The Messiah Mystery

A leper came to Jesus, knelt before him and asked for healing. Jesus the Messiah, deeply moved, stretched out his hand full of mercy, touched him and said be well and immediately the leprosy disappeared; the man's skin became clean and healthy. Jesus sent him away, not without telling him emphatically: Don't tell anyone about this! Offer the sacrifice that Moses prescribed for the cure of leprosy and present yourself to the priests. Only then will your healing be officially recognized. But as soon as the man was out of earshot, he spread the news of his healing. So the whole city found out about it. Therefore, Jesus had to stay away from public places and could no longer move freely in the city because he had touched a leper (according to Mark 1,44-45).

Why didn't Jesus want the healed leper to report his healing? Neither did he suffer the demons to speak, for they knew who he was: “And he healed many that were sick with divers diseases, and cast out many demons, and did not let the demons speak; for they knew him" (Mark 1,34).

Jesus asked his disciples: «And you, Jesus asked, who do you say I am? Peter answered: You are the Messiah! Then Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about it" (Mark 8,29-30 New Geneva translation).

But why didn’t Jesus want his disciples to tell others that he was the Messiah? At that time, Jesus was the incarnated Savior, performing miracles and preaching throughout the land. So why wasn't it the right time for his disciples to lead the people to him and reveal to them who he was? Jesus emphasized clearly and emphatically that who he was should not be revealed to anyone. Jesus knew something that neither the general public nor his disciples knew.

The Gospel of Mark records that at the end of his earthly ministry, the week before his crucifixion, the people rejoiced because they recognized Jesus as the Messiah: "And many spread their garments on the road, and others spread green branches on the road had left the fields. And those who went before and those who followed cried out: Hosanna! Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise be to the kingdom of our father David that is coming! Hosanna in the highest!" (Mark 11,8-10).

The problem was that the people imagined a different Messiah and had different expectations of him. They expected a king who would unite the people, lead them to victory over the Roman occupiers with God's blessing and restore the kingdom of David to its former glory. Their image of the Messiah was fundamentally different from the image of God. Therefore, Jesus did not want his disciples or those he healed to spread the message about him too soon. The time had not yet come for people to hear them. The right time for their dissemination was to come only after His crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. Only then could the wonderful truth that Israel's Messiah is the Son of God and the Savior of the world be understood in its full magnitude.

by Joseph Tkach

More articles about the Messiah:

The pastoral story

Who is Jesus Christ