Note that in ‘a’ Jesus is unrecognised for what He is because He is known too well as the son of the carpenter, and in the parallel He is unrecognised even though He is the Son of God. In ‘b’ Jesus is unable to heal in His own country because in their unbelief they do not bring their sick, although His mighty works connect Him with the resurrection, and in the parallel the disciples fail to heal because their faith is insufficient, and Jesus reveals His faith by assuring His disciples of His resurrection. In ‘c’ Herod does to John the Baptist whatever He wills, and in the parallel John the Baptist is declared by Jesus to be the coming Elijah, to whom men did what they willed. In ‘d’ Jesus displays His glory by feeding five thousand and more from five loaves and two fishes, and in the parallel He displays His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. In ‘e’ Jesus walks on water in a stiff and contrary wind, and Peter stumbles, and in the parallel Jesus reveals He must walk the way of suffering, as must His disciples, and Peter again stumbles. In ‘f’ He is proclaimed to be the Son of God, and in the parallel He is proclaimed by Peter as the Son of the Living God. In ‘g’ the Scribes and Pharisees dispute about ritual washing, and in the parallel Jesus warns against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. In ‘h’ the Pharisees are declared not to have been planted by His Father, and to be blind guides, and in the parallel the Pharisees and Sadducees are refused the kind of sign that they want and are declared to be evil and spiritually adulterous. In ‘i’ the Canaanite woman is allowed to eat of the children’s food (that of Israel), and in the parallel the four thousand ‘eat of the children’s food’. Centrally in ‘j’ the crowds in Gentile areas throng to Jesus; the dumb, the maimed, the lame, and the blind are healed (His Messianic work is done among them) and ‘they glorify the God of Israel’.

Jesus Is Rejected In His Own Country (13.54-57). In this passage the word used for ‘His own country’ is ambiguous. It could mean His own home town, or it could signify His native land. The ambiguity is probably deliberate. For His rejection ‘at home’ is to be seen as symbolic of His future rejection by the Jews as a whole, apart, that is, from those who become disciples. However at the end of this section He will return ‘home’ (17.24), at which point He will make clear to Peter that He and His community have a special relationship with their Father (17.24-27).

We have already noted the link with chapter 12. The previous narrative section closed in chapter 12 with Jesus declaring that those who were His true relatives were those who did the will of His Father (12.50), in other words they were the ones who have received the Kingly Rule of Heaven (7.21). This new narrative section commences with His rejection by His natural countrymen. They have rejected the Kingly Rule of Heaven. The divisions caused by the Kingly Rule of Heaven in chapter 13 are being made clear. On the one hand is the new ‘congregation of Israel’ formed of believers, on the other is unbelieving Israel, who are no longer Israel. They are ‘cut off’ from the new Israel (John 15.6; Romans 11.17 onwards) in accordance with Old Testament principles (e.g. Genesis 17.14; Exodus 12.15, 19; 30.33; 31.14; etc.). Their dust has been shaken off the disciples’ feet (10.14). They have become ‘not My people’ (Hosea 1.9).

Mark describes this incident in 6.1-6, but it must be seen as doubtful that it is the same as the one in Luke 4.16.30. The differences are too great. This one took place later when things had settled down there. Nevertheless that visit no doubt coloured this one. Tempers had seemingly improved and they may have been feeling a little ashamed of themselves, and were now perhaps prepared to give Him a hearing. But they were still not convinced of His validity. He was too familiar to them. Matthew’s positioning of it here, however, is in order to bring out the point mentioned above, that at the root of old Israel is unbelief. It was in order to demonstrate from how small a mustard seed the mustard bush must grow (13.31-32). Even Jesus’ own home country is against Him. It may be intended to be significant that this is the last mention in Matthew of Jesus preaching in a synagogue. In this rejection by His ‘home country’ is symbolised His rejection by both Israel and its elite.

His home town here is probably Nazareth rather than Capernaum (4.13). This is suggested by the familiarity of the people with his family and background which point to their having known Him for years.

Analysis.

• a And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, “From where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?” (54).
• b “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” (55-56a).
• c From where then has this man all these things?” (56b).
• b And they were offended in him (57a).
• a But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house” (57b). .

Note that in ‘a’ they were astonished at His wisdom and mighty works (which they knew of by hearsay) and in the parallel He points out that a prophet has no honour in His own country. In ‘b’ they indicate their over familiarity with Him, and are clearly offended, and in the parallel they are offended at Him. Centrally in ‘c’ is the question that this whole section will answer, ‘from where has this man these things?’

13.54 ‘And coming into his own country he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, “From where has this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?”

Jesus arrives back in the place where He was brought up and teaches in their local synagogue where He had once learned so much, and to which He had often gone in order to study the Scriptures. Who better than they should have known how unique He was? They had watched Him grow up, but they had failed to pierce the veil, and saw only the town carpenter. So when they heard Him teach they were astonished. News of His mighty works and preaching success had filtered through from Capernaum (Luke 4.23), but they did not really believe it. For where could such skill and such mighty works have come from? They just could not believe that God would so anoint a local boy with whom they were so familiar, and an artisan at that. He was simply getting above Himself and would no doubt bring disgrace on the town.

The synagogue was the centre of a town or village’s life, where weekly worship was conducted, male children were taught to read the Scriptures, justice could be sought, religious discipline would be exerted, sometimes by beatings, Scripture teaching would be given, and on the Sabbath any prominent visitor would be invited to speak. The reading and teaching of Scripture was a central part of its worship.

We are not actually told that this is in Nazareth, and that may be deliberate. Matthew does not want it to be seen as simply a local town rejection, but as one by His ‘home country’. But the description below points to Nazareth.

13.55-56a “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”

There was no doubt about the strength of the evidence against His claimed status. He was the son of the local carpenter, and therefore Himself a carpenter. They knew His mother and that she was called Mary, and that there was nothing special about her. They knew the names of each of His brothers, and had seen them playing in the streets, and generally getting up to mischief. They even knew His sisters, who now still lived among them, probably now married, although it was not worth mentioning their names, possibly because being married they were no longer seen as ‘close family’. Thus they knew His place in society. How then could He be special? And how could He possibly have a genuine religious understanding of any outstanding nature? He had simply been an artisan. (There is absolutely no reason for doubting here that Mary was the mother of them all, Jesus, the brothers, and the sisters, which is the impression given here).

‘Is not this the carpenter’s son?’ Matthew is here contrasting unbelief with belief. Unbelievers see Him as ‘the son of the carpenter’. Pharisees see Him as in league with the Devil (9.34; 12.24). Some who are possessed or blind and seek healing see Him as ‘the son of David’ (9.27; 12.23; 15.22; 20.30). But His believing disciples see Him as ‘the Son of God’ (14.33; 16.16).

13.56 “From where then has this man all these things?”

So if what was said about Him was true, from where had He obtained all these things that people were speaking about? It just could not be true. Note how in the next incident with Herod, Herod also learns of rumours about Jesus and comments erroneously on them (14.2). Thus Matthew is indicating a general misinterpretation of the evidence by all. Compare also the crowds and the Pharisees in 9.33-34; 12.23-24. There too there was a general air of misunderstanding, which was drawn attention to in 13.10-15. The only ones who really know the truth (and even they still somewhat dimly) were His wider group of disciples. If the truth about Him was to be known it must therefore come from God (13.16-17; 11.27).

13.57 ‘And they were offended in him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house.”

And the result was that they ‘were offended in Him’. That is they were ‘caused to stumble’ by Him. They were put off by the very fact of His familiarity, which had bred contempt, and they were upset by His attitude. The point being made here is that they are not of the ‘blessed’ (11.6, 25). They were so short sighted that they could not see what was before their eyes. Here was a mirror image of what John says in the introduction to his Gospel, ‘He came to His own home, and His own people did not receive Him’ (John 1.11).

