If you are God and create the entire world, what would it take to amaze you? After all, you know everything and have seen everything . . . literally. So when the text says that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith, that's a pretty bold statement. God stood in awe of their depth of failure. What a sad statement regarding spiritual bankruptcy.
The story amazes me too but in different ways. In my imaginary reconstruction of the life of Jesus, I always see people fascinated with his miracles. That, after all, is what would amaze me. If someone walked into our university and began to heal people in wheelchairs, stop fever and mend broken bones simply by his touch, I would be pretty impressed to say the least. Yet the text lists that as the third thing that the people took notice of.
The first things that they were amazed by were his teachings and wisdom. It was the power of his word that drew them in. It was the difference between his words and the words of others that amazed them. Somehow his words were even more impressive than raising the dead and healing the sick.
So from this section on "amazement", I have to ask myself. First, is God amazed at me? Is he amazed at my lack of faith like he was this group of people? Does Jesus offend me in some way so that I pull back from him? Second, if his words were so amazing to them, why are they not so amazing to me? Have I become immune? Have I missed something? Have I forgotten how to listen? That would be sad . . . amazingly sad.
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