Sermon Tone Analysis

Chapter 14

The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide.

Additional material taken from sources listed at the end

Read and summarize

Look for

— Prayers ( Blue )

— Promises ( Green )

— Warnings ( Red )

— Commands ( Purple )

Introduction

MacArthur

Our Lord’s prophetic parables underscore the truth that some people will believe the gospel, but many people will not.

Matthew records in this section a number of incidents in Jesus’ life that confirm this spiritual law: the hostility in His hometown of Nazareth, the hard-hearted Herod, the superficial reception of the masses, the worship of the twelve disciples, the desperate faith of a Canaanite woman, and the Jewish leaders who sought to trap Christ.

Yet, in the midst of this kingdom conflict, we see the true heart of Jesus for people as He performs more amazing miracles

Q: When Herod heard about Jesus he was greatly distressed.

Why ( 14:1-2 )?

Herod’s Reaction ( 14:1-2 )

( 14:1-2 ) At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2 and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”

Herod

RC Sproul

Keeping track of the Herod family tree it is difficult

— When Herod died his kingdom was divided among his sons

— His son Archelaus became the ethnarch (that is, a ruler over a nation, one rank below king) of Judea, the territory where Jerusalem as located

— His son Philip received the territory N and E of the Sea of Galilee (1/2 brother of Archelaus and Antipas)

— His son Antipas, was called a tetrarch (one rank below ethnarch); He ruled over an area W of the Sea of Galilee and another E of the Jordan, known as Perea

— Although he was a tetrarch, he took the title King

— This is the Herod that Matthew is speaking about

— He is also the Herod who heard the case before Jesus’ crucifixion ( Lk 23:6-12 )

— Herod thought that Jesus was John the Baptist, who had risen from the dead

— Herod was afraid that John had come back from the dead for revenge

— Barclay cites the ancient Christian writer Origen, who said that Jesus and John the Baptist closely resembled each other in appearance.

If this were true, it would give more reason for Herod Antipas to believe that Jesus was John come back from the dead.

Going Deeper

Herod the Great

— Herod the tetrarch was the son of Herod the Great by his fourth wife, Malthake, a Samaritan, and half brother of Herod Philip, the son of his father’s third wife, Mariamne the Boethusian

— Herod the Great was an Idumean; and because he not only was a Gentile but a descendant of Esau and married a Samaritan, he had been especially despised by the Jews

— His cold-blooded atrocities — such as his having all the members of the Sanhedrin put to death for daring to challenge his authority, his having at least one of his wives and two of his sons executed, and his laying all the male babies of Bethlehem in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Messiah — made him more hated still

Herod the tetrarch

— Herod the tetrarch was known as Herod Antipas and after his father died the Romans divided the kingdom among his three sons

— Archelaus was given the southern provinces of Judea and Samaria

— Philip was given the northern provinces of Trachonitis and Iturea

— Herod Antipas was given the area in between, which included Galilee and Perea

— Philip’s wife, Herodias, left Philip to live with Herod Antipas

— Herodias bore a daughter to Philip, who in 14:6 is referred to simply as “the daughter of Herodias” but who by Josephus is called Salome.

At a later time this daughter would marry her half-uncle Philip the tetrarch ( Luke 3:1 ), thereby becoming both the sister-in-law and aunt of her own mother!

Q: Why did Herod order John the Baptist killed?

Was it peer pressure ( 14:3-11 )?

Herod’s Reason ( 14:3-11 )

( 14:3-11 ) For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.

7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.

11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

— These verses are a flashback to events that happened a year or more earlier, just before Jesus started His ministry

— Philip, Herod’s half-brother, was another of Palestine’s four tetrarchs; Philips wife left him and went to live with Herod Antipas

— John the Baptist condemned the two for living immorally

— Herod feared almost everyone and anyone except God

— How easy it is to give into the crowd and let ourselves be pressured into doing what is wrong

— Don’t get into a situation where it will be too embarrassing to do what is right

— Determine to do what is right, no matter how embarrassing or painful it may be

Going Deeper

— Herodias is one of the most wicked and perverse women mentioned in scripture, perhaps second only to Jezebel

— Although she was at first beguiled by Herod, it was not long until she was manipulating him

— Because both Herod and Herodias were already married, their marriage to each other was doubly not lawful

— The Holy Spirit refused to recognize her as Herod’s wife and directed Matthew to refer to her as the wife of his brother Philip

— Herodias as the daughter of Aristobulus, another half brother of Herod, making her Herod’s niece

— Adam Clarke on Herodias: “This infamous woman was the daughter of Aristobulus and Bernice, and grand-daughter of Herod the Great.

Her first marriage was with Herod Philip, her uncle, by whom she had Salome: some time after, she left her husband, and lived publicly with Herod Antipas.”

— In speaking out against Herod and Herodias, there is the suggestion that John did this repeatedly.

“It was, moreover, perhaps more than a passing remark: said is in the imperfect tense, which may indicate a continuing ‘campaign’.”

Q: Whose disciples came out and got the body of John ( 14:12-13 ) ?

What did they do immediately after burying John?

Jesus’ Response ( 14:12-13 )

( 14:12-13 ) Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself.

But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.

— How painful it must have been for John’s disciples to take his body and bury it

— John the Baptist was the first martyr to die for Christ, and it seems certain that Jesus took this opportunity to further prepare His disciples for what lay ahead for them

— Christians in some parts of the world suffer great loss after they come to Christ

The Miraculous Feeding ( 14:14-21 )

( 14:14-21 ) And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.

15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.

Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away.

You give them something to eat.” 17 And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

18 He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass.

And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

— The fact that the feeding of the five thousand is one of only two miracles recorded in all four gospels testifies to its unique importance

— This is the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry; but the reaction of the people is mixed and fickle

—The disciples told Jesus to send the multitudes away but Jesus told them: You give them something to eat

— Jesus means that these men should not be so quick to shake off responsibility

— They were often ready to do this very thing, and say, “Dismiss the crowd” (here in 14:15 )

— They “rebuked” the parents who brought their children to Jesus ( 19:13 )

— “Don’t bother the Master and don’t bother us,” was too often their slogan

— Jesus wants to remind us that simply trying to get rid of people in need is not the solution

Q: What might that say about our motives for following Jesus?

Are we in it to be fed?