Matthew 14:1
Outline:
I. \\#Matt 1:1-3:17\\ The Presentation of the King
II. \\#4:1-7:29\\ The Person of the King
III. \\#8:1-11:1\\ The Power of the King
IV. \\#Matthew 11:2-14:13\\ Decisions Concerning the King
A. \\#Matt 11:2-15\\ A Decision by the Forerunner
B. \\#Matt 11:16-19\\ A Decision by the Masses
C. \\#Matt 11:20-24\\ A Decision by the Cities
D. \\#Matt 11:25-30\\ Jesus Encourages The Wise Decision
E. \\#Matt 12:1-50\\ A Decision by the Pharisees
1. \\#12:1-14\\ Questions Concerning the Sabbath
2. \\#12:15-21\\ Jesus Response
3. \\#12:22-45\\ The Pharisee’s Strategy
a. \\#22-37\\ When Jesus Performs Miracles
b. \\#38-42\\ When Jesus Doesn’t Perform Miracles
4. \\#12:43-45\\ A Warning to Israel
5. \\#12:46-50\\ Jesus’ New Family
F. \\#Matt 13:1-52\\ Decisions by Jesus
1. \\#1-3, 10-17, 34-35\\ To speak in parables
2. \\#4-50\\ To reveal God’s plan in parables
a. \\#4-9, 18-23\\ Spreading the Word of the Kingdom
b. \\#24-30, 36-43\\ The Enemy of the Kingdom
c. \\#31-33\\ The Growth of the Kingdom
d. \\#44-46\\ The Value of the Kingdom
e. \\#47-50\\ The Diversity of the Kingdom
G. \\#Matt 13:53-58\\ A Decision by Nazareth
H. \\#Matt 14:1-12\\ Decision by Herod
V. \\#Matt 14:13-16:12\\ Training the Disciples
A. \\#Matt 14:15-21\\ Training the Disciples to Serve
B. \\#Matt 14:22-33\\ Training the Disciples to Have Faith
C. \\#Matt 14:34-36\\ The Ministry Goes On - Ministry At
Gennesaret
IV. \\#Matthew 11:2-14:12\\ Decisions Concerning the King
H. \\#Matt 14:1-12\\ Decision by Herod
1. \\#1\\ "Herod the tetrarch" - Herod Antipas was the son of
Herod the Great, the Herod who ruled when Jesus was born.
When Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided among
heirs. The word "tetrarch" literally means "ruler of
a fourth." Antipas ruled for 42 years. It was he who
had John the Baptist executed \\#Luke 9:7-10\\, who
questioned Jesus but returned Him to Pilate
\\#Luke 23:6-12\\, and whose death is recorded in
\\#Acts 12:20-23\\ for allowing himself to be called god.
2. "heard of the fame of Jesus"
a. Jesus began His ministry when John the Baptist was
cast into prison \\#Matt 4:12\\.
b. We do not know how long John was in prison. He was
still alive in \\#Matt 11:1-15\\. However, since
that time, John the Baptist has been executed by
Herod; and Herod was living with the guilt of it
\\#Matt 14:2\\.
c. Herod’s guilt was a strong indication that he knew
John to a be a man of God.
3. \\#2-12\\ The account of John’s death
a. \\#3\\ Philip was Antipas’ half brother and had been
granted a partial rule of Herod the Great’s domain
as had Antipas.
b. \\#6\\ Herodias was a grand daughter of Herod the
Great, making her a niece to both Philip and Antipas.
She first married Philip but while Philip was on a
journey to Rome, Herod had stopped by Philip’s for a
visit and fallen in love with Herodias, who left her
Philip to marry Herod.
c. \\#4\\ "It is not lawful for thee to have her." John,
who certainly was not of the royal court, must have
made it a point to appear before Antipas to inform
him that what he had done was "not lawful."
(1) Why was it not lawful?
(2) Several sources state that Herod divorced his
wife to marry Herodias. It is mentioned
frequently because Herod’s previous wife was the
daughter of another land and divorcing her
caused a war between the two countries.
(3) While I find no reference to it, one would
suppose Herodias was also divorced and was now
legally married to Herod; yet John still calls
this "not lawful." Why?
(4) Because the relationship was adulterous from the
beginning. While some may think divorce and
remarriage is acceptable before God, here is a
case where John the Baptist went out of his way
to condemn it. John believed in its wrong so
much that he died to deliver that message to
King Herod.
d. \\#6\\ "the daughter of Herodias danced before them"
Some believe the daughter was Salome, daughter of
Philip and Herodias.
e. \\#6-11\\ The occasion was Herod’s birthday \\#6\\.
