MATTHEW
CHAPTER 14
In Matthew 13, Jesus’ ministry became more focused and less public as He began speaking in parables to harden the hearts of those who weren’t genuinely interested in Him as Lord and Savior. Matthew 14 contains three particular episodes, the first of which deals with the death of John the Baptist. The second and third episodes famously detail the feeding of the 5000 – one of only two miracles appearing in all four gospel accounts (the other miracle being the resurrection of Jesus from the dead) – and the walking on water. Specifically, the second half of this chapter ties Jesus’ ministry to that of Moses, as He provides miraculous bread and reveals His glory, just as God the Father did for Moses in the wilderness.
1) V1-12 – 1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. 6On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10and had John beheaded in the prison. 11His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
Herod begins showing concern at the growing ministry of Jesus, and he speculates that somehow John the Baptist had risen from the dead, which explained in his mind the miraculous powers Jesus displayed. That news (v1-2) prompts Matthew, the author, to recount the events that led to John’s death (v3-12). John had been arrested and imprisoned by Herod, because he was criticizing the illicit and adulterous relationship that Herod was engaging in with “his brother Philip’s wife,” Herodias. John had peaked Herod’s interest with his lifestyle and preaching, but John got too personal. “Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet” (v5). Nevertheless, when Herodias asked – through her dancing daughter – for John’s head on a platter, Herod granted the request. John’s disciples came and buried his body, and then they told Jesus.
This is a sad moment in history that does not garner enough attention. Jesus calls John the greatest man to ever live (apart from Himself of course), and we find that his life ended in prison by beheading. He had accomplished the task for which God had brought him into the world – to prepare the way of the Lord. John had preached a message of repentance to the Jews, and he was a forerunner of Jesus in speaking out against the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of their day. He lived simply, and He lived for the glory of the Lord. We might remember his doubt, his questioning about whether Jesus was the Messiah, but that may be a good lesson for us. Even the most faithful have doubts. But they find answers to their questions, and proceed down the path that God has marked out for them. We must do likewise, for God’s glory.
2) V13-22 – 13When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15As evening approached, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18“Bring them here to Me,” he said. 19And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowd.
Hearing what had happened to John, Jesus wanted to be alone in prayer, and perhaps to mourn and grieve. He no doubt understood the role that John had to play, and He must have appreciated the life of His cousin and kindred spirit. Their mutual efforts probably offered strength to Jesus in His humanity; but now, John was gone, and Jesus was alone in His task, having had His way prepared. He needed privacy, so He “withdrew…privately to a solitary place.” It doesn’t get any clearer! But the crowds heard and beat Him to the boonies, where instead of being disappointed or angry that He wasn’t going to get the privacy He desired, Jesus “had compassion on them and healed their sick” (v14). This ministry took the remaining part of the day, and the disciples, who had joined Him as well, realized that it was going to take a long time for this many people to return to civilization for food before nightfall. Instead, though, Jesus told them there was no reason to disperse the crowd, that they should feed the crowd themselves (v16)!
This miracle is the only one, besides the resurrection of Jesus, appearing in each of the four gospel accounts. They all convey the same story, with a few details unique to each account. In v17, we see the disciples whine about not having enough; only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish would never feed so many! But Jesus gave thanks to God for the provision and began dispensing the food through the disciples as His servants. I love v20, which says, “They all ate and were satisfied.” There were 12 basketfuls of food leftover, far more than what they had started with! Just as God the Father miraculously fed the multitude in the wilderness with manna from heaven, so God the Son, Jesus miraculously fed 5000 men, plus the women and children in the crowd, some 15,000 people, with bread that evening. And dismissing the crowd, Jesus sent the disciples in the boat across the lake, so He could then, only after serving the people, have some solitary time to pray.
3) V23-36 – 23After He had dismissed them, He went up on a mountainside by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to You on the water.” 29“Come,” He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?” 32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” 34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to Him 36and begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and all who touched Him were healed.
Jesus spent some time (from “evening” until the fourth watch – 3-6 AM) in prayerful solitude before going out to His disciples, who were struggling against the wind and waves, rowing across the sea. Then Jesus “went out to them, walking on the lake.” Another account says that He intended to pass by them, so this is effectively a repeat of the account of God the Father passing by Moses in Exodus. And the disciples saw Jesus and were terrified, just as the people brought out of Egypt heard God speaking and were terrified. The disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, likely because He was “shining” in His glorious splendor after being refreshed in solitude with the Father. But Jesus calmed them immediately. He said, “Take courage… Don’t be afraid.” In between those instructions, Jesus also said, “It is I.” The Greek could also be rendered, as it is in John 8:58, “I am,” which is nothing other than the name of God given to Moses so long before. Jesus is declaring His divinity to His people, just as God the Father did with Moses.
Matthew’s account includes Peter’s uncertainty here. The other accounts (Mark 6, John 6) omit this part in their explanation that the disciples took Jesus into the boat, and immediately came to the other side. Peter wanted more than words; he demanded that Jesus command him to come to Him, and Jesus did just that. And Peter walked on the water toward Jesus, at least for a moment, until he saw the wind, became fearful, began to sink, and cried out for help. Jesus caught him immediately and issued a rebuke – “You of little faith,” with a serious question, “Why did you doubt?” They climbed in the boat, where the disciples worshiped Jesus as truly the Son of God, and they came to the other side of the sea.
There is much for us to think about here. Peter asked for proof and got it; we ask and do not. Peter walked on water – even if only for a moment – presumably out of genuine faith that through faith in Jesus all things are possible. We claim to believe in Jesus, yet we do not exhibit such miraculous occurrences in our lives, and furthermore, we rarely if ever hear of such things validated. Was it possible then? Yes. Is it possible today? Yes. Was it likely then? No. Is it likely today? No. Did it really happen? Yes. Can it really happen today? Yes. Why doesn’t it happen today? Surely there are true believers with strong faith among us, so why do they not walk on water, even if only for a moment, in the presence of witnesses? This is the question skeptics love to taunt. I think our reply should include this question: Why didn’t it happen more back then? Miracles aren’t just for fun. They serve a very special purpose, and God alone knows why He excludes the majority of humanity from experiencing (at least without explaining it away) genuine, verifiable miracles. We must understand that a big part of God’s purpose in the miraculous is to validate the one who performs the feat. Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, and the apostles were clearly validated by God with their miracles. But there were few others; in fact we are told that in the end times, “false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22).
So miracles, many theologians argue, were for a time and place, but are not for our time and our place. Others say that miracles were for a time and place, and may still be for our time but not our place. Much news of the miraculous comes from distant lands, perhaps where the gospel is just starting to flow, and perhaps as a means of validating the message of those in and around the miraculous events. A resurrection in Kenya serves the people, while the same here in the US would not. Others claim miracles in our time and place, and we must be on guard, because that is a sign of antichrist! We could be deceived, if we weren’t among the elect. Thankfully, God’s chosen people will not be deceived.
The final verses of this chapter (v34-36), point out the continuing ministry of Jesus. The people of Gennesaret recognized Jesus and spread the word that He had come to their region. Jesus healed “all who touched Him,” and we must see that their effort to touch Jesus was the outflow of their faith in Him and His provision. Do we have an outflow of our faith like that? Do we strive to touch Jesus, to draw nearer to Him daily through prayer, reading His words, and serving others as He served? That’s our healing.
Bible text from
Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by
International Bible Society.
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