Mark 8:26 kjv
And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
Mark 8:26 nkjv
Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."
Mark 8:26 niv
Jesus sent him home, saying, "Don't even go into the village."
Mark 8:26 esv
And he sent him to his home, saying, "Do not even enter the village."
Mark 8:26 nlt
Jesus sent him away, saying, "Don't go back into the village on your way home."
Mark 8 26 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Messianic Secret & Strategic Secrecy | ||
| Mk 1:43-45 | And He sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone…” | Jesus' common practice of commanding silence after healings. |
| Mk 3:11-12 | And whenever the unclean spirits beheld Him, they fell down before Him and cried out…He strictly ordered them not to make Him known. | Jesus suppresses revelation even from demons to control timing. |
| Mk 5:43 | He strictly charged them that no one should know this… | Command to silence after raising Jairus' daughter. |
| Mk 7:36 | He charged them to tell no one. But the more He charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. | People's difficulty in keeping Jesus' miracles secret. |
| Mk 8:30 | He sternly charged them to tell no one about Him. | After Peter's confession, disciples forbidden to reveal Jesus' identity prematurely. |
| Mk 9:9 | He charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. | Silence regarding the Transfiguration until the resurrection. |
| Mt 12:16-19 | He healed them all and warned them not to make Him known…“He will not quarrel or cry aloud…” | Fulfills Isaiah's prophecy of the humble Messiah, avoiding public clamor. |
| Isa 42:2 | He will not cry aloud or lift up His voice, or make it heard in the street. | Prophecy of the Messiah's quiet, unassuming nature. |
| Bethsaida's Unbelief | ||
| Mt 11:21 | “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago…” | Jesus' condemnation of Bethsaida for its unbelief despite miracles. |
| Lk 10:13 | “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!…” | Parallel passage emphasizing Bethsaida's resistance to the gospel. |
| Shift to Public Proclamation (Post-Resurrection) | ||
| Mt 28:19 | Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… | The Great Commission, a post-resurrection command to publicize the gospel globally. |
| Mk 16:15 | And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” | The post-resurrection reversal of the command to silence. |
| Lk 24:46-47 | “Thus it is written…that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations…” | Explicit instruction for public proclamation after Christ's work is complete. |
| Acts 1:8 | You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses…to the end of the earth.” | Believers empowered to be public witnesses. |
| Lk 8:39 | “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming… | Jesus sometimes told people to tell, especially in Gentile regions or where misunderstanding was less likely. |
| Spiritual Understanding/Blindness | ||
| Mk 8:17-21 | Jesus…said to them, “Why are you discussing…Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts hardened?” | Jesus addressing the disciples' spiritual dullness and misunderstanding. |
| Mk 8:31-33 | He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things…But Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. | Disciples' ongoing difficulty in comprehending Jesus' mission even after Peter's confession. |
| Jer 5:21 | ‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not.’ | OT parallel for spiritual blindness. |
| 2 Cor 4:4 | In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers… | Explaining spiritual blindness from the enemy's influence. |
| Jn 9:39 | Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” | The paradoxical outcome of Jesus' ministry regarding spiritual sight. |
Mark 8 verses
Mark 8 26 Meaning
Mark 8:26 describes Jesus' specific instruction to the man healed of blindness in Bethsaida: he was to go directly home and avoid both entering the village itself and telling anyone within it about his healing. This command reflects Jesus' deliberate strategy concerning the disclosure of His identity and miracles, a recurring theme in Mark's Gospel.
Mark 8 26 Context
Mark chapter 8 begins with Jesus feeding the four thousand, followed by a confrontation with Pharisees demanding a sign. Jesus then warns His disciples about the "leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod," challenging their spiritual dullness, symbolized by their inability to grasp the full significance of the miraculous feedings. This narrative leads directly into the healing of the blind man at Bethsaida, which is unique for its two-stage process (Mk 8:22-25), suggesting a gradual restoration of sight—physical and perhaps spiritual. The instruction in Mark 8:26 directly follows this healing and precedes Peter's pivotal confession of Jesus as the Christ (Mk 8:27-30), which is immediately followed by Jesus' first prediction of His suffering, death, and resurrection (Mk 8:31-33). The specific command to the healed man is crucial within Mark's thematic development, setting the stage for deeper truths about the nature of Christ's kingdom and the disciples' ongoing journey from spiritual partial-sight to full understanding. Historically, Bethsaida was one of the Galilean cities rebuked by Jesus for their lack of repentance despite witnessing many miracles, making the command to not return to the village perhaps a judgment or an act of protection against further hardening.
