And whenever unclean spirits saw him they would fall down before him
and shout, “You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
The truth without proper context can do more harm than good. Shouting out the secret of the identity of Jesus was a much different way to learn it than what happened when the Father revealed it to Peter. In that case it was not even flesh and blood, much less demons, that revealed the truth. Merely shouting it at someone was more likely to cause them to draw away and even push back. Using words as coercive bludgeons would only set people on their guard, ready to defend what they thought their prejudices and preconceptions. Jesus desired that everyone have the free space that Peter had in order to come to knowledge of the truth for themselves. Emphatically, he did desire them to come to know him, but in a real way resulting from relationship, not from mere slogans or propaganda.
“You are the Son of God.”
He warned them sternly not to make him known.
We who know that Jesus is the Son of God ought to imitate Jesus in giving others room to sort through the data themselves. We can invite them, as we should, to "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (see Psalm 34:8). But we can't, for instance, take an argument we understand to be correct and force it on someone before they themselves can see it. The argument may well be true. It won't, however, matter to another until they can accept it for themselves. Even in this intellectual approach things cannot happen immediately. Their is always a moral and relational dimension, implications for our lives in every point and counterpoint.
He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd,
so that they would not crush him.
When we press too hard we may think we are drawing others to Jesus but we may in fact be crushing them. When we are eager it is easy to press in, to try to accomplish by our own effort what ultimately only Jesus do. What is somewhat more challenging is to give Jesus sacred space which is his own in which he himself can work. He calls us, each in our own way, to have a boat ready for him where he and the crowd can come to know one another. It takes time and patience to give ourselves up to this approach. But it is the only one which can truly bear fruit.
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.”
Also in the category of true things that were nevertheless unhelpful to hear was this song of the women upon the triumphant return on Saul and David. It was true that had he been a better man Saul may not have become resentful and angry, seeing David's victory as a gift not just to David but to Saul himself and to the whole kingdom. But to be fair, it would have been easy to hear that song as a taunt. Instead of seeing David as a blessing Saul began to see him as a potential threat. Certainly it would have been better for everyone if the crowd could have chosen better words, words that expressed how great a gift this victory was to all, that it came from the Lord and not from the strength of any one man. But the people saw things in a human way and responded by praising one at the expense of another, which invited Saul to become jealous and even fearful.
They give David ten thousands, but only thousands to me.
All that remains for him is the kingship.”
And from that day on, Saul was jealous of David.
The world will give us amply opportunities to be jealous as well. It will sing songs that seem to taunt us, comparing us to those who seem better in some way, to suggest that we have outlasted our own usefulness in this life. Rather than responding right away to such provocations we need to take space to hear, not just the crowd, but the Lord. Fortunately, Jonathan was able to speak wisdom to Saul before Saul's jealous plan to kill David got too far along.
Let not your majesty sin against his servant David,
for he has committed no offense against you,
but has helped you very much by his deeds.
When he took his life in his hands and slew the Philistine,
and the LORD brought about a great victory
for all Israel through him,
you were glad to see it.
The world will provoke us. May we, at such times, listen instead for the voice of the Lord. Let us learn how to create and hold sacred space for this voice, first for ourselves, and then for the others we would like to see drawn to the Lord.
In God I trust; I shall not fear.
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