Mark 3: 7-12 (TPT)
Massive Crowds Follow Jesus
Once again Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, but a massive crowd of people followed him from all around the provinces of Galilee and southern Israel. Vast crowds came from Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and from Lebanon (Tyre and Sidon). Large numbers of people swarmed in from everywhere when they heard of him and his wonderful works.
The crowd pressed so closely to Jesus that he instructed his disciples to bring him a small boat to get into and keep from being crushed by the crowd. For he had healed so many that the sick kept pushing forward just so they could touch Jesus. And whenever a demon saw him, it would throw the person down at Jesus’ feet, screaming out, “You are the Son of God!” But Jesus would silence the demons and sternly order them not to reveal who he was.
I often wondered why Jesus didn’t want the demons to reveal His identity as the Son of God. The demons definitely recognized Him. They’d been with Him in heaven before they rebelled and were kicked out of heaven.
Didn’t Jesus want the people to know that He was (is) the Son of God? He taught with authority. He did miracles. He healed all kinds of diseases. Ordinary people couldn’t do that. (Well, Jesus did tell His disciples to go two by two, preaching the good news, declaring the kingdom of heaven was at hand, healing people, doing miracles and casting out demons. That was part of their training.) People definitely knew Jesus was not ordinary.
When Jesus was baptized by John, the heavens opened and Father God declared Jesus to be His Beloved Son in Whom He was well-pleased. That didn’t happen to everyone.
But Jesus told the demons to be quiet, and NOT reveal His identity. Why?
I think part of the reason is timing. Satan was continually trying to control the timeline. He influenced people to try and kill Jesus several times. They even tried to throw Him off a cliff one time. In the desert during Jesus’ 40 day fast, Satan offered Him all the kingdoms of the world, if He’d just bow down in worship.
This makes me think, “How often have I fought against God’s timing?” We live in a microwave culture. We want it NOW. God’s timing is not our timing. 2 Peter 3:8 tells us,
But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
I believe we have another clue in Matthew 16: 15-17.
“But what about you?” he (Jesus) asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
The Father reveals the Son to our hearts through Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want – or need – any help from demons. And He doesn’t want us listening to demons. Jesus told us that Satan’s native tongue is lying. Anytime he tells the truth, it is always mixed with lies and manipulation. Never, never, never trust anything the enemy says, even if it sounds right!
Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
This doesn’t mean that anything my little, self-seeking heart desires, God will give me. No! He changes my heart’s desires to be what His heart desires. Then He can freely give me what is good for me and what I really need … what is in His character… and what will give Him glory.