Last week we learned that there is nothing more important than God's Kingdom.
Matthew 14:1-12 – Death of John the Baptist
John the Baptist was arrested and held in prison because he had spoken out against Herod’s marriage. Herod had illegally divorced his previous wife and then seduced and married his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias. She was a woman of loose moral and unfaithful to Philip. Herod feared John and protected him knowing John was a righteous and holy man. He even liked listening to John preach, but he felt guilty and was afraid of the people since they considered John a prophet. Herodias resented John for calling her out on her sin and held a grudge. She planned to murder him for revenge. She used her daughter, Salome to carry out her crime causing her to sin.
It was Herod's birthday and there was a party. Salome danced shamelessly for Herod and his friends, winning their favor. He was so pleased that he promised her anything she wanted. Her mother involved her in her revenge against John and told her to ask for John's head on a platter. All the guests heard Herod make this promise. Herod knew it was wrong, but was weak and didn't want to go against his wife or the guests. He wanted to please his guests and didn't want to be judged for not keeping a promise so he beheaded John. Rash promises are no excuse for doing wrong things. Herod had a terrible end. He later would be accused of treason against Rome and would be banished where he and his wife committed suicide.
Wow! This sounds like a soap opera.
Salome was probably a teenager and encouraged to dress indecent. Even today parents too often encourage their daughters in dress inappropriate. If they don’t encourage this kind of dress, they sure permit it. Many teens and young adults dress like prostitutes. Whose fault is it? I think it’s mostly the mom’s fault. Moms let their daughters dress older than their age and wear makeup too soon. Sure, they are influenced by TV, magazines, and movies. They think it’s pretty, when it really makes them look cheap and like sluts. Moms you need to draw the line. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 says women should dress in respectable apparel with modesty and self-control. 1 Peter 3:2-5 says beauty should not come from outward adornment. Proverbs 31:25 says women should be clothed with strength and dignity.
What are you teaching your daughter? Our children are exposed to a lot today. It's a privilege to train our children. It's our responsibility to protect our house and families and to set good examples. They learn a lot through direct teaching, but they learn much more by watching us. We are to love God and keep His commandments. A parent’s job is to - “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” - Deut. 6:7. Wisdom starts with God. We’re teaching all the time whether we realize it or not. We need to teach them about Jesus and who He is. This is your job not the church or Sunday school teacher. This goes for grandparents, too.
Are you setting a
good example for your children?
Do you hold a grudge
against someone? Holding grudges cause you to give in to sin.
Do you fear the
opinions of others?
Principle: Holding a grudge can lead to sin.
Matthew 14:13-21 – Jesus Feeds 5,000
The disciples took John's body and buried it and then went and told Jesus. After hearing of John's death Jesus and His disciples withdrew needing rest and time to grieve. The crowds still followed, but Jesus didn’t turn them away. He had great compassion on them. He saw their helplessness and need for Him. Like a loving shepherd He put aside His own feelings and continued to teach and heal their sick.
Evening approached and the disciples asked Jesus to send the people away because there was not food and they needed to eat. Jesus challenged both the compassion and the faith of His disciples. He said, "They do not need to go away. You will give them something to eat." - Matt. 14:16. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish, they answered." - Matt. 14:17. Jesus directed the crowd of 5,000 to sit down and took the five loaves and two fish and gave thanks to God. He then gave the food to the disciple to give to the people. They all ate and were satisfied with pieces left over – twelve baskets of leftovers. The people were hungry and needed food and the Bread of Life. "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." - John 6:35.
Do you have something small, but important to give to help others?
This was a miracle. They used what they had and God increased it. God uses whatever gifts we bring to Him and He increases them. Jesus asked the disciples to give out the food. God helps people, but He also needs us to help Him do His work. Jesus taught His disciples to be compassionate, that God has resources we know nothing about, and that God will always provide.
We can be tempted, like the disciples, to believe that we have nothing to offer when faced with overwhelming need. Millions of people are hungry, but we have nothing to offer except a few cans of food. Millions lose their homes in natural disasters, but we have nothing to offer except prayers and blankets. Maybe we think the government should handle this kind of stuff. It all boils down to belief. Where do we believe power really lies?
