Law & Grace - Matthew 14:1-36 "John's exit, feeding & walking"

Now, here in the passage we have three main topics to cover. What I'm calling John's exit here, the feeding of the 5,000, and then Jesus walking on the water. So the title of this slide seems fairly simple and ordinary, but the contents are not all that simple and they're not ordinary either. Verses 1-12 talk about how John the Baptist was beheaded under orders from Herod Antipas. Verses 13-21 tell about how Jesus fed 5,000 people at once and actually possibly more, starting with just five loaves of bread and two fish. And the last verses, 22-36, tell of the time that Christ walked on water to meet his disciples. You probably didn't walk on water to get here, right?

I doubt it. Okay. So, the first slide there, how to get freaked out. Well, this is how Herod Antipas got freaked out, as it's introduced there. Herod Antipas was the one who ruled in Galilee. He thought that Jesus was John the Baptist resurrected. And that bothered him particularly, and we'll find out why. That thought likely bothered him some, because he was the one who had had John the Baptist killed somewhat to his regret.

And we'll see how that story unfolds. Verses 3 through 10 in this passage detail how it came about that Herod Antipas first ordered John put in prison. That was his initial measure. and then ordered john beheaded we have actually more detail in mark chapter six verses twelve through twenty nine uh... the same uh... account is given with more details and uh... uh... greater depth in that passage you have uh... i believe a supplement on the herod family of the new testament as uh... among your handouts there and uh...

That supplement lists there a limited listing and family tree of the Herod family. The reality is, we're going to zero in on just one part of it. See, this shows five wives. Herod actually had 10. A couple of them, we don't know the names of them. That was a sister and a cousin. but he actually had ten. The other five are not shown here, and some of the children are also not shown. So we'll be taking a look at these.

The point for us to note right now is that Herodias, who we're going to read of in this account, was initially married to Herod Philip II. And that was the initial marriage. That was broken off so that she could marry Herod Antipas. But before then, she had with Herod Philip a daughter, Salome. And so that was broken off so that she could marry Herod Antipas. The daughter Salome, of course, came along with her, Herod Antipas' stepdaughter, if you will.

So we'll make reference to these people in our lesson today. The one thing you'll note about this handout is all the biblical references where all the Herod family shows up in the New Testament are all given on this family tree here, even though it is limited.

Okay, just a little bit of background. In 17 AD Herod Antipas began construction of a new capital city, the capital city of Tiberias. It was on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, as you see on the map there. So far so good. There was, however, a very big problem with his site selection. It was on top of a Jewish cemetery. This did not impress the Jews. I could say even more strongly, they were greatly offended at his choice of locations. That probably explains why the Jews didn't very often go there. And while only the Gospel of John uses the word Tiberius at all, the general tendency was for people of decent background to stay away from there.

But that is important to our account today because that is where Herod Antipas carried out what he did in this account. Here is the archaeological excavation of Tiberias. There was more of it beyond what's in this picture, but it gives you some idea of what structure was built there beginning in 17 AD. Now, the domain of Herod the Great, who by the way was not all that great. The domain of Herod the Great had been assigned by the Romans.

And do you know why the Romans gave him this particular area that included Israel? It's because he was nasty. Yes, it's because he was nasty. And they knew that he would be nasty enough to keep out the Parthians, which is the empire to the east. They didn't want any interference from them anymore.

This gives you a little better idea of the breakdown of the pieces. When Herod the Great, who again was not that great, died, some of his sons were assigned some territory. And it's this area in here, Galilee, with his newly constructed city, Tiberias, that's the center of our passage today, the focal point, at least at the start. Given that the Jews would hardly go there, this new city was populated mostly by Greeks and Romans, who ate things and wore things and did things that the Jews would never do. It made the Jews even less inclined to live in and go to the new city, aside from the fact that it was built on a Jewish cemetery.

Now, this is the way that Romans had their parties. The typical thing was to be lying down, having yourself propped up on a pillow and get the food in there and get the drink in there and get the food and get the drink in and lots of both. Surrounding that would be musicians and various kinds of entertainers. That was a typical Roman party atmosphere, right? So when in Tiberias, party like the Romans do, okay? A few different reasons. One is because no Jews ever going to go there, and that's part one.