Jesus’ reply was to cite a well known proverb. His view was that this was to be expected. “A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house.” The point was that no one was seen as special by his familiars when it came to questions about God. The older ones would think that they must know more than he did, while the younger ones would fail to see where he could possibly have obtained the information from in view of the sources available, and they would ask themselves why He should claim to be better than them when He had grown up with them. Note the clear implication from His words that He is a prophet. Matthew in fact lays great emphasis on prophets, both true and false, and it has already been made clear by Jesus that He is greater than previous prophets (12.41). This is a time of prophetic expectations (compare 14.5) as Jesus is making clear.

Jesus Is Unable To Do Many Mighty Works In His Home Town, But His Mighty Works Impress Herod Who Thinks That He May Be John The Baptist Raised From The Dead (13.58-14.2).

The mighty works of Jesus, which they have heard of through the tales spreading from elsewhere (Luke 4.23), have not impressed His own home town. They refuse to believe that He can do them and so do not bring their sick to be healed. But Herod is impressed and sees Him as John the Baptist raised from the dead.

Analysis.

• a And he did not perform many mighty works there because of their unbelief (13.58).
• b At that time (season) Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He is risen from the dead” (14.1-2a).
• a “Therefore do these powers work in him (14.2). p

Note that while His home town do not believe in His mighty works, in the parallel Herod does so. Centrally we have the conclusion that, with his overwrought conscience, he comes to. ‘This must be John the Baptist who is risen from the dead.’

13.58 ‘And he did not perform many mighty works there because of their unbelief.’

Jesus was able to accomplish very little in His own home area, simply because, in their unbelief, they did not come to Him or seek His help, apart that is from a few. (Mark states it slightly differently but says the same thing - Mark 6.5-6). Had He performed some unusual feat appropriate to an artisan they would have willingly shared with Him in His honour, but as far as they were concerned, for Him as a carpenter to claim special inspiration from God was seen as disreputable and unacceptable, and they were therefore quite confident that all this talk about healings was a hoax. In view of that they did not bring their sick for healing, although the few who did were satisfied.

Note that Jesus will not deliberately perform wonders in order to gain attention. In the main His ‘mighty works’ are a compassionate response to the needs of the people, not an attempt to win people. That is why they are Messianic signs. They reveal the compassion of the Messiah, not a desire to win people by signs. He is quite willing to concentrate on the preaching. He does not want men to follow Him just in order to see wonders (John 2.23-25).

14.1 ‘At that time (season) Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus.’

John had previously stirred the people in Peraea, another part of Herod’s territory east of Jordan. But his ministry had been restricted to preaching. He had performed no miracles. Now, however, came news to Herod of great crowds gathering to hear a prophet who was performing amazing miracles, and was right here in Galilee. To a man like Herod, who bore a heavy burden of guilt for what he had done, this news was disturbing. As far as he was concerned there could only be one explanation for it (it was after all unusual that two such prophets should arise one after the other). This must be John the Baptist returned with heavenly power.

14.2 ‘And he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He is risen from the dead, and therefore do these powers work in him.”

So he suggested to his servants that surely the only explanation for this new figure with these amazing powers was that it was John, come back from the dead. That alone could explain the source of His unusual powers. And that fact could only bode ill for Herod because of his previous treatment of John. And when a Herod was disturbed, no one knew quite what he would do.

There is a deliberate irony in that Herod is here seen as believing in the resurrection of the dead, but only as a kind of tool that God can use against him to punish him. Later Israel would have the same kind of experience about the resurrection of Jesus. Because of their unbelief His resurrection could only bring them harm as God reached out to judge them, for He was raised up not only as Saviour but as Judge. However there is in this belief of Herod a hint of what will actually later happen to Jesus, and this is expanded on in the parallel incident in the chiasmus of the section, where we will learn that Jesus will be killed and will rise from the dead (17.23).

The Forerunner Is Rejected By The Civil Authorities And Put To Death (14.3-12).

A warning of what lies ahead for Jesus in the future is now introduced. For John, His forerunner, had been put to death by Herod the Tetrarch in a most shameful way, and suspicion is now falling on Jesus because, as a result of His ‘mighty works’, He is being seen as John risen from the dead and thus manifesting heavenly powers. Herod’s view was probably that he had come back to haunt him. For he was superstitiously afraid. There is an irony here in that Herod believes in ‘the resurrection’ but from a totally false viewpoint. Instead of it being man’s friend it is seen as his enemy, as God’s way of getting back at man. Such is the blindness of man.

So what Jesus stands for is now being opposed by the powers that be. These words of Herod are an indication of how far he was from really knowing what was going on in the country that he ruled. His ruling was all done by hearsay and speculation and ‘report’, as so often with such monarchs. But the sense of his opposition is such that Jesus will withdraw from the vicinity (14.13), recognising the dangers inherent in the situation, for His hour had not yet come. (Among Jesus’ disciples were those from Herod’s household (Luke 8.2) who probably received news of what was happening at court). That Jesus did not always outface opposition is clearly stated in John 7.1.

While the prime purpose of the narrative here is to explain why Jesus is wary of Herod, the detailed account that follows indicates that Matthew has also another further message to get over, which is why he describes it in some detail. When Matthew goes into detail we can be sure that he always has a purpose for it, and here he is bringing out that this is an ‘evil and adulterous generation’ (12.39; 16.4). For he brings out here that at all levels of Palestinian society there was disobedience, spiritual blindness, adultery, lasciviousness, rebellion against God’s known will and a hatred of the prophets, and that Israel’s society was controlled, not by men who read and loved God’s word (Deuteronomy 17.19-20), but by those who were swayed only by a love of the world and its pleasures. If the Scribes and Pharisees revealed the spiritual destitution of Israel, Herod and his court revealed its total physical corruption The story sums up Israel. Easy divorce (contrast 5.27-32; 19.3-12), murder (contrast 5.21-26), ‘lawlessness’ (John had said ‘it is not lawful’) and retribution on the godly (contrast 5.10-12; and see 22.33-41; 23.34-36), casual oaths (contrast 5.33-37), the demanding of an eye for an eye (see 5.38-42); and pure heartlessness (contrast 5.43-48). Here was an example of ‘the kingly rule of earth’ set over against what we have seen of the Kingly Rule of Heaven.

Josephus tells us that Herod’s fear of John had partly arisen from his fear that John would start an insurrection against men whom he saw as evil, (Herod’s views of John may well have been influenced by what he knew from his spies about the teachings of the community at Qumran with its expectations of one day rising up and crushing the ungodly). And he may have seen as central to this purpose John’s continual public accusation of him as doing ‘what was not lawful’. Such a charge of ‘lawlessness’ was usually a preliminary to retributive action. Thus the picture of John’s attitude against Herod here ties in with Josephus’ view of him that Herod (who would tend to think politically) saw him, with his huge following, as a possible reactionary and revolutionary.

Note On Herod The Tetrarch.

Herod the Tetrarch was a son of Herod the Great, and after his father’s death was made tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, and was popularly, though inaccurately, termed ‘king’. Herod was previously married and his first wife was the daughter of Aretas, king of the Nabateans, and he divorced her in order to marry Herodias who was his half-brother Philip’s wife. This in itself was politically explosive causing a deep rift and warfare with the Nabateans, which resulted in his defeat, from which he was only saved by the intervention of Rome. Philip (whose wife he stole, not the tetrarch) was a son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II and thus his half-brother. Thus to marry his divorced wife was to break Jewish Law (Leviticus 18.16; 20.21). But Herodias was an adventuress, and happily divorced her husband in order to gain the great prize of being married to a tetrarch. She was in fact the daughter of Herod’s half brother Aristobulus, and was totally unscrupulous. It was in the end her ever increasing desire for status that led to Herod losing his tetrarchy and being banished to Gaul. But it was then that she revealed that even she was not all bad. When the emperor was prepared to exempt her from the banishment, she chose rather to endure it with her husband.

