The Gospel of Mark is one of the books in the New Testament of the Bible. This text depicts the life of Jesus from his baptism to his death and resurrection. The Gospel of Mark is thought to be the original depiction of Jesus’ life and ministry. It describes the many miracles Jesus performed, and it depicts Jesus as a man that is not only good but forgiving and giving.
One interesting element of the Gospel of Mark is the knowledge of Jesus’ identity. From the beginning of the text, the reader knows the identity of Jesus as the son of God, the Messiah. However, the author uses dramatic irony. Therefore, the characters around Jesus, including his disciples fail to grasp Jesus’ true identity until the Gospel of Mark is almost finished. This is very interesting when considering the story of Jesus’ life. He performed miracles and encountered demons. Through these instances, Jesus’ true identity is exposed. However, in these situations, Jesus swears those exposed to confidentiality. This begs the question, why would Jesus shroud the truth in secrecy? Through analyzing the text and time period, the purpose of Jesus’ furtiveness becomes clear because of the Roman rule at the time, his influence remaining spiritual and not political, and strengthening the rule of God.
During the life of Jesus, the Roman rule was in place over the lands he journeyed. This was seen through cultural elements, such as written language and Roman presence, and political power, such as rulers who were put in place by the Romans. This overbearing control that the Romans exerted over much of the world is seen throughout the text of the New Testament. Most importantly, the rule of the Romans can be seen as a reason that Jesus decided to leave the world in the dark about what his true identity was. The Romans wanted absolute control. Commonly, people that were considered to be potential political threats were eliminated.
If Jesus had identified himself as the Son of God, he would have been considered as a leader. The power that Jesus would have based solely on his identity would have easily made him a political threat. He would have been quickly eliminated. This would have caused a couple of issues for Jesus. For one, he would have died. However, his death was not the real reason Jesus would have chosen to remain quiet about his birthright. Instead, Jesus would be more concerned with ending his mission before he was finished. This would finish his work of helping the unfortunate. Jesus knew he had to die to save his people. However, he needed to die at the end of his ministry, “if people hailed him as Messiah, his ministry would not have lasted long. The Romans would have intervened to remove a potential political threat…” (Kugler/Hartin pg 370). Therefore, the Roman power would cause Jesus to be secret about his true identity so he could complete his ministry. This plays into the theme of secrecy in the Gospel of Mark because it explains Jesus’ actions from a cultural standpoint.
Another reason that Jesus could have chosen to remain quiet about his true identity is to remain only a spiritual power. Being identified as the Messiah would lead to his followers trying to make him into a political player, such as a King. Instead, his secrecy leads to his role being based on spiritual reasons. He wants to help lead his followers to God and for them to trust him because of his actions. By remaining only a man, Jesus is able to lead his followers to religion and help them discover their spirituality and not have to deal with all the qualms of a political power. Also, by remaining separate from the politics of the time, Jesus is able to complete his ministry. For these reasons his secrecy, and the theme of secrecy in the Gospel of Mark makes sense in order to establish Jesus as a man of spiritual and not political power.
The most important element that plays into Jesus’ choice to conceal his status, is the strengthen the rule of God. There are many ways that strengthening the rule of God plays into the theme of secrecy in the Gospel of Mark. One of these is Jesus’ identifying as the “Son of Man” before his true parenthood is revealed. This serves many purposes but most importantly humanizes Jesus. By playing the role of solely a man who has been blessed, Jesus is able to show the true wonder of God. He performs miracles, and he shows those who follow him, what having God in his life has enabled for him.
Additionally, the theme of secrecy and its role in the enhancement of the rule of God is shown through Jesus’ willingness to suffer and die for humanity. Jesus’ willingness to sacrifice himself for mankind is important to understanding the reasoning for the theme of secrecy because it clarifies why he would wait so long for his identity to be revealed, “In correcting Peter’s notion of Messiah, Jesus uses the opportunity to give his ministry a new understanding, one that embraces suffering and death willingly” (Kugler/Hartin pg 370). By waiting until his death is on the horizon to expose himself, Jesus has already established faith within his followers, and he can show how much he truly cares for them. He is willing to put himself last in order for humankind to understand the power of the rule of God and his lengthy secrecy strengthens this which in turn, shows another element of reasoning behind the theme of secrecy in the Gospel of Mark.
Another element that enforces the idea that the theme of secrecy strengthens the rule of God is that it shows God’s love. The sacrifice of Jesus shows that God loved his people, mankind, enough to sacrifice his only son to ensure their future. By remaining under a different identity until his death is near, Jesus makes his truth, that he is the Messiah, even more important. His followers finally understand that God was acting through Jesus, and they have complete faith in him. Therefore, Jesus’ secret makes sense from the standpoint of building faith and bonds with his followers, when his identity was withheld, so they fully understand God’s love when the truth is revealed.
Jesus’ mission to strengthen God’s rule is part of the reasons behind the theme of secrecy present in the Gospel of Mark. This is because Jesus’ purpose on Earth is to spread God’s word and save his followers from their sin. By waiting to reveal his true identity, Jesus is able to enforce his ideas and show God’s power without any preconceived notions about how the son of God should act.
The Gospel of Mark depicts the life and journey of Jesus. It begins with his baptism and escalates to his death and resurrection. This depiction of the life of Jesus was used as a foundation for other versions of the Gospel because of its great depiction of Jesus’ goodness. The major themes of the Gospel of Mark surrounded who Jesus is. More importantly, it involves the theme of Jesus’ secrecy. Jesus remains as solely a man until he exposes himself as the Messiah in order to avoid the Romans, remain a spiritual and not political force, and to carry and expand on the rule of God to his followers. This secrecy shows that Jesus is truly the “Son of Man” and the “Son of God” because his actions are for the good of all.