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Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
Mark 8:30 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB He commanded them that they should tell no one about him.
  • KJV And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
  • BSB And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.
  • NASB And He warned them to tell no one about Him.
  • NLT But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

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 orders them to tell no one that he is the Christ. He guards against a misunderstood messianic expectation.

Overview

Because the popular notion of Messiah was a political deliverer, Jesus restrains the title until its meaning is reshaped by his coming death and resurrection. The command continues Mark's theme of the messianic secret. Jesus' identity must be proclaimed only in light of the cross, lest it be distorted into mere triumphalism.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Luke 9:21But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,
  • Matt 16:20Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
  • Mark 9:9As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
  • Mark 7:36He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it.
  • Mark 8:26He sent him away to his house, saying, “Don’t enter into the village, nor tell anyone in the village.”
  • 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.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 8:30YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 8:30 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.