At that moment in time God's purpose for mankind depended on one man - one man among all the millions of people on the earth. So fragile a thread - just one man with a message and a destiny. But the man was the Son of God. And the situation into which He had been placed as an embryo was well prepared. For He was born into a nation - Israel ‑ which, for all its faults, had through a thousand years inherited a faith in God.

At this moment the nation was under the control of an empire whose networks of trade and control carried news across the known world. A parent for Him was ready and willing, one of a family whose ancestry was notable and whose faith in God was strong. Devout Israelites had longed for the arrival of this child, whose arrival had been prophesied in mysterious terms for hundreds of years.

He was born, and he grew to be ready for his mission. The way had been prepared by a campaign of pre-publicity, awaking Israelite hearts and minds. His work began, a work of teaching and healing, drawing excited crowds, making an impact in the target nation. The mission was succeeding, bringing God's love and God's discipline to each and every man, woman and child. It was a triumph of communication.

Then, on various occasions Jesus seemed to draw back. When He had cured a leper, a blind man, a man who was deaf and dumb, he told them to keep it a secret and say nothing. At that phase in His ministry we might have expected Him to seek maximum impact, maximum publicity. He urged others to tell all about their healing. The demon-possessed lunatic of Gerasa was told, "Go home, and describe what great things God has done for you." (Luke 5.39) "And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him."

Why was it that Jesus on these three occasions asked the person cured to say nothing about it? Was it for the sake of the person cured? These were semi-private miracles. The leper, riddled with his disease, falls on his face before Jesus. "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean!" Jesus defies hygiene regulations and actually touches the leper. "I am willing. Be cleansed." The leprosy leaves him, and Jesus tells him to show himself to the priest in the prescribed way for the healed leper. (Luke 5. 12‑15)

The deaf man who spoke with difficulty, was brought by his friends to Jesus, who touched the man's ears, touched his tongue with His own saliva. With a deep sigh, Jesus looked up to heaven. "Be opened." The man could hear. He could speak clearly. "Don't go telling everybody." (Mark 7.3 1‑3 7). This was a time consuming and emotionally draining miracle for Jesus to perform. It also would bring problems of adjustment to the man who could now talk.

The blind man at Bethsaida was also brought by his friends (Mark 8.22‑26). Jesus takes him by the hand, leads him out of the village. He uses saliva on the man's eyes, touches them. "Do you see anything?" "Men. They look like trees walking." Jesus lays his hands on the man's eyes - success. "Don't even go back to the village. Go home."

It may be that a period of quietness was beneficial to these individuals, newly healed, and recovering from the stress of anticipation, The cures had been performed not without difficulty and required an inner change in themselves. Or was it that Jesus asked their discretion for His own sake? He was overburdened with excited crowds coming to him with their needs. No time to eat, or talk with his disciples. Time for prayer only to be found by mortgaging the hours of rest and darkness to seek intense fellowship with His Father. Their silence about their healing was a means of keeping the situation under control - but not very effective at that. Jesus was launched into the maelstrom of meeting human need, and what could this one man do? "He has done all things well!" the people said in their astonishment. Jesus knew there were more, and harder, things to be done.

The people's wonder and excitement would have been even greater if they had known of another miracle done privately. Only the three disciples of the inner circle and the parents of the child concerned were allowed to be present. Jesus had come in response to their urgent despairing message. A child dying. No, a child dead. But still He came and turned away the gathering mourners and entered the room. "She is only asleep." He takes her by the hand. "Child, arise." Her spirit returned and she rose immediately. "Give her some food."

The parents were amazed. "Don't tell anyone what has happened." How could this event be kept a secret? The message had been publicly given - "Don't trouble the Master. She's dead." The process of public mourning had begun. But Jesus passed it off as their misunderstanding - he would wake the child from a sleep which looked like death.

The secret was that her death was genuine. The few moments in which resuscitation is normally possible had passed. From Jesus' perspective, we can see, death is like a sleep. Not a permanent state, just a stage to be followed by a 'waking' from death. It is a cause of grief, none the less, and Jesus felt it keenly. His love for Jairus was like His love for the widow at Nain and like His love for Mary and Martha at Bethany. In each case He acted. One resuscitation was this private 'wakening'. The next was a spontaneous reaction to a situation met by chance along the road. On the other hand, the raising of Lazarus was planned, public, the climax and the final statement of Jesus' healing work.

To have publicised the raising of Jairus' daughter would have been premature. Imagine Jesus being mobbed not just by the friends of all the sick but also by the relatives of all the newly dead. All clamouring for a resurrection. His ultimate aim was to swallow up death in victory, of course. But to what sort of life would these people be raised, without a basis being laid for forgiveness and a new quality of life? He had to provide that basis. There was another discussion with His disciples which was private, and had to remain so. It concerned His identity and His future plans. The disciples had been out two by two, extending the work of preaching repentance and healing the sick. The crowd of five thousand had been fed, and some people attempted to make Jesus a king. Now he consults the twelve quietly. "Who are people saying that I am?" John the Baptist! Elijah! The prophet who was to come!

"But you, who do you say that I am?" Peter comes out with it. "You are the Christ, Son of the Living God." "This is not what people are saying - this is what my Father in heaven has shown you." (Matthew 16.13‑28)

So this one man among all the millions has now been identified by his followers. He goes on to tell them how the mission must proceed. He must go to Jerusalem.

He must be rejected and humiliated by the authorities. He must be killed... and be raised to life on the third day. And anyone who wants to follow Him must be ready to lose his life in the same way. The kingdom is not yet. But they would see Him coming in His kingdom - in the glory of the Father, with the armies of heaven, as the judge who would recognise their faithfulness to Him.

When would they see this? A week later, Peter, James and John were with Jesus on a mountain top. They saw Jesus, His appearance changed, speaking with two men about how He would move on from Jerusalem to the next phase of His intended purpose. And they heard a voice speaking from a bright cloud, "This is my beloved Son. I am pleased with Him. Listen to him." (Luke 9.28‑36)

But this greatest revelation was another matter that Jesus forbade them to speak about publicly. Not until... not until He Himself had risen from the dead and was moving on. Before that, He must suffer. His death must complete the episode of His life as a man on planet earth. His giving of Himself was not to be evaded, for it was the purpose of the mission, the way for one man to redeem the countless millions.

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