The next thing is this fellow Herod Antipas had actually been educated in Rome and had connections to Rome far more than he did to the Jews who were his subjects. Herod the Great was descended from Esau, that is Jacob's brother. Those descendants of Esau did not have the Law of Moses, they didn't have Jewish tradition to constrain them at all.

And the Jews were quite often inclined to call them filthy, pig-eating Romans. And so, though not directly Roman, he was culturally Roman. Additionally, this family of Herod had a long-standing connection to Rome, so Herod Antipas was often inclined to throw these Roman-style parties for his officials, all military officials and various ones and parts of government in his area of Galilee there.

He would throw these parties from time to time, but this was, after all, a rather special event. Here's this Roman-style party. Well, that Roman-style party might include jugglers and jesters and stuntmen and, oh yeah, did I say lots of wine? This particular party was a celebration of Herod Antipas' birthday.

So, of course, you have to do it up big, right? Now, the party was going well, at least as far as Herod saw it, when Herod's wife's daughter, Herod's daughter-in-law, no, that's right, stepdaughter, right? Herod's wife's daughter, stepdaughter, came on the program to dance.

There was, of course, a whole sequence of things that were entertaining. Jugglers and magicians and stuntmen of various kinds. But now Salome, we don't have that name from scripture, but from other writings, Salome, his stepdaughter, came on the program to dance.

The environment was one of great abundance of food and drink and music and party entertainment and like performances and dances and singing and things of that sort. And so that went on and the party was getting ever more festive in the Roman tradition. Oh, did I mention lots of wine? Okay.

And now Salome comes on in the midst of this. and she's coming on to dance. The dance was in keeping with the Greek and Roman style, no doubt sensuous, and not done like up on a platform, but rather done amongst and amidst the people. The party began to take a bad turn here at this point after Herod Antipas' stepdaughter, Salome, began to dance amidst him and his guests. dancing up close, teasing, suggesting. Salome began her sensuous dance.

Her dancing was apparently the high point of the party because it's with that dance. And oh yes, did I mention, plenty of alcohol. There was alcohol inside and a party environment on the outside and the dance of Salome didn't just please Herod Antipas but everyone who was there was very pleased and so Herod Antipas was compelled to make with an oath an offer to Salome that he would come to regret.

He said this, he swore to her I most certainly swear, whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom." Now, this is not the first time this phraseology has shown up in the Bible. As a matter of fact, it was used in the book of Esther. The king in Esther said this. So it was a common statement, as a matter of fact, a figure of speech that meant, I'm going to give you a maximum gift. Go ahead and wish it. Right? Go ahead and wish it. And so he did that here in front of all of his guests and with plenty of alcohol.

Salome, who is the daughter of Herodias by her former husband Herod Philip, didn't know what to ask for. Heavens, such a great offer. I have no idea what to ask for. So she asked her mother. Now, it's generally a good idea for daughters to ask their mothers things, but in this case it was not.

Salome's mother, Herodias, who did not like the words of John the Baptist about her marriage to Herod Antipas because she had broken off, for no good reason, the marriage to Herod Philip II in order to marry Herod Antipas. Well, this Herodias being rather angry about John's words, being resentful of them, told Salome to ask for John's head on a platter.

Yeah, do that. That'll get him out of here. He won't just be in prison, he'll be gone for good. No one will hear his words again. So Salome went to Herod Antipas and asked for exactly that? to Herod Antipas' deep regret. He had promised and given an oath right in front of everyone. He could hardly back down. So he gave the orders, in fact it says right away, to have John's head brought to Salome on a platter.

The disciples of John the Baptist came and took care of John's body. as they were allowed to do and inclined to do. And they reported what had happened, all the events that we've been looking at here, to Jesus. Well, at this news, Jesus withdrew by himself and actually, it says in other accounts, the disciples did as well. They all kind of pulled back and said, boy, we've got to take a little breather after this. Well, as it became known where Jesus was, he pulled off to be in a secluded place, but didn't stay secluded. The people came around and since Jesus had compassion on them, he healed many of them, which of course brought even more.

Think of what it was like in New Testament times. If you became ill with whatever the disease was, the available medical treatment was not all that great. And many times it couldn't be afforded anyway. And then think of injuries that today we would say, well, I'll just have surgery or some kind of a treatment. They just simply didn't have very good options available. And so people would accumulate various sorts of illnesses and injuries for which there wasn't any real good solution. And so to have Jesus come and heal people of those diseases was an astounding thing for him to do and to have available. There simply was nothing like it.

