4. WHY DID GOD HIDE CHRIST'S SUPERB PROPHETIC MINISTRY FROM PEOPLE?

The Scripture declares that God the Father hid most of Christ's perfect revelation prophetic ministry from people, both before and during His public ministry. We read in Is.49v1,2. "Listen, O coastlands, to Me, and take heed, you peoples from afar! The LORD has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name. v2 And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me." (NKJ). The sharp sword was a correct and mighty use of the Scriptures, the polished shaft meant that Jesus was totally obedient to God the Father and only went where God told Him, He always hit the target that God aimed Him at.

We also read in Is.50v3-7., v3 "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. v4 The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, he awakens My ear to hear as the learned. v5 The Lord GOD has opened My ear; and I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away. v6 I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting. v7 For the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; therefore I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed." (NKJ) This remarkable Scripture again states how God the Father educated Jesus on a daily basis and prepared Him for His earthly apostolic ministry, and His heavenly High Priestly ministry. The task ahead of Jesus was incredibly difficult, the odds against Him were enormous, the training, therefore, was exceedingly demanding. How completely and successfully God hid away our Lord's remarkable Scripture knowledge, His supreme prophetic ministry, and His unequalled manifestation of spiritual gifts, from the people at Nazareth, is seen by their totally astonished, critical, and murderous reaction to His ministry when it started. Lk.4v20-30. On Christ's second visit to Nazareth, most of the people there were still just as critical and sceptical about the source of Christ's ministry. Their bitter rejection of His ministry is revealed by their impenetrable unbelief and their malicious and cutting, "Whence hath this fellow, these things?" Mk.6v1-6.

1. God the Father developed the ministry of Jesus secretly in the environment of home and work life.

Paul makes it quite clear in Col.3., that "God's will" does not just involve those in full-time ministry, or just our church lives, God's will involves our daily home relationships and work lives, because this is where most of the lives of believers are lived. Paul states that we are serving the Lord, when we do all our daily duties heartily, and as unto the Lord, and we will receive the reward of the inheritance for it. Our Lord Jesus gave us the perfect example, He lived the sermon on the mount at Nazareth before He preached it. His life of perfect love and service at Nazareth, was the foundation of His spiritual power and ministry in public.

The ministry of Jesus was developed in secret in a home and work environment, by God the Father and the Holy Spirit. This was in sharp contrast to John Baptist, who spent his years of preparation in the wilderness. Jesus was totally familiar with the problems of life, and He showed sympathetic gentleness with needy and sinful people, which was much kinder and more thoughtful than John's thunderings about the broken Law of God. We read in Mt.11v13., "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." See Lk.16v16. Jn.1v17. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." Jesus was "full of grace and truth." Jn.1v14. " And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (NKJ)

2. Jesus was hidden by God until His prophetic prayer ministry was fully developed and perfected.

a. Jesus was hidden away until He was fully equipped by the Father for His ministry, not only in knowledge and truth, but also in a practical experience, on the highest levels of the operation, of all the power and revelation gifts, which were necessary to accomplish His ministry. This training in the operation of the spiritual gifts took place in private, as Jesus exercised the greatest prayer warrior ministry there has ever been. Even Jesus had to grow in wisdom and knowledge and spiritual strength, and be put to the test at the hands of the Devil in the wilderness, He knew He was being humbled, proved and tested, "To humble thee, to prove thee, to know what is in thine heart." Deut.8.

b. Jesus was hidden away until He had a perfect prayer life and revelation ministry, which were the essential foundations for His public ministry. Ps.69v7-11. Jesus manifested revelation and power gifts in private before He manifested them in public. Mary's words to Jesus at the marriage feast in Cana reveal that she had seen many miracles of provision done by Jesus. We read in Jn.2v3-5., And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine. v4. Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come." v5. His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." (NKJ). Obviously no one else knew about these miracles but Jesus and Mary, Jesus had obviously told Mary that no one else was to know about them. The feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000 were not the first miracles of provision that Jesus had performed, He had obviously sent Mary to feed the widows and needy, without anyone knowing the source. These miracles were obviously just kept private between Jesus and Mary, the first public sign miracle ("semeion," 2592) in Cana, was the turning of the water to wine. Jn.2v11. We read in Jn.4v54., that the second sign miracle in Cana was the healing of the nobleman's son. However, we read in John.2v23., that Jesus had done many more sign miracles in Jerusalem before the healing of the nobleman's son, and "many believed in His name when they saw the signs ("semeia, 4592) which He did."

