But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
Parallel translations
- WEB He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.
- KJV And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known.
- BSB But He warned them sternly not to make Him known.
- NASB And He strongly warned them not to reveal who He was.
- NLT But Jesus sternly commanded the spirits not to reveal who he was.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus sternly silences the demons so they will not make him known. It matters because he refuses testimony from unclean sources and controls how his identity is revealed.
Overview
Part of Mark's 'messianic secret,' this command keeps Jesus' identity from being prematurely or wrongly proclaimed. Jesus will not have his messiahship defined by demonic shouting or popular misunderstanding, but disclosed through his own teaching and ultimately the cross. His authority over the spirits is total, even commanding their silence.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 12:16and commanded them that they should not make him known:
- Mark 1:25Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”
- Mark 1:34He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.
- Matt 8:4Jesus said to him, “See that you tell nobody, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
- Acts 16:18She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” It came out that very hour.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.