April 14, 2024
Matthew 14

Title: The Death of the Baptist and Great Miracles

This morning we will be covering the Word of God in Chapter 14. These events include the circumstances surrounding the death of John the Baptist, the feeding of the 5000 men and the water walk on Lake Galilee.

The Death of John the Baptist (14:1-12)

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.” 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.

Let’s cover a couple of things about Herod Antipas the Tetrarch.

• Strictly speaking a tetrarch is a ruler of the fourth part of a state or province; but in the first century, it was more broadly applied to those who governed any part of a kingdom or province. A tetrarch answered to the Roman emperor alone.⁵
• Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39, namely, during almost all of Jesus’ earthly life (cf. 2:19-20).[1178]⁴
• The Tetrarch Herod Antipas had two brothers named Philip. The one that Matthew referred to here was Herod Philip I who was Herod’s half-brother.[1182, Finegan, p. 255]
• Salome was the daughter of Philip I and his wife Herodias. The text does not allude to her dance bring “sensuous, though probably true.” For the Herodians’ reputation was that of low morals and especially regarding “dancing girls.” (Carson, “Matthew,” p. 338; cf. Constable, et. al.)
• Salome is estimated to be between "twelve and fourteen years of age."¹ Therefore, she was still young enough to ask her mother’s advice which as Carson wrote, “became the means for accomplishing Herodias’s darkest desire—the death of the man whose offense had been telling the truth”. (“Matthew,” 338)

Herod Antipas kills John the Baptist

• Herod the tetriarch was afraid of the people; therefore, his primary motivation and sparing John the Baptist seems to be politics. (Carson, “Matthew,” 337)
• After a rash promise because Herod got excited to see a teen-aged girl’s dance, he promised her anything she desired.
• Once Herod had to save faith with his guests, his weak morals, non-religious worldview, and politics led him to decapitate John.>>
• This form of execution was sanctioned by Greeks and Romans, but was contrary to Jewish law, which also forbade execution without trial. (Carson, “Matthew,” 339)
• The gory parading of John’s head at a party “testifies” to the barbarianism of Roman rulers. (Constable)
• Constable had a good observation: John the Baptist was the latter-day Elijah. As Elijah faced evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, John the Baptist encountered evil Herod Antipas and Herodias. “Unfortunately Herodias succeeded where Jezebel had failed.” (Constable)
• As a side-note, according to John 10:41, John the Baptist performed no miracles during his ministry; so we see the mystic tendencies from Herod Antipas with his assigning Jesus’ miracles to “a resurrected Baptist.” (Carson, “Matthew,” 337)
• But Herod thought that John phantom was at word in his kingdom.
• France astutely said, “The idea of a ghostly or even physical return of someone who has had a special influence, especially if that influence has been prematurely cut off by violent death, is found in various cultures (think of Elijah, Nero, King Arthur, Elvis).”[1179, France, The Gospel …, p. 553]
• “Like most weak men, Herod feared to be thought weak. (Plumtre).” (Carson, “Matthew,” 339)

John the Baptist’s Ministry

• John the Baptist’s ministry was predicted 700 years before he was born by the Prophet Isaiah when he wrote Isaiah 40:3 “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”
• John was also the prophet God used to break the 400 years of silence between the OT prophets and the NT disciples.
• He “suffered a martyr’s death, as did” so many truth-tellers before him. (Constable)
• Matthew very much connected the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus. Herod, by rejecting Jesus’ “forerunner,” by extension rejected “the King who followed him.”[1189, Barbieri, p. 53]

APPLICATION

• The world always despises truth pointed their direction.
  • John was killed for truth. Saints around the world are still being killed for truth.
  • But Hagner wrote, “Death, the temporary end of physical life, is not the worst enemy of humanity. Alienation from God is. And thus those who murdered John are far more pitiable than is John himself.”[1187, Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14—28, p. 413]
• All evil leaders have a date chosen for them where they will have their reckoning with God Almighty.

TRANSITION: We see Jesus staying steady on His course on the heals of the national rejection of Jesus as Messiah and as the ministry of John the Baptist comes to a horrific end. “The forerunner’s unjust execution at the hands of hardhearted Roman official foreshadows the fate of the King.”[1188, Plummer, p. 201]

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand (14:13-21)

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. 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.

• Matthew contunbies to contrast Jesus to His opposers.
• Matthew’s narrative leaves Herod’s lavish feast in a “degenerate setting” to Jesus’ picnic on the grass.¹⁰
• Also, what is now obvious in Matthew’s narrative is the increasing distance Jesus is putting between His enemies and Himself. (cf. Blomberg, 231)
• While Jesus removed Himself from the immediate political dangers, He “does not [ellude] allude [sic] the crowds.” (Blomberg, 231)
• With 5,000 men present at the feeding, the total size of the crowd may have been around 20,000 or more. 1/3 in Huntsville (Constable, et al.)
• The disciples were sensitive towards the crowds’ physical need for food and we are “not told how far from the villages everyone [was], but they could easily be several miles away.” (Blomberg, 232)
• “Jesus replies as if the disciples have a large store of food available ( v. 16.). ‘You’ [in “you give them something to eat”] is emphatic …” (Blomberg, 232)
• Jesus directions turned the disciples’ attention to their own resources. By urging them to consider these, Jesus was leading them to recognize their personal power of their ministry with Jesus being the “only adequate resource” (cf. John 2:1-11). (Constable)

