Matthew 14:13-36
If you don’t spend a lot of time with a person, you have an incomplete picture of them. I was struck by this again recently in the two funerals we held at the church. There was a little I knew about our friends Freda and Maureen. But there was much I didn’t know that came out at the funerals and discussions with their families. I didn’t know that Freda took on the city when she was seventy about their refusal to pick up some garbage bags she’d put out. I didn’t know Maureen was born in Northern Ireland nor the wooden fork that hung on her kitchen wall used for disciplining the kids. It started with four tongs, then three, then two, then one.
The more you get to know a person, the more complete the picture about why they might act, or think like they do. The less we know someone, the more likely we make snap judgments and conclusions about them. Someone drives below the speed limit in front of us. So we immediately conclude they’re an idiot and don’t know the law of the road. But maybe they’ve just gotten really bad news and can barely see through their tears. Maybe they were in an accident recently. Maybe they’ve never driven that road before and they’re trying to find their way. You don’t know until you get to know more about the person.
The same is true when it comes to Jesus. If we don’t know Him well or aim to keep getting a more complete picture of Him, we can live with a distorted view of Him. Then we’re in danger of interpreting His care or concern or love for us through our distorted views rather than reality. So today, we’re going to have a tremendous opportunity to get to know more about Jesus. We come to a passage rich with revelation about Him. If you will invest the next few moments in this talk, you can leave here with a clearer picture of Jesus that will help you in your life this week and beyond.