At the feast, his step-daughter danced and pleased
the attendees. For this, Herod sought to reward her;
but at Herodias’ bidding, the daughter asked for
John’s head. What a morbid family indeed!
f. \\#12\\ John’s disciples buried the body of John and
notified Jesus.
4. Observations
a. It is interesting that Herod had respect for John.
Mark 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a
just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard
him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.
(1) It was Herodias who hated John and wanted him
killed.
Mark 6:19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him,
and would have killed him; but she could not:
(2) However, the fact that Herod had such access and
opportunity with John only condemned him the
more for his murder of John and earned him
total silence when Jesus was brought before him.
Luke 23:9 Then he questioned with him in many words; but
he answered him nothing.
(3) Rather, Jesus had nothing but scorn for Herod.
Lu 13:32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox,
Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to
morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.
b. Herod must have supposed that the "spirit" of John had
come upon Jesus. Herod knew that not enough time had
elapsed in the weeks or months since he had killed
John for a man to be born and grow into John’s
reincarnation.
c. Herod must have connected John and Jesus by their
message for their lives were different. Jesus had
compared John’s ministry to one who "mourned" to the
people while Jesus’ was One who "piped" to them.
John had not eaten or drunk with the people, but
Jesus had \\#Matt 11:16-19\\. And we know that John
did no miracles but Jesus did. From Herod’s lost
perspective, the only things these two might have in
common was that they were both Jews and proclaimed
God’s demand for repentance and holiness.
5. Herod’s decision - Herod’s actions speak louder than any
words could. By killing John, Herod rejected the message
of John and the person of Jesus.
V. \\#Matt 14:13-16:12\\ Training the Disciples
A. We continue to note the changes that occur after the religious
decide to reject and kill Jesus \\#Mat 12:14\\.
1. Jesus began to teach in parables;
2. Jesus began to teach about the kingdom;
3. We learn that it is a different type of kingdom;
4. Jesus stops teaching the kingdom is "at hand" and teaches
that it is within us;
5. Jesus starts teaching about His own death;
6. Jesus will teach that the King must depart for a time and
will entrust the kingdom to His servants.
7. At this point, Jesus begins to train His disciples. Until
this point, Jesus has done the work, the miracles and the
teaching. He will gradually shift more responsibility to
the disciples. It is time for the sheep to become the
shepherds.
B. \\#Matt 14:13-21\\ Training the Disciples to Serve
1. \\#13-15\\ The Setting
a. \\#13\\ "he departed thence by ship into a desert
place" - The last reference to Jesus’ location was
\\#Matt 14:54\\, "his own country," most probably a
reference to Nazareth. Now, He is near a body of
water and entering a ship. Mark 6:30-52, a parallel
passage of the feeding 5,000 and of Jesus walking on
the water, will have Jesus "going unto the other side
before unto Bethsaida." \\#Mark 6:45\\ Bethsaida
is a city on the Sea of Galilee. So Jesus has
returned to the Sea of Galilee area.
b. \\#14\\ "a great multitude" had come out to hear Jesus
and "he healed their sick."
c. \\#15\\ "When it was evening" the disciples wanted
Jesus to "send the multitude away" so that they could
eat.
2. \\#16\\ Jesus’ Command - "Give ye them to eat."
This is only the second time that Jesus had placed any
responsibility for the work of God on the disciples’
shoulders (the first being they had gone to preach in
His name \\#Matt 10:5\\); but this time, Jesus placed
the responsibility for doing an impossible work on
them.
3. \\#17\\ The Disciples’ Attempt - "We have here but five
loaves, and two fishes"
a. As we have seen in other accounts, Matthew is only
giving the highlights of this miracle. John’s gospel
tells us that the disciples actually looked and
reasoned for a way to obey Jesus’ command.
1. \\#John 6:7\\ tells us that Philip checked their
pockets and found they had only enough money to
purchase "two hundred pennyworth of bread."
2. \\#John 6:8-9\\ tells us that Andrew, Peter’s
brother, surveyed the crowd and found a lad who
donated his lunch to the cause, the five barley
loaves with the two fish.
3. Once the disciples had done all they could, they
brought their meager and insufficient results to
Jesus.
b. Jesus knew when He gave the command that these
disciples could not fulfill it without His power.
THAT WAS THE LESSON.