“The presence of grass in the wilderness suggests a spring date, which John’s reference to Passover confirms (John 6:4).” (Blomberg, 232)

• Look at v. 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.
• Coincidentally enough, last week you heard me suggest that saying a blessing over a meal is actually improper, and that one should instead say, “Let’s give thanks for our food.” >> I stand corrected. It is not improper at all.
• I knew but had forgotten that the common Jewish prayer before a meal, “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” (Blomberg, 232)
• That’s why many say let’s say a blessing to God for the meal.
• What does “bless God” mean?
  • to praise, celebrate with praises
  • to invoke blessings
  • to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers (OBU)
• Commentators see much symbolism in this miracle.
  • The feeding of the 5000 = God providing manna in the wilderness for his people. (Cf. Blomberg, 233 and Carson, “Matthew”)
  • Blomberg thought the twelve baskets represented the twelve tribes of Israel. >> (233)
  • And a “foreshadowing the messianic banquet” (Blomberg, 233)
  • One thought it foreshadowed the Disciples later ministry in feeding the masses not physical food but spiritual.[1194, Barbieri, p. 54.]
  • As you know, I usually frown on these instances of reading meaning into the text. However, I know that God often uses the number of things a great deal in His economy of His work. I just think that we should be reserved and not say, “God is pointing to this or that” when He has not told us He is pointing to “this or that.”

APPLICATION

• Remember, all authority had been delegated to Jesus by the Father; Matthew explained in many ways how Jesus proved His claim.
• I see this as being another example of Jesus power over every aspect of life. He has demonstrated that He has authority over the spiritual and here physical world. He demonstrated that He has power over infirmity, death, and demons and the laws of nature.
• This miracle built the disciples understanding of the depth of Jesus’ power to meet the physical needs of people in any situation.
• Most likely too, this miracle would have reminded the Disciples that they could go out in confidence because Jesus could meet their physical needs.

TRANSITION: His next miracle is of the shock and awe variety.

Jesus Walks on the Water (14:22-27)

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.”

• "As soon as the people had finished eating, Jesus immediately compelled … His disciples to enter a boat and depart for the other side of the lake. There appear to have been several reasons for His unusual command:
  • First, this miracle refueled the enthusiasm of some in the crowd to force Jesus into leading the nation.[1196]" (Constable)
    • John 6:14-15, “After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”
  • Second, Jesus wanted to get away to pray (v. 23).
  • Third, He wanted to get some rest (Mark 6:31-32)." (Constable)

The Lake Walk (14:28-33)

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.”

• Romans instituted four watches in the night instead of the Jewish three. The lake walking happened on the fourth watch of the night which was between 3-6 AM.⁷
• The disciples here were making very little progress on their journey that Jesus instructed them to go on. “Beaten” in “beaten by the waves” in verse 24 “is more literally tormented, a word that elsewhere can referred to demonic hostility against people… So, as in 8:29, there may be an occult element at work here.” (Blomberg, 234)
• When Jesus appears, “The only thing they can deduce is that they’re seeing a disembodied Spirit of some kind. " Ghost (phantasma) in v. 26 refers to … an apparition from the realm of the dead.” (Blomberg, 234)
• I agree with Blomberg here, "Fear here must mean terror. (234)
• After they realize it was Jesus in the physical walking on the water, Peter asked to join Him.
• "The motive for Peter’s request is unstated and apparently irrelevant. Jesus agrees and enables Peter to start walking toward him (v. 29). Before he gets as far as Jesus, however he begins to ‘doubt’ his ability to continue (v. 31), [Blomberg wrote] remarkably due more to the strong winds than to the water below (v. 30)."⁸ (Blomberg, 235)
• "The word ‘doubt’ (from Greek distazō) means: : properly, to duplicate, i.e. (mentally) to waver (in opinion) (Strong’s)
• The definition “suggests the idea of trying to go in two different directions at once or of serving two different Masters simultaneously.” (Blomberg, 235)
  • "Jesus rebukes Peter for wavering.
  • I usually remind us here that Peter is the only one who got out of the boat.
  • “The storm stills and the disciples’ reverence and understanding of Jesus reach a new high. [The disciples confess] Jesus is the very son of God, exercising prerogatives reserved in the Old Testament for Yahweh himself.” Therefore, they worshiped Jesus in the boat. (Blomberg, 236)
• Interestingly, Matthew is the only one who records Peter’s walk on the water.
• Blomberg had a great observation: he noted that here is the first of five key texts in which Matthew inserts references to Peter. These are not found in any other gospel account. (Blomberg, 235)

APPLICATION

Some great quotes here:

• Blomberg meshed a few words with Montague’s: "Peter sees the wind because he ‘no longer sees Jesus.’"⁹
• Cranfield, "If it is a result of obedience to Christ’s command that the church or the individual Christian is in a situation of danger or distress, then there is no need to fear."⁶
• Eternal life + mission = Christian confidence.

