TANGAZA COLLEGE
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN AFRICA
JOHN KUDJO DORBORKOE, S.V.D.
THE MESSIANIC SECRET IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK AND ITS RAMIFICATIONS FOR OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE TODAY
- Moderator Rev. Dr. Antonio Magnante, I.M.C.
A Long Essay Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology
NAIROBI 2009 II
,
DEDICATION
To my parents, family, friends, teachers, and the Society of
Divine Word.
#
A 111
EPIGRAPH
"But we impart a Secret and Hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification.
None of the rulers of this age understood this;
for if they had,
they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory."
(RSV I Corinthians 2:7-8) IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, my gratitude to the Triune God who is the source of my being
and the source of all inspirations. To him be glory, honour and thanksgivings for
ever.
My sincere thanks also to Fr. Antonio Magnante who agreed to supervise
this work in a comprehensive, scholarly, and friendly manner.
I wish to thank also my confreres, formators, and students of the Society of
the Divine Word for their support, prayers, and brotherhood. My gratitude also goes
to my parents, family, friends, teachers, and all the parishioners of St. Maria Gorreti
Catholic Church in Battor, Ghana for their love, concern and care.
In a special way, I thank Fr. John Mervin Noronha, Fr Narciso CeIlan,
Chester Paschal, Clement Addae-Kyei, Joseane Maria Serpa, Gabriel Ukhurebor, Sr.
Theresa, Kolia, Chris Ankah, and Fr. Freddy Fingila, who either read this script or
made some valuable suggestions.
My hearty thanks to all the parishioners of Born Jesus de Iguape, Sao Paulo
(Brazil) where I had my two-year overseas training experience. It was during
Encontros Biblicos (Bible encounter or meeting) in Brazil that I first came across the
idea of the Messianic Secret. I am really grateful to all my friends in Brazil, and to
them I say, Matto obrigado (thanks a lot).
Finally, I am grateful to all individuals, groups, organizations and institutions
who have contributed in one way or the other to bring this work to completion.
A V
DECLARATION
I, the undersigned, declare that this long essay is my original work achieved through
my personal reading, scientific research method and critical reflection. It is
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Baccalaureate in Sacred
Theology. It has never been submitted to any other college or university for
academic credit. All sources have been cited in full and acknowledged.
Signed..
Name of Student: John Kudjo Dorborkoe, S.V.D.
• q0(-`
This long essay has been submitted for examination with my approval as the college
supervisor.
Signed.
Name of supervisor: Rev. Dr. Antonio Magnante, I.M.C.
Date. cti° J OV MJ VI
CONTENTS
DEDICATION II EPIGRAPH III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IV DECLARATION V CONTENTS VI ABBREVIATIONS VII GENERAL INTRODUCTION Chapter One 5 THE MESSIANIC SECRET IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK 5 1.0 Introduction 5 1.2 The Origin of the Messianic Secret 5 1.3 Injunction to Silence 9 L3.1 Silence Imposed on Those Healed 10 1.3.2 The Silencing of the Demons 11 1.3.3 Silence Imposed on the Disciples 14 1.4 Conclusion 15 Chapter Two: 17 Attempts to explain the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark 17 2.0 Introduction 17 2.1 The Historical Explanation 17 2.2 The Apologetic Explanation 20 2.3 The Epiphanic Interpretation 21 2.4 The Theology of the Cross Interpretation 22 2.4.1 Is the Messianic Secret a Response to a Heresy? 24 2.5 The History of Revelation Interpretation 26 2.6 Conclusion 27 Chapter Three 29 The Implications of the Messianic Secret for our Christian life Today 29 3.0 Introduction 29 3.1 Messianic Secret and the Full Identity of Jesus 30 3.2 The Messianic Secret and the Message of the Cross 32 3.3 Messianic Secret and the Proclamation of the Good News 33 3.4 Conclusion 34 GENERAL CONCLUSION 35 BIBLIOGRAPHY 40 VII
ABBREVIATIONS
