Tale of Two Leaders Matthew 14:1-21

Intro

We lost a legendary leader this week

Queen Elizabeth ruled for 70 years and was legendary for her diplomacy and class

She didn’t let her personal feelings get in the way of her duties

You can literally say that she was the end of an era

Some might think that is good, but most people miss the dignity with which she conducted herself

Today we look at a tale of two leader

The first one leads out of fear

The second one leads from compassion

Read Matthew 14:1-4

Transition

Herod Antipas

Tetrarch: a ruler of a fourth part

Ruler of Galilee and Perea in Jordan

Herod the Great's kingdom divided at death

Archelaus took two parts

Philip took one part

Antipas took one part: the Galilee region

Son of Herod the Great by his fourth wife

His wife a Samaritan

Hated by the Jews

Cold-blooded; murderous

Killed members of the Sanhedrin because they challenged and disagreed with him

Killed one of his wives

Killed two of his sons

“Safer to be Herod's pig than his son”

Lived and ruled in Tiberius

Jesus ministered in the Galilee region

No record of Jesus visiting Tiberius

While in Rome, Herod Antipas seduced Herodius (the wife of Herod Philip)

He divorced his wife

John pointed out it was unlawful: held Antipas to the same standard as a believer

In the land of God, you must follow His rules

John put in prison

From Herod we see 4 signs of a fearful leader

1. The Fearful Leader vs. 1-12

vs. 1-4 Past Haunts them

The first trait of a fearful leader is that the past haunts them

He hears about the fame of Jesus and he immediately thinks John the Baptist was resurrected

Even though Herod didn’t follow God He knew about the great things God had done

When you are guilty of something in the past and you haven’t made things right with God, it haunts you

Herod knew his relationship with Herodias was wrong

He threw John into prison to appease his wife and make the problem go away

When he hears about Jesus doing miracles he gets anxious

He automatically assumed the worst and became incredibly defensive

Fearful leaders are always looking over their shoulders waiting for their past to catch up with him

Proverbs 21:8 ESV

The way of the guilty is crooked, but the conduct of the pure is upright.

vs. 5 Consumed by Other Opinions

The second trait of fearful leaders is that they are consumed with the opinions of others

Normally Herod would’ve had John killed like everyone else and not another thought about it

But the people rightfully thought John was a prophet

Herod didn’t want a riot on his hands and he knew enough to know not to mess with the men of God

All of the Herods had Edomite blood in them, and, like their ancestor Esau, they were hostile to the Jews (Gen. 25:19ff).

They practiced the Jewish religion when it helped fulfill their plans for gaining more power and wealth.

The problem of being consumed by the opinions of others is that you can’t think straight

Fearful leaders can’t make a decision without worrying about it

What will others say?

How is so and so going to react to this?

You often put a lot of time and effort into something that should’ve been rather easy

You feel exhausted from over thinking and replying to every comment

vs. 6-7 Tries to Impress w/ Power

The third trait of a fearful leader is that you try to impress others w/ your power

Jewish people did not normally celebrate birthdays in this period

Daughter of Herodias and Philip, Salome, danced

At Herod’s fortress Machaerus, men and women dined in separate halls, so Herodias would not have directly witnessed Herod’s behavior toward her daughter Salome.

Not uncommon for a dancer to ask a special favor

vs. 7 Herod’s oath is a drunken one; as a vassal of Rome, he had no authority to compromise any of his territory.

Fearful leaders always want to impress other people

They will use their position to keep their influence

They will often make claims and promises they can’t keep

Psalm 59:11 ESV

Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!

vs. 8-12 Lives in Constant Regret

The fourth trait of a fearful leader is that they live in constant regret

Fear and regret is a bad combination

Almost immediately after this boast he regrets it

Salome goes to her mother in the next room and she tells her to ask for John the Baptists head on a platter

Herodias was a cruel woman

Only Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, compares

People like Herodias use people like Herod

It never goes well for people like Herod

He would preside over Jesus’ crucifixtion, but eventually he would be deposed by his nephew Agrippa 1 because of debt and sent into exile

Hebrews 13:6 ESV

So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

2. Compassionate Christ vs. 13-21

vs. 13 Knows which mountains to die on

Now lets contrast the fearful Herod with the Compassionate Christ

Jesus had no position or wealth, yet the the masses followed him

The differences between to the two is immense, but it boils down to two things

First, He is the Christ which means chosen one

He is the one God has promised

His time to rule hasn’t come yet so he is focusing on preaching the Gospel and ministering to the needs of the people

He is smart in that He knows which mountains to die on

When word comes about John’s death and what Herod did, he withdraws from the area.

I’ve never put these two stories together because both have such strong story lines

John beheaded and Feeding five thousand can stand on their own

Matthew tells us that Jesus hears of John and departs to a desolate place by himself

The people follow him on foot and are waiting for him

Not every fight or drama needs two sides

Withdrawing, not answering, taking the high road can eliminate a lot of drama

vs. 14 Meets the Needs of the people

The Second trait of Christ is that he is full of compassion

The Jews only know brutal selfish rulers

Jesus sees the crowds he was moved

The Greek language here denotes that Jesus felt it deep in his bowels

Mark 6:34 ESV

When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Jesus saw the people as they were

Matt 9 says they were harassed and helpless

As soon as he steps out of the boat he healed their sick

Jesus didn’t turn people away

He ministers to them until the evening

I want you to imagine for a second what that scene looked like

A long line of people waiting to be touched

People everywhere rejoicing for being healed and set free

They weren’t going anywhere

vs. 15-18 Challenges Followers to Faith

Compassion always challenges logic

As the disciples stand around watching the crowds grow and the day getting late they realize they are going to have a problem on their hands

These people are going to be hungry

They respectfully interrupt Jesus and tell him to send the people away

They weren’t expecting his reply

“You give them something to eat!”

John gives a glimpse into their response

John 6:6–7 ESV

He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”

Jesus was challenging their faith

Greg Eisen at the Men’s breakfast

We only have five loaves and two fish

This was the normal diet for jews who lived by the Galilee

Jesus said bring them to me

Are you ready to answer God’s challenge?

Everything God asks you do will be to grow your faith

If you give into too much logic you will what God is doing

Hebrews 11:6 ESV

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

vs. 19-21 Expects Great Things from God

The final trait of a compassionate Christ is that He expects great things from God

Jesus orders the crowds to sit down and he takes the takes the food

He looks up to heaven

No grandiose prayer, just a simple blessing

He breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples

A traveler in those days would often have a basket around their shoulder that carried all of their valuables

It is said that this is what the disciples fed the people with

They had to empty out all of their earthly belongings and let Jesus fill their baskets

they did this over and over until 15,000 people were served

After that each disciple had a full basket of leftovers

Imagine the lesson they learned that day

Jesus spent the whole day healing and then fed everyone and they had leftovers

When trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding we discover that God’s leftovers are more than everything we possess