Blog #2 Chelsey Richter

In the Gospel of Mark, the audience is introduced to what is referred to as the “messianic secret.” Throughout Mark, Jesus attempts to keep his identity a secret on a number of occasions. In Mark 1:43, when Jesus heals a leper, he commands him to “say nothing to anyone,” and in Mark 5:43, when he rasies a young girl from the dead, he strictly orders “that no one should know this,” [1]. He never speaks openly to anyone about his identity.

In the twentieth century, a German scholar by the name of William Wrede introduced the theory of the “messianic secret.” Wrede proposed that the author of the Gospel of Mark invented the notion of secrecy to reduce the tension between early Christian beliefs about Jesus being the Messiah, and the non-Messianic nature of his ministry [2]. Wrede recognized that Mark was written first and influenced the other Gospels. However, after re-examining his initial theory, Wrede suggested that his theory would work best if: "it would be 'most highly desirable' if such a gospel as Mark were not the oldest gospel,” [3].

Wrede’s theory was criticized in the first years. After the theory of the “messianic secret” spread, theologians reacted negatively to it. Wrede's broad concept of the Messianic Secret also involved the use of parables by Jesus, and theologians called it the weakest element of Wrede's approach. The idea of the “messianic secret” eventually gained acceptance in the 1920s but quickly lost support by the 1970s.

Other explanations of the secrecy issued by Jesus have been proposed. Philosophy explains it based on a mistranslation. The literary explanation compares Jesus to the Greek hero, Odysseus, thus demonstrating a relatable character to Mark’s gentile audience. Much like Jesus, Odysseus must hide his true identity to avoid his enemies [4]. 

The literary theory stretches to make the clearest sense. As described in Ehrman’s text, “we don’t know who the author [of Mark] was, only that he was a Greek-speaking Christian, presumably living outside of Palestine,” [5]. We do know that Mark was describing the stories of Jesus to a Gentile audience therefore making the literary comparison of Odysseus to Jesus appealed highly to his Greek Gentile audience. This theory would seem to make the most sense.

Bibliography--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.       Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford, 2004 pages 84-85

2.       Gospel According to St. Mark by Morna Dorothy Hooker 2001 pages 66-69

3.       Christology and the Synoptic problem by Peter M. Head 1997 pages 233-235

4.       Dennis R. MacDonald. The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark. New Haven, 2000

5.       Ehrman, Bart D. The New Testament. Fourth Edition. New York: Oxford, 2004 page 75