Bible Strands
Matthew 16:20
Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples immediately after Peter’s confession and the delegation of kingdom authority, just before He begins detailing His impending death and resurrection.
The words — διεστείλατο (diesteilato) literally means He issued a strict order, and ἵνα μηδενὶ εἴπωσιν (hina mēdeni eipōsin) translates as "that they may say to no one," framing the silence as a commanded purpose.
The thread — The text records this same prohibition in Mark 8:30, Luke 9:21, and Matthew 17:9, where Jesus extends the silence command until after His resurrection.
Why it lands — The text commands the disciples to withhold public declaration of Jesus as the Christ until His suffering and resurrection are complete, requiring readers to align their understanding of messianic identity with the necessity of the cross rather than premature triumphalism.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
Cross-references
- Mark 8:30 And Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about Him.
- Luke 9:21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
- Matthew 17:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
- John 1:41 He first found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated as Christ).
- Matthew 8:4 Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”
- Luke 9:36 After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.
- Mark 9:9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus admonished them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
- John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- John 20:31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
- Acts 2:36 Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”