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
Jesus’ acts of looking heavenward, thanking God, and then breaking the loaves were normal for the head of any Jewish household. [Note: Moore, 2:216-17.] Jesus then performed the miracle, namely, creating enough bread and fish to feed the assembled throng. With 5,000 men present, the total size of the crowd may have been 10,000 to 20,000. Counting only the males had Old Testament precedent (cf. Exodus 12:37). Everyone had enough to eat and felt satisfied (Matthew 14:20). Jesus’ provision was so... read more
14:19 blessed. (a-26) Or 'praised.' 'gave thanks.' read more
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
(19) He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass.—This, too, was done with a calm and orderly precision. They were to sit down in companies of fifty or a hundred each, and thus the number of those who were fed became a matter of easy calculation. St. Mark, with a vivid picturesqueness, describes them as presenting the appearance of so many beds of flowers in a well-ordered garden. The bright colours of Eastern dress probably made the resemblance more striking than it would be with a... read more
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
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
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
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
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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