Monday
– 4th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew 14
Chapter 14 – 20 I have called “The Retirement of
the King”. During the period of time recorded by Matthew in these chapters,
Jesus often withdrew from the crowds and spent time alone with His disciples. (See
14:13; 15:21,29; 16:13, 17:18). There were several reasons for these
withdrawals; the growing hostility of His enemies, the need for physical rest,
and the need to prepare His disciples for His future death on the cross. Unfortunately,
the disciples were often caught up in the excitement generated by the crowds
that wanted to make Jesus their king ( see John 6:15)
However, we must not think that these withdrawals,
or periods of retirement from the crowds, were periods of inactivity. Often the
crowds followed Jesus and He was unable to remain alone. He would unselfishly
minister to their needs in spite of His own need for rest and solitude. In
chapter 14-20m we will see these three groups of people; Christ’s enemies, the
needy multitudes, and the disciples. As the story reaches its climax, it
appears that the enemies have won; but this is not true. In the closing
chapter, Matthew describes the risen King commissioning His disciples to go
into all the world and share the good news with the multitudes!
We see these same three groups of people in this
chapter and our Lord’s responses to them.
His Enemies: Caution (14:1-13)
The Herod family looms large in the four Gospels
and the Book of Acts and it is easy to confuse the various rulers.
Herod the Great founded the dynasty and ruled from
37B.C to A.D. 4. He was not a Jew by birth, but was an Edomite, a descendent of
Esau. He was a heathen in practice and a monster in character! He had 9 wives
(some say 10) and he thought nothing of slaying hs sons and wife if they got in
the way of his plans. It was he who had the infants slain in Bethlehem. (Matt
2:13-18)
Herod Antipas, the Herod of this chapter, was a son
of Herod the Great. His title was ‘tetrarch’ which means ‘ruler over the fourth
part of the kingdom’ He ruled from 4B.C. to A.D. 39, and his rule was deceptive
and selfish. He loved luxury and was very ambitious to become a great ruler.
Herod Agrippa is the Herod who imprisoned Peter and
Killed James (Acts 12), He was a grandson of Herod the Great.
Herod Agrippa II was the Herod who tried Peter (Acts
25:13). He was a son of Herod Agrippa I.
All the Herod had Edomite blood in them and like
their ancestor Esau, they were hostile to the Jews. They practiced the Jewish
religion when it helped fulfill their plans for gaining more power and wealth.
Herod Antipas was guilty of gross sin. He had
eloped with Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip I, divorcing his own
wife and sending her back to her father, the king Petra (Lev 18:16; 20:21).
Herod listened to the voice of temptation and plunged himself into terrible
sin. But there were other voices that God sent to warn Herod.
Tuesday
– 5th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew 14
The
voice of the prophet(14:3-5). Boldly, John the Baptist warned Herod and called
him to repent. John knew the sin of the ruler would only pollute the land and
make it easier for others to sin, and that God would judge sinners (Mal. 3:5).
We must commend John for his courage in naming sin and denouncing it. Israel
was God’s covenant nation, and the sins of the ruler (even though they were
unbelievers) would bring the chastening of God.
Instead
of listening to God’s servant and obeying God’s Word, Herod arrested John and
imprisoned him. John was put in the fortress of Machaerus, located about four
miles east of the Dead Sea. It stood 3500 feet above sea level on a rocky ridge
that was accessible only on one side.
It
was Herodias, Herod’s wife who held the grudge against John (see Mark 6:19) and
she influenced her husband. She plotted to have her teenage daughter perform
lascivious dance at Herod’s birthday feast. Herodias knew that her husband
would succumb to her daughters charms and make a rash promise to her. She also
knew that Herod would want to save face before his friends and officials. The
plot worked, and John the Baptist was slain.
The
voice of conscience (14:1-2). When Herod heard of the marvelous works of Jesus,
he was sure that John had been raised from the dead. His conscience was
troubling him, and neither his wife nor his friends could console him. The
voice of conscience is a powerful voice, it can be the voice of God to those
who listen.
Instead
of heeding his conscience, Herod demanded to kill Jesus just as he killed John.
