“’Who do people say that I am?’…. ‘But who do you say that I am?’” (Mark 8:27-29, ESV).
Near the end of His ministry Jesus asked His disciples what people were saying about Him? Who did they think He was?
His disciples answered that some thought He was John the Baptist or one of the ancient prophets back from the dead.
Then Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was. Peter immediately responded that He was the Messiah. Apparently, that was the right answer because Jesus commanded His disciples to tell no one.
To Jesus it didn’t matter what people in general thought about Him. What mattered to Him was what His disciples in particular thought about Him.