The preceding narratives have raised the question, who is this? Now Peter gives the decisive answer: you are the Messiah (9:18–20). The disciples see more clearly than those who identify Jesus with Elijah, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets. Of the Synoptic writers only Luke tells us that Jesus was praying (9:18). Peter understands that Jesus is the Messiah, but the disciples also need to grasp what kind of messiah he will be (9:21–27). He does not fit the popular conception of a messiah who will triumph o…