Why Would Jesus Want to Keep His Identity a Secret? (Mark 3:12) Free Reprint Article

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Why Would Jesus Want to Keep His Identity a Secret? (Mark 3:12)

by Wayne Davies
11/02/2014 / Bible Studies

One of the themes of the book of Mark is the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Mark begins his gospel with the simple pronouncement this Jesus is both the Messiah and the Son of God.

As we read Mark's account, however, we are faced with the fact that Jesus repeatedly tells both demons and people to keep his identity secret.

Jesus and the demons.
During his ministry we get the impression that demons were following Jesus and doing everything possible to create havoc wherever he went. In Mark 1:21-26 a demon shows up in the Capernaum synagogue, of all places. The demon proclaims, "I know who you are the Holy One of Israel". How does Jesus respond? "Be quiet!" (Mark 1:24).

Later in Mark 1 we are told that Jesus "drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was" (Mark 1:34).

And then we come to Mark 3 and we read a summary statement of Jesus' ministry in a remote area near the Sea of Galilee. Again, demons are coming to Jesus in droves and they are crying out, "You are the Son of God". "But he (Jesus) gave them (the demons) strict orders not to tell who he was" (Mark 3:12).

Jesus and his healing miracles.
This "don't tell" motif also appears when Jesus heals people. After healing a leper, Jesus tells the man, "don't tell this to anyone" (Mark 1:44). When he raised a 12-year old girl from the dead, Jesus "gave strict orders (to the parents) not to let anyone know about this" (Mark 5:43). After healing a deaf man, "Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone" (Mark 7:36). Likewise, when he gave sight to a blind man, Jesus told the man, "Don't go into the village" because he doesn't want word of this miracle to spread (Mark 8:26).

Jesus and the disciples.
Most perplexing, however, are the times when Jesus told his disciples to keep his identity to themselves. In response to Jesus' question, "Who do you say I am?", Peter answers, "You are Christ". The next verse is shocking: "Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him" (Mark 8:29-30).

After taking Peter, James and John to a mountain where Jesus reveals his glory ("his clothes became dazzling white"), "Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man was risen from the dead" (Mark 9:9).

What are we to make of this pattern?

Bad publicity.
Jesus' silencing of the demons is perhaps the easiest of these situations to explain. Demons were the servants of the devil, Jesus' archenemy. For the unclean spirits to testify to the identity of Jesus would cause confusion and misunderstanding. It would make it appear that Jesus and the devil were allies. Obviously, it makes sense that Jesus wanted to avoid that.

Crowd control.
At first thought, it does seem odd that Jesus would silence the beneficiaries of his miracles. Healing the leper and the blind and the deaf, not to mention raising the dead these are incredible demonstrations of the power of Jesus and a wonderful testimony to his deity. But we must remember that as the news about Jesus spread, thousands of people flocked to him. It's difficult for us to realize what a problem this created for Jesus and his disciples. Mobs were converging on them daily. There were in danger of being crushed by the crowds. This is why Jesus regularly went to the Sea of Galilee and used a boat to create some space between himself and the throngs of people clamoring for his healing touch.

Wrong motives.
But what about Jesus' instruction to the disciples to keep his identity secret? John 6:14-15 sheds light on this. After Jesus fed the 5,000, the people are obviously impressed. "After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, 'Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.'" Then we read a most revealing statement: "Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again into the hills by himself."

Isn't this amazing? The people were ready to "make him king by force". And Jesus wanted no part of that. The crowds loved the miracles who wouldn't be thrilled with free food and medical care? If Jesus could feed 5,000 men (plus women and children) with fives loaves of bread and two small fish, what else could he do? If he could heal people left and right and raise the dead, couldn't he overthrow the oppressive Roman government and usher in the Messianic kingdom promised in the Old Testament? Of course he could! So let's get this military conquest started!

But this was not the purpose of the incarnation. The people had it all wrong. They did not understand the purpose of the Jesus' coming. They saw Jesus merely as the means to accomplish their own selfish goals. They followed Jesus primarily for physical benefits, not because they understood him to be the Son of God who came to meet their spiritual needs.

Even the apostles did not yet understand the true meaning of Jesus' mission. And it will be awhile until they do. It took time for people to "get it". Even those who were closest to him and spent the most time with him were slow to realize what Jesus meant when he said, "the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

After Jesus commands the apostles "not to tell anyone about him" (Mark 8:30), Jesus begins to teach the apostles about his death and resurrection. "He spoke plainly about this" (Mark 8:32). And what does Peter do? "Peter took him (Jesus) aside and began to rebuke him."

Clearly it was unthinkable to the Peter and the apostles that the Messiah would be killed. They, too, were dreaming about the establishment of an earthly kingdom and wanted Jesus to make that happen.

But Jesus' primary purpose for coming the first time was to die. Yes, he was the Messiah, the King of Israel. But this King came as the Lamb of God to offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. The cross comes before the crown. The immediate goal of the incarnation was not a coronation, but unspeakable suffering and pain and unjust treatment, so that guilty sinners like you and me could be forgiven of our sins and gain entrance into Jesus' spiritual kingdom.

Yes, Jesus came to call people into his kingdom a spiritual kingdom. Jesus told Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). This is something the apostles would not understand until after the resurrection.

Today we are faced with the same challenge of understanding the reason Jesus came to earth 2,000 year ago. I would challenge you to ask yourself: Is Jesus only a means to accomplishing my selfish needs, desires and wants? Or is he the One who died to satisfy God's holy wrath against my sin, and therefore worthy of all my praise? Since he came to serve us by giving his life to liberate us from the bondage of sin, is my number one purpose to serve him as an expression of thanks for all he has done for me on the cross?

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