It is perhaps no coincidence that this section comes after the blind man being healed. For first we have an instance of physical blindness being healed, then we have an example of someone receiving spiritual sight, shortly followed by a further example of spiritual blindness!
The disciples had seen many things happen, and Jesus was wary of the crowds who wanted to make Him king. It was vital that the disciples understood who He really was. So Jesus asks them "who do people say I am?" The people had various answers, all of them wrong, but being inspired by some aspects of who Jesus really was. Essentially they all thought he was a prophet of some sort. Malachi talks of an Elijah figure coming in the last days.
Jesus then addresses the question to His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" This is the key question that all of us have to answer. Peter replied "you are the Messiah". Matthew's account tells us that Jesus commended Peter and informed him that it was God who had revealed this to him.
Jesus warns them not to tell anyone about Him, for this would hinder Jesus' ministry.
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