Some Pharisees( probably in on the plot) warned Jesus that Herod wanted to kill
Him ( Luke 13:31-32). But Jesus was not disturbed by the report “The word “fox”
in Luke 13:32 is feminine. Jesus said “Go, tell that vixen…..” Was He perhaps
referring to Herodias. The real power behind the throne.
The
voice of Jesus (Luke 23:6-11). When he finally did meet Jesus, Herod found that
the Son of God was silent to him! Herod had silenced the voice of God! “Today,
if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts…” (Heb 3:7-8)
The
voice of history. Herod should have known that he could not get away with his
sin. History records that Herod lost prestige and power. His armies were
defeated by the Arabs, and his appeals to be made a king (urged by his wife)
were refused by Emporer Caligula. Herod was banished to Gaul (France) and then
Spain, where he died.
Herod
is remembered as a weak ruler whose only concern was his own pleasure and
position. He did not serve the people, he served himself. He has the dubious
honor of being the man who killed the greatest prophet ever sent to proclaim
God’s word.
What
was our Lord’s response to the news of John’s murder? Caution: He quietly
withdrew from that area and went to a “lonely place.” He lived according to a
divine timetable (see John 2:4; 7:6, 30; 8:20; 12:23; 12:27; 13:1; 17:1), and
He did not want to deliberately provoke trouble with Herod. Because Herod’s
agent were all around the Lord had to exercise wisdom and caution.
Certainly
Jesus was deeply moved and He heard that John had been killed. The Jewish
nation permitted John to be slain because they did nothing to assist him. But
these same leaders would ask for Jesus to be slain! Jesus would never permit
the Jewish rulers to forget the witness of John (Matt. 21:23ff). Because they
rejected John’s witness, they rejected their own Messiah and King.
Wednesday
– 6th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew 14
The
Multitudes: Compassion (14:14-21)
Jesus
and his disciples desperately needed rest (Mark 6:31); yet the needs of the
multitudes touched His heart. The word translated “moved with compassion”
literally means “to have one’s inner being (viscera) stirred.” It is stronger
than sympathy. The word is used 12 times in the Gospels, and 8 of these
references are to Jesus Christ.
Jesus
was “moved with compassion” when He saw the needy multitudes (Matt. 9:36). They
were like sheep and had been lacerated from brutal fleecing-torn, exhausted,
and wandering. Twice He was “moved with compassion” when He beheld the hungry
multitudes without food (Matt. 14:14, 15:32). The two blind men (Matt 20:34)
and the leper (Matt 1: 41) also stirred His compassion, as did the sorrow of
the widow at Nain(Luke 7:13).
Jesus
used this word in three of His parables. The king had compassion on His
bankrupt servant and forgave him his debt; and we ought to forgive one another
(Matt. 18:21-35). The Samaritan had compassion on the Jewish victim and cared
for him in love (Luke 10:25-37). The father had compassion on his wayward son
and ran and greeted him when he came home (Luke 15: 20). If our heavenly Father
had such compassion toward us, should we not have compassion toward others?
The
miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is recorded in all four Gospels (Mark
6:35-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6: 4-13). It was definitely miracle. Those who
teach that Jesus only encouraged the people to bring out their own hidden
lunches have ignored the clear statements of God’s Word. John 6:14 definitely
calls the event a “sign” or “miracle”. Would the crowd have wanted to crown
Jesus king simply because He tricked them into sharing their lunches? (John
6:14-15) Not likely!
It
takes a little imagination to picture the embarrassing plight of the disciples.
Here were more than 5,000 hungry people and they had nothing to feed them!
Certainly the disciples knew that Jesus was powerful enough to meet the need,
yet they did not turn to Him for help. Instead, they took inventory of their
own food supply (a lad had five barley loaves and two fish) and their limited
treasury. When they considered the time (evening) and the place (a desolate
place), they came to the conclusion that nothing could be done to solve the
problem. Their counsel to the Lord was: “Send them away!’
How
like many of God’s people today. For some reason, it is never the right time or
place for God to work. Jesus watched His frustrated disciples as they tried to
solve the problem, but “He himself knew what He was intending to do” (John
6:6). He wanted to teach them a lesson in faith and surrender. Note the steps
we must take in solving life’s problems.
Thursday
– 7th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew 14
Start with what you have. Andrew found a lad who
had a small lunch, and he brought that lad to Jesus. Was the boy willing to
give up his lunch? Yes, he was! God begins where we are and uses what we have.
