Learning the Secrets

Explaining the parable of the Sower, Jesus told his disciples: "To you has been given to know the secret of the Kingdom of God, but to those outside everything comes in parables." Jesus ensured that his disciples caught the intended meaning of all his teaching. In fact, privately to his disciples he explained everything in great detail (see Mk. 4:34). To the others the message was given in parables. Today, those who read the Gospels regularly and diligently would certainly like to feel that they are among those who are 'inside' and hence know the "secret" of the kingdom - truths that very few others would know and understand! But how far is that true? To know these secrets we would need to have access to a few 'keys' or techniques characteristic of semitic writers.

A Jew draws attention to an idea or truth, by repeating it - sometimes as often as four times in a given story. Thus, to pick out the key idea in a passage, we first need to notice words and key ideas that are repeated. Thus in Mk. 3:31-35 recounting Mary's visit to Jesus, we notice that the ideas repeated are: 'mother, brothers, sisters', 'standing outside' and 'sitting about him.' So, the passage poses the simple question: "Who is as close to Jesus as a mother, brother or sister would be? Is it those who stand outside, or the ones sitting round him on the inside?" Similarly, in the Annunciation scene (Lk.1:26-35) we discover that 'virgin' appears three times - which alerts us to its central position in understanding the passage.

Another key is to notice every detail that doesn't quite fit, or sticks out like a sore thumb. Returning to Mary's visit, we notice that when giving the answer to the question: 'who are my mother, brothers and sisters?' "Jesus looked around at those who sat about him!" A strange gesture this, obviously intended to emphasize the privileged position of those sitting in that inner circle. Jesus stooping down to write on the ground with his finger is another such odd detail mentioned in the story of the woman taken in adultery. Pausing to figure out why this strange detail is mentioned can be very rewarding and fruitful.

A further technique the Gospel author uses frequently is the "sandwich." He wraps an important truth in between two similar or identical sentences or paragraphs. A classic example is Luke 9:7-22. In 9:7-9 Herod puzzles over the question: 'Who is this Jesus?' The answers proposed are: John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the ancient prophets. In 9:18-22 we find the same question - this time asked by Jesus himself. And the answers given are the identical three possibilities. So, the evident problem at hand is: "Who is Jesus?" In between these two parallel paragraphs, is placed the story of the "feeding of the five thousand" - which gives us the correct and complete answer to the important question: Jesus is the Son of God and not just the Christ of God as Peter professes. Just as God fed his people with manna in the desert, so does Jesus feed his people with bread and fish. Similarly, Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane is framed by the injunction to watch and pray … (see Lk. 22:39-46).

A more sophisticated technique used when dealing with advanced readers of the Bible is to refer to a present personage in terms of a well-known figure of the past. The Infancy and Passion-Resurrection Narratives are full of such devices. Thus, the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus is modeled on the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon - indicating that this new-born Child is another Solomon. His birth foretold by the angel as the fulfillment of a promise places Jesus in a long line of charismatic biblical figures like Isaac, Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist. Coming at the end of the line indicates that he is the climax and brings to fulfillment all that these lesser figures accomplished. We are told that Mary wrapped the child in swaddling cloths (he is human like all of us - see Wis. 7:1-6) and placed him in a manger (offered to God's children as food - Eucharist) because there was no room for them in the inn (his own did not receive him - see Isa. 1:3-4). Herod seeking to kill the new born Christ-child recalls Pharaoh's law that all male Hebrew children should be killed. So Jesus is presented as the new Moses. In such passages the details are not to be understood literally but in their poetic, allegorical meaning.

With the help of these few techniques, many more of the secrets contained in the Scriptures will be ours for the taking. However, since we are not familiar with these techniques, we would need to master them first - only then would we have the key to the secrets of the Kingdom.

E-mail this article to a friend