End of note.

Analysis.

• a For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him (3a).
• b And put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her” (3b-4).
• c And when he would have put him to death, he feared the populace, because they counted him as a prophet (5).
• d But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among the people gathered (‘in the midst’), and pleased Herod (6).
• e Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask (14.7).
• d And she, being put forward by her mother, says, “Give me here on a large dish the head of John the Baptist” (8).
• c And the king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at meat with him, (he was afraid of them) he commanded it to be given, and he sent and beheaded John in the prison (9-10).
• b And his head was brought on a large dish, and given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother,
• a And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him, and they went and told Jesus (11b-12).

Note that in ‘a’ Herod lays hold of John and binds him, and in the parallel John’s disciples lay hold of his body and bury him. In ‘b’ Herod puts John in prison for Herodias’ sake, and in the parallel John’s head, cut off for her sake, is given to Herodias. In ‘c’ Herod wanted to put John to death but feared the people, and in the parallel he puts him to death because he fears his contemporaries. In ‘d’ Herod is seduced by Salome’s dancing, and in the parallel she asks for the head of John on a dish (continuing the party atmosphere) in response. In ‘e’ is the foolish oath made by a drunken Herod, a proof of his unworthiness.

14.3 ‘For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.’

We are now told why Herod was upset at the idea of John coming back from the grave. It was because of the way that he himself had treated him. Herod had gone on a visit to see his brother Philip (not the tetrarch Herod Philip) and had fallen in love with Philip’s wife, Herodias, who, aware of the opportunity of greater prestige and influence had yielded to Herod’s entreaties and had divorced her husband and married him. But such behaviour was forbidden by Jewish Law. A man could not marry the wife of his brother while his brother was still alive.

14.4 ‘For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ’

Thus John had boldly approached Herod and told him that what he was doing was against the Law of God. Herod’s immediate response had been to imprison him. Note that ‘John said to him continually’ (imperfect tense) that what he was doing was ‘unlawful’ (against the Law of God). The continual charge of doing what ‘was not lawful’ would have aroused fears in Herod that John was planning an insurrection against him, especially in view of John’s increasing popularity and his fierce declarations of judgment. Like his father before him, Herod was no doubt somewhat paranoid.

14.5 ‘And when he would have put him to death, he feared the populace, because they counted him as a prophet.’

But although he would have liked to have John put to death, he dared not do so, for he was afraid of the disturbance that it would cause among the people. He knew that they believed that John was a prophet, so that to execute him would be looked on by them as sacrilege. And disturbances among the people would not be smiled on by his Roman masters. It put him in a difficult position.

Herod both feared and hated John. He wanted him alive, and he wanted him dead. But had he not superstitiously feared him, John would no doubt have been dead already. Herod was clearly a weak man filled with conflicting emotions.

‘As a prophet.’ Jesus has just referred to Himself indirectly as a prophet (13.57). Perhaps there is an intended hint here of what happens to popular prophets in Israel.

14.6 ‘But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among the people gathered (‘in the midst’), and pleased Herod.’

And then there had been an unfortunate occurrence for a man whose life was ruled by pleasure, drink and lust, and who ignored the Law of God. It had been his birthday. And at the gathering of those who came together to do him honour (a Hellenistic, not a Jewish custom) there was public dancing. And there Salome, the daughter of Herodias, (and probably about fourteen years of age), who was seemingly a slut at heart, had danced, no doubt suggestively (most such dancing was suggestive. That was a main purpose of it) and certainly effectively, in front of the gathering, and had stirred the drunken king’s desires. Such behaviour was not what would be expected of a Tetrarch’s daughter in Jewry, and the fact that he allowed it shows the depths to which he had sunk. But he had little regard for Jewish Law or Jewish feelings. Her dance had stirred him up emotionally, to such an extent that he wanted to please her. She was after all his daughter-in-law. He would not therefore feel that any request, made by someone with whom he probably had much familiarity, was likely to be a threat to his position.

14.7 ‘Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask.’

So he swore on oath that he would give her anything that she asked. To be fair to him he little dreamed what the consequences would be. Even he did not realise the insane jealousy and fury of his wife, and her cruel determination to gain revenge against the fearless prophet who had dared to rebuke her publicly, making her appear to be what she was.

14.8 ‘And she, being put forward by her mother, says, “Give me here on a large dish the head of John the Baptist.” ’

So Herodias stepped in and impressed on her daughter that she should ask for the head of John the Baptist. It tells us all that we need to know about Salome, whose anger and bitterness must have been stirred up by her mother, that instead of protesting at such a thought, she fell in line with it. Both must have known what even the worst of their ‘friends’ would think about such a move, but they were filled with such intense bitterness against John that it overcame everything else. Salome, therefore, made her request to Herod, “Give me here on a large dish the head of John the Baptist.” This was to be her birthday dish. The idea was probably that it suited birthday celebrations, and the hope may have been that it would be seen as a grotesque joke, deserving a laugh at such an assembly as her ‘meal’ was served up. The very grotesque nature of the request demonstrates to what depths of depravity Salome had sunk, helped on by her mother. She was worthy of the house of Herod. What a huge contrast there is between this and the ‘family’ of 12.50.

14.9 ‘And the king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths, and of those who sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given.’

The king was ‘grieved’. He might have hated John’s accusations but he respected him and was even afraid of him. This was the last request that he had expected Salome to make. But because of the strength of his oath, which he no doubt now regretted, and in order to maintain face in front of all the great and prominent men who had heard his oath, he commanded that it should be done as she said. Legally he could have withdrawn from his oath under Jewish Law, but his guests were not Jewish, and to them a prophet would not have been worth bothering about, so that Herod presumably recognised that they might well despise someone who counted an odd prophet as being worth more than a man’s oath.

‘The king.’ An honorary title (see above). Matthew may well have intended it to be sardonic. This man wanted to be king, and yet he behaved like this.

14.10 ‘And he sent and beheaded John in the prison.’

Thus he sent and arranged for John, lying in prison at Machaerus, to be beheaded. This was strictly illegal without a trial, but he would do it on the basis that John was an insurrectionist. Perhaps Pilate was present and gave him the nod. His soldiers entered the dark and dreary dungeon where John was still waiting in hope of Messianic deliverance (11.3-4), made him kneel, and smote off his head. It was another reminder to all of the destiny of prophets, and that the way of Jesus was to be the way of the cross.

14.11 ‘And his head was brought on a large dish, and given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother.’

Then John’s head was placed on a large serving dish, and ceremoniously handed over to the waiting teenage slut, who took it in to her mother. So hardened were they both that this grisly behaviour seems not to have worried them a jot. There appears to have been no hesitation on Salome’s part.

The presenting of John’s head on a meat dish, coming as it does before the feeding of the five thousand, may well have been meant by Matthew to be seen as in direct and grim contrast. The ungodly partake of the blood of the prophets (compare 23.30). The righteous partake of the food of God, (and spiritually of the body and blood of Christ - John 6.53-57).

14.12 ‘And his disciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried him, and they went and told Jesus.’

Then the faithful disciples of John came, no doubt devastated by the news, and took up John’s corpse, and gave it a decent burial. We are probably to see in this an indication that God had not forgotten him even after death (compare 27.57-60). It was a brave act, and probably prevented the body being publicly humiliated, for the public exposure of the body of an executed criminal was common practise. (It may, however, have been publicly humiliated before they obtained it). Then they went and informed Jesus of what had happened. This may suggest that they would now offer their allegiance to Him. That it came as a warning to Him is suggested by what follows.

Jesus Provides A Messianic Fellowship Meal In The Wilderness For His Symbolic New Community (14.13-21).

