Matthew Ch. 14:1-12
Vs. 1-2 Herod’s Scandal
Introduction:
Vs. 1-2 It is here that we are given the tie-in to the 14th chapter: “At that time…” At what time? At the time when Nazareth was refusing to obey what they heard and saw, Herod was missing applying what he heard and saw. This section starts out with Herod’s reaction to what was being said about Jesus and then moves to a flashback in time to explain why he reacted so.
Herod’s response is superstitious, to say the least. It would not make much sense unless you read the following verse and understood a little history about Herod.
A person committing Herod’s superstition to Jesus’ testimony said this: “You can not murder truth; you can only temporarily silence the voice that utters it.”
Before we get into this awful story of the murder of John the Baptist, it might be helpful to look at who Herod and Herodias were and why he permitted this crime to happen.
A.) Herod Antipas: Was known as Herod the tetrarch, or ruler over a fourth part of the kingdom. He was the son of Herod the Great, who was the one that put to death all the male children 2 years old and younger in Bethlehem. Herod the Great was known for putting to death anyone whom he thought would threaten his throne, including his own wives and children. It was said that it was safer to be a pig than one of his children.
Upon Herod the Great’s death, his kingdom was divided, and this son, Herod Antipas, was given the part of the territory that His father had lived in. He was not near as bloodthirsty as was his father; he was a terrible ruler who had a great thirst for luxury and women. He loved power because of what it gave him. He was married to Arita, who was the daughter of a king whose land was next to his. There was some bad blood between them in which Rome had sided with Herod on. In reality, Herod Antipas was not a king at all; he was just over a region but aspired to be like his father.
Well, he and his wife go to Rome to see what can be done about gaining this title, and while there, he meets up with his wife, his half brother Philip, and becomes smitten with his wife Herodias, who happens to be his niece through another half brother. Will I guess Herodias was someone Herod could not live with out, so he sends his first wife packing and has Herodias move in with him?
Now you need to understand that Herod was not Jewish; he was a descendent of Esau, not Jacob. So the Jews did not like him, and they hated the scandal, but as long as he was taking up their agenda, they kept their mouths shut. So Herod acted like most politicians; he did things based upon approval ratings.
This was the first family; they were morally corrupt, unethical people who were good at politics. Now Herodias was much more into the whole power thing than was her new husband. It is not sure which she loved more, the title or her husband? If you pardon the pun, she was always trying to get Herod ahead!
Vs. 3-12: The Offense of Trying to Get Ahead
Vs. 3-5 It is into this that we come to the flashback. John was no coward morally, but he was a bad politician, for he spoke the truth and he did so continually. The word “said” in verse four means to say repeatedly. Simply put, John kept on saying, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Now this action angered Herod, but it angered Herodias even more.Herod, the good politician that he was, did a poll of the people and found out that it would not be a good idea to kill John as the people held him as a spokesman for God. So he put him into prison instead.
So John was kept in the fortress called Machaerus, some 4 miles east of the Dead Sea. This prison stood 3,500 above sea level on a rocky ridge with only one entrance into it. While there, we are told by Mark that Herod would often go and talk with John and even develop a relationship with him. It appears that Herod was fascinated by religion, specifically Jewish religion. So Herod protected John from his new wife, who hated him and wanted him dead.
Vs.6-12 Herodias knew her husband’s weakness towards women, so she planned an opportunity to get rid of John when she knew her husband would not politically be able to protect John. She evidently planned this all out, as her daughter Salome knew what to ask for after her stepfather would make his oath before all the chief rulers of the people.
So old Herod has too much to drink and, may I say, a “lap in judgment.” As Salome dances this pornographic dance, he promises her whatever she wants up to half his kingdom, a kingdom which he did not really have. He promised this oath before all who were the leaders of the area, so he could not back down; he was ambitious, wanting to get ahead; well, it would cost him a head, the head of John the Baptist.
