The Rumor Mill

Luke 8:40-56 brings to light an aspect of Jesus' ministry that I have always found to be a little curious. After Jesus raised Jairus' daughter from the dead - he gave strict instructions to the parents to not tell anyone. Why? They house was surrounded by people that were mourning and all knew she was dead. Now they see her walking around alive and well - what are they gonna think happened?

Jesus was already a very popular man at this point in His ministry - as evidenced by the crowds surrounding him when Jairus came to request his help. And yet it was a common theme in Jesus' ministry for him to request that the people that had been healed tell know one - and yet Jesus' miracles weren't done in secret - many of them were done in public or in such a way that people were certain to notice.

One thing that I think of is that as we repeat stories - whether they are true or not - they tend to get bigger and bigger with time - perhaps Jesus was trying to limit this - knowing that it was going to happen anyway. Or perhaps, Jesus was trying to prevent the people that had been healed from being thrown into the spotlight.

The other thing that I think of as I try to reconcile this in my mind is that we as Christians are given the directive to go into all the world and make disciples of all men - one of the best ways to do that is to tell our own story - what Christ has done for us. How does that fit in with the directions that Christ gave people He healed during His earthly ministry to tell no one?

Food for thought I guess.