow" (BishopWestcott, onJohn 11:33). Saying, See that no
man know it. Partly to avoid publicity for himself, partly for their own sake,
for eventhe recital of the Lord's mercies towards us often becomes an

occasionofspiritual harm, since it is apt to degenerate into "display" with its
attendant evils. ῾ημᾶς διδάσκει φεύγειν τὸ ἐπιδεικτικὸνὡς αἴτιοντῶν κακῶν
(Origen, in Cromer's 'Catena'). The other occasions (vide ch. 8:4, note) on
which a similar command was given seemall to belong, with this, to the
earlier part of his ministry.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCEHURT NOTES
And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them: "
See that no one knows aboutthis!" - "Why? He was saying, “This is not a
publicity stunt.” Jesus knew the kind of followshipthat came from the miracle
mongers." (Adrian Rogers)
Spurgeon- They both saw:the double miracle was wrought at the same
moment. Comrades in the dark, they are now companions in the light.
Singular that for two souls there should thus be one destiny! It was a singular
double fact, and deservedto be made widely known; but our Lord had wise
reasons forrequiring silence. He “straitly chargedthem.” He left them no
option: he demanded complete silence. He that openedtheir eyes closedtheir
mouths. Jesus did not desire fame; he wanted less crowding;he wished to
avoid excitement; and therefore he was express and peremptory in his order:
“See that no man know it.”
Matthew 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout
all that land.
NET Matthew 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about him
throughout that entire region.
GNT Matthew 9:31 οἱ δὲ ἐξελθόντες διεφήμισαναὐτὸνἐν ὅλῃ τῇ γῇ ἐκείνῃ.

NLT Matthew 9:31 But instead, they went out and spread his fame all over
the region.
KJV Matthew 9:31 But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his
fame in all that country.
ESV Matthew 9:31 But they went away and spread his fame through all that
district.
NIV Matthew 9:31 But they went out and spreadthe news about him all over
that region.
ASV Matthew 9:31 But they went forth, and spread abroadhis fame in all
that land.
CSB Matthew 9:31 But they went out and spread the news about Him
throughout that whole area.
NKJ Matthew 9:31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about
Him in all that country.
NRS Matthew 9:31 But they went awayand spread the news about him
throughout that district.
YLT Matthew 9:31 but they, having gone forth, did spread his fame in all
that land.
spread - Mk 1:44,45 7:36
NOTE MATTHEW 9:18-38 ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
WITH ONLY A FEW NOTES -TO BE FINISHED LATER
But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout all that land.
Spurgeon- They most industriously published what they were bidden to
conceal, till “all that country” rang with the news. In this they erred greatly,
and probably causedthe Saviour so much inconvenience by the pressure of
the crowd, that he had to remove from the town. We may not hope that we are

doing right if we disobey our Lord. Howevernatural disobedience may
appear to be, it is disobedience, and must not be excused. Even if the results
turned out to be advantageous,it would not make it right to break the
command of our Lord. Silence is more than golden when our King commands
it. He doth not seek applause, norcause his voice to be heard in the streets
that he may be known to be doing a greatwork. His followers do well to copy
his example.
We do not wonderthat our Lord’s name became famous when there were
such persons to advertise it. How earnestlyand eloquently would the two
formerly blind men tell the story of how he opened their eyes!We are not
forbidden, but exhorted to make knownthe wonders of his grace. Letus not
fail in this natural, this necessary, this useful duty. More and more let us
“spreadabroad his fame.”
"According to Your Faith"
Matthew 9:27-31
Theme: Jesus is a merciful Savior who is sufficient to meet any need for
anyone who has sufficient faith in Him.
(Delivered Sunday, October30, 2005 atBethany Bible Church. All Scripture
quotes, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New King James Version.)
I'm going to ask you to do something unusual this morning. Now, to get ready
for it, I ask you to first arrange yourself so that you're sitting right next to one
other person. Now, please turn in your Bible to the ninth chapter of Matthew.
Keep your Bible on your lap and opened up to that chapter, because we're
going to look at it a little later.
Now, once you're situated and comfortable, I'm going to ask you to do
something that is going to be a bit of a challenge. On the count of three, I'm
going to ask you, and the person sitting next to you, to both close your eyes -

