One heresy of the Christian Church that has been around since ancient times, and still persists in some ways today says that Jesus was God, but He only looked like a man. He really didn’t suffer or truly feel the pain that we experience. Yet the writer of Hebrews assures us that Jesus is “one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…”(4:15) In Matthew 14 it is striking to see the range of human pressure and burdens our Lord experienced. It begins with His cousin being beheaded by King Herod, the loss of a family member and the evil that would cause this. Then the demands of the multitude, the dullness and slowness of His disciples to believe, and seeing fear where there should have been faith, Jesus felt it all deeply. Twice in this 14th chapter it indicated that Jesus needed to get alone to pray. His burden was greater than we can imagine. But by His carrying that burden, and ultimately that of our sins to the cross, we have the assurance that He knows and cares about our individual needs and hurts. He has been there, and just as He reached out His hand to save Peter from drowning (14:31) He reaches out to us each day. His strength and grace are sufficient.
Life Has Meaning 