When we feed the hungry, we are showing compassion like Jesus did. When we see the poor, the needy, the hungry, and are moved with compassion to feed them, we are following Jesus’ instructions to give them something to eat. We may not have much, but we have more than the needy. If we give them physical food, we may have the opportunity to give spiritual food as well.
This feeding on the 5,000 also shows us that we need to thank God for and wisely use what we have, trust God’s unlimited resources and not to waste what He gives us.
What a contrast between Herod’s dinner party and the meal Jesus provided for the five thousand. Herod’s party is characterized by hatred – Jesus’ meal by compassion. Herod was concerned with his own power and well-being – Jesus’ was concerned for the well-being of those who came to see Him. Herod’s party ended in death – Jesus’ meal sustained life. The contrast couldn’t be more deliberate or completer.
Principle: Jesus provides for His own in every situation and has resources we know nothing about.
Matthew 14:22-36 – Jesus Walks on Water
Jesus made His disciples get into the boat while He dismissed the crowd. Notice he “made” them get into the boar. There could be several reasons he did this. He needed to be alone to pray; he wanted to escape the crowd and get some rest; He was going to use this scene as a teaching moment. During the night the boat drifted out way beyond the shore. A storm came up and tossed the boat around. Jesus in His tender love for His faithful followers and their distress, walked across the lake to meet them. When the disciples saw Him, they were terrified and said, "It's a ghost." - Matt. 14:26. Jesus said to them, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." - Matt. 14:27.
Note: The Bible tells us 365 times to not be afraid.
Peter as the leader said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." - Matt.14:28. Jesus told him to come. Peter then got out of the boat, but became distracted and turned his eyes from Jesus and began to sink. He cried for Jesus to save him. Jesus took his hand and they walked on the water together. Jesus said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" - Matt. 14:31. Then they all worshiped Jesus and said, "Truly you are the Son of God." - Matt. 14:33.
They had forgotten the miracle that had just happened when Jesus fed the 5,000. If they had truly responded by faith, they would not doubted so quickly. When Peter focused on Jesus, he was safe. When he looked at the circumstances around him, he became fearful. When we look in fear to what future danger there may be, that is doubt. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him. Jesus will never let you sink in your situation. God's timing is always perfect. He is there when you need Him. He appears just when you need comfort and reassurance. His is always there for you to take hold of His hand.
Peter represents each one of us in our relationship with God. The boat represents our comfort zone. The water represents the unknown. The distance between Peter and Jesus represents our sins and imperfections. The wind represents our weaknesses and the temptations from Satan. Jesus calls us to step outside ourselves and our comfort zone and walk to Him in faith. He’s calls us to destroy our egos, die to ourselves, and rely on Him.
Why do we sometimes doubt? We fail to see God at work in our circumstances; we asked and nothing happens; maybe we don’t really know God’s ways; He doesn’t intervene according to our timetable; we don’t truly believe in miracles; we don’t believe he really existed or that He died for us; we don’t believe God has the ability to help us; we don’t think He could actually love the sinner that we are. We cling to doubt instead of Him or in other words we are clinging to ourselves.
Doubt is not unbelief. Doubt will continue to be a constant struggle. It’s a part of our fallen nature. It doesn’t mean you are not a Christian. The opposite of faith is unbelief, not doubt. However doubt will lead to unbelief if not dealt with. To overcome doubt we must pray and cry out to God to help our doubt, go to the Bible and search for answers to your doubt, and ask God to strengthen your faith in His Word.
Can you relate to Peter?
Principle: Jesus can do the impossible and He will help you in storms of life when you focus your eyes on Him.
For the first time they really knew who Jesus was and worshiped Him. When you know who Jesus really is, your life will change. When you are in the storms of life, He will teach you something new.
I hope you saw Jesus' love and compassion in these passages, how He put the needs of others before His own, and how He used each situation to train His disciples. He shows us how to have compassion for others, how we are to thank God as He did for the fish and bread, how He always provides what we need when we need it, and how He is always there to protect us in the storms of life. We can see ourselves in Peter and the other disciples. At times we get distracted and take our eyes off of Jesus. We let doubt and we fear take over. We need to keep looking to Jesus. He knows our situations and is always there, if we call on Him. Gaze at Jesus and glance at everything else.
See you next week for the next Matthew study -- I encourage you to trust in Jesus.
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