Jesus Asks his desciples to state who he was then asked to deny knowledge of him to others:

Matthew 16 states:

13. When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

20. Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

21. From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Mark 8: also supports this: (This may be an exact replication of Matthew 16)

8: 27. And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?

8:28. And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

8:29. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.

8:30. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

8:31. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Luke 9:18 - (Matthew 16, Mark 8 and Luke 9, all seems to be saying the exact thing or copying off the same manuscript. Look for the comparison of Jesus with John and Elias and the fact that Jesus is not explicitly saying who he was. The same occurs when John the Baptist was asked who he was in John 21. He did not accept what the Pharisees said of him, in fact, he denied but in the same breath, said who he was, just as Jesus did in these statements.)

9:18 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

9:19 They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

9:20 He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.

9:21 And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

9:27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.

9:28 And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray.

9:29 And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.

9:30 And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:

9:31 Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.

9:32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him.

9:33 And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.

9:34 While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

9:35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

9:36 And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.

Logic of denial and restating the truth answering directly to those in authority:
The advent of John and Jesus were prophesied, just as Moses was and there were people who went all out to put an end to them. They had their job to do and The Almighty God protected them. They were not men that went to the authorities and stated who they were. They personally stayed anonymous but preached to the folks that they were in contact with and avoided direct confrontation with the authorities. When those with authority came to question them, they carefully guarded their words so as not to give, those who were sent, them any direct ammunition that would be turned against them. Here is a case and point listed below:

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's

Here, Jesus is aware of the people wanting to entrap him. He is careful, and masterfully uses arguments that require thought. Jesus uses this type or argument that requires the questioner to produce the answer themselves from the words that he states. The genius that he was, producing arguments to outwit the people that were bent to put out the light, as he states 'I am the light' and John was a witness to that light..

22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.

22:16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.

22:17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?

22:18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

22:19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

22:20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

22:21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

22:22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.

-- John 's Denial

Note that the people who were sent were eliciting a particular response from John. When Jon was asked if he was Elias, he said ' I am not'. Is he lying? For an similar analogy, look at Abraham's response as to who Sarah was. Was he lying when he said that she was her sister? Definitely not These men were protecting what they stood for from men who would reach out to harm them at an instant. Elias was not a real person. John was real. Elias was a shadow, a spirit, a representation of 'God with us'.

John 1:22 states: 'Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?' 1:23 'He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.' (see Isaiah 40:3). See Luke 1:17 above where Gabriel is testifying to Zachariah that his son John will be in the spirit and power of Elias.

This Elias knows the capability of the people who were after him. See Romans 11:2 where Elias himself is testifying that the people kill all their prophets. John is John the Baptist, whether or not he Elias, he is not going to give them the opportunity to get at him at by his own doing, until he has completed his task (of preparing the way for the Messiah handing over the Holy Spirit to Jesus). John 1:23 is saying that only one of three people can Baptize. The Messiah, Elias or that Prophet (Perhaps Muhammad, being from their brother Ishmael, the nation 'God has not given you anything' - Deuteronomy 18:15)

John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

1:20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

1:22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

1:23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

1:24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

1:25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

1:26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

1:27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

1:28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

1:36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

1:37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.

1:38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?

1:39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

1:40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

1:41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.

1.		Elias means God with us. (Catholic Encyclopedia)
2.		The Angel (Gabriel) told Elizabeth that her son, John, "shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias "
3.		John denies that he is Elias at the time of him being questioned. He also denies that he is the Messiah (Christ). Although, he being a Prophet (Mat 11:13), he also denies that he is "that prophet".
4.		Jesus declares that John is Elias
5.		Prophecy declares that Elias must first come (Before the coming of the Messiah).
6.		Elias do not live among men but appears and disappears in a blaze of glory.
7.		Gabriel says that John will go in the spirit and power of Elias, not come.
8.		John denies that he was Elias, Yet Jesus says that John was Elias. Is one of them not telling the truth, or is it that the Transfiguration is where John becomes Elias and hence he was not lying. It was after the Transfiguration that Jesus announced that 'That Elias is come already "(Matt 17:12), meaning that he is here now; while in Matt:11:14 Jesus says "this is Elias, which was for to come", indicating he has not yet come.