Why is Jesus very implicit regarding his identity? Why is Jesus very implicit in sharing his identity?
In the synoptic gospels Jesus speaks in parables and metaphors and at the end of many of these encounters it is mentioned that the people did not understand what Jesus meant (Luke 2:49-50, Luke 9:45, Luke 18:34).
Jesus uses various titles and refers to himself as the Son of Man, and calls God his Father.
In Luke 9:20 Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is, they say the Messiah of God, and he leaves it at that, and does not give them further information.
Demons he cast out would tell of his identity yet he would silence them (Luke 4:35, Luke 4:41)
After some of his miracles he tells people not to share what they've seen (Luke 5:14, Luke 8:56).
People are stumped at his authority to cast out demons, forgive sins, and control the weather, yet he does not explain this to them and leaves them befuddled (Luke 4:36, Luke 5:21, Luke 7:49, Luke 8:25)
And whenever he does share or speak of his identity, he also does so implicitly, never clearly (Luke 17:18).
During his temptation he alludes to himself being God when he recites biblical verses. (Luke 4:12)
There are also confusing verses which might lead us to believe that Jesus is not claiming to be God (Luke 18:19).
Jesus has no issue exhibiting his supernatural powers either to crowds or to individuals, but in some instances requests that they be kept secret in order to conceal his identity. Jesus tends to be very mystical in his speech -- he speaks in parables and does not expand upon them even if his audience does not understand. Jesus does not correct his followers regarding his identity or directly explain to them who he is. Even if Jesus alludes to his divinity it is always muddy and never a clear-cut and definitive &quot;I am God&quot; or &quot;I am the Messiah&quot;.
Why is Jesus very vague about his identity and sometimes outright tries to conceal it?
By providing an extensive list of passages to buttress the legitimacy of your question you show yourself astute in biblical matters.
Rather than attempting to wow you with a list of my own, I will simply suggest three inescapable principles behind Jesus's modus operandi regarding his identity.

Jesus was guided in each of his waking hours by his Father. What his Father wanted him to do, he did.


And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him (John 8:29 KJV).

If Jesus seems at times to be hedging, the reason is that he is being led by his Father to do so.

Dovetailing with the above reason are the times when Jesus neither said nor did anything which would unnecessarily alter the timetable regarding his glorification at the cross. In Cana of Galilee where Jesus performed his first public miracle, he said to his mother,


“Woman,[The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect.] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come&quot; (John 2:4 NIV).

That pre-miracle comment by Jesus was a teaching moment, in which he cautions his mother against being out of step, so to speak, with his Father's will. Jesus went on, of course, to perform the miracle, but the cautionary remark to his mother was to appear in different forms and situations throughout his public ministry, leading up to the cross. For example,

Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ (Matthew 16:20).

Interestingly, as if to explain why he cautioned his disciples against revealing his Messiahship, we then read in the next verse in Matthew 16,

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

In other words, while Jesus's face was set like a flint going toward Jerusalem (see Isaiah 50:7 NKJV), the timing of his final arrival in the city of Peace was perhaps just as important as his determination to get there.

Jesus's modus operandi included instances in which he was deliberately cryptic, primarily, I believe, to weed out the looky-loos and hypocrites from the truly sincere and committed followers. What you could call a proof text for this assertion is found in Matthew 13 (cf. also Mark 4 and Luke 8):


Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive . . .(vss. 13-14).

If Jesus seems to have been a bit cagey about his identity, which I personally believe he was not, really, he may have been because he never engaged in braggadocio or cockalorum. In the instances in which he was more direct in revealing his identity, he meant to get his audiences to think seriously about the implications for them regarding his Deity and Messiahship. He had no need to trumpet his greatness, as did Mohammed Ali in my day, who said frequently, &quot;I am the greatest.&quot;