Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.
Parallel translations
- KJV Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
- BSB Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
- NKJV Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
- NASB Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ.
- NLT Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
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 charges the disciples to tell no one that he is the Christ. It matters because his messiahship had to be understood through his suffering, not popular expectation.
Overview
Jesus commands secrecy about his identity for the present. Public proclamation could feed mistaken hopes of a political messiah and provoke premature conflict. His true mission must first be revealed through the cross, which he is about to disclose. The command guards the right understanding of who the Messiah is and what he came to do.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Mark 8:30He commanded them that they should tell no one about him.
- Luke 9:21But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one,
- John 1:41He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is, being interpreted, Christ ).
- Matt 17:9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
- Luke 9:36When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
- 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 2:36“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
- 1 Jn 2:22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
- 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.
- John 1:45Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote: Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- 1 Jn 5:1Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. Whoever loves the Father also loves the child who is born of him.
- John 20:31but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 16:20 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.