ADB FREEDMAN, D.N., ed. (1992) Anchor Dictionary Bible, New York: Doubleday. BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin CI Confer; Compare Dr. Doctor e.g. Exempli gratia; for example ed. Edited by EDB HARTMAN, L.F. S. (1963) Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, New York — Toronto London: McGraw-Hill Book Company. etc Etcetera, and so on, and the alike HBC MAY, J.L., ed. (1988) Harpers Biblical Commentary, San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers. i.e. id est - that is IMC Institutum Mission urn a Consolata Mk Mark NJBC BROWN, E.R. FITZMYER, J.A. - MURPHY, R.E., ed. (1990) The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. OCB METZGER, B.M. -- COOGAN, M.D., ed. (1993) The Oxford Companion to the Bible, Oxford: Oxford University Press. OT Old Testament Quelle Rev. Reverend RSV Revised Standard Version Sam. Samuel St. Saint SVD Societas Verbi Divini trans. Translation GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Background
The figure of the Messiah played a crucial role in Israel's understanding of
God's salvation plans for her future. As a result, Judaism, at that time, knew of a list of figures such as Elijah, Moses, perhaps the Son of Man, the Anointed Priest, etc. All these figures were expected to appear at the time of God's definitive intervention on behalf of Israel. But the real transition to the expectation of a
Messiah was brought about by the Old Testament idea of a king. The king was regarded, alongside the priests, and later the prophets, as the anointed (I Sam 10:1,
16:3, 2 Sam 2:4), as Yahweh's representative.'
But the title 'Messiah' in general was undefined, even unclear; hence, subject to many forms of interpretations and misinterpretations. But to some extent the
Messiahship that would be attributed to Jesus is best confined to a specifically defined idea, which is, the anointed King of the Davidic dynasty who would establish in the world the definitive reign of God.' The Messiah was mainly seen as the royal Son of David who would bring victory and prosperity to the Jewish nation and who would also set up his throne in Jerusalem.
I Cf. W. !CASPER, Jesus Christ, 104. 2 Cf. J.L. MCKENZIE, "Aspects of Old Testament Thought", NJBC, 1310. 2
However, there is neither proof that Jesus ever explicitly described himself as Messiah in the royal Davidic sense, nor evidence that he categorically rejected the title.' In Mark 8:29, when Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus reacted with great reservation. But when the blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46, referred to Jesus as 'Son of David', Jesus did not instantly assume the title and did not rebuke him either.
Jesus is frequently depicted in the Gospel of Mark as trying to keep up an element of secrecy about himself and his work. At the wake of the twentieth century, this characteristic was referred to as the Messianic Secret. This conception of the Messianic Secret was presented in a particularly challenging form by William Wrede in his work, Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien.° Wrede put forward a radical hypothesis which was held by certain scholars including R.
Bultmann and some scholars today that Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah.
According to this hypothesis, "the tradition used by Mark invented this imposition of secrecy by Jesus, the purpose of the invention being to cover this state of affairs and to justify the later tradition creating belief in Jesus as Messiah." According to
W. Wrede, the apostles and the evangelist had to find a reason why Jesus was not commonly recognized as the Messiah, and, therefore, they pretended that, he himself had forbidden people to make his Messiahship known. In Wrede's view then, the
Evangelist wished to make it look as if belief in Jesus as the Messiah had existed prior to that apostles' belief in the resurrection.'
'Cf. J.P. MEIER, "Jesus". NJBC , 1323.
4 Cf. W. WREDE, Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien (1901) which was translated into English under the title- The Messianic Secret, (Cambridge, 1971). 5 R. BEDA, The Testimony of St. Mark, 93. 'Cf. L.F. HARTMAN, "Mark, Gospel According SC, EDB, 1454. 3
Motivation
Shocked with the conclusion drawn from Wrede theory, I set out to investigate why on earth Jesus is telling people to keep quiet? And if Jesus is really asking people to be quiet and not to announce him, then why am I here training to be a missionary? To an astonishing extent in Mark's text, every time someone recognises Jesus as the divine Son of Man, as the Messiah, Jesus tells that person to be quiet. The question is, why so much noise about Jesus while in fact Jesus is asking both human beings and demons in the Gospel of Mark not to make him known? What exactly is happening?
