Bible Question:
I wonder why the Lord said "See that no one knows it" (Mattew 9:30b; Mattew 8:4; Luke 8:56). I will appreciate your answers. thank you God bless you |
Bible Answer: Hi, Sofi... This might help: "Jesus' guarding of His identity for most of His earthly ministry is typically referred to as the 'Messianic Secret.' At this point we should ask ourselves why Jesus was so careful to keep His identity hidden. In order to answer this question, we have to look at the common "Messianic expectations in first-century Palestine. Most of the nation was looking for a Messiah who would be a political revolutionary. They were looking for a king who would come in and release the nation from Roman domination. The demand for the release of Barabbas, a political zealot, instead of Christ (Matthew 27:15–23) shows that most of Israel wanted a political savior. "While these expectations were not wholly erroneous, most of the nation failed to grasp the full role of the Messiah. They failed to grasp the expectations in the prophetic writings (especially Isaiah 53) that the Messiah would not only be a political ruler but also a suffering servant. Jesus kept His identity hidden so that He would not encourage these incomplete expectations and bring upon Himself the wrath of the Roman government before the appointed time." --R. C. Sproul In Him, Doc |