Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 16:20

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

Jesus’ warning his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ does not stem from personal reluctance to accept the title. Rather, it must be seen in the context that he steadily refused to make an explicit messianic claim and to bow to demands for a definitive sign (12:38–39; 16:4). The disciples are now charged with the same reticence. Having come to faith, they must go beyond the Master himself in the means and limitations of his self-disclosure (see comment on Mk 8:29–30).