The Messianic Secret. A study of the secret identity of Jesus in selected periocopes found in the Gospel of Mark, in comparison to the Gospel of Matthew and Luke

摘要

The purpose of this study was to research the secrecy of Jesus identity in the synoptic gospels, with a special focus on the gospel of Mark. It was the late theologian William Wrede who coined the term Messianic Secret, in 1901. By which, it means the specific theme that can be found in various bible verses in the synoptic gospels, where Jesus demands secrecy after he performs healing miracles and exorcisms, and after private conversations with the apostles. The main question of this study is what is the purpose for the author of the Gospel of Mark to keep the identity of Jesus a secret, in comparison to Matthew and Luke? The method used to answer this question is redaction criticism, which focuses on the editor of the bible text. The study focuses on five bible stories, each found in the synoptic gospels, with a total of fifteen bible pericopes. The conclusion of this study is that the author of the Gospel of Mark wants to keep Jesus identity a secret, because the author believes that the people and the apostles need time to comprehend the true identity and the coming suffering of Jesus, who is the Messiah.