MATTHEW LESSON 29

     We will begin this lesson with Matthew 14:1 "At that time Herod
the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus," Matthew 14:2 "And said unto
his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and
therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him."

    The fame of Jesus had spread throughout the land. This Herod had
beheaded John, and was feeling guilty. He was fearful of John when John
was living, and now, he had worked himself up to believe that this
Jesus was John risen from the grave.

     Matthew 14:3  "For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him,
and put [him] in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's
wife."  Matthew 14:4 "For John said unto him, It is not lawful for
thee to have her."

     Herod had married his brothers wife, John had confronted him and
told them that they were living in sin. Herod put him in jail to keep
him quiet.

     Matthew 14:5 "And when he would have put him to death, he feared
the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet."

     Herod and Herodias would have liked to be rid of John, but they
were afraid of the followers of John, because there were so many of
them.

     Matthew 14:6 "But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of
Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod."  Matthew 14:7
"Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would
ask." Matthew 14:8 "And she, being before instructed of her mother,
said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger."  Matthew 14:9
"And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them
which sat with him at meat, he commanded [it] to be given [her]."
Matthew 14:10 "And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison."  Matthew
14:11 "And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel:
and she brought [it] to her mother."

     You can easily see why we should not take oaths. This evil
Herodias caught Herod at a weak moment and plotted this evil scheme.
The sin was the mother's. The daughter was just carrying out her
mother's wishes.  Herod really did not want to kill John, but to save
face with his friends, he carried out this horrid deed. John was a
martyr.  John's trouble was over. Herod's trouble was just beginning.

     Matthew 14:12 "And his disciples came, and took up the body, and
buried it, and went and told Jesus."

     These were John's disciples (followers) who got his body and
buried it. Their first thought was to warn Jesus.

     Matthew 14:13  "When Jesus heard [of it], he departed thence by
ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard
[thereof], they followed him on foot out of the cities."

     Jesus withdrew from the city to be alone for awhile. It was not
time for Jesus to confront Herod here. The large groups of people who
followed Jesus for the healings and miracles would not be discouraged,
just because He had left town. They just walked out to the desert
where He was. They wanted to be healed and to see His mighty miracles.

     Matthew 14:14 "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude,
and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick."

     This multitude had needs in their lives. Jesus is always
concerned about our needs. He is always ready to heal. This time was
no different. He realized they had great belief, or they would not have
come so far. Faith brings answers to prayers. Jesus healed them.

     Matthew 14:15  "And when it was evening, his disciples came to
him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send
the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy
themselves victuals."

     The disciples were telling Jesus that supper time had passed, and
that these people needed to leave to go find food. They, probably, were
ready for the ministry for that day to stop as well, because it was
getting late.

     Matthew 14:16 " But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart;
give ye them to eat." Matthew 14:17 "And they say unto him, We have
here but five loaves, and two fishes."

     Jesus knew that He was the Bread of Life. The disciples could see
only the physical food. The number "five" means grace. The disciples
could not understand how Jesus could believe these five loaves and two
fishes could feed so many.

     Matthew 14:18 "He said, Bring them hither to me."  Matthew 14:19
"And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the
five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed,
and brake, and gave the loaves to [his] disciples, and the disciples
to the multitude."  Matthew 14:20 "And they did all eat, and were
filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets
full." Matthew 14:21 "And they that had eaten were about five thousand
men, beside women and children."

     This is one of the most interesting miracles in the Bible.
Several things we need to note here. The disciples did not believe at
first that there was enough food. Jesus is the Bread of Life. He fed
the three million Israelites on their way to the promised land, this
was minor to that. We, also, must see the importance of prayer before
meals.  We, also, must realize that on command Jesus could cause a
super abundance of anything to be there. God owns everything, and it
is all subject to His command. It is, also, interesting that after
feeding 10 to 20 thousand people, there was still a basket of food
left for each disciple. Jesus created the universe. This miracle of
food was minor to that. Jesus has no limits to what He could do then
or now. We limit God. God is not limited. As we see in the next verse.
Jesus did not stop and dwell on this miracle, He quickly went on to
other things.