Give what you have to
Jesus.
Jesus took the simple lunch, blessed it, and shared it. The miracle of
multiplication was in His hands! “Little is much if God is in it.” Jesus broke
the bread and gave the pieces to the disciples, and they, in turn, fed the
multitudes.
Obey what He commands. The disciples had the
people sit down as Jesus ordered. They took the broken pieces and distributed
them, and discovered that there was plenty for everybody. As His servants, we
are “distributors, not “manufacturers. “If we give what we have to Him, He will
bless it and give it back to us to use in feeding others.
Conserve the results. There were 12 baskets
filled with pieces of bread and fish after the people has eaten all they
wanted. But these pieces were carefully collected so that nothing was wasted
(Mark 6:43; John 6:12). I wonder how many of the pieces the lad took back home
with him? Imagine his mother’s amazement when the boy told her the story!
The
Apostle John recorded a sermon on “the Bread of life” that Jesus gave the next
day in the synagogue in Capernaum (John 6:22ff). The people were willing to
receive the physical bread, but they would not receive the living Bread—the Son
of God came down from heaven. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 was
actually a sermon in action. Jesus is the Bread of Life, and only He can
satisfy the spiritual hunger in the man’s heart. The tragedy is, men waste
their time and money on “that which is not bread” (Isa. 55:1-7). People today
are making the same mistake.
Jesus
still has compassion on the hungry multitudes, and He still say to His church:
“Give them something to eat.” How easy it is for us to send people away, to
make excuses, to plead a lack of resources. Jesus asks that we give Him all
that we have and let Him use it as He sees fit. A hungry world is feeding on
empty substitutes while we deprive them of the Bread of life. When we give
Christ what we have, we never lose. We always end up with more blessing that
when we started.
The
Disciples: Care and Concern (14:22-36)
John
recorded the reason why Jesus was in such a hurry to dismiss the crowd and send
the disciples back in the boat: The crowd wanted to make Jesus king (John
6:14-15). The Lord knew that their motives were not spiritual and that their
purposes were out of God’s will. If the disciples had stayed, they would
certainly have fallen in with the plans of the crowd; for as yet, the disciples
did not fully understand Christ’s plans. They were guilty of arguing over “who
was the greatest,” and a popular uprising would have suited them perfectly.
Friday
– 8th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew 14
This
experience of the disciples in the storm can be an encouragement to us when we
go through the storms of life. When we find ourselves in the storm, we can rest
upon several assurances.
“He brought me here.” The storm came because
they were in the will of God and not (like Jonah) out of the will of God. Did Jesus
know that the storm was coming? Certainly! Did He deliberately direct them into
the storm? Yes! They were safer in the storm in God’s will than on land with
the crowds out of God’s will. We must never judge our security on the basis of
circumstances alone.
As
we read our Bibles, we discover that there are two kinds of storms: storms of
correction, when God disciplines us;
and storms of perfection, when God
helps us to grow. Jonah was in a storm because he disobeyed God and had to be
corrected. The disciples were in the storm because they obeyed Christ and had
to be perfected. Jesus had tested them in a storm before, when He was in the
boat with them (Matt. 8:23-27). But now He tested them by being out of the boat.
Many
Christians have the mistaken idea that obedience to God’s will produces “smooth
sailing.” But this is not true. “In the world you shall have tribulation.”
Jesus promised (John 16: 33). When we find ourselves in the storm because we
have obeyed the Lord, we must remember that He brought us here and He can care
for us.
“He is praying for me.” This entire scene is a
dramatic picture of the church and the Lord today. God’s people are on the sea,
in the midst of a storm. Yet Jesus Christ is in heaven “making intercession for
us” (Rom. 8:34). He saw the disciples and knew their plight (Mark 6:48), just
as He sees us and knows our needs. He feels the burden that we feel and knows
what we are going through (Heb. 4:14-16). Jesus was praying for His disciples,
that their faith would not fail.
If
you knew Jesus Christ was in the next room, praying for you, would it not give
you new courage to endure the storm and do His will? Of course it would. He is
not in the next room, but He is in heaven interceding for you. He sees your
need, He knows your fears, and He is in control of the situation.