and I'm going to ask you to keepthem closedfor most of my sermon this
morning!
Now I know that, ordinarily, a pastorwould have to be out of his mind to
actually ASK people to close their eyes during his sermon. I already know that
some of you were going close them anyway. . . without my asking!But I have
a goodreasonfor asking this today. I want you to just relax and listen for a
while. I want you to use your imagination; and actually feelas if you've
become a part of this morning's story. You're going to need to keepyour eyes
closedin order to do so.
So, are you ready? One - two - three! Close your eyes.
Now keepthem closeduntil I tell you to open them. It'll be hard to do; but do
your best not to open them. In fact, pretend that even if you wanted to see, you
couldn't.
You see;I've just put you into this morning's story from the Bible. I've just
turned you into two blind men who lived 2,000 years ago;sitting by the side of
the road in the ancient Galileantown of Capernaum.
* * * * * * * * * *
How did you come to be blind? Well, we're not told the exactdetails. You
might have been born blind. Or you might have become blind as a result of an
accident. It may even be that you became blind through an illness or an
infection. Historians tell us that this - unfortunately - was something that
happens to people quite often in your day. You live in an unsanitary world
compared to the one from which you just came. There isn't any such thing as
"eye protection" in your day. The combination of hot summers, the glare of
the sun, the dirt, the dust, and the flies that prevail where you live, all combine
to aggravate anyinfection or inflammatory disease thatmay strike your eyes.
But in the end, it doesn't much matter how it happened. All you know is that
you are blind - and your blindness is beyond human remedy.
May I tell you how you might possibly look? I'm sorry to tell this, but it's not
a very pretty sight. Ancient near-easterneye diseaseswere oftenvery

repulsive - looking not too different from the effects of leprosy, in some cases.1
The skin around your eyes would be red and swollen;and your eyes would be
pale and shrunken - or in some cases, grotesquelyprotruding. Your infected
eye sockets wouldoften run; and would be itchy and painful.
And you yourself are in a pretty pathetic condition. You're poor and needy.
You can't work. You can't participate in the normal, daily life of your people.
There aren't the kinds of accommodations in your world such as would have
been made for you in modern times. There are no signs on doorways that are
written in braille. There are no slopedsidewalks, so thatyou can walk up into
different places with safetyand ease. There are no guide dogs to protect you
and lead you; no books on tape to help you read; no television or radio so that
you could at leasthear the news. You have no protectionfrom abuse, or from
the cruelty of passers-by, or from people who stealfrom you or take
advantage of you.
You are constantly at the mercy of others. You are constantly in need. You
are constantlyin a world of darkness. And all that you can do is sit
somewhere and ask alms of people as they go by. It's a sad and lonely
existence.
Ah; but isn't it nice that you at leastfound eachother - you and the blind man
beside you. Perhaps you knew eachother at some other point in life. But it's
just as likely that you were simply needy strangers who happened to stumble
upon one another - two poor blind men that share a common state of
helplessnessand need. Perhaps you felt that you could make it along better
with eachother than you eachcould on your own; and so, you cling to one
another in this lonely existence of yours. You both "look out" for eachother . .
. so to speak.
* * * * * * * * * *
Today, you're sitting along one of the roads near Capernaum, waiting for the
daily traffic of alms-givers to come by.
For two men without sight, you've actually gotten to be pretty goodat getting
around together. You can tell what time of day it is by which side of your faces