Jesus, having been rejected by His home country and by the powers that be, and recognising how tense things had become, moved into the wilderness in the north in order to be alone with His disciples. But many genuine ‘disciples’ followed Him. They were hungry to hear more of His message. And there He had compassion on those who did follow Him into ‘a wilderness place’ and fed them with bread from Heaven. There may here be a deliberate connection with the Exodus. (Note that Psalm 77.19 LXX (78.19 MT), with the Exodus in mind also has no definite article on ‘wilderness’). In the words of Psalm 78 (already in mind in 13.35), ‘They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? -- Can He give bread also?” -- He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of Heaven, and He rained down manna on them to eat, and gave them of the corn of Heaven. Man did eat the bread of the mighty. He sent them food to the full’ (Psalm 78.19-25). Note the parallel connections, firstly with the wilderness (14.15; Psalm 78.19), secondly with the provision from Heaven (14.19; Psalm 78.24), and thirdly the fact that they received food to the full (14.20; Psalm 78.25). So the One Who had enlightened them with parables in ‘fulfilment’ of Psalm 78.2 (see 13.35), would now feed them with a full sufficiency of bread in the terms of that Psalm.

We are reminded again of 2.15 where God ‘brought His Son out of Egypt’, and here He now was, in a wilderness place, feeding His people, just as He had done originally. Here was the new congregation of Israel in embryo, fleeing in the face of the cruel king (Herod), and being fed with the bread of Heaven in the wilderness. Here was the greater than Elisha feeding the crowds by a miracle (2 Kings 4.42-44). That feeding by Elisha had followed the re-entry into the land via the crossing of the Jordan, Jericho and Bethel (2 Kings 2.13-23), thus repeating the Exodus. There then was the prelude to the coming Messianic feast (Isaiah 25.6; 55.2 ff) fulfilling the expectation that when the Messiah came He would feed His people with the manna (see Revelation 2.17, and compare 2 Baruch 29.8 for the Jewish tradition). Here was the One Who was providing ‘bread for the eater’ (as He had also provided seed for the sower) in terms of His word going forth to do His will (Isaiah 55.10). Here was One Who was Himself the Bread of Life symbolically feeding His people on Himself through their coming and believing (John 6.32-35, 47-51). Note that in fact John 6.31 quotes from Psalm 78.24 demonstrating that Jesus had that Psalm in mind. But in a sense this idea of the bread of life was not new. Isaiah 55.2 very much brings out the significance of bread as symbolising what is good and life-giving in the spiritual sphere.

The connection with Elisha is strengthened by Jesus words, ‘YOU give them to eat’ for in 2 Kings 4.42 we read that Elisha said, ‘Give to the people that they may eat’, and the final conclusion is also significant, ‘thus says the LORD, they will eat and will leave thereof’ (2 Kings 4.43). And ‘they did eat and left thereof according to the word of the LORD’ (2 Kings 4.44). The connection with Elisha is significant, for Elisha followed Elijah, and now Jesus, revealing Himself as a greater than Elisha, is following John, the new Elijah. It is not accidental that this incident follows immediately on the description of the death of John. Were it not for Elisha the death of Elijah would have been a huge body blow to the righteous in Israel, especially the ‘sons of the prophets’ (2 Kings 2.3), but Elisha had successfully replaced Elijah and triumphantly entered Israel in his place (Crossing the Jordan, and entering via Jericho, then Bethel (2 Kings 2.13-23)). Now in the same way on the death of John, the new Deliverer, as One on Whom John’s followers can fix their hopes, is revealed in the wilderness, just as John had appeared in the wilderness before Him (3.1), and the crowds will flock to Him as they had flocked to John (3.5).

We should note also the emphasis that there is in verse 19 on the fact that this is a family meal with the master of the feast dispensing the bread and fishes. This clearly stresses the oneness of the community. They are His family (12.46-50).

We should note further that the initial feeding with manna in the wilderness was closely connected with the glory of God. ‘As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, and they looked towards the wilderness, and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud, and the Lord said to Moses, -- say to them -- in the morning you will be filled with bread, then you will know that I am YHWH your God’ (Exodus 16.10-12). So by feeding the people Jesus was calling on them to recognise that the glory of God was there.

That Jesus intended this feeding of the people to be highly significant comes out in that, along with His walking on the water, it is the only miracle that Jesus performed without it having been ‘forced on Him’, either as a result of having compassion on someone who needed something extraordinary doing, responding to an appeal, or being forced by circumstances. In those days people were used to fending for themselves and going without, so that His feeding of them was a ‘voluntary’ act. Here it was totally and deliberately a self-revelation which no one had expected from Him. As we see above, it demonstrated that a new Deliverance had begun, and that these were His new Messianic people. Indeed it went so close to the mark that some of the people, catching the point, even if interpreting it wrongly, began to plan to make him king (John 6.15), so that He had to withdraw quickly from the scene, but the Synoptics are not interested in that. They want the account to have a positive message about His Messiahship, and ignore the adverse happenings. Incidentally this is strong evidence of how miraculous it was. Men do not get so stirred up by sharing a picnic, or partaking of a symbolic meal.

Analysis.

• a Now when Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there in a boat, to a wilderness place apart, and when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him on foot from the cities, and he came forth, and saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick (13-14)
• b And when even was come, the disciples came to him, saying, “The place is wilderness, and the time is already past. Send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food” (15).
• c But Jesus said to them, “They have no need to go away. You give them to eat” (16).
• d And they say to him, “We have here but five loaves, and two fishes” (17).
• e And he said, “Bring them here to me”, and he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass
• d And he took the five loaves, and the two fishes (19a)
• c And looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds (19b).
• b And they all ate, and were filled, and they took up what remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full (20).
• a And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children (21).

Note that in ‘a’ the crowds gathered to Jesus and He had compassion on them, and in the parallel all the crowds who are fed by Him are five thousand plus women and children. In ‘b’ the disciples want the crowd sent away because they are in the wilderness, so that they may find something to eat, and in the parallel they all ate and were filled in the wilderness without departing, with plenty to spare. In ‘c’ Jesus says that they have no need to go away and that the disciples are to feed them, and in the parallel he commits the bread that He has to God and the disciples are thus able to feed them. In ‘d’ they declare that they have only five loaves and two fishes, and in the parallel Jesus commandeers the five loaves and the two fishes. Centrally in ‘e’ what is available is to be brought to Jesus, and He commands the crowds to sit down.

14.13 ‘Now when Jesus heard, he withdrew from there in a boat, to a wilderness place apart, and when the crowds heard of it, they followed him on foot from the cities.’

‘When Jesus heard.’ What did Jesus hear? Was it the news of the death of John as in verse 12. Or was it the news of what Herod was saying about Him in verse 2? Matthew quite possibly intends us to understand by it the whole scenario. He learned of the death of John and He heard the rumours that were flying around about the way that Herod was thinking. But whichever way it was He noted the danger that it involved. Herod in this mood was not to be trusted. So He ‘withdrew’ across the water into a wilderness place, in the same way as Israel had done from Pharaoh. Compare, ‘Out of Egypt have I called My Son’ (2.15). This was why He had come, to deliver His people from the ties of the world. For withdrawal as a result of hearing of danger see also 2.22; 4.12, and compare John 7.1.

And ‘when the crowds heard of it they followed Him on foot from the cities’. There is probably significance to be read into the fact that ‘they followed Jesus’. Here were those who would not desert Him as others had but would follow Him wherever He went (compare 8.19). They are the beginnings of the new community, which is why the disciples have a duty to feed them. ‘On foot.’ It was ‘on foot’ that the people originally set off on the Exodus (Exodus 12.37), to ‘a wilderness’ place. (The wilderness in Psalm 78.19 is also anarthrous). They have left the cities (as they left the cities of Egypt) and sought Him in the wilderness, leaving the cities behind. Cities are regularly the sign of rebellion against God in the Scriptures (e.g. Genesis 4.17; 11.1-9; and often). So, in a few brief words, every one of which counts, Matthew has skilfully depicted a new Exodus.