Mark 8 26 Word analysis
And He sent him away (καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν - kai apesteilen auton): "Sent away" uses apostello, a verb signifying an authoritative sending. While restrictive here, it implies Jesus' clear, deliberate dispatch, concluding the healing and directing the man's movement with purpose.
to his house (εἰς οἶκον αὐτοῦ - eis oikon autou): "House" (oikos) refers to a private, domestic setting. This directs the man to personal privacy and reintegration, rather than a public display. It aligns with Jesus' practice of fostering a quiet response, especially where public recognition could be misunderstood or counterproductive to His broader mission. It may also imply a time for personal processing of the miracle.
saying (λέγων - legōn): Indicates a direct verbal command, ensuring the man fully understands Jesus' explicit will.
Do not even enter the village (Μηδὲ εἰς τὴν κώμην εἰσέλθῃς - Mēde eis tēn kōmēn eiselthēs): "Do not even" (mēde) is a strong negative, emphasizing the absolute nature of the prohibition. "Village" (kōmē) refers specifically to Bethsaida, which Jesus had previously condemned for its profound spiritual insensitivity and unbelief. This ban suggests the village was either too spiritually hardened for effective witness, or that the miracle's publicity there would provoke negative reactions, hinder true repentance, or lead to dangerous political messianic expectations.
nor tell anyone in the village (μηδὲ εἴπῃς τινὶ ἐν τῇ κώμῃ - mēde eipēs tini en tē kōmē): This further reinforces the command against publicizing the miracle within Bethsaida's specific confines. "Anyone" (tini) signifies total silence regarding the healing to anyone living there. This integrates with the Markan "Messianic Secret" theme, where Jesus controls the narrative and disclosure of His power and identity, often to prevent premature opposition, misinterpretations, or being crowned as a political king before "His hour" had come.
Word-group Analysis:
- "And He sent him away to his house, saying": This entire phrase highlights Jesus taking decisive action and issuing clear, authoritative directives. The immediate sending away signals the conclusion of the miraculous work and the beginning of its intended private impact. The designation "to his house" immediately implies a retreat to a personal sphere, explicitly moving away from any public spectacle or widespread immediate announcement.
- "'Do not even enter the village, nor tell anyone in the village.'": This compound negative injunction and strict geographical limitation underscore the extraordinary nature of Jesus' command. It reveals Jesus' profound strategic wisdom in managing the impact of His miracles, especially concerning the spiritual disposition of specific communities. Given Bethsaida's unrepentant nature despite having witnessed mighty works, this specific boundary signifies Jesus' control over the timing and manner of His self-revelation, protecting against further spiritual hardening in a resistant environment and shaping the Messianic narrative according to divine wisdom, rather than human enthusiasm or political agendas.
Mark 8 26 Bonus section
The unique two-stage healing process of the blind man in Mark 8:22-25, which immediately precedes this verse, is often interpreted symbolically. Just as the man's sight was first blurry (seeing "men like trees, walking") and then completely restored, the disciples in Mark's Gospel exhibit a gradual, and often incomplete, spiritual understanding of Jesus' identity and mission. Their spiritual "sight" often remains clouded, as seen in their struggles to comprehend the miraculous feedings and Jesus' passion predictions (Mk 8:14-21; 8:31-33), even after significant revelations. The command in Mark 8:26, to keep the miracle quiet and avoid Bethsaida specifically, illustrates Jesus' discernment that not all environments are receptive, and sometimes a quiet withdrawal serves the divine purpose more effectively than public display. This deliberate restraint underscores Jesus' focus on cultivating genuine, deep faith rather than merely spectacular shows of power, especially in places that had already demonstrated unresponsiveness.
Mark 8 26 Commentary
Mark 8:26 strikingly illustrates Jesus' divine authority and strategic purpose, especially within the recurrent "Messianic Secret" theme. By sending the newly healed blind man directly home with explicit instructions to avoid both entering and speaking of his healing in Bethsaida, Jesus meticulously manages the revelation of His identity and miracles. This directive is particularly meaningful given Bethsaida's earlier condemnation for its spiritual resistance and lack of repentance. The command suggests that further open proclamation within such a spiritually hardened community might be counterproductive, potentially leading to increased opposition, superficial excitement lacking true spiritual understanding, or a misconstruing of Jesus' kingdom as merely a political entity. This localized silence contrasts sharply with later post-resurrection commands to boldly proclaim the gospel worldwide, highlighting a critical shift in divine strategy once the atoning work of Christ was complete. The specific direction "to his house" further emphasizes personal reflection and quiet gratitude over public display, fitting for a narrative sequence that soon transitions to the disciples' own challenging journey from partial spiritual sight to a clearer, though often struggled-with, understanding of Jesus' true mission.