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By Pastor Glenn Pease
Harry Reichenback in the book World's Most Spectacular Hoaxes tells of his grand deception in promoting Francis Bushman.
Bushman was a small time actor in Chicago, but Reichenback was able to get his salary raised to a commanding figure.
He took Bushman to New York and carried 2000 pennies in his pockets.
As they walked along 42nd street toward the Metro office he dropped handfuls of pennies.
At first only children came running to pick up the coins, but so conspicuous was the commotion that soon everybody was following them.
By the time they reached Metro the streets were milling with crowds.
When the officers of Metro looked out of the window they judged Bushman's popularity by the vast throngs that had followed him, and he received a 1000 dollar a week raise without an argument.
Reichenback confesses, "The fact was, not a living soul in the mob knew Bushman."
Jesus was tempted to get mixed up in a clever scheme something like this in which he would exploit the crowds of his day.
The only difference is that he did not have to fake popularity He could have the real thing.
Satan said to him, "Jump off the pinnacle of the temple and you will be preserved from injury."
Such a sensational stunt would have had the crowds clamoring after Jesus to be their king.
Satan had some great ideas for promoting the popularity of Jesus, but Jesus refused to give heed to any of his schemes.
One of the strangest paradoxes of Scripture is that Satan sought constantly to promote the popularity of Jesus.
Satan wanted it shouted from the housetops that Jesus was the Son of God.
He wanted Jesus to be ruler over the kingdoms of men, and longed for a revolutionary movement in which the people would put Jesus on the throne as their king.
All through his ministry Jesus had to fight the efforts of Satan to promote his popularity, and derail him from his purpose.
Jesus did not hesitate to perform spectacular miracles for great crowds such as feeding the 5000.
His healing ministry was not behind closed doors, but in public places.
Yet, there is the mysterious effort of Jesus to suppress an all out proclamation that he was the Messiah.
Jesus wanted this message saved until after his death and resurrection.
People were coming to all kinds of conclusions about him.
Some said he was John the Baptist revived; others that he was Elijah or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.
All agreed he had to be a great person, but only a few knew he was the Son of God.
After Peter said, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the living God," we read in Matt.
16:20, "Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ."
Jesus deliberately suppressed the fact that he was God in human flesh.
Jesus was over 30, and so 30 Christmas' have already gone by, and no one had ever celebrated one of the greatest event in human history.
It was because Jesus did not permit this good news of the incarnation to be proclaimed.
Jesus even had to use his supernatural authority over demons to keep them from blabbing the greatest news on earth.
In Mark 3:11 the unclean spirits cry out, "You are the Son of God."
In verse 12 we read, "And he strictly ordered them not to make him known."
Jesus was the first person to try and silence the preaching of his deity.
Friend and foe; disciples and demons, were anxious to make it known, but Jesus was always telling them to be quiet concerning his true identity.
We haven't looked at all the occasions on which Jesus urged people to hold down on the publicity concerning him.
It is frequent enough to be conspicuous.
What is behind this mysterious behavior which we see again in our text?
It seems so strange and even senseless, for verse 14 tells us that the Pharisees were taking council to kill him.
Verse 15 says that great multitudes followed and he healed them all.
Then verse 16 hits us with a strange charge that they not make him known.
Who in the world was left to tell?
This is like trying to hide the sun.
The whole nation was either out to kill him, or receive life from him.
Great multitudes were following him, so it is obvious that the cat is out of the bag.
Somebody has already let it slip that Jesus is where the action is.
He was the most popular person in Israel, yet he never stopped trying to prevent further promotion.
Even when the fire of his fame was raging uncontrollably across the Judean landscape, he still tried to throw a wet blanket on the desire to make him known.
Did Jesus ever do anything more mysterious and unusual than this?
I know of nothing to match it, and if it was not for Matthew we might never have guessed why Jesus did it.
In verse 17 Matthew tells us that the motive behind this behavior of Jesus was to fulfill prophecy.
This is the largest Old Testament quotation in Matthew, and it reveals to us the quality of character the Messiah was to exhibit to be pleasing to God.
It matches the manner of his birth.
Such a humble way for any child to be born, but how much more so for the Son of God?
Such a humble beginning implies that his purpose in life was not to be showmanship.
No spectacular calling of attention to himself, but rather, obscurity was to characterize most of the life of Jesus.
When he did begin his public ministry it was with no ambition to be a mighty leader with masses bowing before him.
He had all the potential of being the great rabble rouser who could have stirred his people to follow him in conquest.
Jesus did not exploit that potential, for that was not his purpose.
Jesus intended to conquer, but not like any other conqueror who had ever lived.
His method was sheer folly to the world and still is today, but Jesus goes on reigning while the mighty mock him and then disappear into the dust of oblivion.
No strategy, they say, could be more stupid than that of recruiting the weak and the poor, the sick and the oppressed.
Jesus let his enemies capture him and crucify him while he wasted his time with the misfits of society.
Hitler knew better that this, and so does every tyrant who ever lived.
They know you get rid of the weak and the deformed, for they are hindrances to victory.
People only count when they are powerful and can help the cause.
The rest can be eliminated.
This is a practice commonly practiced by tyrants.
Nature is pointed to as a justification for this strategy.
Nature eliminates the weak.
The survival of the fittest is a law of nature, and men who have no higher revelation than what they see in nature are led to act on the level of the brutes.
The Christian does not look to nature, but to the author of nature, who made man in his image, and of infinite value above the world of nature.
Persons are not just animals, but are the creatures with the potential for partaking of the divine nature, and, therefore, they are to be treated with dignity and respect however weak they may be.
Armed with this view of man, the Son of God entered human history with a totally unique strategy for conquering the world.
He would not use force and destructive weapons to crush the weak and helpless, but would stress gentleness and encouragement of the weak.
Military men have always mocked, and will continue to mock this strategy of the prince of peace right up until the victory, and the meek inherit the earth.
All other conquers come with great noise and commotion, but Jesus seeks to conquer quietly.
Verse 19 says he will not strive nor cry, nor will any man hear his voice in the streets.
Jesus was not a rabble rouser, and one who went looking for an encounter with those opposed to him.
He did not stand in the streets and denounce his opponents.
In verse 15 we see that when he knew his opponents were out to get him he withdrew himself.
He had no desire for a noisy showdown.
He was a man of peace who would retreat to avoid trouble if necessary.
The Hebrew word in this quote from Isaiah means that he will not scream under excitement.
So many when they are unjustly attacked become loud and boisterous, and begin to denounce their attackers, but Jesus calmly slipped away.
On the positive side it was the same.
Many who draw crowds and do a great work want to crow about it to the world.
Jesus was not interested, but would slip away in silence, and ask his praising fans to join him in this virtue, and not make him known.
It was just a part of the character of Christ.
He was not interested in the power of noise.
He was interested in the superior power of silence and gentleness.
Men have gone far by arrogant boasting, and shouting in the streets, but they were not going the same direction as Jesus.
Deep and lasting power cannot be based on noise.
Truth works quietly like the silent power of the sun.
An unknown poet wrote-
How silently the great stars shine,
How silently the dawn comes in,
How silently in forest depths
The oak to massiveness doth win.
The noblest powers are quiet all,
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