Aim
On a deeper level, if historical evidence is lacking to support the claim that
Jesus called himself the Messiah, then the logical implication is that the Church or
Mark invented it or was wrong to think of Jesus as Messiah. Was the title Messiah later attributed to Jesus? We could just consider Jesus' whole emphasis on secrecy a matter of mystery and be done with it and case close! But I think reasonable explanations for Jesus' insistence on silence merit consideration and attention.
Therefore the author's main purpose in this paper is to discover what the
Messianic Secret in Mark is about. In this research, we will also try to look at possible explanations and their relevance to our Christian life today. In other words, what meaning can we draw from it as far as the identity of Jesus is concerned?
Method
Since Messianic Secret is a biblical topic, the research methodology would be in line with the standard way of writing biblical essays. The work will follow the 4 requirements and the way of doing research as set by the Tangaza College as in the
Typographical Norm.'
Additionally, the author shall try to have a systematic synthesis of what many scholars have already written or said about the topic. He would also take into account the suggestions, guidelines and criticisms of the moderator.
All these would definitely include the personal insights of the author which are the fruit of critical reflection, and of the biblical insights he gained over the years of Theological studies in Tangaza College.
Content of the Study
This Long Essay has three main chapters preceded by a general introduction and summary with a general conclusion. Each chapter has a short introduction, followed by the subject matter or the body of the chapter and ends with a short conclusion. Chapter one focuses on the origin, meaning, and passages dealing with the Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark. In chapter two, we will focus on the modern scholarly understanding of the
Messianic Secret viewed from different angles. This will eventually lead to the best ways of interpreting the Messianic Secret today. In chapter three, we shall look at the theological message of the Messianic Secret and its
implications for our Christian life today. There will be a general conclusion which
will round up the work by a way of recapturing pertinent issues discussed. Finally, there will be a Bibliography.
7 Cf. C. OWCZAREK. - N. NDUNG'U, Typographical Norms 5
Chapter One
THE MESSIANIC SECRET IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK
1.0 Introduction
Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus made every attempt to conceal his true identity as the Christ, notably after his performance of Messianic wonders.
Jesus is often depicted in the Gospel as a powerful figure who is able to silence all oppositions, that is, both humans and demons. He silenced the demon in (Mk 1:35,
3:12). He also silenced people whom he healed (cf. Mk1:43-45, 4:45) and his disciples (cf. 8:30). The demons who sought to make Jesus known are immediately silenced. Silence is also enjoined after notable miracles, following Peter's confession, and at his descent from the Mount of Transfiguration (Mk 9:9)." For example, when Peter confessed that he was the Messiah, Jesus told him and the other disciples not to tell anyone about it but to keep it a secret.
Since the main topic of investigation in this work is the Messianic Secret, in this chapter, we shall trace the theme back to its origin. We shall also try to discuss the commands or the injunction to secrecy, based on the Gospel account of Saint
Mark.
1.2 The Origin of the Messianic Secret
Biblical scholars have debated and argued out as to why Jesus chose, at some point of his ministry, to conceal his identity. Often in the Gospels, especially in
Mark, Jesus is depicted as trying to keep up an element of secrecy about himself and his work. At the wake of the twentieth century, this characteristic was
Cf. V. TAYLOR, The Gospel According to St. Mark, 122. 6 referred to as the "Messianic Secret."9 The "Messianic Secret" was first introduced by Wilhelm Wrede, a German New Testament scholar at the beginning of the twentieth century with the publication of his book entitled Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien (1901) which was translated into English under the title The
Messianic Secret, (Cambridge, 1971)."'
