Peter was always doing it. He was always out in front of the other disciples. He was always putting his foot in his mouth. "Who do people say that I am?" Jesus asked his disciples one day. The disciples answered that some people thought he was John the Baptizer or Elijah or one of the prophets. "Enough of what other people think," Jesus said. "What about you? Who do you say that I am?" This time Peter answered. "You are the Christ," he said. Christ was the Greek word for Messiah. Peter thought that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

Peter was part of the Jewish people who had been awaiting God’s Messiah for a thousand years. The peoples’ hopes were high. They expected great things from the Messiah. So, most assuredly, did Peter. You can be sure that Peter was really tickled by his own confes…