So instead of doing what is right when he knew he was wrong, he chooses to protect this false image of himself. Herod, after all, was a coward; he was more concerned with what others thought than what was right, and it was through his moral weakness that he was trapped. Now some may admire leaders like Herod, but I’m more inclined to be like John the Baptist.
Folks, how about you? We have just seen two scandals. May I say that it is always the failure to trust Jesus for who He is that leads to the moral breakdown of the second? If we as believers do not trust Jesus and, like John, speak the truth in love, then we cannot expect our country not to be rocked by scandals. There will always be heroes’ The real question is, will there be any John’s?
Matthew 14:13-21
“Waiters”
Vs. 13-15 Moved With Compassion
Vs. 16-21 Principles of Service
Intro
We now come to three more miracles in the life of Jesus. The first one is the only miracle that Jesus performed that is recorded in all of the gospel’s records. The second one is familiar in it’s setting, as it again takes place on the sea of Galilee. The third is a general account on the shores of Gennesaret. The benefit of these accounts is in what they reveal about the nature of Christ in relation to those that follow Him.
If you are like me, you have a red-letter version of the Bible, that is, the words of Christ are in red. I have taken the liberty to put together all the words that Jesus spoke on these three occasions: “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
“Bring them here to Me.” “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” “Come.” “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Not many words are there? Yet in the actions of Jesus we shall see that he gives us great insight into our life in Him. In the first we see our “vocation” WAITERS. In the second we see how we are to work, WALK BY FAITH. Lastly, we see that ultimately all we do is witness His work in the lives of others.
Hudson Taylor, the missionary who carried the gospel to the interior of China, was once approached by a man with one leg. The man said, “I want to go to China as a missionary.” Taylor asked, “Why do you think you can be a missionary when you have only one leg?” The man replied, “Because I don’t see any men with two good legs going.” Jim Elliot, the martyred messenger of the gospel to South America, once called missionaries. “A bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.” That is what we shall see we are today!
Vs. 13-15 Moved With Compassion
Vs 13 What we have here in this verse is the timing in which these miracles took place.
1.) We are told, “When Jesus heard it…” Heard what? Heard of the beheading of His cousin John the Baptist. Simply put, they follow right after the horrible act of Herod that gave cause for Jesus to go to a deserted place. Not out of fear, but rather because the time was not right.
By the way, this is the same Herod that, in about a year, Jesus will appear before. We are told in Luke 23:8 that upon that visit, Herod was “exceedingly glad” to see Jesus, but Jesus said not a word to Herod. In fact, no conversation ever took place between the two. In a year’s time, Herod’s conscience will move from conviction about the murder of John to curiosity about Jesus. Old Herod was a guy amazingly interested in religion, but Jesus had not a word for him.
2.) Another thing we pick up from Mark’s account is that this miracle takes place right after the disciples have returned from being sent out, and they are jazzed to tell Jesus all things they had done and taught.
Simply put, this band of disciples needed a rest; they needed to get away from the strain on ministry. So they take off to across the Sea of Galilee to be alone, but the people heard where he was going, and news spread from village to village.
Vs. 14 Before we can look at some principles to being God’s waiters, may I make a simple observation? Look at the attitude of Jesus towards this multitude: “He was moved with compassion.” It literally means “to have the bowels yearn.” It describes a deep sense of pity that comes from the very heart of a person and moves him to action. It is a response that goes beyond “look at those poor folks!” to “I must do something for those poor folks!”. Yet Jesus was tired. He had just suffered the loss of John, his cousin.
If I had seen that multitude in the state that Jesus was in, knowing that, as we are told in the gospel of John, after this miracle they wished to take Him by force to make Him king, I would have told them all to just go home. We all tend to serve based upon our resources, not on the needs of others! Oh, to God that we would look out into the world & see the multitudes of sick needed people & be willing, in spite of where we are emotionally & physically, heal the sick.
