Matthew 16:12-16: in context

Jesus has just warned the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and they finally understand he meant their teaching, not literal bread. Then, in the region of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus puts the question that everything turns on. First the easy version: who do people say the Son of Man is? They report the rumors, John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. Then the question that cannot be answered secondhand: but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answers, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Everything hinges on the shift from the first question to the second. Who do people say I am is a survey; you can answer it without any personal stake, just reporting what is in the air. And the answers, though flattering, are all inadequate, slotting Jesus among the great prophets, a category too small for him. Then Jesus turns and makes it personal: but who do you say that I am. That question cannot be answered by repeating what others think; it demands a verdict of your own. This is finally the only question about Jesus that matters, and no one can answer it for you, not your parents, not your culture, not the consensus. Peter gets it right, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus will say that flesh and blood did not reveal this but the Father, that a true confession of Christ is itself a gift of God. But the confession still had to come out of Peter's own mouth. Everyone eventually stands where Peter stood, with the second question waiting for a personal answer.

I can repeat what others say about Jesus, but his real question is the second one: who do I say that he is, and have I actually answered it myself?