The word reveal if you google it, reveals a whole host of images and meanings. The basic definition is to make known to others things that were previously unknown or secret. What is considered a secret? In legal terms it is a classification assigned to information, a document, etc. The dictionary meaning is that a secret is done, made, or conducted without the knowledge of others. If someone tells you don’t tell anybody, does your attention level immediately go up? I would venture to say most of us find it hard to keep a secret. Have you ever been told a secret that you let slip out before common knowledge? Guilty! Most people are anxious to share a secret. Why? Is it because that have power over someone else because they know something the other person does not know? Maybe it is because we are social creatures. I read a book the other day that our brains are wired to connect with each other socially. Tests have been conducted to keep our brains super active but once idle, even for a second, naturally reverts back to our social state.
Verse 9 of Matthew 17 tells us a lot about maintaining a secret and revealing it at the most opportune time. Peter, James and John has just witnessed a mountain top experience. Imagine yourself in that position and so anxious to tell the world of what you just experienced. But then you are told don’t tell anybody. Can you imagine? Have your ever been told a secret and commanded not to tell anybody until another event happened? I believe the power is in the secret and the reveal at the correct time. Have you ever seen a reality show of a home being renovated? They call the moment of sharing with the home owners the great reveal. Again, if you Google the great reveal, you will get a whole range of images, church sites, other reveals, etc.
To focus back on my message here, Jesus was transformed in front of 3 of his disciples on a mountain and there appeared also Moses (the 1st great law maker) and Elijah (the 1st great prophet). Can you imagine the excitement of those witnessing this transfiguration? I am sure they were so anxious to share the secret. The site of Elijah meant, his coming. But Jesus knew he had already arrived and if the populous heard this news the timing would have been all wrong. Are you confused? If so, read past verse 9 for more reveal. It is all about timing of the reveal of a secret that makes the difference. John the Baptist was a voice in the wilderness. Look what they did to him. Jesus knew that if the secret got out too soon, they would do the same to him. He commanded Peter, James and John to wait before revealing the mountain top experience. Perhaps, we could learn from this story in our personal lives. The power is in the telling at the right time. The secret should remain a secret until the correct time of the reveal. Those that are intended to be told so that they will believe deserves to be told in due time according to His timing not ours.
I encourage you to read more scripture on this subject and listen to my brief message below about the mystery of faith and the power in the secret revealed.
T