Folks, the greatest lack in the church today is not a lack of resources, but rather a lack of relinquishing those resources. We are more aware of our needs than we are of the needs of others; therefore, we hold back compassion, thinking, “Hey, if I give here or there, I won’t have enough for myself.” That is what this miracle is all about. You will never have anything at all until you give all you have to Him.
Vs. 15 So it becomes evening & the disciples are aware of the multitudes & the problems of obtaining food for such a group & like a bunch of C.E.O’s they come to Jesus & tell Him of supply & demand problems better let them go so they can get some food. There were 5,000 men besides women and children, so you probably have around 10 to 15 thousand hungry people around.
Now it is interesting that they did not turn to Jesus for help here to meet the need. Instead, they took inventory of what they had. Mark tells us that they had a ruff idea that it would take more than 200 days of wages and that still would not buy enough food for such a crowd. Now John gives us an interesting account on this. John tells us that Jesus did this to test the disciples’s and that Philip was the person He asked the questions to.
And then Andrew spoke up and said that there was a young man there who had five barley loaves and two small fish, and that was not anywhere close to enough. Just a side note: a barley loaf was basically a loaf; it was about the size of a biscuit. So they had thought about the need, evaluated their resources, and made a simple conclusion: “Get rid of them and let them get food on their own.” Problem solved!
Vs. 16-21 Principles of Service
Vs. 16-17 Now, as I already said, this was a test. Jesus knew what he was going to do. He was just seeing if these guys understood how to meet the needs of “hungry, hurting multitudes.” Do you? Would you respond to Jesus the same way? Folks, this is a test of faith and surrender.
A.) Vs. 16-17 Start with what you have: The first thing Jesus did was dismiss their conclusion based on their evaluation of resources. Folks, duty is not measured by ability! All too often people say, “Well, I say the need, but just don’t have enough to meet that need.” To the disciples, this was an impossible command, but so with the Lord. Anything in the Lord’s hand goes a long way! The word “you” is emphatic in Greek; it was not enough to recognize the problem; they needed to take responsibility for the multitudes. It’s great to feel concern for others, but ministry takes place when we take that concern to responsibility and surrender our resources to Jesus.
B.) Vs. 18 Give what you have to Jesus: The miracle of the multiplication was when what they had became what He had. Do you see that? Our part is first of all surrendering what we have. A little goes a long way when it is His to work with. I believe that oft times we have so little to start with because it is ours and not His! Before the Lord can bless what we have, we must give what we have to Him. Now notice carefully what He does with what they gave Him:
1.) Vs. 19 Obedience: Luke tells us that He commands His disciple’s to have them sit down in groups of fifty. Blessings never come about apart from obedience.
There is no doubt that this would make the distribution easier. When you have surrendered, then it does not matter what the Lord asks you to do; you will do it.
2.) Vs. 19 He blessed it. That is the word we get eulogy from. The Lord gave thanks for what God had provided, no matter how much it was. What they had surrendered to the Lord was an act of worship towards the Lord. “Father, this is what you have given us to use to meet the needs, so Lord, use it to be glorified.”
3.) Vs. 19 He broke it: All of what they had was what they had taken inventory of; it represented their self-sufficiency and self-reliance. It had to be surrendered and broken to be a blessing. Do you see that? Folks, it is only through brokeness that what we have becomes food for the hungry! Oh, dear saints, do you feel right now that you are being broken? Perhaps it is because you are going to be used to feeding the hungry souls!
4.) Vs. 19-29 He gave, and they gave: That is what we are waiters! That is our calling. We simply surrender all of what we have to Jesus, and He multiplies it and gives it back to us to distribute it to the needy. We are distributors, not manufacturers; all too often we get caught up trying to figure out how it is going to happen; that’s His concern; we are just waiters distributing His food.
C.) Vs. 20-21 Collect the results: Nothing was wasted! The word for filled is “gorged.” I know a little about what that feels like. Every time I go to Marie Calendars, I get that feeling. Now it is interesting to realize here that the disciples had not eaten as well. How many basketfulls did they pick up after all were gorged? Twelve! And how many disciples were there? Twelve! So these waiters fed themselves on what they had given to the Lord to meet the needs of others! That is the whole picture of what we are called to do.