3. God protected Jesus from the jealousy, envy, and hostility of worldly people and carnal religious leaders.

God hid Jesus away from the jealousy, envy, and antagonistic pride of worldly people and carnal religious leaders.

a. There was the contemptuous familiarity and angry rejection of Jesus by the people of Nazareth. Jesus was despised and rejected by the people of Nazareth as soon as His ministry was manifested, but there was also a contemptuous rejection of our Lord's holy prayer life for many years before this attempt to murder Jesus after His first sermon.

b. There was the bitter jealousy and murderous envy of Israel's religious leaders. God hid Jesus away to save Him from prematurely coming up against violent and vicious opposition at Nazareth and in Israel.

N.B. It was to prevent Israel's religious leaders from being prematurely moved with jealousy and envy.

Joseph brothers sold him into slavery because of their jealousy and envy, Israel's religious leaders for the very same reason murdered Jesus. Even Pilate knew the Jews wanted to kill Jesus out of envy, Mt.27v18., "For he knew that through envy ("phthonos") they had delivered him up." The manifestation of the fullness of Christ's prophetic revelation ministry would have caused even more hatred and opposition from Israel's religious leaders, in any case this tender healing ministry was reserved for broken and needy people, or genuine seekers, not evil opponents. As we will see, Jesus continually had the critical thoughts and evil and murderous plans of his enemies revealed to him, and sometimes, as the Father directed Him, exposed and answered the evil in their hearts. These remarkable revelations of their hearts failed to bring them to repentance, and they continually made plans to kill Jesus. Jesus, like Joseph, suffered great persecution because of jealousy and envy. Pilate knew the Jews wanted to kill Jesus out of envy, Mt.27v18., "For he knew that through envy ("phthonos") they had delivered him up." Cf. Mt.12v14. 21v38. Mk.3v4-6. Jn.5v16-18. 7v19,25. 8v37,40. 10v31,32,39. 11v53.

4. Jesus was hidden away until the fullness of time.

We read in Gal.4v4,5., "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, v5. to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Everything in the life of Jesus was in the fullness of God's perfect timing. See Jn.2v4. 17v1. Jn.7:6,8.

N.B.. Jesus was hidden away until the time came for the fullness of His love to be manifested.

Jesus was full of sympathy and grace as well as truth, this was the result and product of Christ's love being manifested every day in practical living and heart felt caring love. Heb.2v17,18. He was hidden away until His ministry was fully grown and perfected. God the Father started the ministry of Jesus when He was fully prepared for it, and Jesus was full of truth as well as grace. Lk.2v40,52. Jn.1v14. The lesson is clear, the premature appointment of immature ministry, is not wise, or of God.

WHY DID JESUS HIDE AWAY MOST OF HIS PERFECT REVELATION MINISTRY?

a. It was obviously a command of God the Father.

We read in Isa42v1-4,19-21. "Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, my Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. v2. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. v3. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; he will bring forth justice for truth. v4. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law. --- v19. Who is blind but My servant, or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as the LORD'S servant? v20. Seeing many things, but you do not observe; opening the ears, but he does not hear. v21. The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness' sake; he will exalt the law and make it honourable."

Jesus came to heal the broken reeds and smoking fax of humanity, not expose and criticise broken and needy mankind, He can to save and heal. He knew and felt their sins and needs, but He acted as if He was blind and deaf to them. From Is.42v19-21. We see from our Lord's example, that there is a real need to hide most of what God reveals to us about people, God respects the desire for secrecy in people's hearts, God is a perfect gentleman, He does not want to expose and humiliate people in public. Needs that are revealed are usually for prayer, not proclamation.

b. Was it so that people would not tremble before Him as they did before Moses and Samuel?

We read in Exod.19v16. "Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled." We read in 1Sam.16v4. "So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" (NKJ) People can get very nervous and frightened when confronted by genuine prophetic ministry. The Father and Jesus wanted all who felt condemned to freely come to Him, and so the wondrous revelation ministry of Jesus was almost completely hidden away. The Lord's ministry mainly consisted of an enormous number of physical healing mercy gifts, and on a few occasions of the operation of workings of miracles in provision, the turning of the water to wine, the feeding of the five and four thousand, and the miraculous fish catches.

N.B. Our Lord's revelation ministry was hidden away even in His healing ministry.

Jesus did not call out the illnesses of sick people, or tell them what their problem was. Jesus was so full of the power of God that such revelations were not necessary. Such revelations could well have frightened the sinful and timid, and stopped them from coming to Him.

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