14.14 ‘And he came forth, and saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, and healed their sick.’

And when Jesus left the boat, He saw the great crowd and had compassion on them. Compare here 9.36, ‘Because they were as sheep without a shepherd’. This has therefore to be read in, as it is expressly in Mark 6.34. He knew that He was their Shepherd, and ‘He healed their sick’. Compare ‘those who are whole have no need of a physician, but those who are sick’ (9.12), and ‘Himself bore our afflictions and carried our diseases’ (8.17). He was thus as the Servant bearing the burdens of these crowds, and as a physician was making them whole. Mark says that ‘He taught them many things’, and Luke has it that ‘He welcomed them and spoke to them of the Kingly Rule of God’ and healed (Luke 9.11). Matthew intends his description therefore to be all encompassing. Here are the new people of God being tended by the Shepherd.

We should note here the supreme patience and compassion of Jesus. He had headed off across the water in order to seek solitude and safety. Yet here the crowds had come together, disturbing His solitude, and drawing attention to His presence. But there is not even the hint of impatient concern in His behaviour. He accepts them for what they are, and welcomes them, patiently teaching and healing. The tenacity of the crowds comes out in that they had clearly watched the progress of the boat on the small Lake as it bore Him off, and had recognised that by going round the northern end of the Lake they could head Him off, which was what they had done.

14.15 ‘And when even was come, the disciples came to him, saying, “The place is a wilderness, and the time is already past. Send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.’

The crowds spent the day listening to Jesus, and as evening approached, the disciples became concerned. The crowds had come a long way and would be hungry. And they were a long way from home. The usual mealtime had already passed. So they were going to need provision, and here they were in ‘a wilderness’. The only hope for them therefore was to scatter among the surrounding villages in order to buy some food, however little. So they called on Jesus to dismiss the crowds for this purpose. It was an act of compassion towards the crowds, being carried out by men who could see no other option.

Note the reference to villages. They were well away from the larger cities and towns. It was to avoid them that Jesus had come here.

14.16 ‘But Jesus said to them, “They have no need to go away. You give them to eat.”

Then Jesus quietly turned to the disciples and said, ‘There is no need for them to go away. You give them to eat.’ (The ‘you’ is emphatic). It is difficult to avoid the impression that Jesus has 2 Kings 4.42 in mind, where Elisha says to his followers, ‘Give to the people that they may eat’, at a time when there was patently too little food for everyone. There it was followed by the insufficient becoming sufficient and to spare. Was Jesus then testing out His disciples to see what they would do, and how they would respond, as He will shortly test out Peter (14.29)? After all they had claimed that they had ‘understood’ about the coming of the Kingly Rule of Heaven (13.51). Did they have sufficient understanding and faith for this moment? There may have been a slight hope at the back of His mind that it would be so, but the more probable significance in what He is doing is that He wants His disciples to recognise that in following Him and being His Apostles they must take responsibility for believers, not leave them to themselves.

( In LXX Elisha says, ‘dote tow laow’ - ‘give to the people’. Here Jesus says ‘dote autois’ - ‘give to them’. LXX then uses esthio while Jesus uses phagein, but it should be noted that LXX then has phagomai in verse 43 where ‘the Lord’ says they shall eat. Matthew’s source may well have been distinguishing Jesus from Elisha by deliberately using the verb ‘the Lord’ used).

14.17 ‘And they say to him, “We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.” ’

Their reply was simple. ‘All we have available are five loaves and two fishes’. We learn from elsewhere (John 6.8-9) that these were contributed by a young boy who had probably preserved them by having the foresight to keep his own packed lunch untouched, ready for his homeward journey, meanwhile no doubt benefiting from the generosity of others (he would think that being grown ups they probably had plenty).

In the light of the mention later of ‘five thousand men’, and the later ‘seven loaves’ of the parallel story, the numbers are probably seen by Matthew as significant. The ‘five’ would represent the covenant, as five regularly does, and this was therefore covenant food. The two fishes would then make up the seven to indicate a divinely complete and perfect meal. It was thus ideal provision for a divine covenant meal. But it did not seem so to the disciples. To them it was just not enough.

14.18 ‘And he said, “Bring them here to me.”

Then the command was given which made all the difference. Jesus commanded that they be brought to Him. In His hands they would prove totally sufficient. No one present could have even imagined what was about to happen. It had been one thing for Elisha to feed a hundred men, but here were well over five thousand people, and Jesus had far less than Elisha had to start with.

14.19 ‘And he commanded the crowds to recline on the grass, and he took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.” ’

‘He commanded the crowds to recline on the grass.’ Reclining was the attitude taken up for a banquet. This was to be no symbolic meal, but genuine provision. This day they were to be fed to the full.

Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fishes and looking up to Heaven blessed them and broke them, and gave them to His disciples. And the disciples gave them to the crowds. No explanation is given. It is written as though this was just another ordinary meal. The miraculous is simply assumed as though, with Jesus there, what else could people expect?

The description ‘looking up to Heaven He blessed and broke the loaves and the fishes’ is a typical statement of what would actually happen at a Jewish meal table. It would certainly remind Matthew’s readers of their own later covenant meal, which followed the same pattern, but it would only do so as a reminder of God as the great Provider. For the inclusion of the fishes, when they could so easily have been quietly dropped, demonstrates that ‘the Lord’s Table’ is not in mind. The point of the full repetition of the detail, by a Matthew who usually abbreviates, indicates rather the source of what followed. It indicates that the answer is coming from Heaven, as the manna once did. ‘He gave them bread from Heaven to eat’ (John 6.31 citing Psalm 78.24) as they were beginning the new Exodus. It was bread that was without money and without price’ which gave life to the soul (Isaiah 55.2). It was ‘bread for the eater’ which was symbolic of the fruitfulness of His powerful word (Isaiah 55.10). And all these as pictures of the good things that God has for those who love Him, the bread of life received by coming to Him and believing on Him (John 6.35), life-giving bread for the soul received freely from God (Isaiah 55.2-3), bread for the eater because it accomplishes what He pleases (Isaiah 55.11). A further emphasis is on the fact that this is a ‘family’ meal. They are come together with Jesus as the head of the family. They are His mother, His brothers and His sisters (12.50). They are now one community looking to Jesus as their head.

‘He blessed.’ This is the normal word for the giving of thanks at a meal. The ‘blessing’ is of God, (‘Blessed are You’), not of the food. The breaking of the food was for distribution.

14.20 ‘And they all ate, and were filled, and they took up what remained over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.’

We may compare here Psalm 78.25, ‘He sent them food to the full’; and 2 Kings 4.44, ‘they ate and left thereof, according to the word of the Lord’. For these people ate to the full of the Lord’s provision, so much so that of what remained the disciples were able to gather twelve wicker basketfuls, that is, sufficient for ‘the twelve tribes of Israel’. This last was the guarantee of the future provision of the true people of God at His hands. He was not only feeding them now, He would continue to feed them in the future.

‘And were filled.’ Compare ‘blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled’ (5.6). It is not only their physical hunger that is to be satisfied. They are also to be satiated with righteousness and salvation. See also Isaiah 55.2

So that day the needs of His people were met, and both their spirits and their bodies had been satisfied. His own countrymen might turn against Him (13.53-58), the authorities and Herod could do their worst (14.1-12), but nothing could hinder the forward movement of God’s purposes through His Deliverer as He led them forward in a new Exodus, feeding them upon Himself as the bread of life received by coming to Him and believing on Him (John 6.35).

14.21 ‘And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.’

