Mt. 9:30-31
"And their eyes were opened; and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, 'See that no man know it.' But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country."
I grew up hearing that this incident and others showed Jesus cleverly using reverse psychology to get the word out. I don't buy it; there was a real desire to elevate Him as king (Jn. 6:15) and that was not His mission, so He truly did not want a lot of hype among non-disciples surrounding Him.
Besides, imagine, if you will, this greeting: "Hey, Eliazar, how are you? Lookin' good! There's something different about you, I just can't seem to put my finger on it ... Did you change your hair? What could it be? Wait a minute, you can see!"
It's hard not to talk about such a thing; I don't think reverse psychology was needed.
I grew up hearing that this incident and others showed Jesus cleverly using reverse psychology to get the word out. I don't buy it; there was a real desire to elevate Him as king (Jn. 6:15) and that was not His mission, so He truly did not want a lot of hype among non-disciples surrounding Him.
Besides, imagine, if you will, this greeting: "Hey, Eliazar, how are you? Lookin' good! There's something different about you, I just can't seem to put my finger on it ... Did you change your hair? What could it be? Wait a minute, you can see!"
It's hard not to talk about such a thing; I don't think reverse psychology was needed.
posted by Crrrrrrraig | 10:27 AM
1 Comments:
I've always thought the admonitions Christ gave about "not telling anyone" were interesting. And I too have heard the 'reverse psychology' argument regarding those instances. I think you're right on--someone who's just received sight from being blind at birth isn't going to need rev. psychology to make him want to tell about it.
For me, these cases in scripture shine a big spotlight on the Baptist beliefs I grew up that Christianity always has to be about 'witnessing' and outreach. Reading Jesus telling them these things is a great reminder that obedience to Him and walking with Him is really what He wants. I think I'm still learning that.
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