But you who have been with me all along, who do you say the Son of man is? From being rejected by the people of his home town to seeing the faith of Peter and the others dwindle, Jesus probably had enough reasons to want to know the exact picture people had painted of him even as they were discussing the many signs God was working through him. And as a good teacher who knows how to coerce a discussion among his students, Jesus began by asking them what they were hearing from others. And it worked! The disciples were quick to bite the bait: " You wouldn't believe this," they excitedly retorted, " these people compare you to Elijah, John the Baptizer, or one of the prophets come back to life. Can you believe them? They are not serious!" " Oh, forget about them," Jesus enjoined himself to the conversation, " They clearly have no idea who I am. It will take them ages before they can figure it out. Moreover, if they haven’t figured it out by now, I doubt if they ever will. But you guys are in the know. You are better than them. Tell me, suppose someone out there asks you who I am, what will you say?" 
Jesus’ turning the question over to the disciples must have caught them by surprise. They were not prepared to give an answer right away. From the little they knew about Jesus, they were not sure of what Jesus would say about their answers. It was only Peter who, whether out of inspiration or in an attempt to spare his comrades further embarrassment (the earlier incident involving the discussion on the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees must have been still fresh on their minds), gave it a shot. “ You are the Christ of God,” he told Jesus. It was an answer that drew a commendation from Jesus who further pointed out that Peter’s answer was nothing short of a revelation from God. Could this be the reason why Jesus was rejected in his hometown? Could it be that the people rejected Jesus because they were yet to know who Jesus was?
Those who saw Jesus as a carpenter’s son rejected him because they had not opened themselves to the self-revelation of God. Even though they had witnessed several of Jesus’ mighty deeds, they only saw him as Mary’s son. They had refused to let the signs that Jesus was doing to speak to them and lead them to God who had sent Jesus. For it is only God who can reveal to the world the identity of Jesus.