Tell the secret now!

Rev. Enoch Thompson | June 7, 2023 | Matthew 17:9-13

KEY VERSE:

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17:9 (NIV)

MESSAGE:

Many modern writings on administration will have a chapter or more on information management, and lots more have been written on the subject. The Lord Jesus Christ is arguably one of the best communicators that history can boast of. He knew what to say and rightly chose the occasion for His speech. In our key verse for today, we are told, "As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17:9 (NIV). There were other times in the Gospel narratives when the Lord stopped people from declaring who He was or what He had done to their advantage. This seemed strange, the secret about the Messiah, imposed upon those who would have been the greatest announcers of His identity, for the greater expansion of His mission.

The secret about the Messiah? Was it necessary, didn’t people have to know that the Messiah had come, was that not the essence of the life, teachings, and miracles of the Lord? Certainly, the Lord was in the very important business of His self-revelation to Israel as their God-man King they had waited for centuries, but He was sensitive to the agenda of the God-head, that God the Son should die on a cruel rugged cross, a shameful despicable death to redeem humans from the bondage of sin death and eternal separation from God in Hell. He needed to go to the cross, and nothing less would suffice.

The religious gullibility of the Jews and their desire for national redemption from Roman rule had placed them in such a mode that they would quickly and forcibly make the Lord a king, the type that did not meet the standards and choices of God. After He fed the multitudes we are told by John, “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” John 6:15 (NIV). What do you think the Jews would have done if they heard of what had taken place on the Mount of Transfiguration? The Lord, therefore, had to manage information about Hs identity in order not to short-circuit the process to and through the cross.

With this understanding of what the Lord was accomplishing by imposing this secrecy about Himself when He was on earth, we need to understand that the time has come for the secret to be revealed. The Lord expects us now, when all the processes of His death, and resurrection have taken place to carry forth the ministry of announcing to our world that the Saviour came, and fulfilled all that was necessary for our salvation. His Name is Jesus! Permission granted to proclaim the secret!

FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:

The Lord wants you to see Him in His magnified glory, then own the secret of the revelation of His deity in the inner courts of your soul, and then proclaim Him to the rest of your world; Jesus Christ is Lord. Have you been to the cross, are you announcing the God-man who died and rose again, and is coming back again?

PRAYER:

Dear lord Jesus, thank You that You had a clear plan for the mission of human salvation, and You did not cut corners. You went through suffering and pain to gain my redemption. Please help me to own you by faith, and to share you with my world. Please help me to let the secret out. For your dear Name’s sake, Amen.

THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.

SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!