Matthew 14:13 NIV

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 14:13-14

Since Matthew 14:3-12 are an excursus, the opening words of this pericope must refer to Herod’s response to Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus heard that, He withdrew from Herod’s territory and his animosity (cf. Matthew 12:15). Evidently Jesus believed Herod Antipas would oppose Him as he had opposed His forerunner. As previously (Matthew 12:15) and later (Matthew 15:21), Jesus withdrew from a place of danger and confrontation.However, Jesus could not escape the crowds that followed Him wherever He... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000 14:13-21 (cf. Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13)Matthew’s record of this miracle, which all four Gospels contain, stresses Jesus’ power to create, His compassion, and the disciples’ responsibility to minister to multitudes as Jesus’ representatives. It also previews the kingdom banquet (cf. Matthew 8:11). The simple meal that Jesus provided on this occasion in a wholesome setting contrasts with Herod’s lavish feast in a degenerate setting just described. [Note:... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 14:13-33

2. The withdrawal to Bethsaida 14:13-33Having experienced strong rejection from the common people and from the nation’s political leaders, Jesus withdrew to train His disciples further. In view of the coming conflict, they needed stronger faith in Him. Jesus cultivated their faith with two miracles. 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 14:13

(13) When Jesus heard of it.—We may, I think reverently trace as the motives of this withdrawal, (1) the strong personal emotion which the death of one whom Jesus had known and loved could not fail to cause, and (2) the wish to avoid being the centre of the popular excitement which the death of John was likely to cause, and which we know, as a matter of fact (Jos. Ant. xviii. 5, § 2), was so strong that men looked on all the subsequent troubles of Antipas and his wife as a retributive judgment... 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