At any rate, as evening was coming, they were not in a town or a city, and the disciples were thinking that Jesus ought to maybe send these people away so they go get something to eat. So, go off into the villages, the disciples were thinking, and buy some food, right? So, Jesus told the disciples, you give them something to eat. They had asked Jesus if he wanted to spend 200 denarius. Now, denarius was an average day's wages. So it's like 200 days wages in order to feed all these people. He wants to go into the nearby towns and villages and get food for all these people. But Jesus asked them, well, what food have you got? What do you have? And of course they went around with their fishy flip-flops, right? And asked, and they checked around. And he says, no, you give them something to eat, they told him that they could find only five loaves and two fishes.

The fishes were likely dried, not raw fish, but likely dried. It was one of the three ways that people primarily had fish and likely in the situation you'd have dried fish. The typical way was either hang it on a rack or lay it down and put layers of salt down. and then put the fish on top of it. So either way, dried. And so then you could break up the dried fish in pieces.

And so that's likely the way they would have kept it. So at that, Jesus told them to all sit down in the grass. Imagine what are the disciples thinking? This isn't going to work. We're going to be really, really hungry, all of us. Or we're going to get just a little tiny morsel. I'm not so sure about this. You can imagine what they were thinking.

But he had them sit down in the grass. Everybody laid down, and in fact it says in groups. After he blessed the food, the disciples distributed it, feeding all 5,000 present to the point that they were satisfied. And he kept breaking it up and breaking it up and breaking it up and there's more and there's more. And everyone had enough. Not only that, leftovers. After all 5,000 were fed and satisfied, the disciples gathered up all the pieces of fish and bread that were left over, 12 baskets full, one for each disciple.

This miracle validates Christ's ministry that he was proclaiming himself to be the Messiah. to the Jews, it also offers some good illustrations for us. Among those illustrations are that whatever we give the Lord, he will use it in his way and for his purposes, perhaps in ways that we hadn't imagined. Just like the disciples had not thought, oh well, Jesus is just going to multiply this food. But whatever we give the Lord is what he already gave us. Keep that in mind. We're not giving of the Lord from what we have. Whatever we have to give him is what he has already given to us and blessed us with. We have no credit to claim.

Then, after this event, he dismissed actually two groups. One, As he sent the disciples across the boat, in the boat, across the lake, the crowd he sent away as well. He says, you've all been fed, now go home. He dismissed them and then he went off in a secluded place to pray while his disciples were fighting their way across the lake. The disciples, even though they were experienced fishermen in great part, experience with the water, experience with the boats, all sorts of circumstances.

As a matter of fact, by this time it was nighttime, and that's in reality the time when they would generally go fishing, because then the fish can't see the nets, right? So it was circumstances that they were pretty accustomed to, but nonetheless, it was slow going. So rather than going straight across the lake easily, they were struggling to get across.

There was a contrary wind that was blowing against them. And of course, the Lord knew this too. As they were out there fighting the waves, the Lord appeared before them. Of course, that isn't what they first thought. They first thought, ah, I'm seeing a ghost. He said, no. They saw Christ walking on top of the water. Though all of the disciples were very afraid to see a man walking on the water, Christ's words to them were brief and potent. Of course, we wouldn't want to be long-winded at that moment anyway. So his words were brief.

He says, take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. But he didn't exactly say, it's just me. Where it says, it is I, there are some particular Greek words that are used there. I don't often go, you know, saying the Greek term, but in this one, I will. It's Ego, Emi. And it's a specific combination of words that say, I am God. When Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, he used those words. When he said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, he used those words. Exact same words here. So he didn't say, don't worry, it's just me guys. You can relax. Take courage. I, who am God, am here with you. That's what he told them. Don't worry, God's with you. I'm here.

To give you an idea, in the Greek Old Testament of Exodus 3.14, In the English has, I am who I am. The Greek Old Testament is those exact same words, from the burning bush, when Moses is talking to the Lord who is speaking from the burning bush. And the Lord, in response to Moses' question, who should I say has sent me? He says, in the Greek Old Testament, ego eimi.

So Jesus is not just saying, don't worry, it's just me, Jesus, you know, just plain old everyday Jesus. He walks out on the waters, don't worry, I'm God and I'm here with you. That's what He was telling them. So Peter, of course, never one to keep quiet or to hold back, never one to sit back in the shadows, asked to come onto the water as well. And he does so by saying, Lord, if it's You, command me to come. So the Lord says, come. So at first Peter does go out of the boat and on the water.

