Matthew Chapter Fourteen
The Death of John the Baptist
[Verses 1-2 parallel Mark 6:14-16 and Luke 9:7-9; verses 3-12 parallel Mark 6:17-29]
14:1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Herod the tetrarch[1] was the son of Herod the Great, while technically not a full ‘king’ as defined by the Roman government, he was on occasion called a king (see verse 9). Matthew records two events here, the first is that of Herod the tetrarch hearing about Jesus’ ministry. It was inevitable that at some point he would have heard about Jesus, His miracles, and of course, the rising hostility between Jesus and the Jews. Herod, who had little interest in Judaism, attributed Jesus as being John the Baptist’s return from the dead with special powers. There is no explanation for such a superstition except perhaps his own guilt. Which leads to Matthew’s second event recorded here, the death of John the Baptist. In the following flashback, we are told how and why John was killed. There is no mention as to when John was killed, some believe it may have been several months prior to Herod hearing about Jesus.
14:3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
Herod the tetrarch took and married the wife of his brother Philip, whose name was Herodias. Soon afterward John the Baptist told Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” (Mark 6:18b) We are told that Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted him dead, presumably for making that comment (see Mark 6:19). Herod wanted to silence him but believed John was a righteous and holy man (see Mark 6:20), so he did not have him killed at that time. It also appears that he was concerned that since John the Baptist was popular and thought to be a prophet, the people would cause an uprising, so he imprisoned John instead of killing him.
On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced before him. The dance pleased Herod so much that he promised to give her anything she asked (up to half his kingdom, see Mark 6:23). Her mother told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod was sorry (Greek ‘lypētheis’,[2] to be grieved, sorrowful) at the request but did not want to earn a negative reputation of being one that doesn’t fulfill promises by those in attendance. So he had John beheaded in prison and his head was brought back to the girl on a platter, who then gave it to her mother. John’s disciples soon came and buried John, they also went to Jesus and told Him what happened.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
[Verses 13-14 parallel Mark 6:31-34, Luke 9:10b-11 and John 6:1-3; verses 15-21 parallel Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17 and John 6:4-13]
14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
When Jesus heard of John the Baptist’s death, He left Nazareth and boarded a boat and went to a desolate place by Himself (Greek ‘ídian’,[3] private, apart from others, such as being away from public, however, does not imply being totally alone). When the crowds heard the news, they followed Jesus on shore from various towns to the same location. When Jesus came ashore He saw the large crowd and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Jesus being omniscient would have known John’s death from the beginning of time. The text is not implying that He learned something new from the news but that it was time to leave Nazareth in order to teach His disciples another vital lesson. It is important to note that even though Jesus is omniscient, He was often emotionally moved by events, showing His love and compassion.
14:15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” 17 They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” 18 And he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
When evening approached the disciples came to Jesus concerned for the well-being of the people. They were now in a desolate place where there was insufficient food for everybody. So, they ask Jesus to send the people away in order for them to go and buy food for themselves. Jesus’ response must have startled them, if not completely shocked them, as He replied that there was no reason to send them away, in fact He wanted them to feed them! They probably quickly told Him that they only had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus told the crowds to sit down and took the bread and fish and looked up to heaven and blessed them, He then broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples to distribute. There was plenty of food for everyone, as they all ate and were satisfied.
The disciples picked up all of the food left over and there was enough to fill twelve baskets. The crowd was estimated to be five thousand men, not including the women and children. From John’s account we know that Passover was near, the large attendance may have been due to a larger than normal number passing through on their way to Jerusalem (see John 6:4).
It is interesting to note that Jesus had twelve disciples and there were twelve baskets full of leftover food, many believe that the number was to make a point for His disciples, a lesson, not only about the compassion of Jesus, but to understand that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, and with Him nothing is impossible.
Considerations
Don’t Get Angry Over the Account of a Count!
Many find it troubling when they read that only the men were counted in this report. While the history of women being oppressed or under-appreciated can be seen in nearly every culture, including Judaism, many believe that the Bible should not reflect those ideas or sediments as they sometimes appear to encourage, or at minimum, be perceived to support those attitudes. We need to remember that the Bible always presents the truth regardless if good or bad,[4] this was the process used in that past, something that is no longer considered acceptable or tolerated. Instead of getting angry regarding the count, notice what Jesus did, some like to add the potential number of people fed to being several thousand more, that may be impressive, but that is not the point. Regardless of the actual count, be it 100, 1,000, 5,000 or 15,000, the point is that Jesus met the need, He is always more than sufficient, He is all that is ever needed!