(14:34-36)

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.

• Ministry will bring one the lowest of lows at times.
• Awesome high points in ministry are amazing and can energize but they are not common.
• Consistence in ministry is a must: if one is not consistent in ministry, one will never see the walk on the water moments.
• Daily, day-in / day-out ministry is the norm.
• We must remain disciplined in the ministry Jesus has called us to.

Works Cited

Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Click here to access the works cited web-page for this document, save those marked as “Notes” or “Other Works Cited”–if any. Most of these cited works correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of general background information and references, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with. ¶ Furthermore, there may be numbered notes that are URL linked; these are usually retained numbered notes from Thomas Constable’s, “Dr. Constable’s Expository (Bible Study) Notes.” These links are preserved “as is” at the time of this work’s formation and I usually include other citation information from Constable as well (e.g. authors’ names).

Other Works Cited

Note: All of the resources below were cited in at least one of the sermons in the Book of Matthew but not necessarily this one.

Augsburger, David. Dissident Discipleship. Brazos Press, 2006.

Barclay, William. Barclay’s Daily Study Bible. Westminster Press, 1955-1960. Sourced digitally from studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb.html.

Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. New American Commentary, vol. 22, ed. David S. Dockery, et al., Broadman Press, 1992. May be sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/matthew0000blom

________. Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation. Baker Academic, 2004. Sourced from archive.org.
(https://archive.org/details/preachingparable0000blom/page/82/mode/1up)

Bruce, Alexander Balmain. The Training of the Twelve. Ed., A.C. Armstrong and Son, reprint 1984, Kregel Publications, 1971 edition.

Carson, D. A. “Matthew.” The Expositors Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, Ed. et al., Zondervan, 1984.

_______. The Sermon on the Mount : an Evangelical of Matthew 5-7 Exposition. 1978, Baker Book House, fifth printing, 1989. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/sermononmounteva0000cars/page/54/mode/1up

_______. When Jesus confronts the world : an exposition of Matthew 8-10. Originally published by Inter-Varsity Press in 1988, Paternoster, 1995. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/whenjesusconfron0000cars/page/n3/mode/1up

Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Our Daily Bread Publishing, web ver.

France, R. T. The Gospel According to Matthew. Gen. Ed. Leon Morris, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1985.

_______. The Gospel of Matthew. W. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthew0000fran/page/n6/mode/1up

Gibson, J. Monro. “St. Matthew.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. William R. Nicoll, Editor. Sourced from Bible Portal. Click here for a list of the authors of the EBC.

Harrington, Daniel J . The Gospel of Matthew. Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 1, A Michael Glazier Book, Liturgical Press (publ.), 1991. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthew0000harr/mode/1up

Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke. Baker Book House, 1984.

McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible Commentary (Series), Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1991.

Phillips, John. Exploring the Gospels: John. Loizeaux Brothers, 1988.

Plumptre, E. H. “Matthew.” Commentary for English Readers, Charles John Ellicott, Compiler/Editor, Lord Bishop of Gloucester Cassell and Company, Limited, 1905. Sourced from BiblePortal.com. Click here for a list of the authors of the CER.

Robinson, Monte. The Way of Discipleship. Independently published, 2021. Web, aimdiscipleship.org/book.html, accessed Oct 2023.

Wiersbe, Warren. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2 Volumes, David C. Cook, 2007.

Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Zondervan, 1995.

Notes

Notes from above may not be in numerical order.

¹ Carson cited on page 338, “Harold W. Hoehner. Herod Antipas. University Press, 1972, pp. 151-56.”

² Blomberg cited on p. 233, “See esp. E. Stauffer, “Zum apokalypiischen Festmalh in Mc 6,34ff.,” ZNW 46 (1955): 264-66. …”

³ “See Harold W. Hoehner, Herod Antipas, pp. 146-48; Josephus, Antiquities of …, 18:5:2” as cited by Constable.

⁴ Constable cited, Finegan, Jack. Light from the Ancient Past: The Archeological Background of Judaism and Christianity. 2nd edition. Princeton University Press. London: Oxford University Press, 1959" pp. 255-56.

⁵ “Tetrarch.” ATS Bible Dictionary. From biblehub.com, accessed April 11, 2024.

⁶ Blomberg quoted, C. E. B. Cranfield in his The Gospel according to St. Mark, 3rd ed., CGTC (Cambridge: University Press, 1977), 228.

⁷ From “Watches of Night,” Biblehub.com, accessed April 12, 2024: “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,” (Lamentations 2:19) the middle watch, (Judges 7:19) and the morning watch. (Exodus 14:24; 1 Samuel 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,” (Matthew 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 On page 235, Blomberg conferred with "G. T. Montague (Companion God: A Cross-Cultural Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew [New York: Paulist, 1989], 169-70): Peter sees the wind because he “no longer sees Jesus.” His “little faith” is “trust that falters our of fear.”

⁹ From footnote 59 on page 235 of Blomberg.

¹⁰ The ideas for these two points came from Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971, p. 1:677. Edersheim was cited by Constable.

1.1