Matthew Chapter 14

From The Open Bible Project

14:1 At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus,

• (1) Here is in John, an example of an invincible courage, which all faithful ministers of God’s word ought to follow: in Herod, an example of tyrannous vanity, pride, and cruelty, and in short, of a refined conscience, and of their miserable slavery, who have given themselves over to pleasure: in Herodias and her daughter, an example of whore-like licentious women, and womanly cruelty.

14:2 and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him."

• (a) By works he means that force and power by which works are performed, and not the works which are often seen before.

14:3 For Herod had laid hold of John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.

14:4 For John said to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."

14:5 When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

14:6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod.

• (b) There were three Herods: the first of them was Antipater’s son, who is also called Ascalonius, in whose reign Christ was born, and it was he that caused the children to be slain. The second was called Antipas, Magnus his son, whose mother’s name was Malthaca or Martaca, and he was called Tetrarch, because he enlarged his dominion, when Archelaus was banished to Vienna in France. The third was Agrippa, Magnus his nephew by Aristobulus, and it was he that slew James.

14:7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.

14:8 She, being prompted by her mother, said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer."

14:9 The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given,

14:10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison.

14:11 His head was brought on a platter, and given to the young lady: and she brought it to her mother.

14:12 His disciples came, and took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.

• One of the intriguing elements in this story is that God seemingly chose not to intervene on behalf of his beloved representative, John the Baptist. Surely He could have delivered him from Herod's clutches and dungeon before the beheading. It's quite possible that God's interventions on behalf of His NT Church (vis a vis the history of their sufferings and persecution in the Book of Acts) need to be seen as exceedingly unusual, historically, and sets them apart from their predecessors as well as all those who followed in their footsteps. - JM

14:13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

14:14 Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them, and healed their sick.

• (2) Christ feeds a great multitude with five loaves and two little fish, showing by it that they will lack nothing who lay all things aside and seek the kingdom of heaven. - Geneva Bible Note: Christ's feeding of the five thousand has very little relevance to those citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven in OUR day who seek to prioritize their lives according to the wisdom and higher counsel of God. "Laying all things aside and seeking the kingdom of heaven" in OUR day too often means puttin g the needs of the so-called "church" of today ahead of one's own family's needs. Such a prioritizing of one's life and values, of course, is really not substantiated in any way by the Word of God itself. - JM

14:15 When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, "This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food."

14:16 But Jesus said to them, "They don't need to go away. You give them something to eat."

14:17 They told him, "We only have here five loaves and two fish."

14:18 He said, "Bring them here to me."

14:19 He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

14:20 They all ate, and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces.

14:21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat, and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.

14:23 After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone.

14:24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

• (3) We must sail even through mighty tempests, and Christ will never forsake us, so that we can go wherever he has commanded us to go. - Geneva Bible The preceding attempt to find current, contemporary, continuing application in this historical account of Christ's miraculous interventions on behalf of his disciples is a stretch at best. We need to consider this as, essentially, a piece of historical documentation revealing God's CAPABILITIES in relation to the needs of His People - not necessarily a template by which He consistently delivers His People in all trials. - JM

14:25 In [69>]the fourth watch of the night,[<69] Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.[70]

• (c) By the fourth watch is meant the time nearer to day break: for in ancient times they divided the night into four watches in which they posted watches.

14:26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, "It's a ghost!" and they cried out for fear.

• (d) A spirit, as it is taken here, is that which a man imagines to himself vainly in his mind, persuading himself that he sees something when he sees nothing. - Geneva Bible Note: The preceding note is an odd description of a departed spirit. A disembodied spirit of a dead person wandering abroad is hardly an imaginary phantasm. A hallucination is really not what the writer of this gospel had in mind here. Clearly, the disciples ALL saw something inexplicable in human form WALKING ON WATER. In their limited experience, only disembodied spirits did such things. - JM

14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying "Cheer up! [71>]It is I![<71] Don't be afraid."

14:28 Peter answered him and said, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters."

• (4) By faith we tread under our feet even the tempests themselves, but only by the power of Christ, which helps that faith, which he by his mercy has given. - Geneva Bible Again, this is an unsubstantiated assumption unjustifiably extrapolated from this historical account of Christ's highly unique intervention on behalf of His original disciples. One wonders whether the GB commentator would willingly step off of a ship out at sea fully expecting immediate supernatural intervention enabling him to stroll the wavetops. - JM

14:29 He said, "Come!" Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.

14:30 But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"

14:31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

14:32 When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased.

14:33 Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, "You are truly the Son of God!"

14:34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.

• (e) This Gennesaret was a lake near Capernaum, which is also called the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias; so the country itself grew to be called Gennesaret.

14:35 When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick,

• (5) In that act where Christ heals the sick, we are shown that we must seek remedy for spiritual diseases at his hands: and that we ourselves are bound to not only run to him, but also to bring others unto him.

14:36 and they begged him that they might just touch the [72>]fringe[<72] of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.