📜 Wrede’s Thesis:

• Early Christians believed Jesus became the Messiah at his resurrection, not during his lifetime.
  
• Mark retrojected this belief into Jesus’s life, creating the secrecy motif to explain why Jesus wasn’t recognized as the Messiah during his ministry.
  
• The secrecy motif serves as a bridge between the historical Jesus (who may not have claimed messiahship) and the post-resurrection belief in his messianic identity.

🕵️‍♂️ Critiques of Wrede’s Theory:

• The secrecy commands often fail in Mark’s narrative (e.g., healed individuals spread the news despite being told not to).
  
• The titulus (“King of the Jews”) on the cross is unlikely to be a later invention, implying Jesus was executed for messianic claims.

🏛️ Wrede’s Legacy:

• Highlighted Mark’s unique editorial choices, such as thematic grouping of stories rather than chronological reporting.
  
• Demonstrated that Matthew and Luke often omit or alter Mark’s secrecy motif, suggesting it’s unique to Mark’s theology.

Dr Ian N Mills is an Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies in New York. He holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics and Biblical Studies from Duke University and a BA from University of Minnesota. Ian is married to a pastor’s daughter and is himself is a practicing Christian.

Dr. Laura Robinson is a New Testament professor at Butler University. She holds a Ph.D in New Testament from Duke University, a M.A. in Biblical Exegesis and Systematic Theology from Wheaton, and a B.A in Literature. In her personal life, Laura is a practicing Christian and married to a pastor.