Think of this for a moment with me:
The world is perishing; they are starving. And we need to have compassion for them. The church, well, it is like the disciples powerless, worried about its resources or lack of them, so we send the people away. We are not meeting their needs, but we have a compassionate savior who is not willing that anyone should pray. What are we to do? If you will turn with me to the gospel of John 6:26–35, you will see what Jesus said the very next day to those same multitudes.
“Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.” Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will you do?” Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
The world is feeding on empty substitutes, and all too often we are depriving them of the bread of life. Let’s give what we have to Him that He may use it for His glory!
Matthew 14:22-36
“Walking With Jesus in the Storms of Life”
Vs. 22-26 The Storm & The Lord
Vs. 27-33 Stepping Out & Being Caught
Vs. 34-36 Touching Hem
Intro
I must admit that I like to laugh, and my favorite person to laugh at is me. I do some of the dumbest things. Now, with that said, I don’t have much sense of humor during my personal failures. This morning we shall see the disciple’s at a very embarrassing moment, yet we shall also discover how the Lord walks with us in the midst of failures.
I was reading the other day about some of the world’s dumbest crooks. It seems that Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America in Modesto. That’s not a very funny event, except for the fact that it was not an armed robbery. You see, Mr. King went up to the teller with a note that demanded money in small bills.
His hand was placed in his coat pocket to simulate a gun. All was going fine until the scared teller was not moving fast enough. With time of the utmost importance in a bank robbery, Mr. King knew he had to get this teller to hurry, so he felt she needed more motivation to get the money faster. So he pulled his hand out of his coat pocket and said to her, “Hurry up or I will shoot!” Now I’m sure that Mr. King right now is not laughing. This morning I hope we shall all have a good laugh at ourselves, for we are all too often like these disciples’s not trusting in the Lord.
Vs. 22-26 The Storm & The Lord
Vs. 22-23 There are several things that we are told that set up this story:
1.) First, there is in the words, “immediately & made.” A sense of urgency is in the placing of these disciples in the boat. Matthew tells us that this sending away took place right after the feeding of the 5,000, but John records for us the explanation for the urgency: John 6:14–15. “Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said,
This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world. Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” Clearly, Jesus knew that the crowd’s motives and actions were outside the will of God. Perhaps it was for this reason that Jesus removed the disciples’s, so that they would not get caught up in something that would seem so right yet be outside the will of God.
2.) Vs. 23 We are told here that He went up on a mountain to pray. I like this: in the midst of all that was going on in His life, Jesus felt it a priority to spend time alone to pray. Our need for direction and fellowship with God is the greatest need we have, for it is from this that we receive the power and peace to face the storms of life. At times of great loss, we all need to be comforted; you will only find that in a relationship with the Lord.
Not that long ago, a businessman from Wisconsin went on a trip to Louisiana in the summer. When he got there, he plugged his laptop computer into the hotel room to shoot back an email to his wife, Jennifer Johnson. So he wrote her a quick note and sent it to her email address, JennJohn@world.net.
At the same time, the widowed wife of pastor Jean Johnson of Iowa had just returned from the burial of her husband. Two seemingly different situations, both needing comfort and communication. Unfortunately, in his haste, Mr. Johnson, the businessman in Louisiana, typed in the wrong email address. Instead of Jenn Johnson, it read Jean Johnson; thus, it was sent to the pastor’s wife’s computer.
As she checked the e-mail later that day, she came across this simple note: “Honey, I arrived here safely, but boy, it sure is hot down here!” She fainted right on the spot! We live in a communication age of e-mails, cell phones, and the like, but the greatest source of communication we have is with the Lord through prayer. Hey, you will never have to worry about getting the wrong address, and you are always assured that He will take your call.
