Messianic Secret

Definition and Meaning

The Messianic Secret refers to passages in the Gospels, especially the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus appears to conceal his identity. "Messiah" means "anointed one" in Hebrew; its Greek equivalent is "Christ." In Mark, Jesus commands those he has healed not to spread the news, silences demons when they recognize him and cry out, and tells even his disciples not to say who he is. The term "Messianic Secret" refers to these scenes collectively.

Biblical and Historical Background

Representative passages include the following:

• After healing a leper, Jesus commands him to say nothing to anyone (Mark 1:44).
• Jesus does not permit the demons to speak, because they know him (Mark 1:34; 3:11–12).
• After raising Jairus's daughter, Jesus charges those present that no one should know of it (Mark 5:43).
• When Peter confesses, "Thou art the Christ," Jesus charges the disciples to tell no one about him (Mark 8:29–30).
• After the Transfiguration, Jesus tells the disciples not to relate what they have seen until the Son of man has risen from the dead (Mark 9:9).

Not every episode follows this pattern. Some who were ordered to keep silent spread the news anyway (Mark 1:45; 7:36), and the Gerasene man who had been possessed by demons was instead told to go home and tell what had happened to him (Mark 5:19). Before the high priest, Jesus himself openly declares that he is the Messiah (Mark 14:61–62).

The first to give this theme systematic scholarly treatment was the German New Testament scholar William Wrede. In his 1901 work The Messianic Secret in the Gospels, he argued that the motif does not reflect the actual conduct of Jesus. Rather, he held, it is a theological device added by the early church or by Mark to bridge the gap between the messianic faith that arose after the resurrection and the actual life of Jesus, in which messianic claims had not been explicit. This thesis went on to exert considerable influence on Gospel studies and on discussion of the Synoptic Problem.

The thesis has also met with many objections. A number of scholars argue that because the Jews of the time expected the Messiah to be a political liberator who would oppose Rome, Jesus delayed disclosing his identity in order to avoid this misunderstanding. Another interpretation holds that Jesus sought to show that the messianic path can be fully understood only in light of the cross and the resurrection. Today, even scholars who reject Wrede's conclusions widely use the term "Messianic Secret" to describe this distinctive feature of Mark's Gospel.

In Practice in the Korean Church

"Messianic Secret" is a term used mainly in seminary lectures and New Testament scholarship. It is unfamiliar to most lay church members, and in sermons and Bible studies the topic is often addressed without the term, through the question "Why did Jesus tell people not to speak?"

Interpretations tend to divide according to approaches to biblical study rather than along denominational lines. Conservative and evangelical seminaries and denominations generally reject Wrede's thesis. They explain these scenes as reflecting Jesus' actual intention to avoid misunderstanding about a political Messiah and to await the appointed time of the cross. Those who more fully embrace critical biblical scholarship also present the view that these scenes reflect the way Mark arranged his narrative to express his own theology. In either case, preachers generally use these passages to emphasize that the Messiah as Jesus understood him was one who would pass through suffering before glory.