"A Desolate Place" Matthew 14 Sep 8 2024

Intro and Scripture

Good morning

Today - Matt 14

We’ll be looking at three major sections in Matt 14

Usually, when preaching a message, the pastor will wrap things up with an application at the end to bring it all together

Today, I want to give you the application right off:

Fix your gaze on Jesus

That’s where my sermon will land

Our entire lives should be about Jesus - and our main focus should be keeping our eyes on Jesus

The definition of pure wisdom:

Understand God’s will for your life

Live your life accordingly

That’s the greatest way to live the Christian life

And the only way we can get close to that life is to - fix our eyes on Jesus

Our Scripture reading is from Matt 14 - beginning in verse 10:

Matthew 14:10–13 ESV

He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus. Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.

(Pray…)

Recap

Last week we looked at two parables:

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

In them, we learned that we are the hidden treasure - we are the pearl of great value

This is incomprehensible

We can’t fully grasp it

Only because God loves us

I live with this - it puts life in perspective

Even through pain and suffering in my life

I am okay with what God allows in my life

Because I know I am his treasure

Chapter 14 Intro

The title of my sermon today is “A Desolate Place”

You’ll notice that when Jesus heard about the death of JTB, he withdrew to a desolate place

Today we will look at three stories:

The Death of John the Baptist

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Jesus Walks on the Water

Again -

The Death of John the Baptist

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Jesus Walks on the Water

I want us to look at these stories and see if there’s a connection that links these stories together

And then finally, the application: Fix your eyes on Jesus

The Death of John the Baptist

Let’s look at the death of John the Baptist

In my Bible, I have not underlined or highlighted much for the first 12 verses of Matthew 14

It is one of the saddest stories - in the Gospels - and in the entire Bible

It tells the story of John the Baptist getting beheaded - it is sick and depraved and graphic

The setting is the birthday of Herod Antipas (the son of Herod the Great)

My Bible has the heading, “The Death of John the Baptist”

My own subtile is, “A Sick and Disturbed Birthday Party”

Herod the tetrarch had John the Baptist in prison

Herod’s brother was Philip - Philip was married to Herodias

Without going into too much detail, he married his half-brother’s wife

In God’s eyes, this was incestuous

And John the Baptist repeatedly called him out on it by saying, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

This is the reason Herod had John in prison - he didn’t want to be called out by the truth

The Bible says that Herod was afraid to kill John because he feared the people - because they knew JTB was a prophet

The Gospel of Mark makes it a little more clear: Herodias was the one who wanted to kill John, but Herod was afraid

This is important for later in the story

That’s the setting - got it?

Herod’s brother Philip was in an unlawful marriage with Herodias

Herod (or should I say Philip’s wife Herodias) wanted to kill John - but for now, he was just holding him in prison

And now comes Herod’s birthday feast

The daughter of Herodias came and danced before everyone at the feast

We are not given the name of the daughter, but the Bible says that her dance “pleased Herod”

It does not explicitly say so, but the implication was that the dance aroused Herod

So here is Herod - excited by watching his own niece dance provocatively -

and not in his right mind -

decides it would be a good idea to give an oath to this young girl

Aren’t men stupid?

So, Herod makes an oath to this girl - that he would grant her anything she would ask

All because of her provocative dance

So the girl goes and asks her mom, “I don’t know what to ask - what do you think I should ask for?”

And Herodias tells her daughter, “I’ve got a good one - why don’t you ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter?”

Can you imagine that?

This poor young girl - probably prompted by mom to take part of this scheme - goes to her controlling mother because she doesn’t know what to do

Actually, Herodias personalized the request. Even though the promise was made to the daughter, the mother said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.”

What a sick woman.

The Bible says, “And the king was very sorry...” - that’s the only line I have underlined in my Bible

Isn’t this a sad story? The king gave an oath to his under-aged niece because she pleased him with a provocative dance

When he promised her anything, he probably thought she’d request a Taylor Swift concert tickets - or something in line with what a teenager would want

But I’m sure when he heard about John’s head on a platter - his heart must have sunk

Can you imagine the twisted smile on the face of Herodias when she saw that head?

This was all because she didn’t want the truth told to her - that she shouldn’t be married to Philip

Anyhow, the Bible says that John’s disciples came and buried his body - and then they went and told Jesus

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

The next section is the story of Jesus feeding the Five Thousand

This miracle story is found in all four Gospels - the only miracle (besides the resurrection)

The story starts off saying, “Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself.”

