The Messianic Secret
Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2016 1:03 pm
In the gospel according to Mark, especially, Jesus seems to tell people (and demons) to keep His true identity a secret.
A common conservative explanation for this motif is that Jesus wanted to keep Himself from becoming a celebrity so that He could travel freely and/or Jesus wanted to delay His coming arrest and crucifixion. I agree that Jesus wanted to delay His crucifixion, but I feel like commentators rarely touch on WHY He felt a delay was necessary.
Many Christians think the only REALLY important thing Jesus did on earth was die for our sins (in some theologies, the resurrection isn't even that important). The LIFE & MINISTRY of Jesus isn't very important to such Christians. They just need Jesus' blood.
I think the Messianic Secret is an important motif because it shows how seriously Jesus felt about delaying the crucifixion. Apparently, Jesus felt that His teachings, miracles, parables, relationships, and actions were important for people to see. This reinforces, to my mind, the importance of living a Christlike life.
I realize I am probably preaching to the choir here. Just a thought I wanted to share. Too many American Christians are only interested in Jesus' death so they can go to heaven when they die. We need to be passionate about Jesus' life and ministry so that we can be the kind of people for whom the New Earth makes a fitting home.
A common conservative explanation for this motif is that Jesus wanted to keep Himself from becoming a celebrity so that He could travel freely and/or Jesus wanted to delay His coming arrest and crucifixion. I agree that Jesus wanted to delay His crucifixion, but I feel like commentators rarely touch on WHY He felt a delay was necessary.
Many Christians think the only REALLY important thing Jesus did on earth was die for our sins (in some theologies, the resurrection isn't even that important). The LIFE & MINISTRY of Jesus isn't very important to such Christians. They just need Jesus' blood.
I think the Messianic Secret is an important motif because it shows how seriously Jesus felt about delaying the crucifixion. Apparently, Jesus felt that His teachings, miracles, parables, relationships, and actions were important for people to see. This reinforces, to my mind, the importance of living a Christlike life.
I realize I am probably preaching to the choir here. Just a thought I wanted to share. Too many American Christians are only interested in Jesus' death so they can go to heaven when they die. We need to be passionate about Jesus' life and ministry so that we can be the kind of people for whom the New Earth makes a fitting home.