the heatof the sun beats down upon. You can tell what direction you're both
facing by the smell of the fishy wind that blows up from the busy shores the
Sea of Galilee. And you can even hear the screeching ofthe sea birds - and the
chatter of the crowds in the market places.
And speaking ofthat chatter; it sure has been interesting chatterlately.
You've both been hearing a lot of talk in town from the passers-byabout this
prophet from Nazareth- this Man named Jesus. Youheard about the amazing
sermon He preached up on the nearby mountain. People still talk about how
they never heard anything like it. They say that this teacherJesus doesn't
speak like the scribes do; that He teaches as one possessing a greatauthority
all His own. And the things they say that He said - things the likes of which no
one had ever heard before!- things that had more than just a deep and
profound ring of truth to them!
They say that multitudes where there to hear that sermon of His. Oh, how you
both wish you could have been there too . . . to have heard Him with your own
ears!
* * * * * * * * * *
But it wasn'tjust the things that people are saying about His teaching that
catchyour attention. You also hear the news going all over Galilee about the
things He does!You hear about how He heals all kinds of people - people who
are afflicted with various diseases andtorments; people who are demon-
possessed, orepileptics, or paralytics!From the talk you've been hearing,
you'd think that there was nothing this Man Jesus couldn't do!
Why; just the other day, you heard someone talking about a leprous man that
Jesus healed!They say that this horrible leper came right up to Jesus and
worshipped Him - calling Him "Lord", and saying, "If you are willing, You
can make me clean!" And then, you heard that Jesus just reachedout His
hand and touched the man! No one ever dares to touched a leper; but this
Prophet Jesus did. And they say that, when He did, the leper was instantly
healed . . . of all his leprosy! The people you heard talking about it say that
they heard the story directly from the leper himself!

Then, you heard that Jesus enteredinto town and, right away, healed the
servant of a centurion. The young man was paralyzed, they say; rackedwith
pain and torment! And yet, Jesus healedthe poor man from a distance - just
by speaking a single command! He merely spoke the words, and the paralysis
left the man that very hour!
What's more, you heard that it wasn'ttoo long after that that Jesus healed
another paralyzed man - a man who was lowereddown through a roof to
Him. The story is that there were lots of people who saw it; and that they
marveled that God would give such power to men!
In fact, you even heard that Jesus wentto a fisherman's house and healed the
fisherman's mother-in-law of a terrible fever. She got right up, they say, and
made everyone dinner! And then, before the day was over, you heard that
crowds and crowds ofpeople gatheredat the fisherman's house - bringing all
kinds of sick people, and demon-possessedpeople;and Jesus healedevery one
of them!
And so, you both begin to talk and reflecttogetheron the things you've been
hearing about this Jesus. You've both been to lots of doctors in your time -
and none of them have been able to help either of you with your eyes. But you
start thinking to yourself, "Who is this Man? If the things I'm hearing about
Him are true, then He must not only be a great prophet and teacher!He must
also be the greatesthealerthat ever lived!"
* * * * * * * * * *
And then you think that, perhaps, He's more than just a prophet and a
miracle worker. Maybe much more than just a mere man.
One of you says to the other, "You know what I heard? I heard that He was
out in a boat with a few of His followers - caught in that strange storm that
struck the lake the other day. Do you remember how it came suddenly - how
we could hear the wind howl; and how we had to grab our wraps, and keep
them from blowing awaybecause ofthe strong breeze?
"And then, remember how it all just suddenly stopped; and how there was a
greatcalm afterwards? It was weird! Well; I was told by someone that it

stopped because this Jesus stoodup in the boat and commanded the wind and
the waves to become calm - and they obeyedHim! He may be a greatprophet
and a greathealer; but who ever heard of a mere man who could command
the weather?"
Then, the other of you says, "Yeah!I heard about that too! And I heard
something else that'll really raise the hair on the back of your neck. You know
about the two demoniacs on the other side of the lake? Scariesttwo guys you'll
ever run into! They met Jesus and His group on the shore - but not to threaten
Him like they typically do to others. This time, they came to Him in fear -
falling on their knees and trembling before Him. I heard that the demons
beggedHim not to castthem out. I heard that they cried out to Him, 'What
have we to do with You, Jesus, YouSon of God? Have you come here to
torment us before the time?'
"And then do you know what happened? He castthe demons out and into a
heard of pigs! Pigs didn't do too well, I hear; but those two guys are perfectly
fine now."
Then you sigh; and say, "Well, I can think of two other guys that could really
do with a meeting with this Jesus!"
* * * * * * * * * *
Now you canjust imagine that, when you're a couple of blind men sitting
along the road in ancient Capernaum, you've got some time to think. And you
don't have much in the way of distractions, if you know what I mean; so you
can think pretty deeply.
So, you start to roll things around in your mind. "'Sonof God', eh? That's
what the demons calledHim? They said, 'What have we to do with You, Jesus,
You Son of God?'"
"Yes;that's what I heard. And you know; it has startedme to thinking about
a promise from the prophet Isaiah. I don't know why I remember it so clearly
just now; but it says, 'Sayto those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong. do not
fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, withthe recompense of
God; He will come and save you."'"2

