The Messianic Secret
We’re moving through the Gospel of Mark together as a church, and this past weekend, Zack finished chapter one and focused on the prayer life of Jesus (vv. 35-39). Immediately after this story (vv. 40-45), Jesus heals a leper, and we see another instance, like the examples taught on two weekends ago (vv. 21-34) of Jesus’ contagious holiness. Before moving on to chapter two, we wanted to address a question that you likely thought about when reading verses 40-45, and one you will likely think again throughout the Gospel of Mark: Why does Jesus tell people he heals to keep it a secret?
“And a leper came to him, entreating him and kneeling down, saying to him, “If you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” And becoming angry, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be made clean.” And immediately the leprosy went away from him and he was made clean. And warning him sternly, he sent him away at once. And he said to him, “See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and bring for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. But he went out and began to proclaim it freely and to spread abroad the account, so that he was no longer able to enter publicly into a town. But he was staying outside in deserted places, and they were coming to him from all directions.”
Mark 1:40-45
Why does Jesus respond like this? And why does he continue to respond like this throughout the Gospel of Mark? Jesus commanded those he healed to keep the healing a secret (1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26), he silenced demons (1:23-25, 34; 3:11-12), and urges his disciples to keep his messiahship private knowledge (8:30). The Gospel of Mark reflects an evident air of secrecy in Jesus’ ministry. This motif throughout Jesus’ life is referred to as the “messianic secret.”
The messianic secret’s presence can naturally befuddle us as readers. It feels completely contradictory to the evangelical nature of modern Christianity. The evangelical world depicts a Jesus that says, “Go! Tell everyone about me! To the ends of the Earth! Ask that guy in the grocery store aisle if he knows me! Tell that woman in the Starbucks line about what I’ve done for you!” How do we reconcile that with the presence of the messianic secret theme throughout the Gospel of Mark? How do we reconcile an evangelical Jesus with a secretive Messiah? I think our answer comes in 1) addressing the reality of Jesus’ humanity and circumstance, 2) identifying what his actions were responding to in the socio-historical world in which he lived, and 3) recognizing Jesus’ identity during the specific moment in time of his ministry.
Jesus Was a Real Guy in a Real World with Real Logistics
After healing the man of leprosy and instructing him to keep quiet (v. 44), we immediately see that the newly healed man completely disregarded Jesus’ instruction. He goes and freely witnesses to people about Jesus’ miraculous healing. If we continue reading, we quickly realize the first reason Jesus instructed the man to be silent. The power of this man’s testimony rapidly spread throughout the region. It gained hype, and consequently, so did Jesus, preventing him from freely moving throughout towns. This forced him to operate his ministry in the desolate areas of wilderness on the outskirts of towns. Ironically, in this man’s healing and freedom came Jesus’ confinement and restriction.
Crowds gathering around a specific figure naturally brought danger. We see this in John the Baptist’s life, a central figure with a following who was ultimately beheaded by Herod Antipas. Jesus clearly had an awareness of the danger to his ministry that came with increased public notoriety. Jesus’ life and ministry were set during a time period and in a geographic region under Roman rule. As the leader of the Roman Empire, Caesar was referred to as ‘Lord,’ and anything or anyone that attempted to gather allegiance to a central figure outside of Caesar was a direct threat to the Empire. Additionally, it was a direct threat to anyone in a position of power because of the existence of the Roman Empire, meaning that local authorities would be incentivized to take note and end any movement surrounding a central figure. By requesting the silence of the healed, Jesus is seeking to tamper increasing danger that comes from his growing notoriety in order to extend his earthly ministry.
Does Jesus Define the Messiah, or Does the Messiah Define Jesus?
The next point to turn and look at is one wrapped around the idea of a ‘messiah.’ A messiah was a royal figure, sometimes referred to as the Son of God. Israel expected this Messiah to come and create a kingdom here on Earth, overthrowing the existing Roman Empire and establishing a nation for Israel. The idea of a messianic figure is fundamental to the gospel that Mark is telling. The opening verse of the Gospel of Mark reveals to us what claim the author is making: that Jesus is the Son of God. From the beginning we see that the author is showing us that Jesus was the Messiah.
