Have you ever heard that Jesus had a secret?
Did Jesus not want to reveal His true identity to everyone while on earth before His crucifixion? The Messianic secret verses in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew seem to suggest so.
Contents
Messianic secret in Mark
Mark 9:9
As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Mark 3:12
He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.
Mark 8:30
He commanded them that they should tell no one about him.
Messianic secret in Matthew
Matthew 9:30
Then their eyes were opened. Jesus strictly commanded them, saying, “See that no one knows about this.”
Matthew 16:20
Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 12:15-16
Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, and commanded them that they should not make him known,
What is the Messianic secret?
The definition of Messianic secret according to The Handbook on Biblical Criticism (4th ed.):
“Messianic Secret refers to a discernible phenomenon in the Gospels, most especially in the Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus explicitly conceals his messianic character and power until the closing period of his ministry.”
In other words, Jesus keeps His true identity as the Messiah secret apart from a selected few until the very end of His ministry.
The messianic secret is a masterful display of God’s knowledge, intelligence, and love. Not only did Jesus follow the will of the Father perfectly by
- living a sinless life
- serving others righteously
- dying an excruciating and shameful death on a cross
But also by orchestrating events so that He would fulfill the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah in the manner and timing of His ministry, especially His death.
Why keep the Messianic secret?
The timing (Dan 9:25- 26) and manner of Jesus’ death had to be perfect. Jesus had to die on the cross in a particular year during a Passover feast.
Firstly, if Jesus reveals His true identity too early and too many people, the masses will make Him the king, preventing His crucifixion.
John 6:15
Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
Secondly, the religious leaders had to be kept in the dark because they had the power to convince the masses and prevent the crucifixion. Jesus could have convinced them, but the plan was to get to Calvary. Since the religious leaders don’t realize that Jesus is the Messiah, they feel threatened by His popularity and the truths He reveals about them and try to kill Him before the right time.
Thirdly, if Satan and his minions had known the importance of the cross, they never would have crucified Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:8
which none of the rulers of this world has known. For had they known it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.
As said, the mission was to get to Calvary to accomplish salvation for humanity.
How was the Messianic secret kept hidden?
Jesus used several ways to keep His true identity hidden until the very end.
Telling people not to tell
Matthew 12:15–16
Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, and commanded them that they should not make him known,
Matthew 16:20
Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 17:9
As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Mark 1:34
He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Speaking in parables
Mark 4:33–34
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Mark 4:11-12
He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’”
Speaking in “hard sayings”
The passage below from John 6 is a bit long, but you will find the key verses in bolded verses 52, 53, 60, 61, and 62.
Jesus tells a crowd of people, including His followers, to eat His flesh and drink His blood. After this, even His followers, who initially must have seen something special in Jesus, think this is too much.
John 6:52-66
The Jews therefore contended with one another, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus therefore said to them, “Most certainly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don’t have life in yourselves.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father; so he who feeds on me, he will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Therefore many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying! Who can listen to it?”
But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? Then what if you would see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life. But there are some of you who don’t believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who didn’t believe, and who it was who would betray him. He said, “For this cause I have said to you that no one can come to me, unless it is given to him by my Father.”
At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Revealing true identity only to a selected few
In the passage below from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells his 12 disciples not to tell anyone that He is Christ because He must be killed and resurrected.
Luke 9:18-22
As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”
They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”
Messianic secret revealed
Jesus waited until His trial to fully disclose that He is the Messiah. In Matt 23:64, Jesus quotes Daniel 7:13, which tells about the Messiah, the second power in heaven to whom all the power has been given. Being fully aware of the concept of two powers in Heaven, the high priest understands that Jesus is equating himself to the Messiah and God. This quote led to the high priest’s reaction and sealed Jesus’s faith.
Matthew 26:63–67
But Jesus stayed silent. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him, “You have said so. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.”
Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his blasphemy. What do you think?”
They answered, “He is worthy of death!” Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him,
More Bible verses about the Messianic Secret
Mark 1:44-45
and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”
But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places. People came to him from everywhere.
Mark 3:11–12
The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him and cried, “You are the Son of God!” He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.
Mark 5:43
He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and commanded that something should be given to her to eat.
Mark 7:36
He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it.
Luke 4:35
Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Luke 4:41
Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
Luke 5:15–16
But the report concerning him spread much more, and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. But he withdrew himself into the desert, and prayed.
Luke 8:10
He said, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest in parables; that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
Luke 8:56
Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
Luke 9:20–22
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”
Luke 9:36
When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
John 6:15
Jesus therefore, perceiving that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
To conclude
Bible verses about the Messianic Secret clearly show that Jesus didn’t want to reveal His true identity until the moment of His choosing. Before the moment before the high priest, He charged people not to tell about His miracles or reveal His identity as Christ. All this was to accomplish salvation for all people through His death and resurrection.