"I know that passage!I was thinking of it too. That's a promise about the
Messiah- the long-awaitedSon of King David.3 And do you remember how
the restof that scripture goes?It says, 'Then the eyes of the blind shall be
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap
like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing . . .'4 Do you think it really could
be that the Messiahhas at lastcome? - that He really walks the streets of our
own town?"
"It must be! My heart tells me it's true. After all, everyone is talking about
Him in ways that no man has ever been talkedabout before. The stories being
told about Him can't have been made up. Too many people have seenHim do
these things that only the Messiahcando! They say that they've never seen
anything like what this Man does!"5
* * * * * * * * * *
Now;with these kinds of thoughts rolling around in your mind, you begin to
hear a commotion. There are crowds and crowds of people coming walking
along the street - almost running, actually. They're talking wildly and
excitedly. Is it a parade? Is there something wrong? What in the world is
going on?
One of you reaches outand pleads with someone to stop and explain. And
someone stops - almost breathless with joy - and tells you!
"It's Jesus!The Prophet from Nazareth is passing by just a few streets over!
And I saw what He did! It was a miracle! He was on His way to the home of
the ruler of the synagogue, going to heal the man's sick daughter. Then, He
stopped along the way and healed a sick woman of her bleeding disease. She
had been sick for twelve years - and yet, she merely touched the hem of His
garment and was healed!Completely healed! And then, He went to the ruler's
house and raised his daughter! She wasn't just sick - she was dead! And yet,
He raised her to life! He's passing by right now, on His way to the house of the
fisherman! Everyone is heading there! I'm going too!"
"Wait!" you both cry out. "Takeus with you!" But it's too late. The man who
was telling you this has hurried awayand is gone.

And so, you both jump up and staggerbehind the crowd, shouting out,
"Jesus!Help us! Heal us! We know who You are!You are the Son of David!
The Messiah!We know it! Stop for us! Wait for us! Have mercy on us!"
Right now, there is nothing more important than for both of you to get to
Jesus!Nothing can stand in your way! There may not be another chance!So
you run as fastas you dare - shouting all the while; "Sonof David, have mercy
on us!" One of you trips on something and falls hard to the ground; but the
other stops to help, and you continue to run. The other of you slams into the
side of a house; but the other holds you and helps you. You are running
recklessly;but neither of you cares!How glad you are that you have each
other!
Together, you keepstumbling and running - hands out, groping desperately
for the crowds that are following Jesus - listening, and straining to hear the
sound of the mob - and crying out the whole time long, "Jesus!Wait! Sonof
David - Messiah!Have mercy on us!"
You now know in your heart that nothing is too hard for Jesus. Surely, it
would be easyfor Him to give you both your sight. But why won't He stop for
you? Why won't He wait for you? Doesn'tHe hear your cries? Doesn'tHe
care?
And yet, you have both determined that you will not take "no" for an answer!
You both must have Him touch your eyes!You both must have Him heal you!
You both are determined to do just as your great, patriarchal father Jacob
did - you will find this One who is God in human flesh, and you will both grab
ahold of Him, and you will both say "I will not let you go unless you bless
me!"6
* * * * * * * * * *
At long last, you reach the outer fringes of the crowd. The chatteris almost
deafening; but you can hear them as they talk about Jesus. You can hear them
say that He went into the house; and so you feelyour way through the crowd
to the door - shouting out for Him all the while, "Sonof David, have mercy on

