And He commanded them to tell no one. But the more He commanded them, the more they spread it.
Christ again commands them to tell no one, because His time and the manner of revealing His person were not to be determined by people’s excitement or by loud spreading of the news. He did not want the people to be moved only by admiration for miracles and to receive Him merely as a miracle-worker. At the same time, this command shows that He was avoiding premature fame and the mistaken expectations that arise among people. But the people, seeing those miracles, were spreading the report with even greater enthusiasm. Their response was natural human excitement, yet it was not fully obedient to the Lord’s word. This episode shows that good feelings still do not mean exact obedience, because a person can act, even with good intention, in a way different from what the Lord said. At the same time, this testifies that Christ’s works were so evident and powerful that it was difficult for people to be silent about them. His work itself bore witness about Him and could not remain hidden, even when He commanded them to be silent.