The Markan Secret and flying under the radar

Several times, as I have stood before groups in a variety of settings, the same question has come up in the discussion--"Why do you think Jesus told people not to talk about the miracles and about being healed?"

For me the answer can be found in John 12.

9 Then a large crowd of the Jews learned that He was there. They came not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus whom He had raised from the dead.
10 Therefore the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus too,
11 because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus.

Jesus knew that once the word of all the miracles and healings had spread far enough, he would be perceived as such a threat to the religious authorities and would be so beleaguered by hangers-on, that his ministry would effectively be over. In fact, he was perceived as such a threat that they not only wanted to get rid of him, but also the evidence of his ministry--in this case, Lazarus.

The events in this passage took place six days before Passover. Even though the disciples failed to hear and understand what Jesus had tried to tell him about the coming days, Jesus knew for certain that his days were numbered and that his ministry was about to come to a violent end. Like the opening of Pandora's box, once the secret was out, there was not stuffing it back in. The journey was fast approaching those final steps to the cross and Jesus was pretty sure that cup would not pass him by.

So we can understand why Jesus tried to keep a low profile. But why do we do it? We're not Jesus. Why do we fly under the radar--play down our devotion to God and our sense of mission and call? Is it because we fear the crucifixion that often comes to those who deign to get close to God? Certainly, we've seen people who speak unpopular truths in this country be killed for speaking out--Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and Malcolm X to name a few. Often their detractors are people whose understanding of God is narrowly drawn and who cannot seem to grasp that God may be doing something new in ways that move beyond the boundaries of their comfortable understandings. Do we play down our association with Jesus, as Peter did, because we fear that the next cross is ours?

Or is it that we are afraid God will take us places we don't want to go or call us to do things we don't want to do? Is it that we want to call the shots in our lives, to have some say in what our future is going to be? Charles Stanley says that in his seminary days, many of his fellow seminarians refused to go to mission conferences for fear that God might call them into the mission field. Is our view of God one that has God forcing us into roles we don't want to play?

Well, a certain amount of that may be true. God is in the business of tranformation and God's call for us may not always fall in line with our vision of what the outcome should be. Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane shows us that he sensed God's call for him to continue down a path that would lead to a violent death on the cross. Jesus asked that he be spared this end if there was any other way. But he pledged to obey God no matter what, saying "Father, not my will but thine be done." And he did go to the cross. But the good news is that God prepared him for what would come and gave him the strength and resources to do what he had to do. And God didn't let the suffering of Jesus be a meaningless death. Out of the horror and tragedy of the cross, God fashioned grace and forgiveness, vindicating Jesus' sacrificial life by raising him from the dead, making what first appeared as a total loss become the ultimate victory.

And so it is with us. If we are, indeed, called to go places that we don't really want to go, we can be sure that God will give us the strength we need and "equip us for every good work." And as God did not forsake Jesus but made even his death a victory, so God will be with us each step of the journey, even in the valley of the shadow of death.

So, with the grace and help of God, let us tell the wonderful news, keeping it secret from no one. We may not always be popular with good religious folk and we may suffer for the sake of the truth we share. Jesus tells us, in fact, that we can expect to have serious problems. "In the world, you will have tribulations." But he closes that thought with his personal assurance that God, who is is charge of this world, will make it all work out in the end. "But be not dismayed, for I have overcome the world."

Thanks be to God.