Why did Jesus tell Jairus and family not to tell about his daughter miracle?

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irishcolleen45

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In Mark 5 41-43, why did Jesus tell Jairus and family not to tell anyone about his daughter miracle? There were people outside the home who knew their daughter had died.
 
They won’t think that she died once they see that she is still alive.
 
The Gospel indicates that Jesus was concerned about two things. He was concerned about not being able to enter a town in order to preach - because the crowds who had heard of His miracles were gathering and following Him in such large numbers as to make entry to a small community impossible.

The other reason I don’t think is quite as clearly articulated in the Gospel but seems to be there nonetheless is that Jesus did not want an untimely death. There are several instances in the Gospels in which attempts were made on His life because the following He had was threatening to the Jews, politically and theologically. I think He wanted to avoid any undue risk until His ministry was complete.

Here are some examples prior to chapter 5 in Mark:
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
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He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”
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Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.
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That’s just from chapter 1. The Gospel goes on like that through the next few chapters.

The only exception is the man from the Decopolis. I believe Jesus told him to go spread the news in the Decopolis because that area was not Jesus’ main ministerial territory so to speak.
 
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All that I can add is it was “an evil and corrupt generation” which asked for a sign. Since so few could look into the eyes of God and believe, perhaps hey would believe when told by their neighbors or kinfolk.
 
The injunction not to tell (about miracles, healings, exorcisms, the Transfiguration…) is a recurring theme in Mark’s gospel. I won’t go into the controversies about the Messianic Secrecy theory, but from a purely theological point of view, something does make sense : Jesus’ messianic mission can only be fully understandable from the Cross, where everything is fully revealed (15:39 : “Surely this man was the Son of God!”). It is the starting point from which all the rest can be understood.

ETA : sorry, @1Lord1Faith. I keep replying to individual posters instead of replying to the thread today 😔
 
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Thank you all for your replies. I’m still not grasping the why. Can anyone cite a commentary to explain it?
 
I can’t cite a commentary at the moment, but think of it like this.

Jesus knee all the things he needed to accomplish before He died.

The exact way God experiences time works is some what of a mystery. But I like to think He knew what He needed to do/say to avoid being killed before the appropriate time
 
This makes me think about the thread on miracles. The point of Christ is not that He performed miracles but the He suffered and died for us. Paying attention to miracles is missing the point.
 
Yes, but it is Christ Who is the basis of pur faith rather than the miracles. I kept thinking there was something wrong with the premises of some of the posters in that thread, and now I have learned the error 🙂 (maybe!).
 
The source and summit of our faith. Regarding all created things - Saints or sinners, possessions and material objects - they either lead us to Christ or away from Him. Thus, inanimate objects are morally neutral. It is how we choose to use them. Same with those we choose to associate with.

Christ: the Source and Summit of our faith. All good comes from Him; has its source in Him and He alone must be our goal.

Source and Summit - two words that can generate much contemplation.
 
irishcolleen45 said:
Yes. Thank you. I understand it better now.
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As the link provided by @Gorgias indicates, this is an example of what is called the Messianic Secret, which is a feature of Mark’s gospel. If you google Messianic Secret you will finds LOTS written about it.
 
There is a cultural and behavioral element to what Jesus was doing that makes more sense when you view it through the lens of Middle Eastern culture of 2,000 years ago. The fastest way to spread information is to deem it a secret that is only being told to the people right there. Then, the information is passed on through people’s circles of trust until it is widespread.

What I was taught is that requests from Jesus to not tell anyone really meant that He was okay with that information going around. If there was a time condition put on it, such as when He told Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone about the transfiguration until He had risen from the dead, then that was a true request for secrecy.
 
Dewey83 said:
What I was taught is that requests from Jesus to not tell anyone really meant that He was okay with that information going around.
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🤦‍♂️

So, let me make sure I understand: what you were taught was that Jesus intentionally deceived people, in the service of His ministry?

And you believed them when they said that? 😦
 
Perhaps Up to a point in time
  • Jesus did not want to draw attention to His Messiahship via news re: His power to perform Miracles.
 
For the same reason He did so on numerous occasions. He chose to reveal Himself gradually; and that revelation came to a culmination when He was before the Sanhedrin. Revealing himself finally as God made man led directly to his death, for the punishment of blasphemy was death. See, e.g. Brant Pitre, The Case For Jesus, especially Chapter 11.
 
I’m confused. How is this answering my original question? In this Jesus was not telling people not to say anything.
 
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