However, Jesus’ life didn’t look like the general Israelite assumption of the messiah. Jesus didn’t overthrow the Roman Empire and establish an independent nation of Israel. Rather, he was executed by the Roman Empire. Jesus didn’t crush the existing rule but was crushed underneath its reign. Yet the author is claiming that Jesus was the messiah. How can this be?
Throughout the gospel narratives, we see that Jesus’ life was actively and intentionally redefining the world’s assumptions. He redefined the assumptions about socio-cultural interactions. He redefined the assumptions about inclusivity. He redefined the assumptions about money, power, authority, status quo. And along with this, he redefined Israel’s assumptions of a messiah. In his healings he exercised his authority from God, convincing people of his divinity and messiahship. But his life also showed a stark contrast to existing assumptions about the Messiah.
In the middle of the Gospel of Mark, there’s a crucial scene where Jesus explicitly reveals to his disciples what it means to be the messianic king, the Son of God. He says that he will suffer, be rejected, and then killed (8:31). A few chapters later, Jesus again reveals who he is:
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man.”
Mark 10:45
This is a radical redefinition of Israel's messianic presuppositions, which brings us back to our original question addressing the messianic secret. Once news about Jesus’ messiahship spread, it would naturally cause incorrect assumptions and attract misleading attention and interest. The more overtly Jesus was identified as the messiah, the more people would define him based upon their own assumptions about who they believed the messiah was going to be. Jesus is actively combatting potential misunderstanding in his secrecy. He does not want existing incorrect notions about a militaristic messiah focused on a political agenda to cloud the reality of his teaching. He came to serve, not be served. He came to be crushed, not to crush. In encouraging silence from those he healed, he is intentionally redefining what the Israelites believed their Messianic King, and ultimately what the Kingdom of God, looked like.
A Way to the Cross
The two arguments listed above were the typical explanations of the Messianic Secret through the nineteenth century. At the turn of the twentieth century, new scholarship began to provide alternative theories focused more on the theological, rather than the logistical, importance of Jesus’ secrecy.
As addressed above, Jesus’ secrecy was important for protecting him from immediate arrest and danger in public. However, Jesus’ secrecy also provided the avenue for his inevitable persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection. Imagine Jesus’ ministry sans secrecy. The outward proclamations from both natural and supernatural testimonies would be perplexing next to the accounts of opposition from religious authorities. Had these outward proclamations occurred, Jesus’ divinity would have been supported by public testimony from both natural and supernatural sources. The religious authorities’ opposition of Jesus’ alleged blasphemes was ultimately what led Jesus to the cross, the vehicle for crucifixion and ultimately resurrection. Without Jesus maintaining a veil of secrecy, there would be no space for opposition, and without space for opposition, there is no cross. The messianic secret created an avenue for Jesus to be opposed, killed, and “give his life as a ransom for many” (10:45).
Not Fully Realized, Yet Still Divine
Regardless of Jesus’ attempts to maintain a level of secrecy, there were instances when his messianic identity became apparent. The Gospel of Mark depicts this constant balance, teetering between Jesus’ hidden identity and his overt divinity. There are points where Jesus veils himself and encourages others to do the same. Yet there are moments where his divinity shatters a scene, leaving us as readers in awe of his great power. This balancing act might be the point.
Its inclusion is intentional by the author, and it's reflective of the life of Jesus. The actual moment of history that Jesus lived in was the end of the old age, a time where his messianic kingship was not fully realized. The presence of the messianic secret motif throughout the Gospel of Mark, and throughout Jesus’ life, reflected this ‘not fully realized’ identity of Jesus. It’s hidden and veiled and secretive. But there were moments of real divinity that burst through the world during Jesus’ life as well. Not yet fully realized, but still divine. Not crowned king, but destined for the throne.
Now we live in a new time. The old has gone, and the new age has come. Jesus is the Messianic King. He sits on the throne. He has defeated death and reigns in victory. We live in a time post-Easter that has the privilege of worshipping King Jesus, the one who condescended to Earth, was opposed by authorities, and was murdered for the sake of each of us and all of us. The messianic secret motif reflects that time of Jesus’ condescension. It reflects a time where Jesus’ identity was veiled, he was opposed, and yet all the while the power in his divine sonship punched through the old age and into its present darkness.