What about Jesus?  When it comes right down to it, we know little concerning the details of Jesus' life.  Jesus kept no diary.  All that we know about him is crowded into a few pages at the opening of the New Testament.  You can read it through in a few hours.

The story opens with the birth of a baby in a distant town called Bethlehem.  His first cradle was a manger for the feeding of livestock.  He grew up in a remote mountain village called Nazareth with a reputation only for the fact that nothing "good " had ever come from that town.  Growing up, Jesus would have shared normal duties with his brothers and sisters.  He would have learned how to fill lamps and to trim wicks.  He knew what housecleaning involved.  He knew how to build a fire and could prepare a fish fry.  He learned the trade of a carpenter.  In other words, Jesus was a real person.  The truly big deal was that he was born at all!  This divine character actually took on human flesh and laid aside the privileges of heaven and became a man.

About 30 years of age, Jesus left carpentry behind and began to teach and preach and heal.  From the beginning people reacted to him.  Little children ran to the sound of his voice, the aged found comfort in his presence, the sick found healing by merely touching the hem of his garment.  He had his hours of popularity when the multitudes crowded around him.  He had his moments of silent reflection, either alone, or with those closest to him.  It was on such an occasion that we encounter this dialogue with the Twelve.  "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked them.  Simon answeres, "You are the Messiah (Christ, in Greek), the Son of the living God."

Simon Peter's answer was in the historic context of the Jewish people who were looking for a Messiah, a Christ, to come.  The Messiah would lead them in victory against their oppressors, a conquering hero who would overthrow the hated Romans.  As soon became evident, this was not God's intention in Jesus.  For those who had their hopes pinned on a military Messiah, this was a devastating blow.

In the end, Jesus was betrayed by those he trusted, abandoned by those he loved.  He carried his own cross, as far as he was able, to an outlaw's execution.  The life which had begun in humble obscurity ended in public shame.  He who, at birth, had been laid in a borrowed manger was now laid away in a borrowed tomb.

But we know the story does not end there.  His resurrection is a decisive victory over the powers that deform and destroy human life.  His Lordship demands our loyalty and sets us free from the fear of all lesser lords who threaten us.