Matthew 16:20

Jesus’ warning in this verse seems to run contrary to His purpose to manifest Himself as the Messiah to Israel for her acceptance (cf. Mark 8:30; Luke 9:21). Jesus wanted His disciples to keep a "messianic secret," namely, that He was the Messiah. Jesus was not trying to conceal His true identity, but He was controlling how people would respond to Him (cf. Matthew 12:38-39; Matthew 16:4). If the disciples had broadcast the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah, some people would have tried to draft Jesus as a political liberator. However, Jesus wanted people to come to believe on Him because of the words He spoke and the works He performed (cf. Matthew 11:4; Matthew 11:25-26). These were the tools God had ordained to give people divine insight into Jesus’ identity (Matthew 11:27), as Peter had experienced (Matthew 16:17).

"Contrary to common misappropriation of the messianic secret, it was not Jesus’ purpose to conceal his messianic identity. It was his purpose to set before Israel symbol-charged acts and words implying a persistent question: Who do you say that I am?" [Note: Ben F. Meyer, The Aims of Jesus, p. 350, footnote 59; cf. pp. 250, 309-10, footnotes 119-20.]

Jesus wanted His disciples to stay within the means and limits that He had imposed on Himself for His self-disclosure. They should not appeal for people’s acceptance of Jesus because of nationalistic zeal or misguided messianic expectations but because of faith rooted in understanding. Jesus’ popularity on a superficial level could short-circuit the Cross. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples could take a more unrestrained approach to calling people to repentance and faith (cf. Matthew 10:27). The disciples apparently grasped the danger of people accepting Jesus for superficial reasons, but they did not understand the threat of short-circuiting the Cross, as the next section shows. [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 375.]

"Why this prohibition? Because although the disciples correctly understand who Jesus is, they do not as yet know that central to Jesus’ divine sonship is death on the cross. Hence, they are in no position at this point to go and make disciples of all nations." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 75.]

"In the second part of his story (Matthew 4:17 to Matthew 16:20), Matthew tells of Jesus’ ministry to Israel (Matthew 4:17 to Matthew 11:1) and of Israel’s repudiation of Jesus (Matthew 11:2 to Matthew 16:20). Sent to Israel, Jesus teaches, preaches, and heals (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 11:1). He also calls disciples, and commissions them to a ministry in Israel modeled on his own (Matthew 4:17 to Matthew 11:1). Israel’s response to Jesus, however, is one of repudiation (Matthew 11:2 to Matthew 16:20). Still, even as Israel repudiates him, it wonders and speculates about who he is. Wrongly, the religious leaders think of him as one who acts in collusion with Satan (Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24), and the Jewish public imagines him to be a prophet (Matthew 16:13-14; Matthew 21:46). In stark contrast to Israel, the disciples, as the recipients of divine revelation, are led by Jesus to think about him as God ’thinks’ about him, namely, as the Messiah Son of God (Matthew 16:15-17; Matthew 14:33). Nevertheless, because the disciples do not know at this point in the story that the central purpose of Jesus’ mission is death, Jesus commands them to silence concerning his identity (Matthew 16:20)." [Note: Ibid., pp. 161-62.]