Lent 2026 Day 21: Fri 13 Mar
Mark 5:43
43 Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.
Keep it quiet! The reduced number of people in the room would avoid too many people knowing the truth. Only three trusted disciples, who were privy to things kept from the other nine, two parents and a girl who may not have known quite what had just happened.
Her parents would have a really hard time keeping themselves from telling the world what Jesus had just done! Could they go around, saying that their daughter was only asleep, and Jesus woke her up? In a sense that’s what had happened, because that’s what Jesus said, and Jesus didn’t lie. Yesterday’s questions need answering, not by me but by you personally, as they relate to your understanding of and relationship with Jesus.
Why does Jesus not want people to hear about some of the miracles he performed on individuals? Theologians like to label things, so this is evidence of the Messianic Secret. There were no professional PR managers in those days, so Jesus had to manage his image himself. He didn’t always want people to spread their experience of him. He may not have wanted to be known solely as the wonderworker, as too much publicity on that aspect may have caused people to chase him for miracles and signs (which people in those days loved) rather than the more important message about the Kingdom of God. However, people were not good at keeping it to themselves, and that is understandable.
Jesus did tell the man on the other side of the lake to go and spread the news – could it be that Jesus had ventured into a region he’d not normally visit, so telling the man to tell all would be a good idea. The first Evangelist to the Decapolis! But who wouldn’t want to spread the news that they’d been healed, even after strict instructions from Jesus not to?!
The names of the woman and the daughter are lost. They are people all the same. It’s possible that the names disappeared as the stories were gathered up. While Mark is generally short on detail, he does mention Jesus sternly ordering that the girl should be given something to eat. I find it a gently amusing ending: Do NOT, I repeat, on NO ACCOUNT disclose to anyone what you’ve just witnessed – and give her something to eat.
Does your faith remain a secret to your friends?
The people who shared did it because they had a story to tell. What is your story?
Father God, you care about the practical and the simple things in my life, not just the big stuff. I trust you for my work and for my leisure, for my family and my friends, for sustenance and chocolate. Amen.
Mark 5 Lumo Project (7 mins)
Paul