Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 16:20

"Then charged he the disciples that they should tell no man that he was the Christ." — Matthew 16:20 (ASV)

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man. We may reverently analyze the motives for this command. Had the disciples gone about, not only proclaiming the kingdom and preaching repentance but also sounding the watchword that the Christ had come, it would not have been difficult for them to gather the homage of excited crowds around Him.

However, this was not the kind of homage He sought, but rather the kind that is rooted in a deeper faith. Such an announcement would have presented a false view of His kingdom to the people. It also would have hindered the fulfillment toward which He was now directing His disciples' thoughts—the necessary condition for Him to enter into the glory of His kingdom.

The zeal of the multitude to make Him a king according to their own ideas (John 6:15) was what He disapproved of and shunned.