As a pastor - I get the privilege of leading a lot of weddings. Most often I’m introduced by the bride and groom to their parents as “The Officiant” and every once in a while a couple will refer to me as the pastor. One time - I arrived at the venue for the ceremony and as I was walking in the door - I heard the wedding coordinator say “Oh thank goodness! The PRIEST is here - he’ll help the groomsmen tie their bowties!” There was so much weirdness in that sentence - I really didn’t know where to start - not the least of which was I have no idea how to tie a bowtie! I guess their image was that I was a PRIEST and that I can do miracles - like tying a bowtie!
Jesus entered a world where people had a preconceived portrait of what He - Messiah would look like and act. Jesus needed to repaint their portrait before he could claim the title of Messiah. He did that by dropping covert hints or suggestions as to who He was but other times He was radically overt in how He repainted their portrait - like in today's story where He paints the portrait of Messiah as Saviour Healer when a man is literally dropped in front of Him!