4. \\#18-21\\ Jesus feeds 5,000.
a. So Jesus takes the meager efforts of the disciples,
namely the five loaves and the two fish, blesses it,
and multiplies it to feed 5,000 men, not counting
the women and children, a group that could have
easily totaled twenty or thirty thousand.
b. The disciples did not get it yet, but Jesus was
teaching them and us, that if we will serve Him by
relying on His power, we are able to do the
impossible works of God!
C. \\#Matt 14:22-33\\ Training the Disciples to Have Faith
1. \\#22-25\\ The Setting
a. \\#22\\ "Jesus constrained his disciples to get into
a ship"—One cannot miss this statement. It
demonstrates that what was about to happen was
orchestrated by the Lord. He "constrained" them to
get into the ship. That means our Lord all but
forced them to do so.
b. "straightway"—That is, immediately after the
miraculous feeding of the 5,000. It matters little
if you believe God will help others with their
problems. What is important is do you believe God
will help you with yours?
c. \\23\\ "he went up… to pray… alone"—Not only did
Jesus place His disciples in harm’s way, He placed
them there alone. While we are not told, one would
think that Jesus was praying for His disciples.
d. \\#24\\ "ship… midst of the sea, toss with waves,
for the wind was contrary"—Did Jesus know of the
storm? Yes! No doubt He produced it! This was our
Lord creating a situation in which to teach and to
test His disciples.
e. \\#25\\ "And in the fourth watch of the night"
(1) This was the Roman method of time. Each twelve
hour part of the day was divided into fourths;
hence, the fourth watch of the night would have
been from 3AM to 6AM.
(2) The Sea of Galilee is relatively small, about
13 miles long by 8 miles wide. That means at
no time is anyone more than 4 miles from the
shore. Yet, these disciples, some of them
experienced fishermen, started on a journey
across this body of water "immediately" after
feeding the multitudes, and some 9 to 12 hours
later, they were still rowing their ship, trying
to get it ashore. No doubt these men knew that
if the wind was blowing against them, turn the
ship around! Yet, no matter which way they
tried to direct their ship, the wind was against
them. The disciples were now in God’s
classroom! God was training them to believe.
f. "Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea"
(1) After many hours of watching the disciples row,
Jesus goes out to them. The question is, "Did
Jesus go because they had learned what He wanted
them to learn or because they never would?"
(2) \\#26\\ "the disciples… were troubled… cried
out for fear." It does look like they had not
learned much.
(3) \\#27\\ "Be of good cheer; it is I, be not
afraid." Instead, Jesus must comfort and assure
them.
2. \\#25-27, 32-33\\ Some Lessons Jesus May Have Been
Teaching
a. Lesson 1 - Life is the classroom. The disciples may
have become accustomed to Jesus teaching them in
in certain environments; but now Jesus was gone and
they were alone. Class dismissed, right? Wrong!
Although Jesus may have been several miles away, He
was still using the situations and trials of life to
teach and test them the truths of heaven.
b. Lesson 2—God is always in control. Jesus had
placed the disciples in the boat knowing full well
His plan for them. God has never promised His people
a life without trials; in fact, He has promised the
opposite. No matter how difficult life may get, no
matter how long the trial may be, no matter how
hopeless the situation may look, the Christian has the
satisfaction of knowing that he or she is always
exactly where God wants them to be.
c. Lesson 3—Christians are never alone.
Matt 14:25 …Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
Although we may not always see Him, He is always
there. Jesus had been watching the disciples, most
probably praying for them, perhaps waiting for them
to call upon Him as they had when a similar
situation happened and He was asleep in the ship
\\#Mark 4:36-41\\. There is no record of the
disciples ever calling upon the Lord to help them
in this storm, perhaps because they thought that
since Jesus was out of sight, they were beyond His
control. As Christians, we must learn, we are never
alone. Some might wonder why Jesus left the
disciples so long in such a storm. Jesus probably
wondered why the disciples waited so long in such a
storm to call upon Him.
d. Lesson 4—There is no limit to the power of God.
Matt 14:26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the
sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they
cried out for fear.
Even though the disciples did not ask for His help,
Jesus literally came to give it. The disciples had
seen Jesus calm storms before, but it never dawned
upon them that He could calm the sea even when not
in their presence. Their lack of faith in Jesus’
power was evident when they saw Jesus walking on the
water. Such a sight was more than their human minds
could comprehend. The best their minds could fathom
was that they must be seeing a ghost coming toward
then. What they had failed to comprehend was that
there was no limit to the power of God!
e. \\#32-33\\ Lesson 5-The problem is never with our
circumstances. It is in our faith. As soon as Jesus
had demonstrated His power, and at the same time
demonstrated that His disciples could trust in that
power, the storm ceased. The storm was never the
issue. Jesus demonstrated that by walking across
the troubled sea to reach His disciples. The problem
was within His disciples, just like it is within us.
