Secret Identity - A Reflection on Luke 9:18-22




Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”

He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

 

Over the past three years, we have reflected upon this passage several times. We have specifically dwelt on the question that Jesus asks: “Who do you say I am?”, because it is one of the most important questions he has asked. So let us look at something else today: his very stern directive to the apostles not to tell anyone who he was. This is not the first time he has forbidden people from revealing his identity. He has done so several times. 

 

When he began his ministry, he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness who tried to get him to admit who he was. “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down,” he challenged (see Matthew 4:6). Later, demons he encountered often shouted: “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah” (Luke 4:41). So, why the secrecy then? Especially because on other occasions he doesn’t appear secretive at all. 

 

For example, when he was baptized in the River Jordan, “as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove” (Mark 1:10). He proclaims the gospel openly in Galilee (Mark 1:14–15). He works several miracles in public in view of thousands of people, including calming storms (see Mark 4:35–41) and feeding the multitudes (see Mark 6:30–44). On at least one occasion he even told a man he delivered to go tell everybody what he had done for him (see Luke 8:39). So why then?

 

While there are several possible reasons, a very likely one has to do with popular misconceptions of the Messiah held by the Jews of Jesus’ time. They were expecting the coming of a glorious liberator who would set them free from the Roman yoke. If a demon were to prematurely blurt out that Jesus was the Messiah, without them understanding what the real purpose of the Messiah was, there could have been great confusion. We can see this misunderstanding happening with the apostles too with Peter rebuking Jesus and Jesus rebuking him back, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (see Matthew 16:23).

 

Another very likely reason, at least for the apostles, was that Jesus did not want them to talk about him until their own understanding of his identity was clear to them. This actually makes a lot of sense when you think about it. When we talk about Jesus to people without knowing him well enough, we run the risk of influencing them negatively, or giving them the wrong idea about who Jesus really is. Which again returns us to the question: Who do you say I am? Just declaring that he is “the Messiah of God” like Peter did isn’t enough.

 

We have to follow him as one would follow the Messiah of God. And then talk about him as much as you can! 

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/Xon5usnIvW4

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