Vs. 24 May I point out to you some obvious facts concerning this trial?
A.) The Lord is the One who placed them in this situation. Did the Lord know the storm was coming? Sure! Did you deliberately direct them towards the storm? You bet! I find this to be true of storms that come into my life; they come for two reasons, both of which the Lord allows:
1.) Correction: Like Jonah, the reluctant missionary who hated the Nineveh’s and yet was told that he was to go preach there, but instead of obeying the Lord, went the opposite direction. So the Lord sent a great storm upon the ship that carried him. Sometimes, if we are out of the will of God, He will send a storm into our lives to get us back on course.
2.) Perfection: That is the case in this story before us. These disciples were being obedient, so this storm was not for correction but rather to teach these guys to trust Him. Why was it sent at this time? Well, that had just been involved in this feeding of the 5,000, where they did not want to respond to the needs of others because they did not trust Him with what they had. The simple truth is that struggle develops faith! A lot of people think that faith is believing in spite of the evidence that’s not true. Faith is not about believing; it is about obeying in spite of the consequences!
Perhaps right now you are in the middle of a storm in your life and you are being tossed about by the waves of circumstances. Maybe you feel as though you are going contrary to the wind? You know the first thing you got to do is to determine what kind of storm you are in. Is the storm corrective because of disobedience? Or is it out of obedience to make you more like Jesus? It is important to know this because you will need to do different things depending upon which storm you are in.
1.) If you are in a storm because of disobedience, then you will need to turn around (repent) because you are going against His will.
2.) But if you are being perfected, you will need to keep rowing in the storm and trust Him to keep you. Will you do what the Lord says even though a storm is on its way? Hey, folks, let me just say that there is a great misconception in Christianity. We are told that if we are obedient, that our seas will bring us nothing but “smooth sailing.”
So when you are out there on the seas because of obedience and the waves are crashing against your boat, just remember that He brought you there for a reason and trust Him! We must never judge our security on the basis of circumstances alone.
Vs. 25 Now we know the fourth watch goes from 3 a.m. to daybreak. So these guys had been out there all night. The first thing we saw was:
A.) The Lord is the One who placed them in this situation.
The second thing of note is:
B.) He never lost sight of them: It is here that Mark sheds some light on this. Mark 6:48 “Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.” Hours had passed; they were miles off shore, and he was a few miles up on a hill at night, yet he had not lost sight of them. Not only did he see them, he knew their plight. The word used for “straining” is the same word used for torture.
Hey, folks, the Lord is not some uncaring Oaf that does not care about your feelings; he feels all that you feel. Do you get where I’m going with this? There are times when, when time has passed, distance has increased, vision is obscured, and we think that the Lord does not care, but He does. He feels! He has never lost sight of you!
It is interesting to note that this is not the first time that they have been on this lake, and a life-threatening storm arose. In Matt. 8:23–27, they were on this lake, and He was in the boat asleep. He was with them in person, and they doubted only to realize that He alone calms the sea. Now, He is not in the boat; He is outside the boat, but He is coming to them, and He has not lost sight of them.
So the Lord placed them in this situation and never lost sight of them. But look what else:
C.) He is coming to them. Do you see that? Over the very waves that brought them fear, He is coming to them. More than this, he has just come from praying for them! I love that Jesus went the same way they had gone. He did not meet them on the other side. He followed them over the same tossing waves and contrary winds. The waves that are breaking you are the waves that carry Him! What does this show us? It shows us that He is in control of the situation!
Perhaps you think He has deserted you. You’re out there alone in torture over your situation, but what is that coming towards you? It’s the Lord meeting you where you are!
Vs. 26 Do you see the timing of Jesus coming to them? He waited until the ship was as far off shore as possible, they were as tired as possible, and it was as dark as possible. That is when He came. Why? So that everything that they would depend upon was removed, all hope was to be lost. Let me again point some things out:
A.) Why did Jesus walk on the water and not just calm the storm? To show them that the very thing fear was nothing more than a vehicle to bring them closer to Him. And the way to get closer to Him was to trust Him. We often fear the storms in our lives, but it is the storms that we learn to trust Him through!