It is our fear, our doubt, our lack of faith that He
plans all things, controls all things, and rules over
all things. The disciples had spent a long night on
a troubled sea demonstrating they had not learned
this important lesson. As soon as Jesus made these
points, the trial ended.
3. \\#28-31\\ Extra Credit - Training the Disciples to
Believe to Completion
a. \\#28-29\\ Peter, having sensed the power of Jesus,
wanted more.
(1) \\#28\\ Peter’s Request
Matt 14:28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be
thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
(a) Although Peter’s request does use the
phrase "if it be thou," it is obvious by
his request that he no longer doubts Who
it is that he sees.
(b) One would not attempt to walk on water if
he were not sure God was before him to
make it possible!
(2) Jesus’ Answer
(a) \\#29\\ "Come." - Jesus granted Peter’s
request. Is this not what our Lord
desires and encourages? Does He not
delight in our hunger of His power, our
excitement over His glory?
(b) "And… Peter… walked on the water, to go to
Jesus."—-This is what the Lord desires for
all of His children. He does not desire
us to sit in the boat, subjected to the
waves. No! His desire is that we
overcome the circumstances by having
faith in His power!
b. \\#30\\ Peter, being reminded of the storm, begins to
fear.
(1) Notice the progression.
(a) "he saw the wind boisterous"
(b) "he was afraid"
(c) "beginning to sink"
(2) The only limit to the power of God is our limited
faith.
c. \\#30-31\\ Peter, seeing his need, called upon the
Lord.
(1) \\#30\\ One must give Peter credit for two
things.
(a) Peter had faith enough to walk on the water
to Jesus to begin with.
(b) When Peter began to sink, he had sense
enough to call on Jesus to save him.
(2) \\#31\\ Notice Jesus’ help.
(a) "Jesus stretched forth his hand" - Peter
needed help and Jesus gave it to him.
While there are times when we need to be
taught lessons, there are also times when
we need the swift help of our Lord—and He
gives it.
(b) "immediately" - Jesus did not delay for
Peter could not afford it! In fact,
gravity being what it is, one would think
that before Peter even called Jesus had
already begun to reach for him.
(c) "and caught him" - Jesus not only intends to
help Peter. He succeeds. We serve a God
who able to do all that He ever intends!
d. \\#31\\ Jesus’ Rebuke
(1) Once the rescue was complete, there was time for
teaching.
(2) "little faith… doubt" - Peter’s faith, which
started so strong, faded when he realized he
was doing the impossible.
(3) It is necessary that a Christian not only have
faith to begin the impossible for Christ but to
complete it.
4. \\#32-33\\ The Conclusions - Once back in the ship…
a. \\#32\\ "the wind ceased" - The violent storm
miraculously ceased. It had served God’s purpose and
thus ended.
b. Matthew does not tell us this but John reveals that
the ship was miraculously relocated to the shore.
John 6:21 Then they willingly received him into the ship:
and immediately the ship was at the land whither they went.
(1) God not only calms the storms that hinder us but
when we turn to Him, He makes up for the time
that has been wasted.
(2) There is no limit to the power of our God.
c. \\#33\\ "they… worshipped him, saying… thou art
the Son of God."
(1) While the disciples did not learn all of the
lessons they might have learned, this one they
got. Jesus is God!
(2) No one walks on water, calms seas, and moves
ships except for God Himself!
D. \\#Matt 14:34-36\\ The Ministry Goes On - Ministry At
Gennesaret
1. \\#35\\ Gennesaret
a. Gennesaret was known by several names. In the Old
Testament Chinnereth \\#Jos 19:35\\ or Chinneroth
\\#Jos 11:2\\. The Sea of Galilee is sometimes
called the Sea of Gennesaret or the Sea of Tiberius.
b. The area of Gennesaret was along the western side of
the sea, around 3 to 4 miles long.
(American Tract Society Bible Dictionary (858), Book 1, Topic 9).
c. Matthew continues to give us "location clues" although
he still only summarizes. He did not give great
details of the miracles or why Jesus was moving.
2. \\#36-37\\ The people of Gennesaret were curious of the
Lord and came out to be healed of Him. As in Capernaum,
Bethsaida, and other locations, this does not mean the
people actually accepted Him. It means they accepted
what He could do for them.
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