Before Wrede's work, most 10 century scholars were reading the Gospels, especially Mark, as almost exact transcripts of the life of Jesus." The following is the summary of the general presentation and gradual revelation of Jesus' messiahship in Mark as it appears in Heikki Rdisanen's work, The Messianic Secret which quoted H.J. Holtzmann; thus:
Jesus' messianic life begins at the baptism. Not long before Jesus' decisive journey to Jerusalem, Peter confesses him as the Messiah (8:2711). Only now have the disciples recognized the true identity of their master; an identity which he had not made known to them before. On the other hand, those who were possessed recognize Jesus from the start as the Son of God. But since Jesus did not want to reveal his secret prematurely, he forbade them to spread this knowledge abroad. Similarly, he forbade other people who were healed to make known the healing that happened. The confession of the disciples is thus epoch-making. Jesus thought it important that the correct insight should be allowed to mature within them. Yet even after their confession, the disciples still do not understand everything that they should. Jesus seems to them to be the national-political liberator. Jesus has to take great care to make it clear to them that suffering and death are a necessary part of the messianic calling. Jesus continues to keep his true identity secret from the people (8:30; 9:9). But due to his growing fame as a miracle worker, his secret cannot in the long run remain confined to the narrow circle. On the road to Jerusalem, the blind Bartimaeus greets him with a messianic form of address (10:470, and at the entry into the holy city, the crowd acclaim him as the expected king. Before the high priest he acknowledges himself explicitly as having messianic status, and he is crucified as 'the King of the Jews'.'
The above quotation depicts the way in which the Gospel of Mark was read.
As a matter of fact, it was considered as a well-ordered and self-consistent presentation of the person of Jesus over the centuries. Much of this, however, was
Cf. C.M. TUCKETr, "Messianic Secret", ADD, 797. Cf. H. RIESENFELD, "Messianic Secret", OCR, 514. " Cf. C.M. TUCKETT, "Messianic Secret", ADD, 797. 12 H. RA15ANEN, The Messianic Secret in Mark's Gospel, 39, quoting Hi. Holtzmann, Die Synoptiker 1, Tubingen 1901. 7 thrown into question by Wrede's Work. He initially "started from an assumption that was widely held in critical biblical studies, namely, that the historical Jesus was not conscious of being more than a Jewish prophet, and that his claims were in no way messianic." The bone of contention over the 'Messianic Secret' debate started when Wrede asserted that "the whole idea of this Messianic Secret was an invention of Mark, the writer of the earliest Gospel.' According to him, when
Christians of first generation went back to the public ministry of Jesus to see whether he was already a Messiah, they were "puzzled by the lack of consistency between the picture of Jesus of Nazareth that was presented by the traditions of his earthly life and their own belief in a Risen Lord." So Mark, the author of the oldest written gospel, solved this puzzle by introducing into his narrative some passages in which Jesus told the demons and human beings not to disclose his true nature. So
Wrede demonstrated that the injunctions to silence are, therefore, not historical reminiscences but an editorial device created by the evangelisti€ In other words, during his public ministry, Jesus neither identified himself as the Messiah nor was he recognized as such by anybody. In Wrede's view, it was only after the resurrection that Jesus was acknowledged as the Messiah." Wrede based his explanation to the secrecy idea on Mk 9:9, when Jesus told the three disciples, after the scene of the transfiguration, to remain silent about what they had seen until after the resurrection.
For Wrede, the narrative of Mark contains so many gaps that seem to be against an intentional record about the messianic development. For example, Mark
"H. RIESENFELD, "Messianic Secret", OCB, 514. '4 5.W. DEtANE, Jesus and the Four Gospel, 48. "H. RIESENFELD, "Messianic Secret", OCB, 514. 16 Cf. 1-1. RIESENFELD, 'Messianic Secret", OCR, 514. " Cf. F.J. MATERA, What Are They Saying About Mark, 21. 8
never explains the repeated commands to silence. He gives equally no indication as
to how the understanding of the disciples changes so suddenly after their total
incomprehension as described in 8:14 ff." Apart from the gaps, there are some
conspicuous contradictions. The secret is often revealed prematurely, in that Jesus
performs his miracles quite openly. According to Wrede, Mark had no awareness of
the idea of history attributed to him by scholars. Later, Wrede, as quoted in H.
Raisanen's, The Messianic Secret (40-41), reaches the conclusion that "Mark no
longer has a real view of the historical life ofJesus."9
The conclusion that can be drawn from Wrede's speculation was that the
time limit was intended to apply to all the elements of secrecy in Mark which
includes the whole period of Jesus' public ministry, but of which full revelation was
made only after the resurrection.2" In brief, Wrede's agenda was "to show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the Gospel of Mark was not a reliable foundation upon which to build a life of Jesus; it presented Jesus' life as messianic when in fact
it was not?"2
It is often noted that the term 'Messianic Secret' is vague. From the point of view of Mark's theology, it would be more appropriate to talk of a 'Son of God secret?" For Mark, both 'Messiah' and 'Son of God' describe the 'supernatural nature' of Jesus; hence, a better term would be the 'secret of the person of Jesus'.
