To Tell or Not To Tell

There is a curious contrast in Mark's gospel. In Chapter 1 He heals a man who was a leper and commands him not to tell anyone, but go to the priests. Then in chapter 5 he throws a legion of demons out of a man in the area of the Gerasenes. That man He said:

Mark 5:19-20 "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. ESV

So what's the difference? It may have been merely practical. In chapter 1 the man did not obey Jesus and spread the news far and wide. This brought huge crowds to Jesus, so much so that He had a hard time moving around. In chapter 5 Jesus was in a gentile area that He wasn't going back to, and so it wouldn't harm His ability to minister elsewhere in Israel.

It could also be the difference in audience. The leprous man was a Jew - the man with Legion was a gentile. Jesus might simply be beginning to spread hints of who He was to a non-Jewish audience, and thus encourages the man to tell his friends and family.

Remember too that Jesus' main activity was to preach the gospel, not perform healings. Perhaps He knew that the gentile man's story being spread abroad would not interfere with that. Also realize that Jesus was NOT out to make Himself famous - just do God's work.

And that's a good word for us. Perhaps there are times when it is not appropriate for someone to share a special miracle you helped bring about if the end result is so much attention on you that it draws you away from doing what God called you to do. I know that runs counter to the way many ministeries operate - they want to shout every miracle (real or not) from the rooftops.

I think these stories would tend to help us re-think that.