Finally we are supplied with an enumeration of the crowds, or rather, of those ‘who ate’. There were five thousand men, besides women and children. The idea is probably that ten men were required in order to establish a synagogue. Thus five thousand represented a covenant community, for five is ever the number of covenant (five fingers to the hand that seals the covenant, the commandments in sets of five, the measurements of the Tabernacle and Temple in multiples of five, the covenant altar was five by five, five shekels was the price of deliverance from Tabernacle service, and so on).

However reference to Exodus 12.37 may also serve to confirm that a new Exodus is in mind for there we read of ‘men on foot besides children’. The only difference is that under the new covenant, women also are now to be seen as important.

We must not multiply up too much from the number of men, as though they all had their families with them. The trek round the Lake would probably have resulted in many women and children being left to make their way home. And furthermore they would have been needed at home to milk the animals. The fact that only the men are numbered probably indicates their predominance in the crowd.

To sum up there are a number of lessons to be learned from this incident.

• 1). That His disciples were to see their own future in terms of meeting the needs of men and women. They must ‘give them to eat’. Having initially opened their ministry in their recent mission, it would continue to be the responsibility of the disciples to provide both physical and spiritual sustenance to the people, in the same way as He Himself provided it to them (compare John 21.15-17). With regard to the physical side they would in fact seek to carry this out literally in Acts (see Acts 2.44-47; 4.32-37). And the church has rightly continued to see one of its functions as providing for the physical needs of the needy. But the equal importance of their ministering to the spiritual side also soon came home to them. They later knew that they were not to allow ‘serving tables’ to prevent their preaching of the word (Acts 6.1-3).
• That He wanted them to see that He was now here as the Messiah to spread a table before those who looked to Him (compare Isaiah 25.6; 55.1-3; and extra-testamental literature). He wanted them to see Him as the source of true provision for all men’s needs, the Bread of Life to their souls (John 6.35). And this would in the end be ministered through His Apostles and those whom they appointed.
• He wanted them to appreciate that He was here among them as the Representative of Israel (2.15), leading them in a second Exodus, (in a way as a second Moses, although this latter is never emphasised). Like Moses He was the one who gave them bread from Heaven to eat. Moses had been with the multitude in the wilderness, and had fed them ‘from Heaven’. Jesus was now here among them in the wilderness to give better bread than Moses gave them, the true Bread which has come down from Heaven to give life to the world (John 6.33). A greater than Moses was here, and a greater Exodus was taking place (2.15), establishing a new Israel. (In Matthew the emphasis is on the new Exodus rather than a new Moses).
• He wanted them to recognise that He was here among men in order to establish a new covenant and a new covenant community, something symbolised by this covenant meal. A new covenant community was thus in process of formation, and this is what this meal symbolised (compare Exodus 24.9-11). Such a community has already been indicated by His description of believers as His mother, His sisters and His brothers (12.50), and assumed in the Sermon on the Mount (5.13-16, 45-48; 6.9-13), and He will emphasise this again shortly (16.18). It would be composed of all those who came in faith to Him for provision, expressing their need, including this crowd who had been willing to go so far out of their way to be here, which in itself expressed their faith. In 26.26 the breaking of the bread would expand to symbolise His body. Here He was symbolising the fact that He could feed their souls as they responded to Him (John 6.35). From this meal therefore all were to learn that if they would be spiritually fed it must be through Jesus Christ, and that He had sufficient and to spare in order to do this.
• He wanted them to know that He was among men in order to feed their inner beings (see John 6.32-40, and compare Isaiah 55.1-3), something which in the end only He could do, and He would shortly make clear that this would be through His death (John 6.51-58). But His main aim was that this physical provision might be seen by them as an acted out parable similar to those of the prophets whereby they would recognise that He was offering to feed their souls. It was a display of quiet power that evidenced His limitless resources.
• He wanted them to learn their lesson from this incident that never again should they, the Apostles, or the other disciples, see any situation as impossible for Him to deal with.

Note on Other Explanations.

Necessarily Atheists and Agnostics and those who deny the possibility of miracles cannot accept that it happened like this, and yet often have to admit that it must have some basis in truth. So they have to think of a way round it. But we should note that by doing so they go against the evidence. Rather than accept the truth they weave ‘fairy stories’. For in order to give an explanation that is what they have to do, ignore the evidence and what is written, and spin their own threads of gold. For the sake of completeness and to assist those who are troubled by such things we will consider one or two of these explanations.

1). The first is that what happened was that a young boy brought his dinner and gave it to Jesus who then told the disciples to share it with the crowds, and that all those in the crowds were so moved by His action and the action of the little boy that they all shared their food that they had brought with them with others (or something similar). It is a nice idea. But it clearly goes contrary to what the four accounts say. It is not likely that the disciples would have said what they did about dispersing and buying food without having first checked that the people were without food. Furthermore it destroys the symbolism and at the same time ignores how long the crowds had already been away from home. They were not out on a picnic, and had not anticipated this extra journey. Nor can we understand why if this was what happened a hint of the fact is not supplied by at least one of the eyewitnesses, as a wonderful picture of the influence of Jesus. And certainly it would be strange that such a trivial happening as it would then have become should be treated as so important by all four Gospel writers. Nor would it have stirred the crowds to make Him a king (John 6.15). The idea trivialises all that the story points to, and every detail is against it.

2). That what happened was that Jesus divided up the loaves into minute amounts which were then given to the crowds as a ‘token Messianic meal’ and that this gave them such an uplift that their hearts were satisfied and they were ‘filled’ and therefore did not for a while notice their hunger. It is a beautiful picture, but it would not have served them well during the night, or next morning when they awoke hungry. And it still requires us to drastically reduce the numbers involved, or alternately increase the food available. It is also to assume that the ‘meal’ had a significance not made apparent in the first three Gospels. If this was what happened it is strange that the lesson to be drawn from it was totally ignored and that it was interpreted as just physical, without further explanation. It would also leave everyone still hungry and as much in danger of fainting as before. Thus Jesus would have failed to fulfil what He promised to the Apostles, that they would be able to feed the crowds.

3). That the story is simply an invention based on what Elisha did in 2 Kings 4.42-44. But if this were the case its importance as revealed by its presence in all four Gospels, in different presentations, is inexplicable. There is no avoiding the fact that all four considered the event extremely important and on the whole gave basically the same picture. Nor does the incident in the time of Elisha have the significance that this one clearly had. Elisha’s was not a covenant meal.

End of note.

Jesus Demonstrates His Mastery Of The Sea And Is Recognised As ‘The Son of God’ (14.22-33).

This is the second consecutive miracle in which Jesus take the initiative in order to demonstrate to the disciples Who He is and What He has come to do, and it results in their recognition that He is ‘the Son of God’. In context this concept goes well beyond Messiahship. He is Lord of wind and waves, a particularly awesome thing to Israelites who feared and respected the sea.

Jesus has just demonstrated that He can feed men and women and meet their most basic needs, now He demonstrates that He can protect His disciples in all the contrary winds of life. If the disciples are finally to feed the people both lessons are essential. But the lessons go farther than that, for both demonstrate that He is the Lord of creation, and thus truly the Son of God. Both are therefore a necessary build up towards Peter’s confession in 16.16 and to His declaration of the founding of the new ‘congregation’ of Israel in 16.18.

Analysis.

• a And immediately He constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before Him to the other side, until He should send the crowds away (22).
• b And after He had sent the crowds away, He went up into the mountain apart to pray, and when evening was come, He was there alone (23).
• c But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary (24).
• d And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea (25).
• e And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost,” and they cried out for fear (26).
• f But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; don’t be afraid” (27).
• g And Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the waters” (28).
• f And he said, “Come.” And Peter went down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus (29).
• e But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me” (30).
• d And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (31).
• c And when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased (32).
• b And those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Of a truth you are the Son of God” (33).
• a And when they had crossed over, they came to the land, to Gennesaret (34).