Walking on the Water
[Text parallels Mark 6:45-52 and John 6:14-21]
14:22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”
After Jesus was finished teaching, healing, and feeding the people, He made the disciples get into the boat and go to the other side of the lake. There is no explanation in Matthew’s account as to why the urgency (Greek ‘eutheōs’,[5] translated here as immediately, implying a short duration between events). In John’s account he notes that the people saw Jesus as the Messiah and was going to use force to make Him King, requiring Him to leave quickly (see John 6:14-15). Jesus then dismissed the crowds and went up on the mountain to pray. By the time evening came, Jesus was alone. The boat carrying the disciples was now a good distance from land and was experiencing very rough water and significant wind.
During the fourth watch of the night (between 3 A.M and 6 A.M., see below), Jesus approached the boat, walking on the sea. When they saw Jesus in the dim light, they were terrified, thinking He was a ghost. After they cried out in fear, Jesus identified Himself and told them to not be afraid.
14:28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Peter then asks to join Jesus on the water. When he is given permission, Peter got out of the boat and walked on water and came to Jesus. When he noticed the wind, he began to sink due to fear (either there was no wind when he began walking on water or previously did not notice the wind). Jesus immediately (same word used in verse 22) extended His hand and pulled Peter out of the water. Jesus asked, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they both got on the boat the wind stopped.
At that point, perhaps as the result of accumulation of proofs they had witnessed in the last 24 hours, the disciples worshiped Jesus (Greek ‘prosekynēsan’,[6] literally to kiss someone, or to fall prostrate before), saying He was truly the Son of God. They had witnessed miraculous healing, feeding, walking on water, and now storm-calming, providing over-whelming evidence that Jesus was indeed who He said He was, the Messiah.
Before any of us think Peter was weak in his faith, it should be noted that he had faith to ask and was able, for a short period of time, to walk on water. Needless to say, a very foreign experience for any human. As it is often common when someone tries something new, fear is never too far away. In Peter’s case the wind could have been Jesus testing his faith, but more than likely it was some evil influence trying to get Peter to fail (see also Matthew 8:23-27).
Considerations
This is the first appearance of Jesus praying (the last seven times the word ‘proseuchomai’,[7] was seen, meaning to pray, was in the Sermon on the Mount as instruction, not application). Jesus regularly prayed and sometimes isolated and alone for long periods of time. Many ask if Jesus was the Son of God why did He need to pray? There may be several reasons why He did, but we can clearly see two. The first reason, is that of being a model for Christians. If Jesus, who is the Son of God, prayed as often as He did, then as a follower of Jesus time should be daily allotted and used for prayer. The second reason doesn’t apply to all of His prayers, just those that are recorded. The content is helpful for us to learn how to pray as well as gain insight to the purpose of prayer and to see what is important to God. For example in John 17:20-26, Jesus prays for those who become believers through the efforts of His apostles, that they have unity among themselves in their efforts to bring the gospel message to others. Jesus saw that it was essential to pray, that commitment should be influential to every Christian. Prayer should be a priority.
The origin of the idea of breaking evening time into ‘watches’ is unknown, as nearly every ancient form of civilization had sentinels that stayed awake while the majority of the population slept.
The Jews, like the Greeks and Romans, divided the night into military watches instead of hours, each watch representing the period for which sentinels or pickets remained on duty. The proper Jewish reckoning recognized only three such watches, entitled the first or “beginning of the watches,” Lam. 2:19, the middle watch, Judges 7:19, and the morning watch. Ex. 14:24; 1 Sam. 11:11. These would last respectively from sunset to 10 P.M.; from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M.; and from 2 A.M. to sunrise. After the establishment of the Roman supremacy, the number of watches was increased to four, which were described either according to their numerical order, as in the case of the “fourth watch,” Matt. 14:25, or by the terms “even,” “midnight,” “cock-crowing” and “morning.” Mark 13:35. These terminated respectively at 9 P.M., midnight, 3 A.M. and 6 A.M.[8]
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
[Text parallels Mark 6:53-56]
14:34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.
Jesus and His disciples came to the land of Gennesaret (a transliteration of the Hebrew ‘Kin·ně’·rěṯ’,[9] another name for the Sea of Galilee and the name for a small crescent-shaped strip of land on the northwest side of the lake, located between Capernaum and Magdala). When they arrived, the people recognized Jesus and they brought to Him all those who were sick, some of which were seeking to touch just a fringe of His clothing as they were convinced that would heal and make them well. All who came were indeed healed.
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[1] See Considerations under Matthew 2:7-12 regarding “Meet the Herods.”
[2] Strong’s Greek 3076.
[3] Strong’s Greek 2398.
[4] See Considerations below Matthew 1:17 regarding “Nothing But the Truth - All Blemishes Are Visible.”
[5] Strong’s Greek 2112.
[6] Strong’s Greek 4352.
[7] Strong’s Greek 4336.
[8] Smith, W. (1986). In Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 3672.