John 1:14
His Truth, Grace, and Glory
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Luke 5:12-16
Jesus Heals a Leper
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”
13 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
14 Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
15 Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
Matthew 6:1-4
Giving to the Needy
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them.If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 9:27-31
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.
Jesus gives us lessons in keeping secrets...And when I first read all these verses, I really did not understand why Jesus did not want everyone to know who He was, and what He could do, and the lessons He taught...Why wouldn't He want everything He did to get out?...Why is it not good to tell all things about Jesus?...He taught about secrets and keeping some things secret...There is a place for keeping secrets in His teachings...
The first teaching is when He healed a leper, and the events around that...And then in a completely different teaching He teachings us about the secrets of giving...While Jesus was in one of the towns during His ministry, a man came along who was covered with leprosy...When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged Him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”...The leper knew that Jesus could heal him...Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man...“I AM willing,” He said...“Be clean!”...And immediately the leprosy and illness left him...The leper was healed immediately by the tough of Jesus...Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”...Yet the news about Him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses...But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed...
Jesus healed the leper...After He healed the leper Jesus told him not to tell anyone...A great act of God was not to be told...And after Jesus healed many, He went off and withdrew to lonely places to pray...And while He prayed and withdrew from the others around Him, we are not sure what all that went on around Him as He prayed to God...But His prayers were done in secret, in these lonely places...
Jesus gives us another lesson, and this is about giving...Jesus teaches us, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them...If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven...“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others...Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full...But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret...Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you...
Jesus in another healing, heals two blind men...And in His humble way, He asks them, “Do you believe that I AM able to do this?”...“Yes, Lord,” they replied...Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored...Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”...But they went out and spread the news about Him all over that region...After warning the two healed blind men not to tell anyone, they went out and spread their good news...Maybe with humility in mind, Jesus kept these events to Himself...He did not care for personal pomp and circumstance...His healings and these miracles shows us how very close He is to God...And by not telling certain things about Himself, we can learn about humbleness...
Jesus walked in complete humility with God...And surrounding these events are lessons in pride...Helping others is between you and God...Giving to others is between you and God...When one tries to make an event or spectacle out of something they have done was not in His teachings...Jesus seems to say that we need to nurture the humility of our relationship with our Father...Pride can quickly come in, even in the charity we have for others, if we allow it...And by keeping them secret, God will take care of them...And the charity itself may get overlooked, and it becomes more about self and the one giving, than the love out of the original intention...Jesus seemed not to seek popularity, fame, or others to clap or praise the things He did, even though they were the greatest events to happen around any Man in the history of the world...When one is popular and surrounded by crowds, our egos can get out of hand, if we do not keep them in check...A public life like He had could quickly have grown in a famous and prideful way, had He let it...But He did not...This to me, is one of the great mysteries around Him...His great humility, adds to His mystery...His ego is One of a Servant, yet One of a God...
So Jesus teaches us that in keeping secrets, we can learn humility...Jesus had no selfishness or vain conceit...Jesus gave these healings and teachings out of LOVE...He did not expect applause and rewards from others from what He did...All these lessons shows truth and grace, and humility in secrets...Jesus in all His humility, teaches man about dignity, and the courage to live by His truth and grace -and then we better see His Glory...