But, since the term 'Messianic Secret' has become a permanent feature in scholarly discussions, it has therefore been retained in numerous biblical studies.'
Even though the expression, Messianic Secret does not appear in the Gospel,
" Cf. H. RAISANEN, The Messianic Secret in Mark's Gospel, 40. " W. WREDE, Messianic Secret, 229, 20 Cf. C.M. Tuckett, -Messianic Secret", ABD 798. 11 F.J. MATERA, What Are They Saying About Mark, 21. 22 Cf. H. RAISANEN, The Messianic Secret in Mark's Gospel, 48. 23 Cf. H. RAISANEN, The Messianic Secret in Mark's Gospel, 48. we can say that the conception of the Messianic Secret would follow as a natural consequence from Mark's fundamental conviction that the whole career of Jesus is a fulfilment of the saving purpose of God. On one hand, he upholds the apostolic belief that Jesus is the Messiah whose coming was foretold in the Scriptures and whose divine status was revealed in all his words and works.' Thus, by resorting to the conception of the Secret, Mark is able to preserve the apostolic belief in the
Messiahship without denying the plain facts of the historical traditions.25 In other words, "Jesus, the Messiah of the Church's Gospel, was not accepted as such by his own people because his messianic nature was a divinely appointed secret, that is, something concealed from the multitude as a direct result of the Lord's deliberate intention."'
Having looked at the origin of the term 'Messianic Secret' and its use in the general theology of Mark as perceived by some authors, let us now move deeper into the issue by briefly looking at some passages in Mark where the secrecy- implied attitude of Jesus is either shown or deduced. This will lead us to explanations and syntheses of them.
1.3 Injunction to Silence
Mark records Peter's clear declaration at Caesarea Philippi that Jesus is the
Messiah (8:27). Prior to this, the master had imposed silence on the demons concerning his identity. Furthermore, he had enjoined a similar silence on those whom he had cured: they must not speak about the miracles he had performed.
Again, after the Caesarean confession, Jesus reserves to the disciples a revelation
24 Cf. TA. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 69. 25 Cf. TA. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation. 69. 26 T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 69. I0
which he hides from the people at large." A brief look at these events would merit
Ii further discussion.
1.3.1 Silence Imposed on Those Healed
We have four accounts, each with special characteristics, about Jesus
imploring silence about his messianic identity. When he had cured the leper (1:40-
45), Jesus immediately drove him away, saying "see that you say nothing to any
one" (1:44). But Mark (1:45) records the disobedience of the cured man who went
out, and began to publish and to spread abroad what took place, so that Jesus could
no longer openly enter the town, but remained outside in the desert. The same
pattern occurs in the story of the cure of the deaf-mute (7:31-37). The command to
silence is given to those who witness the miracle, and they disobey it.
Also after having raised the daughter of Jairus, Jesus strictly charges all
those who are with him in the room not to make it known (5:43). Similarly, after the
cure of the blind man at Bethsaida, Jesus sent him home saying, "do not even enter
the village" (8:26)."
On the account of the cleansing of a leper, Mark records that Jesus
warns the leper sternly and dismissed him saying, "see that you tell no one
anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed" (1:43-44). The instruction given to the cleansed
leper in this passage can be interpreted simply as an indication of Jesus'
desire that the man proceeded to the priest as soon as possible.
It is also argued that the frequent disobedience to the command of Jesus to
silence should be seen in the light that his nature as someone who could not avoid
27 Cf. R. BEDA, The Testimony ofSt Mark, 90. Cf. R. BEDA, The Testimony of St. Mark, 91. 11 gaining a great reputation as a performer of miracles." Although it is not reported that the injunctions of 5:43 and 8:26 were disobeyed, it would be practically impossible to carry them out, for the little girl and the blind man could hardly be expected to spend the rest of their days in hiding. The difficulty is particularly acute in the case of the little girl. The funeral arrangements have been scheduled, the mourners have already assembled in the house (5:38b) and are aware that the child is dead when Jesus enters the room where the corpse lies."
