Matthew 12:16 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and ordered them not to make him known.

NIV: He warned them not to tell others about him.

NASB: and warned them not to tell who He was.

CSB: He warned them not to make him known,

NLT: but he warned them not to reveal who he was.

KJV: And charged them that they should not make him known:

NKJV: Yet He warned them not to make Him known,

Large crowds continue to follow Jesus, and He continues to heal everyone who comes to Him for help (Matthew 12:15). He also returns to His practice of ordering those He heals not to make Him known. That is, He tells them not to tell how they were healed or, perhaps, that He is the Messiah.

Why order those He has helped not to tell anyone? It's not clear. Jesus may have been attempting not to draw the attention of Jewish religious leaders who wanted to destroy Him (Matthew 12:14). Or He may have been trying to manage the size of the crowds following Him. His mission was to bring healing to Israel and demonstrate the power of God, but He may have wanted to keep the crowds from growing so large that Romans began to look at them as some kind of revolutionary threat. Many people who believed Him to be the Messiah may have expected Him to use His power to overthrow their oppressors (John 6:15). Jesus had not come to do that and did not seem to want that expectation to grow.

However, Matthew has given several examples of people who immediately disobeyed Jesus' order not to talk about their healing. These were the ones overcome with joy, who went out and told everyone they saw about what had happened and the One who had done it.

Matthew 12:15–21 shows Jesus withdrawing away from the Pharisees, who want to destroy Him. The crowds persist in following Him, though, and He continues to tell those He heals not to make Him known. Matthew declares that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 42:1–4. Isaiah quotes God referring to His promised servant using the same terminology God used of Jesus at His baptism. This servant is gentle, refusing to call attention to Himself, but is also the One who will bring justice to victory and in whom the Gentiles will hope.

Matthew 12 features confrontations between the Pharisees and Jesus over several issues. Among these are working on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, and the source of His power to cast out demons. Jesus counters each argument and rebukes the Pharisees sharply for their obstinate unbelief. He even notes that those who maliciously ascribe His miracles to demons are unforgivable. He warns them, and the rest of their current generation, about the judgment to come. Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and rejects their demand for another miracle. All they'll be promised is the sign of Jonah. The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days. Jesus also states that all who do His Father's will are His family.

Matthew 11 depicted Jesus preaching and teaching after sending out His chosen disciples in pairs in chapter 10. Chapter 12 immediately picks up with more confrontation with the Pharisees. Jesus responds to those criticisms and rebukes their evil hearts as the source of their evil words. In the following chapter, Matthew will shift His focus onto Jesus' parables.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.