When we see greatness, we naturally long to tell people about it. Marketers strive for this kind of word of mouth contagion; yet Jesus consistently silenced his fans (Mark 7:36; 8:26, 30). If he posted the transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8) on Facebook, he would have customized his privacy settings to include just three people! Peter, James and John were the only witnesses to Jesus’ divine glory, and Jesus “charged them to tell no one what they had seen” (Mark 9:9). But this silencing is different. This time he scheduled when they can tell everyone. “He charged them to tell no one what they has seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”
With each authoritative word, healing, exorcism and miracle, Jesus stretched the rubber band further and further; and after the resurrection, he released it. “And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). Those passages in which Jesus silenced people from telling anyone about him are now obsolete. Now that he has risen from the dead, we are charged to tell everyone. We’re to tell not only the surrounding villages, but “all the world.” We’re not just to whisper it to a few, but “proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” The rubber band is flying now. We are post-resurrection disciples, no longer just observers, but messengers.
