Mark 1:32–34
32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Mark 1:44-45
44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 45 But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.
Here we see one of the most perplexing themes in the gospel—Jesus commanding silence about his identity. This seems contrary to his mission to declare and spread the kingdom of God. Yet, this is a fairly prominent theme in the book that Mark mentions a few times. As we saw last week coming to a hard and fast conclusion on why Jesus did this isn't really possible.
However, lots of ideas have been presented. Practically speaking, the fame of Jesus spreading made it impossible for him to travel to populated areas (v. 45).
It could also be that Jesus didn't want to further any misconceptions about his identity until his mission had been fully accomplished at the cross and the tomb. Remember, the Jews were anticipating the Messiah to be a military hero who would deliver the people of Israel and overthrow the Romans. If that word got around to the Romans, they would likely have put an end to Jesus before he had sufficient time to teach and train his disciples and evidence the kingdom of God. Also, with those misconceptions of the Messiah Jesus' life and death resembled much more of a humble servant than a conquering king. To change these concepts of the Messiah required time and investment in the lives of his disciples and a great deal of teaching.
Also, Mark uses this theme to ultimately point his readers to the cross. As a literary tool Mark is engaging his readers with the story, leading them to hold their conclusions about Jesus until the end of the story. His death and resurrection ultimately reveal Jesus identity to the world. After that his disciples are told to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and tell everyone.
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If you haven't watched it yet check out this video on the Messiah.