There were specific reasons for Jesus’ insistence on secrecy (Matthew 12:15-21; Mark 1:44-45), and there were occasional exceptions (Mark 5:19). After Jesus’ ascension, there is no indication that His apostles sought publicity for their miracles. There is no record of them having advertised ahead of time to gather a crowd for a “healing service.” Just as Jesus had reacted to special needs “as He passed by,” so it was with Peter and John. They were going up to the temple at the usual hour for prayer. As they passed by, a crippled beggar asked for money and, to his surprise, he received complete healing instead (Acts 3:1-10). After the healing, as a natural result of such an amazing event, crowds gathered. Peter took advantage of their attention to explain what the miracle meant about Jesus, His power and His resurrection.
Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His servant Jesus…. And His name—by faith in His name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all (Acts 3:12-13,16).
In the Gospel accounts and in Acts, the publicity followed the miracle. This is a tribute to the genuineness of those miracles. They became famous despite a lack of promotion ahead of time. So great were the demonstrations of power that there was no need to seek publicity. Indeed, the problem was that, despite efforts to restrain publicity, the news spread so rapidly that it was difficult to carry on the work of preaching in the towns (Mark 1:44-45; 6:30-34).