Matthew 16:5-12

Matthew 16:5-12 
English Standard Version (ESV)

  Don't get hung up on the surface.
  I did SNUBA once.  It's like SCUBA, only the air tank is on the surface and you've got a hose, so you can't go too deep.  It doesn't require any certification, so it's easier for amateurs, and you can still swim down and see the reef and the fish up close.  It's an amazing way to see things up close that I wouldn't have seen from the boat.
  When we stay at the surface of Jesus' teaching, we gain a lot, but he's often trying to teach us more than what's at the surface.  He's inviting us into deep waters, where we'll not only learn but be transformed in the ways we see and hear.  The more time we spend with Jesus, we learn more and more -- that's why you can read same passage of Scripture years apart and hear something completely different the second time, because we grow in discipleship and learn to see beneath the surface. 
  We're called deeper, and the gift of religious community and group Bible study is that we learn from one another -- they help us grow in our understanding and our discernment.  Others help us see beneath the surface, and when the ways we see the world are changed, the ways we respond to the world are changed as well.