Note that in ‘a’ He sends the disciples before Him to the other side, and in the parallel they arrive in Gennesaret. In ‘b’ He spends much time alone praying in the mountain and in the parallel recognition comes to the disciples that He is the Son of God. In ‘c’ the wind was contrary, and in the parallel the wind ceased. In ‘d’ Jesus comes to them walking on the sea in total confidence, and in the parallel is the contrast of the one who has little faith and fails. In ‘e’ the disciples are afraid thinking that they are seeing a ghost, and in the parallel Peter is afraid, seeing the wind. In ‘f’ Jesus encourages the disciples, and in the parallel He encourages Peter. Centrally in ‘g’ comes Peter’s request that Jesus bid him come to Him on the waters.

14.22 ‘And immediately he constrained the disciples to enter into the boat, and to go before him to the other side, until he should send the crowds away.’

‘Immediately He constrained.’ The urgency behind these words would be difficult to understand had we not had the explanation in John’s Gospel. Some of the crowds were beginning to get ideas about proclaiming Him king (John 6.15). This was the last thing that He wanted, and He did not want His disciples involved in such ideas. It would bring down the Romans on Him which would interfere with the purposes that He had in mind. He had not come to be a belligerent Messiah. So He packed them off hurriedly in their boat while He Himself despatched the crowds. His disciples were to go before Him to the other side, probably across the top North West corner of the Lake. Thus they might expect that, like the crowds had done previously, He Himself would make His way round on the shore.

14.23 ‘And after he had sent the crowds away, he went up into the mountain apart to pray, and when evening was come, he was there alone.’

Then once He had been able to disperse the crowds He ‘went up into the mountain apart to pray.’ He had much to pray about and spent the remainder of the evening and most of the night in prayer ‘alone’. This aloneness is in contrast to His disciples who are struggling at sea. Without Him they too are alone. Note how in the major chiasmus of the section this ‘aloneness’ parallels His final ‘aloneness’ with the three disciples on the mount of Transfiguration.

We may possibly see that He had gone alone to pray for three major reasons:

• 1). The disturbing development of the intentions of the crowds towards Him, especially in the light of Herod’s unease, and what it might mean for the future.
• 2). His clear intention to walk across the Sea in order to meet His disciples in the middle, which could only possibly be seen as a deliberate self-manifestation.
• 3). His purpose in 2) that, following on the miracle of the loaves and fishes, it might bring home to His disciples Who He is, ‘the Son of God’.

Jesus going into the Mountain always has great significance, and in all other case it has to do with imparting important information to the disciples. While His disciples are not with Him here, note the clear interconnection between His being in the mountain praying, with the intention of coming to them (verse 25), and their being at sea in difficulties (verses 23-24).

Note On ‘The Mountain’.

In each of the other three times that Matthew indicates that Jesus went up into ‘the mountain’ he is drawing attention to a significant happening that deeply affects His disciples.

• 1). In 5.1 Jesus went up into the mountain in order to get away from the crowds, and there He taught the Sermon on the Mount to His disciples.
• 2). Here in 14.23 Jesus goes into the mountain to pray alone, prior to His great self-manifestation in walking on the Sea. The result will be that they worship and say, ‘Truly You are the Son of God’ (14.33).
• 3). In 15.29 Jesus makes a ‘Messianic’ appearance on the mountain as evidenced by His mighty works, and feeds four thousand by a miracle and ‘they glorified the God of Israel’ (15.31).
• 4). In 28.16 Jesus appeared to them on the mountain as the Risen Lord and gave them their commission to make disciples of all nations, promising His continuing presence with them.

It will be noted that in the first two cases the mountain is seen as a haven from the crowds. In the third case it does not at first appear to be a haven from the crowds, but we should note that this is a special crowd. They are all included in the partaking of the covenant meal and have been with Him in that isolated place listening to His words for three days. They are therefore almost, if not completely disciples, and not just the normal ‘crowds’. It is thus a haven from the world and from Herod. The fourth case fits into the pattern of the other three. It is where He meets with His disciples to give them their commission for the future.

Furthermore the first and the last examples are places where Jesus specifically charges the disciples with their responsibilities, while the two middle ones are connected with the revelation of His power over creation, and end with the glorifying, in the one case of ‘the Son of God’, and in the other of ‘the God of Israel’. We are probably therefore justified in seeing mention of ‘the mountain’ as pointing to what we might call ‘mountain top’ experiences, times of special closeness with God.

End of Note.

14.24 ‘But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.’

Note the close interconnection between Jesus being in the mountain praying alone, and the boat being now in the middle of the Sea distressed (literally ‘tormented’) by the waves, with a contrary wind. Without Jesus they were making little headway. Indeed we are probably to see that they had been driven off course towards the middle of the Lake, which would help to explain the length of time the voyage was taking. (Without an engine voyage lengths can vary hugely depending on the weather, especially against prevailing winds).

14.25 ‘And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.’

The fourth watch of the night was 3.00 am to 6.00 am (The Roman night watch was divided into four). It was daybreak, after a night of toil. And it was at this stage that He came to them, walking on the Sea.

His people had good cause to remember God’s power over the sea (Exodus 15.8, 10, 19), for in the Exodus they had escaped through the Sea which had swallowed up their antagonists (just as it would have swallowed up Peter without Jesus’ help). Then they could say of Him ‘Your way was in the sea and Your paths in the great waters’ at the time when He ‘led His people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron’ (Psalm 77.19-20 compare Isaiah 43.16). The sea was always an unknown force, the control of which by God was looked on with awe (Psalm 74.13; 89.9). Thus Jesus may well here have expected them to remember the Exodus experience, especially when Peter was almost overwhelmed by the Sea, and indeed would have been without His assistance.

14.26 ‘And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost,” and they cried out for fear.’

Quite naturally when the disciples saw this eerie figure (in the first light of day) walking on the Sea some distance away, they cried out in fear, ‘Its a ghost’. This is no doubt intended to be contrasted with their later words, ‘You are the Son of God’. What a difference it made once He was with them in the boat.

14.27 ‘But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer; it is I; don’t be afraid.” ’

Jesus immediately sought to remove their fears saying, ‘Take courage, it is I, don’t be afraid’. ‘It is I’ is ego eimi. In LXX this was also the Name of God revealed to Moses (Exodus 3.14). While this idea was not Jesus’ intention (He was merely indicating His presence), Matthew does, in a context like this, probably intend his readers to take the hint. Compare ‘the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit’ (28.19).

14.28 ‘And Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the waters.” ’

On hearing Jesus’ words, and no doubt recognising His voice, Peter, with his usual mixture of impetuosity and faith, called out to Him and said, “Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the waters.” His confidence in Jesus was such that He had no doubt that the One Who had given him the power to heal the sick and cast out devils could also enable him to walk on the waters that lay between Him and Jesus (in Hebrew ‘waters’ is always plural). But he would only do it once he had the Lord’s assurance that the ability would be given to him. Here was a remarkable indication of both understanding and faith, even if it did not last for long because his faith was insufficient.

‘The waters.’ Peter was probably indicating by this the short stretch of water between the boat and Jesus.

14.29 ‘And he said, “Come.” And Peter went down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.’

Jesus’ response was to invite him to ‘Come’. So Peter let himself down from the side of the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. And while he kept his eyes on Jesus all went well.

14.30 ‘But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me.” ’

However, having bold faith while standing in the boat was one thing, maintaining it in the face of a strong wind stirring up the waves was another. And he was suddenly seized with fear and began to sink. As usual he had taken on more than he could cope with. We are left to surmise that if there had been no wind, there would have been no problem. The description ‘saw the wind’ (i.e. the effect that it was having) indicates that he took his eyes of Jesus, and that that was when his problems began. Up to that point he had only seen Jesus.

Then Peter called out, “Lord, save me.” Note that there was still faith there. He might not be able to trust himself, but He still knew that the Lord could save him. He knew that the Lord had no fear of the wind.