He's out there. He's walking towards the Lord. And don't worry Donna, I won't jump off the edge. Okay. He's walking towards the Lord. And then he looks down. Uh oh. He's looking at the waves. And the wind's kind of throwing everything up, and he starts getting afraid. He takes his eyes off the Lord. He takes his thoughts off the Lord. And what happens? Into the drink. Here's a guy who knows the water. All of a sudden, he is afraid. He says, help! On sinking into the water, he pleads with the Lord to save him. And the Lord does so. So the disciples all begin to worship. declaring that he is truly the Son of God. And by the way, this is a response to his claim to be God.

He's not an angel. He's not just a good man. Twice in the book of Revelation, John the Apostle mistakenly worships angels. The angels immediately say, Whoa! Stop! Don't worship me, worship God. I'm just an angel. That's not what happens here. Does Jesus receive and accept the worship? Yes. Does he say, don't do this, I'm not God? No. He tells them before he gets into the boat, ego eimi, I am in fact God. And he receives worship. He is in fact deity.

There's no question about it. So as they arrive at their destination on the other side of the lake, the people take notice and word spreads quickly. Jesus heals many as they come or are brought to him. In some cases, the people can't come. These miracles, of course, validate his claim to be their Messiah, to be the one long promised.

If we think back on the basically three events that took place in this chapter, we can look back on what happened with Herod Antipas and Ptolemy and Herodias and John the Baptist and what happened there with the party and the command by Herod Antipas was certainly wrong, wasn't it?

It was all wrong. There's nothing right about it. In matter of fact, you look at him and say, here's John the Baptist, his life was ended. Unjustly. He did nothing to deserve imprisonment, much less beheading. But there's another part of this, too. Did the Lord know about this? Yes. Was it, in fact, the time that John the Baptist was to go home? Yeah. It was. And so as we look at this, on the one hand, we say, oh, this is terrible. Yes, it is. Did John go home? Yes. Had John fulfilled his mission and ministry? Yes, he had.

And that's something for us to remember. We have loved ones. For some of us, it's more recent, and others not. We have loved ones the Lord has called home. From the Lord's standpoint, it's a home going. Psalm says the home going of the saints, I'm paraphrasing here, is precious in the Lord's sight.

Something else to look at too, here in the feeding of the 5,000, there was, of course, the bringing of just the five loaves and the two fish, and saying, Jesus, that's all we've got. But the truth is, there's also spiritual food that the Lord gives us in His Word. Is that not even a greater miracle? The feeding of the 5,000 took place and it just took care of their physical needs for one evening, one time. We have the opportunity to feed on God's Word and to grow from it.

As a matter of fact, 2 Corinthians 3.18 says, as we behold the Lord, we are transformed as a work of the Holy Spirit. That's a miracle that goes on all the time for every believer who beholds the Lord and His Word. That's an ongoing miracle and a whole lot more than 5,000 get fed.

And then when we look at this instance of Jesus walking on the water and Peter saying Lord, you know have me come out if it's you Tell me to come and he comes And at first he walks, but then he gets his eyes off the Lord and what happens? He thinks Well, the Lord's not asking very many of us to walk on water.

I don't think but the Lord certainly is Asking us to keep our eyes on him All of us either have been or are or will be in all sorts of difficult circumstances. And just like Peter looked around and he said, boy, these waves and the wind and this is water I'm on. All of us are in all sorts of difficult circumstances at different times and at different durations. In the middle of those, he's calling us to keep our eyes on him. And it may not be walking on water, but it may be walking through the circumstances that God has on purpose. On purpose.

Keeping our eyes on Him is exactly the right thing to do. Just like the Lord said to Peter, come, and by the way, keep looking at me, don't look at the circumstances. The Lord is asking us to keep looking to Him. Come, the Lord says, but keep looking and beholding Him. That's what the Lord has in mind. Beholding Him all the time.

Let's pray. Lord, as we look at the lessons in this chapter, as we look at the events that took place, there are indeed some valuable and deep things for us to take home and to take to heart. And we ask that you would teach us these truths, teach us these lessons, and bring them home to our hearts. And we ask that they would grow with deep roots in us, that we would understand more and more the wonder and the significance of beholding you. We thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.