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Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 14:9-11

Antipas was wrong to give his oath, which he evidently repeated more than once (Matthew 14:7), and he was wrong to keep it. He feared losing face with his guests. The Romans practiced decapitation. That form of execution was not Jewish. Likewise the Romans executed certain prisoners without a trial whereas Jewish law required one. [Note: Ibid., p. 339.] The gore of this scene testifies to the hardhearted condition of the Roman royal family and their courtiers. As the last of the Old Testament... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 14:1-36

Death of the Baptist. Feeding the Five Thousand. Walking on the Sea1, 2. Herod’s opinion of Jesus (Mark 6:14; Luke 9:7).1. Herod the tetrarch] son of Herod the Great, received by his father’s will the government (tetrarchy) of Galilee and Peræa. His first wife was the daughter of the Arabian prince Aretas, called in 2 Corinthians 11:32 king of Damascus. During a visit to his half-brother, Herod Philip (not the tetrarch), who lived as a private citizen in Rome, he became enamoured of his wife,... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 14:9

(9) The king was sorry.—It was the last struggle of conscience. In that moment there must have come before his mind his past reverence for the prophet, the joy which had for a time accompanied the strivings of a better life, possibly the counsels of his foster-brother Manaen. Had there been only the personal influence of Herodias these might have prevailed against it, but, like most weak men, Herod feared to be thought weak. It was not so much his regard for the oath which he had taken (that,... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Matthew 14:1-36

Matthew 14:4 It is an hard condition that the necessity of our calling casts upon us, in some cases, to run upon the pikes of displeasure Prophecies were no burdens, if they did not expose us to these dangers. We must connive at no evil; every sin unreproved becomes ours. Bishop Hall. Reference. XIV. 4-8. W. Lefroy, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxv. 1904, p. 118. Matthew 14:6-8 No sign of a nation perishing is so sure as the corruption of woman Messalina was more ominous than Nero, Herodias... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Matthew 14:1-36

Chapter 12The Crisis in Galilee Matthew 14:1-36 - Matthew 15:1-39 - Matthew 16:1-12.THE lives of John and of Jesus, lived so far apart, and with so little intercommunication, have yet been interwoven in a remarkable way, the connection only appearing at the most critical times in the life of our Lord. This interweaving, strikingly anticipated in the incidents of the nativity as recorded by St. Luke, appears, not only at the time of our Saviour’s baptism and first introduction to His Messianic... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Matthew 14:1-36

2. John's Martyrdom. The Fourfold Attitude of the Rejected King. CHAPTER 14 1. John's Martyrdom. (Matthew 14:1-11 .) 2. The Disciples of John with the Lord Jesus. (Matthew 14:12 .) 3. Feeding the Five Thousand. (Matthew 14:13-21 .) 4. Praying on the Mountain-top. (Matthew 14:22-23 .) 5. Walking on the Sea; Coming to His Disciples. (Matthew 14:24-36 .) The fourteenth chapter contains the record of events put together so as to harmonize with the purpose of this Gospel. The Lord had... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 14:1-36

Now authority in high places is seen to reject Him too, by the deliberate rejection of His forerunner and servant John the Baptist. When King Herod hears of His fame, his conscience is troubled, fearing that Christ is John risen from the dead. Yet John had done no miracle. His moral and spiritual power had however left a solemn impression on Herod. Again, it was common knowledge that John and the Lord Jesus had been contemporaries, the Lord having been baptized by John (Matthew 3:13-17); but... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Matthew 14:1-36

FIRST MINISTRY TO THE GENTILES Jesus has come. He has proclaimed the nearness of the Kingdom, revealed its code or principles, presented His credentials, and sent forth His heralds. But He has been antagonized and practically rejected by the nation. Then comes the turning point, when He ceases to proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom, and discourses of it in mystery. In seven parables he outlines how it will fare among the nations in the absence of the King. One might suppose that the... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Matthew 14:1-14

Chapter 60 Herod Hears of Christ Mat 14:1-14 It must not be supposed that Herod had not heard of Jesus Christ until this time, but at this particular juncture the fame of Jesus made a new impression upon the ruler's mind. There are some hours that are historical, although the very things we remember in those hours have not been unknown to us or even unfamiliar to us aforetime. Notice the kind of fame which Herod heard of Jesus. Was it the fame of his eloquence or the fame of his spirituality?... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Matthew 14:1-12

"At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, (2) And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. (3) For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife. (4) For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. (5) And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a... read more

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