Verse 23 makes it clear that he wanted to be alone with his Father to pray

I think Jesus took the death of John the Baptist as a great loss, personally

Jesus knew how important John the Baptist was - and how important he was to make way for the ministry of Jesus

And now John is dead -

Jesus felt the need to get away - to be alone and pray to his Father

Have you ever felt like this?

Let me give some random quotes from this chapter that describe what Jesus was attempting to do - listen to the tone:

“he withdrew” [v.13]

“a desolate place by himself” [v.13]

“a desolate place” [v.15]

We often overlook these phrases when we read our Bibles - we want to get to the point

But we shouldn’t miss the undertone of what Jesus was going through

“he dismissed the crowds” [v.22]

“he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.” [v.23]

“When evening came, he was there alone” [v.23]

Do you get a sense of what Jesus was experiencing?

Jesus felt the loss - and he needed to be alone

It’s okay to want to be alone for a time when you experience pain and loss

So Jesus goes out on a boat to be alone - but the crowds hear this they leave their towns and try to go follow him

There is a contrast of reactions in verse 13:

When Jesus “heard it” (about JTB) he withdrew

When the crowds heard it, they denied his withdrawal - and they went and followed him

Jesus heard the news about John the Baptist

The crowds heard the news that Jesus was heading out to be alone

And when Jesus goes ashore, he sees the crowd and has compassion on them - and he healed their sick

If you were an important leader in First Century Palestine - it would be normal for you to “look down” on the masses - but what does Jesus do here?

In his mourning, Jesus exhibits compassion and heals their sick

The disciples tell Jesus, “This is a desolate place.” - Which is a pretty obvious comment

But it’s in a different context

“A desolate place” to Jesus meant no one around - completely by himself - a place where he could be alone with the Father

“A desolate place” to the disciples meant, “There’s a huge crowd here - and we’re way out in the boonies - and there is not a single Cracker Barrel in sight”

So the disciples tell Jesus, “Get these people out of here, Jesus! Send them to the nearby villages so they can grab some food for themselves”

Jesus: “They don’t need to go away. I tell you what - how about you give them something to eat?!?”

Disciples: “Only five loaves and two fish is what we gots”

Jesus said to his disciples: “Bring them here to me”

I wonder where I heard Jesus say that before:

Matthew 11:28 ESV

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

And now he’s ministering to this hungry, tired crowd

He pauses his solitude and mourning - and commands the opposite

He commands his disciples to bring crowds to himself

He sees their need first and he ministers to their need first

Jesus performs a beautiful miracle - he took the loaves and fish and blessed it - and from that small amount of food, he fed thousands and thousands of people

Imagine what’s going on here - the strength and the compassion and the love of the Lord - that he performed this amazing miracle

I want you to see the contrast:

Jesus is devastated by the news of JTB

He just wants to be alone

But in the midst of this - he shows love to the crowds

The Bible says - out of all those thousands of people - it says, “And they all ate and were satisfied.”

He met the needs of every last one of them

And then the Bible says this [slide]:

Matthew 14:22–23 ESV

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

Jesus eventually got his alone time with the Father

He made sure he had his quiet time

Don’t ever get so busy with life that you no longer have a daily quiet time with the Lord

Nothing in the world should hold you back from your personal time with the Lord

If you’re life is too busy - you need to force yourself to make time with just you and the Lord alone

Let me put it this way - if Jesus needed alone time with the Father - shouldn’t all of us?

Jesus Walks on the Water

So he sends his disciples away into their boat - and by nighttime, their boat was a long way away when he’s finished in communion with his Father

So what do you do when your disciples are in the boat, far away from land - and they’re in a storm - and you’re Jesus and you got no boat?

You walk on water

We all know the story:

It’s the fourth watch of the night - it’s sometime between 3am - 6am

It’s always darkest before dawn - right?

They’re in the middle of a wind storm and high waves

And here comes Jesus - walking on the water

As far as we know, the disciples had never seen this miracle - the last thing they were expecting was to see Jesus walking on water

All of us today know about Jesus walking on water - but to them, this had never happened

And the Bible said they were terrified - they literally thought he was a ghost

By the way, we forget - the entire reason Jesus walked on water was because he made the disciples go away on a boat - and then he dismissed the crowds - so he could go up on the mountain to pray

That’s why he was alone

And the reason he did all of this is because he got interrupted at his first attempt to get alone back in vs. 13

Don’t look at these miracles - but miss the drama Jesus was going through

He tried to withdraw and pray in a “desolate place,” but the crowds gathered at the shore waiting for him and he felt compassion for them (vs. 14).

All of this because he needed to be alone with the Father in prayer because John the Baptist had been murdered.

