The Messianic secret is the name given to the peculiar way
in which Mark's Gospel contains many references to Jesus trying to keep his actions and
his identity secret. Consider how he commands demons and people not to reveal how he has
transformed situations at the beginning of the Gospel. You might also like to think
about the way in which he gives some teaching privately to his disciples and instructs
them not to reveal it to others. Also, interestingly, he tells parables as a deliberate
way of stopping others from understanding what he is
saying:
With
many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He
did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own
disciples, he explained everything.
(4:33-34)
Some critics argue
that this reveals the way in which Jesus didn't want to reveal too much too soon, before
he himself was aware of the purposes of God through his life. Likewise, using parables
offered people time to think about and mull over Jesus's teaching and identity for
themselves, rather than telling them directly. If Jesus had been overt from the
beginning about his identity, it could have been that he would have had a confrontation
with the religious authorities before he was ready for it.
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