B.) Why did they not recognize Jesus? That is simple; they were not looking for him. They were not waiting and trusting; they were in fear, and fear had blinded their eyes to trust. When you don’t trust Him, you won’t see Him for who He is!
It is interesting that in Egyptian culture the symbol for the impossible is two feet placed upon an ocean! How about it? Is your situation impossible? Remember who’s feet are placed upon that storm! You will never grow in faith until you trust Him!
Vs. 27-33 Stepping Out & Being Caught
Vs. 27 The whole purpose of the storm was to cause these guys to trust Him with all that they had. Yet fear had blinded their eyes to who He was. That could be the end of the story. If I were Jesus, I might have just kept on walking, a bunch of doubting dodos. But that’s not our Lord; in the midst of their failure, He reveals Himself, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” The N.L.T. puts it this way: “It’s all right,” “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” Man, what a Lord! It’s only all right because He is here, and that is the only reason I can stop being afraid! Perhaps it’s time in your storm to realize this?
Vs. 28-32 It’s in response to Jesus’ statement that Peter takes a step of faith. May I just say this obvious truth? We will not take risks or steps of faith in our lives until we are assured of His love for us! Do you experientially know that He loves you and will never forsake you?
Now before we criticize Peter for his failure, let’s honor him for his faith. As I look out over church history, there have been far too many of us sitting in the boat! We sit in the boat because it represents security and comfort. Anybody can sit in the boat and watch, but only those who trust the Lord can leave the boat and walk on water! Are you willing to be different?
First, let’s look at what enabled him to surf without a board:
1.) He was only asking to do what he saw the Lord already doing.
2.) He did not venture out until he had surrendered all to Him. The word “command” is the same word used to be summoned by a king.
3.) He did not move out until he heard the Lord say, “Come.”
4.) What Peter did was to get closer to Jesus.
What caused Peter to sink?
1.) vs. . 30 He started to sink the moment he got his eyes off of Jesus. Peter started looking at the circumstances that he was in rather than keeping his eyes fixed on the author and finisher of his faith.
2.) Vs. 31 The word “doubt” means to be standing uncertainly in two ways. Peter started out great until he saw two ways instead of one!
What to do if you step out in faith and start to sink?
1.) Vs. 30 “Beginning to sink”: Know that you are sinking!
2.) Vs. 30 “Lord”: Know Who to cry out too!
3.) Vs. 30 “Save me”: Know what to ask for! By the way, this is the most effective as well as the shortest prayer in the Bible!
So what was the outcome?
1.) Vs. 31 “Immediately… Jesus caught him”: Peter was saved from his peril by the “hand” of the Lord.
2.) Vs. 32 “When they got into the boat…” Peter was enabled to do what he could not do by himself, with the hand of the Lord. What Peter faltered in when his eyes got of the Lord he accomplished when he walked hand in hand with the Lord!
3.) Vs. 32, “The wind ceased.” The thing that they were going contrary with stopped. As soon as they trusted Him, the opposition ceased!
4.) Vs. 33, “those that were in the boat… worshipped Him.” Before they had asked the question, who can this be? Now they know who he is. I wonder what to them was the greater miracle, the calming of the sea or the calming of Peter? Is it not great though that when we obey and step out in faith, walking hand in hand with the Lord, the outcome is that others will worship Jesus for who He is?
Vs. 34-36 Touching Hem
Vs. 34-36 Hey, how about you this morning? Do you need to come and touch the hem of His garment? There was a blue thread that was on the border of that hem, and it stood for the word of God. These folks need to be changed; they need to have their lives transformed so they came to Him, and “as many that touched it were made perfectly well.” How about you this morning? It will not be Jesus who will turn you down. Will you come right up here right now for Him to transform your lives?