The New Testament – Verse by Verse Bible Study – Part 14
In this Bible Study series on Internet Pastor we will be studying through the New Testament verse by verse. You can watch or listen to the study by going to the Online Church page.
Matthew 14:1-36 (NIV)
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered him a prophet. 6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. 13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children. 22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” 34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.
Matthew 14:1-13
When John is killed it causes yet another reason for rejecting Jesus as King. The ministries of the two are so connected that what happened to one had a direct effect on the other, or at least it appeared that way.
From this point on the ministry of Jesus is directed primarily at the disciples. He is now going to prepare them for what was coming, getting them ready for the events of the cross and their subsequent ministries in starting the church.
The excitement that had been so prevalent in the beginning was already fading in the hearts and mind of the people. The Pharisees had sided against Him, Jesus was not acting as a King should and now even Herod, who was hated by the Jews, had killed Jesus cousin John, and Jesus had not moved against him.
Jesus withdrew to a lonely place.
Matthew 14:14-21
The crowds followed Jesus. Waiting. They wanted to see what He would do. Jesus is no longer going to perform miracles to demonstrate that His message is true. He is however, stilled moved by compassion for the lost-ness of people. Jesus continues to heal out of compassion. He is moved to feed the people that are hungry because of His compassion for them. He cares about them. The feeding of the five thousand, is really for His disciples.
They will be in a feeding ministry in the future, the feeding of people’s souls. Their source would be Jesus. When their supply runs out, they will constantly have to return to the Lord for more. Jesus would be the source, but the feeding would be done through the disciples.
It is interesting to note that there are 12 baskets left, one basket for each of the disciples.
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus walked on the water to get to His disciples. It was another demonstration to them of who He really was. The Pharisees and the crowds would no longer see this kind of proof, but His disciples would continue to receive miraculous assurance. This is still true today. The unbeliever is not swayed by miracles, writing them off as coincidence. The believer however, can see constant evidence in their lives of the Lord at work.
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