The miracle stories, strictly speaking, are not part of the Messianic Secret.
As we have seen in most incidences of these stories, the more Jesus warns the recipients not to announce the miraculous cure, the more they go out and publicise it. The commands are often disobeyed; this is because Jesus' miraculous deeds cannot remain hidden.''
The two motives which constitute the Messianic Secret proper in the Gospel of Mark are: the silencing of the demons and the silence imposed on the disciples.
1.3.2 The Silencing of the Demons
In the first part of the Gospel (1:14-8:26), which to a greater extent covers the most part of the ministry of Jesus, the supernatural knowledge of the demons stands in remarkable contrast to the ignorance of men. As we notice straight away that on being confronted by Jesus, "the demons at once acknowledge his
Messiahship, whereas the human beings who witness his words and works are moved only to amazement or to surprised questions among themselves."" The demons on the other hand are "aware of the real nature of Jesus and by virtue of their knowledge they are able to perform a function in the first main section of the
29 T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 82. Cf. TA. BURXILL, Mysterious Revelation, 82. 31 Cf. H. RAISANEN, The Messianic Secret in Mark's Gospel, 243. 32 T.A. BURICILL, Mysterious Revelation, 66. 12
Gospel which corresponds to that performed by the heavenly voice in the preface."
Being endowed with supernatural insight, the demons are able to apprehend the
secret which was yet to be made known to flesh and blood." On another occasion,
Mark records that "there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he
cried out, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him,
saying, be silent, and come out of him! In a summary of the activity of Jesus at
Capernaum (1:23-26), Mark further reports that when it was evening, they brought
to him all those who were ill and who were possessed and he cured many and cast
out many devils; and he did not permit them (the devils) to speak because they knew
him(1:34). In another summary, where Mark deals with activity of Jesus in Galilee
(2: 7-12), he notes "the unclean spirits, whenever they beheld him, fell down before
him and cried out, saying you are the Son of God. And he charged them strictly not
to make him known" (3: 11-12).
In these passages, Jesus strictly warned the demons or the unclean spirits not
to make him known, after he had cast them out from their victims. According to J.
Marcus, the demons identified Jesus, and, in an attempt to gain magical control
over him through disclosure of his identity, cried with a loud voice, saying,
'what have you to do with us, have you come to destroy us, I know who you
are, the holy one of God!'"
The demons were masters of the magical arts, and as we have learnt from the
Q account of the temptations (Matt. 4:11T Luke 4:1ff), the prince of the demons was
33 T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 66. 34 Cf. T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 62-63. "Cf. J. MARCUS, Mark, I-V111, 192. 13
well versed in the Scriptures." According to J.J. Pilch, this usual action by spirits
compels all Mediterranean natives to get involved in secrecy and deception, in
order to divest spirits the chance to set off harm in human life, as the
temptation was for Jesus." Even when the demons recognise Jesus and profess
his identity, Jesus shuts them down by way of defensive secrecy. Secrecy,
therefore, was seen as a "social resource which mutual opponents can use either defensively or offensively during social conflicts." The fact that Jesus' public
ministry did not measure with his birth status as an unlearned carpenter as his
neighbours wanted to know the source of his powers (Mk 6:2-3), calls for secrecy."
However, some scholars claim that the injunction to silence in its original significance has nothing to do with the idea of concealing a mystery. The verb
aw.tew (which means "to muzzle") seems to have been commonly employed in
incantations as a technical term for binding a demon and thus subduing it to the will of the exorcist.4 ' Just as an angry dog is rendered harmless when it is muzzled and can no longer bark, so also a demon's hostile power is broken when it is brought to silence.4' Even though this claim is composed of quasi-technical expressions, Jesus' command is remarkable alike for its simplicity and its brevity!' A. Fridrichsen in his work Le probleme du Miracle dans le Chrisianisme Primitif, quoted by T.A. Burkill, strongly objected to an exegesis of this kind on the ground that the demon's utterance is too elaborate to be used as a mere instrument of self-defense."