14.31 ‘And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, and took hold of him, and says to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” ’

The impression we are given is that Peter had almost reached Jesus before he had taken his eyes off Him, for Jesus is able to reach out and take hold of him. And then He gently rebuked him. “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” It was a reminder that growing though the faith of the disciples was, it was still small compared with what it should be (compare 17.20).

We must remember, of course, that this description is comparative. The comparison is with the Master Himself. But when we can give evidence in ourselves of the huge faith that Peter had to begin with, we will have a right to point to his little faith. However, then we will be too humble to do so. But until then we can only recognise how much less our faith is than his. Nevertheless the point is made. Believing though the disciples were, they still had a long way to go. On the one hand was Jesus with total faith in His Father. On the other the wavering and doubting disciples. Peter had shown a spurt of faith, but it had soon been lost in doubt.

14.32 ‘And when they were gone up into the boat, the wind ceased.”

Then together Jesus and Peter went up to the boat and clambered in, at which point ‘the wind ceased’. Once Jesus was with them in the boat all the problems of the disciples ceased.

14.33 ‘And those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Of a truth you are the Son of God.” ’

Filled with awe at what they had witnessed those in the boat (seemingly more than just the twelve) ‘worshipped’ Him. And they declared, ‘truly You are the Son of God’. They now had a deeper recognition of His status than ever before. They had broken through from His being a prophet, to His being something more. Truth was beginning to dawn. Yet it arose from the awe of the moment, it was not the more fully fledged faith that Peter would shortly declare in comparison with other great figures of salvation history (16.16).

In Matthew such Sonship is more than Messiahship. Only the demons have previously called Jesus ‘the Son of God’ and they were thinking of One superior to themselves in the spiritual world. But God has called Him ‘My beloved Son’ (3.17) and Jesus has related Himself as ‘the Son’ to ‘the Father’ (11.27), as well as regularly distinguishing God as ‘My Father’ when having in mind His own authority (7.21-22; 10.32-33).

Mark has here, ‘they were greatly amazed in themselves, for they did not understand concerning the loaves, but their heart was hardened.’ The point is that because their hearts were not receptive they had not realised the significance of the miracle of the loaves and were thus astonished by just such another proof of Jesus’ power over nature. Here we learn what that astonishment resulted in, a recognition of His uniqueness.

14.34 ‘And when they had crossed over, they came to the land, to Gennesaret.’

We can only imagine the awe of the remainder of that voyage. They would never see Jesus in quite the same way again, for they now had a deeper awareness that He was, in some way that they did not understand, ‘on the divine side of reality’. But eventually they reached land, at Gennesaret, a plain on the north west shores of the Sea of Galilee, although there may have been a village which also bore the name. Up to this point, apart from Capernaum which had become Jesus’ home base, landing places after storms appear to be the only places that Matthew has identified during Jesus’ ministry (compare 8.28, see also 15.39). It is as though he remembered these places because he had felt grateful to be ashore again on firm ground. He had after all been a tax-gatherer, not a sailor. For the whole see Mark 6.53-56.

Previously when He had ‘crossed over’ He had gone to ‘His own city’ (9.1). Perhaps the implication is intended that Capernaum is now also no longer His home. He now has no home (12.46-50; 13.53-58). People must come to Him where He is.

Note on Peter.

The picture given of Peter fits in with all that we know about him, Peter the impetuous, Peter the determined, Peter the expectant, Peter the bold, Peter the failing, Peter who never lets go. He stands out in the Gospel as a leading light among the Apostles, but as one who through his impetuosity often did or said the wrong thing, which is regularly why he is mentioned. Always he leads the way, and regularly he finishes up with egg on his face. (In most groups there is someone like that). Here he ventures to walk on the sea at his own suggestion and ends up half drowning. Elsewhere He boldly asserts that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, and then tries to tell the Son of the Living God what to do, with the result that he ends up by being likened in his behaviour to Satan (16.16, 22-23). He is privileged to be on the Mount of Transfiguration, but, feeling that he has to do something, makes an inane suggestion (17.4), and is left speechless and flat on his face (17.6), with his suggestion simply ignored. He boldly declares that he will never fail Jesus (26.33), and fails Him three times (26.69-75). Yet no one else would have even thought of venturing on the sea, no one else at the time had the courage to react to what Jesus was saying at all, no one else (apart from the one known to the High Priestly family) ventured to follow Jesus into the High Priest’s courtyard. Once his faith was made stronger his impetuosity and boldness would serve the church well. In any group there is usually a character, and Peter was that character.

Along with James and John he is selected out for the purpose of beholding special incidents (the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the Transfiguration, the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane), and he alone, as representative of all God’s true people, is conjoined with Jesus in being declared to be ‘sons of God’ and therefore not due to be treated only as subjects liable to the Temple tax (17.24-27).

Nevertheless he is never appointed their leader. Nor does he ever make such a claim. And while he is prominent in Acts, the Apostles are on the whole all seen to act together, while when Paul speaks of those ‘reputed to be pillars’ he lists them as ‘James (the Lord’s brother), Cephas (Peter) and John’ (Galatians 2.9) in that order. It was just that his character constantly brought him to the front, and resulted in him being chosen to make the first moves towards both Jews and Gentiles.

End of note.

The Messianic Signs Continue (14.35-36).

Having fed the new community with ‘bread from Heaven, and having revealed Himself as Lord of sea and storm, thus presenting Himself as their Provider and Protector, Jesus expands His ministry as the Servant Who ‘bore our afflictions and carried our diseases’ (8.17), as our Healer. He makes whole all who seek Him. By it He indicates the final perfection available in the Kingly Rule of Heaven. For each healing is a physical indication of the spiritual wholeness that will finally be enjoyed by all who are His, and is available to all who reach out to Him. They will be presented holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (Colossians 1.22).

Note how this summary connects back to those in 4.23-24; 8.16; 9.35-36; 14.14. Underlying all that is happening His basic Messianic ministry continues. While on the one hand He faces rejection by the leadership and by various town authorities, His spiritual outreach goes on apace. There are thus many who seek Him and believe on Him.

Analysis.

• a When the men of that place knew him, they sent into all that region round about, and brought to him all who were sick (35).
• b And they asked him that they might only touch the border of his robe (36a).
• a And as many as touched were made whole (36b).

Note that in ‘a’ they brought all who were sick, and in the parallel all were made whole by touching Him. Centrally in ‘b’ we find the Source of all their healing, which was theirs by ‘coming and believing’ to the bread of life (John 6.35).

14.35 ‘And when the men of that place knew him, they sent into all that region round about, and brought to him all who were sick,’

On landing at Gennesaret Jesus was recognised by those who lived there, (it was not far from Capernaum) and immediate word was sent out to all the neighbourhood, to tell them that the prophet was here. And the result was that large numbers of people from the whole area flocked to Him. And all brought their sick to Jesus. This is Matthew’s way of indicating that while Israel as a whole might be rejecting Him or turning from Him, and especially the larger towns, those who were sick and needed a physician, whether for body or soul, came to Him. For that was why He had come, to make men whole.

14.36 ‘And they asked him that they might only touch the border of his robe, and as many as touched were made whole.’

And just to touch the hem or tassel on His robe now proved sufficient. It was not that the robe had power, it was that to touch it brought them in touch with the wearer. Such was His power that He reached out through their act of faith and in all cases they were healed. Power went out of Him (Mark 5.30). It should be noted that permission was sought from Jesus. It was not impersonal. The Pharisees would have shrunk from the touch of common people lest they be rendered unclean. But such things mattered not to Jesus. Anyone who touched Him in faith was made clean. The message is that all who come to Him and believe in Him, however faint their touch, will find healing and restoration. This caps off the threefold picture of Him, He feeds, He protects, He makes whole.

IS THERE SOMETHING IN THE BIBLE THAT PUZZLES YOU?