us!" You push your way through the crowd. People see the determination on
your sightless faces;and they get out of your way. You must getin to Jesus!
And then, you reach the door. Someone stops you. "Hey; you guys can't go in
there!"
"Out of our way!" one of you snaps! "We may be blind, but there're two of
us!" And so, he wisely moves aside. And in you go. No house - no doorway-
will stand in your way. You enter, shouting over the voices inside, "Jesus!Son
of David! Can you hear us? We can't see You; but can You see us? Oh please,
have mercy on us!"
You must be getting closerto Him. You feel the people inside moving out of
your way - making room for you. And then, you hear the room grow suddenly
silent and still. It must be that He sees you. It must be that you are right there
before Him.
And then, you hear the most wonderful voice you could everhear, breaking
the silence. It's a gentle voice - but a very strong and commanding voice as
well. It's His voice;and He says to you, "Do you believe that I am able to do
this?"
"'Able to do this'?", you think to yourselves. "So then; He did hear us after
all! He wasn't ignoring us! He knew all along what we wanted!"
And so, there you are - two poor, helpless, needy blind men; standing before
Jesus. And of course you believe that He is able to give you your sight. That's
why you fought so desparatelyto getto Him. And so, you both dare to speak
to the Son of David, and say, "Yes, Lord!"
Then, you are startled to feel the sudden but gentle touch of His hand upon
your eyes!(Reachup right now, and touch your own closedeyes.)Canyou
imagine what it must be like to feelthe touch of Jesus'hands upon your eyes?
What a wondrous experience that is! No one would have dared to touch your
eyes before. They're too repulsive. But He is a God of greatmercy and love.
He touches your eyes without even being askedto.
And then, He says to you both, "According to your faith let it be to you."

Now, dear brothers and sisters;open your eyes.
You can see!
* * * * * * * * * *
Now, as your eyes adjust to the light; just let those words of our Saviorsink
in: "According to your faith let it be to you."
Do you know that the problems we face in life - the challenges we dealwith, or
the trials we undergo, or the needs we have; whateverthey may be - are never
the realproblem? We face them in the presence of One for whom nothing is
impossible. The "problems" we face are never the problem when Jesus is
present!
No. The real problem is us! Our own lack of faith in Him is the problem.
And so, there's a great and very practical lessonforus to learn from this
morning's passage. Itteaches us that Jesus is a merciful Saviorwho is
sufficient to meet any need for anyone who has sufficient faith in Him. Now
that you've "experienced" it in your imagination, let's read it together.
The setting was the time when Jesus left the house of the synagogue ruler;
after He had raised the man's daughter from death. Matthew tells us that "the
report of this went out into all that land" (Matthew 9:26). And it's then that
we read;
When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followedHim, crying out and
saying, "Sonof David, have mercy on us!" And when He had come into the
house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus saidto them, "Do you believe
that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He touched
their eyes, saying, "According to your faith let it be to you." And their eyes
were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See that no one knows
it." But when they had departed, they spreadthe news about Him in all that
country" (Matthew 9:27-31).
* * * * * * * * * *

Let's quickly considera few of the details - and learn the lessons offaith it
seeks to teachus from these two blind men.
First, notice what it teaches us about . . .
1. THE NATURE OF THEIR FAITH IN JESUS (vv. 27-28).
The most important thing to notice is what they believed about Jesus Himself.
They calledHim "Son of David" - which is a very "messianic"name. Jesus
once askedthe Pharisees,"Whatto you think about the Christ? Whose Sonis
He?" And they answeredcorrectly, "The Sonof David" (Matthew 22:42).
Clearly, these two blind men understood who Jesus was. He was the long
awaitedMessiah- the promised offspring of King David - the One from God
whose throne would endure forever! They had put the pieces togetherabout
Him; and believed. You might remember that Matthew introduces Jesus to us
at the very beginning of his Gospelby saying, "The book of the genealogyof
Jesus Christ, the Son of David . . ." (Matthew 1:1); and yet, the cry of these
two blind men is the first time anyone actually calledHim by that name.
You might say that these two blind men "saw"Him more clearly than anyone
else. They stumbled upon the truth about Him, but believed the truth about
Him with all their being. Theirs was a saving faith. I believe we will see them
in heaven! And I also believe that they will see us too - if we have the same
faith in Jesus that they had.
* * * * * * * * * *
And then, notice how it was their understanding of who Jesus was that
motivated them to seek His mercy so aggressively. Look athow they
"demonstrated" their faith in Him! Matthew tells us that they "followed"
Him - even into the house! He says that they cried out to Him - with what we
might call "importunity"! They askedfor "mercy" from Him. The tense of
the verb that Matthew uses lets us know that they were continually,
persistently crying out to Him for mercy.7 They would not give up.
And the reasonfor their persistence is because theyknew - with unshakable
confidence - that because of who He is, He could heal them of their blindness!

Jesus was a secret keeper

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