     Matthew 14:22  "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples
to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he
sent the multitudes away." Matthew 14:23 "And when he had sent the
multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when
the evening was come, he was there alone."

     Jesus needed time away from the group. He sent the multitude home
and went aside to commune with the Father. We should learn from this
the importance of time alone with God in prayer. The most effective
prayers are when we are hidden away with God.

     Matthew 14:24 "But the ship was now in the midst of the sea,
tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary."

     The Sea of Galilee is well known for its high winds and
shipwrecks. This was no different. The wind was up.

     Matthew 14:25 "And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went
unto them, walking on the sea." Matthew 14:26 "And when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a
spirit; and they cried out for fear."

     It would be a fearful sight in the dark of night to see a man
walking on the sea. They really didn't realize who Jesus was, or they
would not have been astonished at this feat.

     Matthew 14:27 "But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be
of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid."

     Jesus recognized their fear and spoke to them to calm them down.

     Matthew 14:28 "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be
thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Matthew 14:29 "And he said,
Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the
water, to go to Jesus."

     You can see from these Scriptures above, that faith in Jesus
makes supernatural things possible. The secret of success is to obey
the Lord's voice, and then keep our eyes upon Him.

     Matthew 14:30 "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was
afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."
Matthew 14:31 "And immediately Jesus stretched forth [his] hand, and
caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst
thou doubt?"

     You see, Peter was doing fine, until he took his eyes off Jesus, and
on to the things of the world. Fear is not of God. It is lack of
faith.  Our cry, the same as Peter's, is Lord save me. There was no
hesitation. Jesus is always as near as our cry for help. He is our
very present help. He reminded Peter that his doubt was what caused him
to sink.

     Matthew 14:32 "And when they were come into the ship, the wind
ceased." Matthew 14:33 "Then they that were in the ship came and
worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God."

     Where Jesus is, there is always peace. This walking on the water
did this for the disciples. They suddenly realized who Jesus was. It
seems as if they should have known it before, when He fed 5,000 men.

     Matthew 14:34  "And when they were gone over, they came into the
land of Gennesaret."

     Gennesaret was a small region of Galilee on the west shore of the
lake.

     Matthew 14:35 "And when the men of that place had knowledge of
him, they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto
him all that were diseased;"  Matthew 14:36 "And besought him that
they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched
were made perfectly whole."

     You see, this  was away from the home area of Jesus. The
disciples had just seen such a miracle that caused them to worship
Jesus. His fame had spread, and people brought all their friends and
relatives who were sick. Their faith was so strong that they thought
if they could touch anything of His, it would heal them. The great
miracles, here, happened because of their great faith.

     Study Matthew 15 for the next lesson.






















                        Matthew 29 Questions

1.  What did Herod think when he heard of the fame of Jesus?
2.  Why did Herod put John in jail?
3.  What sin had John told Herod he committed?
4.  Why had Herod not put John to death?
5.  What was the celebrated occasion when Herodias' daughter danced?
6.  Who told her to ask for John's head?
7.  Why did Herod go through with this hideous crime?
8.  What did this make John?
9.  Whose disciples came out and got the body?
10. What did they do immediately after burying John?
11. When Jesus heard, what did He do?
12. What happened to the multitude seeking Jesus' help?
13. When Jesus realized they had followed, what did he do?
14. What brings answers to prayers?
15. In verse 16, what did Jesus tell the disciples that seemed
    impossible.
16. How many loaves and fishes did they have?
17. What does five mean?
18. What two things did Jesus do before serving the food?
19. How many fragments were left?
20. How many were fed?
21. Who is Jesus?
22. Who stayed to send the multitude away?
23. What did Jesus do when He was alone?
24. What are the most effective prayers?
25. What was well known for high winds?
26. What time of night did Jesus go to them?
27. What was unusual about His coming?
28. What effect did it have on the disciples?
29. Who asked to meet Jesus?
30. Could he do this miracle? How long?
31. What makes supernatural things possible?
32. What did Peter cry out?
33. What is fear?
34. What land did they go to?
35. What did the men do when they heard Jesus had come to them?
36. The great miracles happened because of what?