So since you're here and all I assume you hang out on the internet a little bit and if you hang out on the internet a little bit it means you've

interacted with other humans there and some of that has probably been wonderful.

Mostly my interactions with humans on the internet has been great. Fulfilling, enjoyable, we stretch each other,

good things come of it, but you know how some people aren't great?

And you go and you have an interaction with them

and it doesn't matter what you say or do, they're mad and they're difficult and they're

dug in and maybe it's because of how you look or what you represent, but there's nothing

you can do because if your idea or version of who you are gets any traction, they feel like their

idea or their version of who they are doesn't get traction.

I don't think usually stuff is so binary.

I think usually it's possible for things

to just get better for everybody and for lots of things to work together that's what I

was taught in school but the internet right now good heavens we get after each

other in some weird ways and that can be really disappointing and at times

seemingly irrational you peel back enough layers though and you can figure out why

people get combative and weird. Likewise in the first century AD at times there is just combative weird stuff that doesn't make a ton of sense and you look at it at first glance you're like,

whoa whoa whoa! Why are we mad? Why are we yelling about things? This is just bizarre. Somebody's trying to do something nice bro.

Don't get all weird about it and complain and make negative comments and down vote what the actual problem is but then you look a little bit closer and you get to know the context and you're like,

okay, you're from this group, you're doing this thing, you feel this threat, insecurity kicks in and now we're being jerks to each other.

All right, I get it, I get it, I get it.

And that is what we encounter in Matthew Chapter 9, as Jesus comes back from across the lake,

where we get the situation that happened at the end of chapter 8

...