Main news for 7 November 2014

Interpreters of the Gospel and New Testament specialists have argued much about what is commonly called Jesus' "messianic secret." Why does He forbid the disciples to speak of Him as the Messiah? Why, even when Peter saw in Him precisely the Messiah, the first of the apostles and probably the first of all people to do so, does Jesus command him to be silent, even though He acknowledges that the mystery of His messiahship was revealed to Peter by the Spirit of God? The most widespread answer is quite simple: Jesus did not intend to become the Messiah of popular messianic ideas.

And the people expected entirely understandable and obvious deeds from the Messiah: the Messiah was to restore an independent Jewish state, establish in this state laws corresponding to the Torah, and become its king. The image of the Messiah-King in popular consciousness was inseparable from the image of an earthly kingdom and a righteous ruler like David, whose descendant the Messiah was to be. Jesus naturally had no intention of doing anything of the sort, and therefore "messianic" popularity among the people was of no use to Him at all. Meanwhile, He could easily have gained such popularity: the miracles He performed were seen and heard by everyone. That is why Jesus cuts off all rumors about His messiahship and even forbids some people to speak of the miracles He performed.

But the matter probably was not only the "messianic" fame Jesus did not need. It also concerned the disciples themselves. They looked at Him, at the Messiah, much the same way their contemporaries did, despite all Jesus' efforts to help them see the situation otherwise. The same Peter, almost immediately after his messianic confession, begins to argue with Jesus when He begins to tell him and the other disciples about His impending death. Even Peter, who recognized in Him the Messiah, understood neither the meaning of His path and ministry nor the true significance of the Messiah and His role in the salvation of humanity. In such a state one cannot bear witness.

More precisely, one can, but it will be witness not to the Messiah as He really is, but to one's own views and assumptions about who the Messiah is and what He must do. Therefore it was better for both Peter and the other apostles to keep silent about Jesus' messiahship. The Kingdom was another matter: preaching about the Kingdom was accessible to the disciples, and at a certain point Jesus Himself sends them to such preaching, which turned out to be quite successful.

It was successful also because here there were no personal ideas, fantasies, or concepts: for the time of preaching each of the disciples simply became an instrument of God's direct action. But in relation to Him, to their Teacher, none of the apostles, including Peter, was ready for anything of the sort: too much human stood between Jesus and His disciples during His earthly ministry. And He commands them to be silent about His messiahship. Until the Resurrection, until Pentecost. Until the time when everything would become clear to them.