The Gospel of Mark reads much like a great mystery novel: specifically, an identity mystery.  Jesus suddenly appears on the scene, performing extraordinary deeds and offering strange-sounding teachings. Who IS this person? People--religious leaders, political leaders, his own disciples--keep trying to figure out who he is exactly. Their quest is not helped by the fact that Jesus himself works to intentionally keep his full identity from being publicly announced. But why the mystery? Why isn't Jesus's full identity announced until he is on the cross? What lesson is God trying to teach us through all this?