Mark 3:12

Splendour

7Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed. 8When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. 9Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him. 10For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him. 11Whenever the evil[a] spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12But he gave them strict orders not to tell who he was.


Can anyone give an explanation to the last sentence of this paragraph? Read it a few times today and it's not making sense to me. Why would Jesus tell the evil spirits to keep quiet about him?
Unless of course it's a case of reverse physcology :P

philologos

We've been studying Mark at our CU meetings throughout the year. This is a pattern that seems to happen repeatedly throughout the Gospel of Mark. For example, when Peter affirms that Jesus is the Messiah, and when the Transfiguration takes place. It also happens on occasion after miracles.

A.

Mark 8:29-30 wrote:

And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

B.

Mark 9:9-10 wrote:

And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what this rising from the dead might mean.

C.

Mark 7:35-37 wrote:

And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

I think there are different reasons why Jesus says this. I've labelled these A, B, and C, as they pertain to different situations.

A - I think Jesus tells them not to say that He is the Messiah, because the Judaic prophesies weren't fulfilled concerning Him yet.

B - I think Jesus tells them not to tell anyone about what they had seen at the Transfiguration, because it would not make sense to the general public at that particular time.

C - Finally, I think in the case of miracles and demons as you are describing. There were many people around at his time, who claimed to heal and drive out demons including Simon Magus (see Acts chapter 8). The difference was, Jesus didn't want to be regarded as a "magic man" like everyone else. He didn't do this for the money, but rather because if we are to look to Mark chapter 1, just after he had healed many:

Mark 1:38 wrote:

And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

PDN

This what is known in New Testament studies as 'The Messianic Secret'.

The most reasonable explanation I have heard is that the common people's expectation of a Messiah (a political figure who would raise up an army to kick the Roman occupying force out of Palestine) was radically different to the Messianic role Jesus was to fulfill (die on a Cross for the sins of the world, send His disciples out in the power of the Spirit to spread His message).

The way people behaved when they tried to apply their false ideas of Messiahship was a hindrance to the work Jesus was doing for three years in preparing His disciples. For example:

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." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:14-15)

Splendour

I know there are other times Jesus told the disciples not to tell of Him but in Mark 3:12 they were evil spirits Jesus gave this order to. Yes they proclaimed him as the Son of God but it doesn't say they believed. Are we to assume they converted when they said this?

PDN

Splendour wrote: »

I know there are other times Jesus told the disciples not to tell of Him but in Mark 3:12 they were evil spirits Jesus gave this order to. Yes they proclaimed him as the Son of God but it doesn't say they believed. Are we to assume they converted when they said this?

The 'them' in verse 12 could, gramatically, refer to the disciples in verse 7, the crowd in verse 9, the people getting healed in verse 10, or the evil spirits in verse 11.

The reason I gave in the post above would apply if the 'them' referred to the crowd or the disciples.

If Jesus was speaking to the evil spirits then it would be similar to the incident with the demonised girl in Philippi:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved." She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)

In that incident it would seem that, even though the girl was speaking the truth, that Paul did not want demons to be seen endorsing him (an obvious opportunity for the Jewish authorities who argued that Jesus and the early Christians were demon possessed).

Splendour

PDN wrote: »

The 'them' in verse 12 could, gramatically, refer to the disciples in verse 7, the crowd in verse 9, the people getting healed in verse 10, or the evil spirits in verse 11.

When I re-read it this is perfectly clear -doh!

dermothickey

Personally I feel Jesus didn't want people worshipping him, simply because he was bringing the message from The Father about Love. So rather than people worshipping him, all Glory and Honour was to the Almighty Father. All thanks and gratitude was for the Father not for Him.

Graces7

dermothickey wrote: »

Personally I feel Jesus didn't want people worshipping him, simply because he was bringing the message from The Father about Love. So rather than people worshipping him, all Glory and Honour was to the Almighty Father. All thanks and gratitude was for the Father not for Him.

Exactly so; He says " Do not call me good; only God is good."

makes me weep with love.

Pompey Magnus

The German scholar William Wrede propounded a now famous solution to this issue at the start of the 20th Century, that Jesus never actually urged secrecy at all as he never identified himself as being the messiah and was never regarded as such by his followers prior to his death.

After his death his followers began to proclaim that he had been the messiah but were left with the problem that Jesus had never actually claimed to be it himself and opponents and neutrals who knew and heard Jesus speak would have known this also and used it against them.

Wrede's solution was that the Christian community invented the idea that Jesus simply tried to keep his identity under wraps. They fabricated the stories of Jesus' commands to silence to show that a messianic Jesus did not proclaim himself to be the messiah.

JimiTime

Charco wrote: »

The German scholar William Wrede propounded a now famous solution to this issue at the start of the 20th Century, that Jesus never actually urged secrecy at all as he never identified himself as being the messiah and was never regarded as such by his followers prior to his death.

After his death his followers began to proclaim that he had been the messiah but were left with the problem that Jesus had never actually claimed to be it himself and opponents and neutrals who knew and heard Jesus speak would have known this also and used it against them.

Wrede's solution was that the Christian community invented the idea that Jesus simply tried to keep his identity under wraps. They fabricated the stories of Jesus' commands to silence to show that a messianic Jesus did not proclaim himself to be the messiah.

The thing is, its neither required nor is there any supporting evidence. Its more or less a hunch by Wrede from anything I've seen.

antiskeptic

Graces7 wrote: »

Exactly so; He says " Do not call me good; only God is good."

makes me weep with love.

Actually he says "Why do you call me good, only God is good"

Which puts the person making the statement in a bind. Having called Jesus good, the person must now also recognise him as God.

Which is typical of the way Jesus gently snookered people

JimiTime

antiskeptic wrote: »

Actually he says "Why do you call me good, only God is good"

Which puts the person making the statement in a bind. Having called Jesus good, the person must now also recognise him as God.

Which is typical of the way Jesus gently snookered people

Interesting. Never picked up on that.

dermothickey

Jesus at the same time never said pray to me...he always say Pray to the Father..

antiskeptic

JimiTime wrote: »

Interesting. Never picked up on that.

That's the Bible for you .. always something new under the son.