In reflecting on Jesus' questioning of the disciples, Clay Nelson sees a wisdom teacher calling us to know ourselves.  The irony is that the Way to doing this involves denying ourselves.

"It is to this level of consciousness that Jesus hopes to bring his disciples when he asks his question within a question. While preachers for millennia have praised Peter for his answer, “You are the Messiah,” as if he finally got it, I think Jesus groaned, “Is that so?” That they still didn’t get it is why I suspect Jesus told his disciples to keep it a secret."

Full text available at www.stmatthews.org.nz.