“He will come to me.” Often we feel like Jesus
has deserted us when we are going through the hard times of life. In the
Psalms, David complained that God seemed far away and unconcerned. Yet he knew
that God would ultimately rescue him. Even the greatest Apostle Paul got into a
situation that was so difficult he felt “…burdened excessively, beyond our
strength, so that we despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8).
Jesus
always comes to us in the storms of life. “When you pass through the waters, I
will be with you…” (Isa. 43:2a). He may not come at the time we think He should
come, because He knows when we need Him the most. He waited until the ship was
as far from the land as possible, so that all human hope was gone. He was
testing the disciples’ faith, and this meant removing every human prop.
Why
did Jesus walk on the water? To show His disciples that the very thing they
feared (the sea) was only a staircase for Him to come to them. Often we fear
the difficult experiences of life (such as surgery or bereavement), only to
discover that these experiences bring Jesus Christ closer to us.
Saturday
– 9th March
Topic:
The King’s Withdrawal
Read:
Matthew Chapter 14
Why
did we not recognize Jesus? Because they were not looking for Him. Had they
have been waiting by faith, they would have known Him immediately. Instead,
they jumped to the false conclusion that the appearance was that of a ghost.
Fear and faith cannot live in the same heart, for fear always blinds the eyes in
the presence of the Lord.
“He
will help me grow.” This was the whole purpose of the storm, to help the
disciples grow in their faith. After all, Jesus would one day leave them, and
they would face many storms in their ministries. They had to learn to trust Him
even though He was not present with them, and even though it looked as though
He did not care.
Now
our center of interest shifts to Peter. Before we criticize Peter for sinking,
let’s honor him for his magnificent demonstration of faith. He dared to be
different. Anybody can sit in the boat and watch. But it takes a person of real
faith to leave the boat walk on the water.
What
caused Peter to sink? His faith began to waver because he took his eyes off the
Lord and began to look at the circumstances around him. “Why did you doubt?”
Jesus asked him (v31). This word translated doubt carries the meaning of
“standing uncertainly at two ways.” Peter started out with great faith but
ended up with little faith because he saw two ways instead of one.
We
must give Peter credit for knowing that we was sinking and for crying out to
the Lord for help. He cried out when he was “beginning to sink” and not when he
was drowning. Perhaps this incident came to Peter’s mind years later when he
wrote his first epistle: “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and
His ears are open unto their prayers” (1 Peter 3:12).
This
experience was difficult for Peter, but it helped him to grow in his knowledge
of himself and of the Lord. The storms of life are not easy, but they are
necessary. They teach us to trust Jesus Christ alone and to obey His Word no
matter what the circumstances may be. It has well been said, “Faith is not
believing in spite of evidence, but obeying in spite of consequence”.
“He will see me through.”
If Jesus
says “Come “then that word is going to accomplish its intended purpose. Since
He is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), whatever He starts.
He completes. We may fail along the way, but in the end, God will succeed.
Jesus and Peter walked on the water together and went to the ship.
Peter’s
experience turned out to be a blessing to the other disciples as well as to himself.
When they saw the power of Jesus Christ, in conquering and calming the storm,
they could only fall down and worship Him.
When
Jesus calmed the first storm (Matt. 8:23-27), the disciples said, “What manner
of man is this?” But now their clear testimony was, “Thou art the Son of God!”
The
disciples had helped to feed 5,000 people, and then God permitted them to go
through a storm. In the Book of Acts, they won 5,000 people (Acts 4:4), and
then the storm of persecution began. No doubt Peter and the disciples recalled
their storm experience with the Lord and took courage.
The
miracle magnifies the kingship of Jesus Christ. In fact, when Matthew wrote
Peter’s request “Bid me to come…” he used a Greek word that means “the command
of a king.” Peter knew that Jesus Christ was King over all nature, including
the wind and the waves. His word is law and the elements must obey.
The
ship landed at Gennesaret, near Capernaum ad Bethsaida; and there Jesus healed
many people. Did these people know that He had come through a storm to meet
their needs? Do we remember that He
endured the storm of judgment to save our souls? (Ps. 42:7) He endured the
storm for us that we might never face the judgment of God. We ought to imitate
the disciples, bow at His feet, and acknowledge that He is King of kings and
Lord of lords.
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