Why does Jesus repeatedly tell people not to reveal who he is in Mark? For over a century scholars have explained this through the “Messianic Secret.” But what if we’re missing a key piece?
This week Robyn Walsh joins the podcast to place Mark in the context of Greco-Roman literature. Comparing Mark to Homer’s Odyssey and other ancient texts, she argues Jesus’ hidden identity may reflect familiar literary conventions rather than something unique to Mark.
👉 We discuss:
–What the Messianic Secret is
–Why it shaped New Testament scholarship
–How Homer and Greco-Roman authors help us understand Mark
📚 Reading Recommendations
“The Miracle-Mongers: The Gospels at the Edges of Empire,” Judaica: Neue digitale Folge, special issue Nature Miracles and Paradoxography in Biblical Reception of the First Centuries CE, ed. Monika Amsler, Bd. 7 (2026): 1–20.
“City and Country,” The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus, eds. James G. Crossley and Chris Keith (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2024), 324–342.
“IVDAEA DEVICTA: The Gospels as Imperial ‘Captive Literature,’” Class Struggle in the New Testament, ed. Robert Myles (London: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, January 2019), 89–114.
William Wrede, The Messianic Secret, trans. J. C. G. Greig
William Wrede, Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien: zugleich ein Beitrag zum Verständnis des Markusevangeliums
Teresa Morgan, Literate Education in the Hellenistic and Roman Worlds
Dennis R. MacDonald, The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark
Marianne Palmer Bonz, The Past as Legacy
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🎙️ Credits
Guest: Dr. Robyn Walsh
Hosted and edited by Dr. Jordan Jones
Bible & Archaeology is a University of Iowa Office of Innovation production. The views and opinions expressed on Bible & Archaeology belong solely to the individuals who share them. They do not represent the positions of the University of Iowa or the State of Iowa.
