In reading through the book of Matthew again recently, I am struck by Jesus' incredible patience with people.
How did he keep it together when, day after day, just about everyone around him completely misunderstood just about everything he said and did? And that included his own disciples, who were with him every waking hour.
It seems like the vast majority of the crowds that gathered just became fixated on Jesus' ability to heal their physical issues.
Here's Jesus - the Son of God in the flesh, come to set humans right with the God who created them - and people are flocking to him because he cures blindness, deafness, fevers, skin conditions, and paralysis.
At no charge!
Jesus: "Your sins are forgiven."
Man: "Woohoo! I can SEE! I can't wait to tell everyone!"
Jesus: "Please don't."
And just about the only people who actually perceived the healings as a sign of something much bigger were the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law! They at least understood that Jesus was saying and doing some profound things, but then they came to the wrong conclusions about his motivations.
Pharisees: "You can't forgive sins. Only God can do that!"
Jesus: "You're right. Only God can forgive sins."
Pharisees: "You're the devil!"
But Jesus just kept on preaching and healing and forgiving.
That's some supernatural patience!
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