Cf. T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 78. "Cf. J.J. PILCH, "Secrecy in the Mediterranean World", BTBH, 152. "J.J. PILCH, "Secrecy in the Mediterranean World", BTBH, 152. CELL PILCH, "Secrecy in the Mediterranean World", BTBH, 152. 4" Cf. TA. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 74. 41 Cf. TA. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 74. 42 CL T.A. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 74. 43 Cf. TA. BURKILL, Mysterious Revelation, 75. 14
1.3.3 Silence Imposed on the Disciples
It seems to us that the silence imposed on the disciples is of a different kind and of significance. It forms part of the special teaching reserved to them.
Throughout each Gospel, the mystery is explained to them in a special way." Thus, the parabolic teaching is clarified for them: to you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God (4:11; 4:13-29; 7:17-23). Three times (8:31-32; 9:30-32; 10:33-
34) the true nature of messianic mission of Jesus is inculcated to them: the son of man must suffer, die, and rise from the dead. But silence concerning the transfiguration is imposed on Peter, James and John, until thus the Son of Man should have risen from the dead (9:9). Similarly, after the Caesarean confession,
Jesus spoke to the Twelve, and he strictly charged them to say nothing about him to anyone (8:30)."
It is important to note that the idea that points to secrecy in Mark is emphatically present in only one of the alluded passages that subscribe to secrecy, which is in Mk 8:30. In this passage, Jesus warned his disciples not to tell
anyone about him after Peter professed that he is the Messiah. The contrast between the knowledge of the demons and the ignorance of human beings is
safeguarded in the Gospel until this stage. The confession of Peter in Caesarea
Philippi is the first correct human statement about Jesus' identity in the Gospel. In
the earlier part of the Gospel, demons were the ones proclaiming Jesus'
messianic identity; but now it has been reinstated by a human witness in the
person of Peter.
" Cf. B. RIGAUX, The Testimony ofSI Mark, 92. 45 Cf. B. RIGAUX, The Testimony of Si. Mark, 92. 15
1.4 Conclusion
This chapter takes us into the whole atmosphere of the essay. We have briefly explored the concept and origin of the Messianic Secret. Now, we can define
the Messianic Secret as a phrase that refers to Jesus commanding his followers and
the demoniacs not to reveal to others that he is the Messiah in certain passages of the
New Testament, notably in the Gospel of Mark.
A critical look at Mark with regards to the injunctions to silence reveals to
some extent that either Mark or Jesus puts some incomprehension with regard to the
personhood of the Messiah. The explanation given by Wrede was that "Mark was
trying to vindicate the early Church for attributing messiahship to Jesus even though
Jesus himself never claimed it.' 46 We can say that Wrede's attempt to explain the
origin of the Messianic Secret in terms of tradition-history seems to have a positive
historical testimony. This is based on the idea that Jesus did not actually give
himself out to be Messiah." So the criticism levelled against the evangelist is that he
bridged the gap between his own beliefs and what he knew to be the historical truth
by inventing the idea of the Messianic Secret."
If such is the case, it would be fair to ask if the Messianic Secret is an
invention of the author, or did Jesus really claim the title? The answer to this
question will become evident as we proceed to the next chapter. We can say that the
evidence used by Wrede in support to the theory of the Secret is not all that
convincing and calls for more than one type of explanation. Though William Wrede
has been criticized by many scholars, his work certainly stimulated and opened the
way for later biblical scholarly investigation into the matter. It opens the way for
" S. TREYNE - H. WANSBROUGH, Mark and Matthew, 13. 47 Cf. W. WFtEDE, Messianic Secret, 230. " Cf. J.W. DRANE, Jesus and the Four Gospel, 48. 16
them to see the Gospel tradition as reflection on the beliefs of the first Christians on
Jesus quite as much as the life of Jesus." Thus, he laid the solid foundation of deep
and more meaningful interpretations, which shall be the object of our investigation
in the next chapter.
49 Cf. C.M. TUCKETT, 'Messianic Secret", ABA 798.
Ay 17