Why did Jesus say to "tell no one"?

[k8e308]

Many times in the Gospels after Jesus performs a miracle, he instructs the person to “tell no one.” The person always goes and tells everyone anyway. Why? I wouldn’t dare to disobey. Even so, why would Jesus instruct someone not to tell when we are supposed to evangelize? What better testimony than that of personal healing?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Many times in the Gospels after Jesus performs a miracle, he instructs the person to “tell no one.” The person always goes and tells everyone anyway. Why? I wouldn’t dare to disobey.

That is because you have hindsight into who Jesus is. But suppose a wandering wonderworker cured you of a debilitating disease or disability that ostracized you from your loved ones and community. Then he told you “tell no one.” Without any further information on who this person might be, and able to rejoin the community now that you’ve been cured, would you so easily resist the temptation to tell?

k8e308:

Even so, why would Jesus instruct someone not to tell when we are supposed to evangelize? What better testimony than that of personal healing?

We can only speculate, but it seems likely that Jesus did not want the spectacle of the cures increasing his fame and thereby hastening the hour of his passion.