Two famous miracles performed because Jesus went to be alone to pray

This is how these stories are connected

And somewhere as Jesus was getting closer and closer to the boat - let’s say, 20 feet - Peter cries out: “Lord, if it’s you, command me to come to you on the water”

By saying, “on the water” - Peter was saying: “I want to walk to you, on the water, in the same way you’re walking on the water”

And Jesus said one word - can you guess what he said?

he said, “Come.”

Are you seeing a pattern - how Jesus wants us to come to him?

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

And when the disciples wanted to send the crowds away - Jesus said, “No. Bring them here to me.”

Remember when he said, “Let the children come to me?”

And now, Peter’s crying out: “Command me to come to you.”

And Jesus says: “Come.”

But Peter got afraid and began to sink in that water

You know the story:

Peter actually begins to walk on water

And then he begins to sink - and says, “Lord, save me.”

And Jesus reaches out and grabs him and says, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt”

And most sermons conclude that we need to keep our eyes on Jesus - which is the same conclusion in this sermon, btw

Let me ask - Do you remember why he got afraid?

The Bible says that Peter “saw the wind”

Question: How do you see wind?

There’s nothing there to see - right?

You can see the results of wind, but you can’t actually see wind

There’s Jesus on the water - and if we can carry an analogy that everything around Jesus is the world

And Peter takes his eyes off Jesus and literally looks at nothing

Now obviously, Peter saw the effects of the wind - and everything going on around him

But in reality - to the Christian, the world is nothing - because Jesus has overcome the world

If you’re struggling with fear and doubt in your life?

Let me tell you -

There is no room for fear in the life of a Christian - none. Period

I’m not talking about fear of the Lord - which means a reverence and love for the Lord

I’m saying there is no place in the Bible that ever excuses fear

God never says, “Well, you’re dealing with some big issues - so it’s okay for you to go through a period of worry and fear.”

The Bible never says that

He understands what we’re going through - and he knows we’re not perfect

But isn’t that interesting - God never says to go ahead and worry - ever

Is worry or fear holding you back in life?

If so, you don’t have your eyes fixed on Jesus

I’m not preaching this because I’m perfect - I need this reminder more than anyone else

When we have anxieties, what are we supposed to do with them?

1 Peter literally tells us to cast them on God

It’s the only place and the only thing I can find in the Bible that literally tells us to throw something on God

When we worry about stuff and have anxiety - we are to throw all of that garbage on God

Just give it to him

Did you know that when you hold on to fear, the Bible calls that being arrogant?

You say: “How is that arrogant?”

It’s because you’re looking at yourself and your circumstances and you’ve taken your eyes off Jesus

Here’s Peter - he’s the one who took his eyes off the Lord and began to sink in the water when Jesus called him to himself

But then he’s the one, in his final instructions in 1 Peter - he’s the one who said, “cast all your anxieties on him.”

But what’s the context of 1 Peter 5:7?

Let me go back a couple of verses - starting in verse 5:

1 Peter 5:5–7 (ESV)

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

There was not a reason in the world for Peter to look at the wind

When Peter wrote this letter, he came to the conclusion that being humble actually includes throwing all that fear and anxiety to the Lord

Just throw it at him - it doesn’t say “give” it to him, or “lay it before the Lord” - it says throw it all to him

We can’t throw it at him if we’re not fixed on him

And if you’re holding on to your anxieties, it means you have pride because in the end, you think you have to handle it yourself

I’m not saying this is easy - I’m saying there is a solution

And the solution is Jesus

I’m not saying talking to someone is bad - or even medication is bad, in the right context

But the ultimate focus needs to be on Jesus

Reach out to others - talk it through - do what you need to do - find alone time

Just as long as Jesus is the focus

If you’re struggling with anxiety everyday - you need to throw that anxiety on him everyday

I’m not saying that any of this is easy - It’s very hard to walk on water!

Conclusion

I told you that today’s application was to fix our eyes on Jesus

And not just because you might have fear or anxiety

At all times - we need to fix our eyes on Jesus

I want to meditate on who Jesus is - even if just from this passage

Jesus was hurting from his loss

He immediately withdrew to be alone with the Lord

Then he saw others and ministered to them - he had compassion on them

He healed them and he fed them

Jesus asks all to come to him

Jesus did all of this in the middle of devastating circumstances

There was another time Jesus was in the middle of devastating circumstances

When he hung on the cross...

I want us to pray and fix our eyes on Jesus

How he first loved us and how he died for us

How he saves us

(Pray…)

Communion

Matthew 26:26–28 ESV

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 ESV

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.