Why did Jesus try to conceal his identity?
by Zenon Sommers—
The gospel of Mark tells of a man named Jesus who spends a year preaching love, sacrifice, and repentance to others and to God. The focus of Jesus’ message is the coming of the kingdom of God, a time on earth where God would reign over all and the oppression of the Jews would end. What Jesus does not tell the world is that he is the Messiah, God’s anointed one, sent to bring God’s kingdom to earth. Whenever someone realizes Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus immediately moves to silence them. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus concealed his identity as the Messiah because his mission and message ran counter to everything the Jewish people expected from a Messiah.
*Zenon is a sophomore psychology student at UM Dearborn.