8:29–30 Peter confesses Jesus to be the Messiah and Jesus responds by issuing a command to silence. Still, this does not alter the fact that this combination of features does not constitute the hallmark of “Messiah.” “Messiah” is the most general of Mark’s christological categories, and what characterizes it are diversity of use and need for definition. To illustrate its diversity of use, “Messiah” can serve as a name (9:41), or as a name that is also a title (1:1), or as a title (8:29; 12:35; 13:21;