In an article published some time ago Dr Vincent Taylor drew attention to the fact that the question raised fifty years ago by Wrede in Das Messiasgeheimnis in den Evangelien had not been satisfactorily answered in all respects, and went on to suggest that the ‘Messianic secret’ is not, as Wrede supposed, merely a clumsy editorial explanation of a difficult problem, but is derived from and reflects beliefs about the nature and methods of His own Messiahship held by Jesus Himself. The views expressed in this article may be found summarised in the Introduction to Dr Taylor's Commentary on St. Mark where he writes:

Jesus imposed silence because of the nature of Messiahship as he conceived it to be. To him it was not primarily a matter of status but of action. In his own estimation Jesus is Messiah in his works of healing, his exorcisms, his victory over Satanic powers, his suffering, dying, rising, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Messiahship is a destiny; it is that which he does, that which the Father is pleased to accomplish in him and which he fulfils in filial love. It is for this reason that he silences the demoniacs and commands the disciples to tell no man his secret till after the resurrection.

It was inevitable, amongst a pastoral community such as the Hebrews, that the vocabulary and occupational habits of the shepherd should colour their language and help to formulate their way of looking at life. This was particularly true in the sphere of religion. The rich imagery of the pastoral life of Palestine has been one of the creative elements in the language and religious thought—forms of the OT, especially where Israel's relationships with Jahweh were concerned. Undoubtedly the OT conception of God, of divine providence, and of man's relations with God owe much of their profound insight and simple dignity to the metaphors current among the shepherds who lived among the Judaean hills and on the plains of Samaria.