Having gotten all the conventional answers, Jesus asks the disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" And Peter answers him, "You are the Messiah" (8:29). In St. Mark's gospel, it is a moment of transformation for Peter. He is still only a partial disciple. He will go on to deny Jesus three times. But what happens to him at Caesarea Philippi is crucial, a giant step, even though it isn't until much later that he will have the courage to carry through on the confession he makes that day.
Jesus had already asked his disciples--Who do people say that I am? In Greek people is "hoi anthropoi," which means humankind or human beings, as opposed to God and his angels and the demons, who already know who Jesus is. Here "hoi anthropoi" means those outside the circle of the disciples, including Jesus' enemies—of which there were many. Who do others say that I am?
And how this question is answered, then as now, is conditioned by the cross. Jesus with the cross is our savior, our redeemer, our reconciler to God, to ourselves and to one another--the most important fact in creation. Jesus without the cross can be anything under the sun--a prophet, a teacher, a healer, a charlatan, a fraud, a self-deluded trouble-maker. Jesus without the cross can be either the conservative or the liberal ideologue—take your pick.
The answer to the question—Who is Jesus?--depends upon the hopes and fears of the time in which it is asked. In Jesus' lifetime that was certainly so. Apparently during his lifetime there was a rumor abroad that Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected—see Mark 6:14-15. Jesus wasn't. It was a widespread belief--based upon the Old Testament book of Malachi (4:5)—that the prophet Elijah would return before the coming of the Day of the Lord. It was a time of intense eschatological speculation—like our own, and some thought they recognized in Jesus Elijah's long anticipated return—see Mark 9:10-13. Other candidates, notably Moses, were also mentioned, but Jesus was not a dead prophet, no matter how great. What is remarkable is that in the midst of such a babel of supposition and conjecture, no one recognizes Jesus as who he really is—not until Peter's inspired guess. But the question—"Who do you say that I am?" –is addressed to us as much as to the disciples. The pronoun "you" makes that clear. What is important is not what others say, but what you and I say. Who is he to us personally? To those outside Jesus will always remain a mystery, an unknown, but is he known to us?
According to Mark, Simon Peter is the first human being to correctly—if incompletely—answer the question—Who is Jesus? He confesses Jesus as the long-expected deliverer of Israel, but his identity as "Son of God" remains hidden. Only his cross will reveal Jesus as crucified Messiah and present Lord of all. And then it is not a disciple—they have all high-tailed it by then—but a pagan centurion—speaking for Mark's gentile church--who makes the final, definitive profession of faith—see 15:39.
But once Peter openly identifies him as the Messiah, Jesus does a strange thing—to our thinking anyway—he "sternly orders [his disciples] not to tell anyone about him" (8:30). Notice that he does not deny that he is the Messiah; he simply endeavors to keep his true identity a secret. This reticence is typical of the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus is always portrayed as Man of Mystery. Earlier in the gospel, demons are forbidden to say that Jesus is the Messiah—see 1:23ff—now the disciples are told to say nothing. Why? Well in part the reason lies in the problematic nature of the title Anointed One. By Jesus' time the coming Messiah was closely connected with the hopes of certain groups of radical Jewish patriots—notably the Zealots—who had made the restoration of the royal house of David the cornerstone of their agenda. There was at least one Zealot among Jesus' disciples. But Jesus certainly wanted to disassociate himself with their terrorist tactics in particular and from Jewish dreams of national glory in general.
Instead Jesus defines messiahship in terms of the suffering servant described the prophet Isaiah (chapters 49-50). To be the Messiah means willing acceptance of the cross with all that it implies. This is the mystery Jesus seeks to share with his disciples (8:31), and through them with the Church. And the Church must follow the example of the Suffering Messiah. Peter tries to hush him (8:32), but Jesus turns and hushes him instead, not because Peter's insight into his messiahship is false, but because it is limited. Simon Peter is still a partial disciple who clings to the false hope of glory without the suffering of the cross.
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