Matthew 14

I have read before in commentaries that Roman rulers were often superstitious  and fearful.  I think Herod’s conclusion about Jesus testifies to that claim. (v2)  Herod thinks only after John is risen from the dead is he able to do such miracles.  As a pastor I have seen many kinds of ignorance in dealing with who Jesus is, but I have yet to see such a poor judgement as this.  In my experience the wildest conclusion from someone I’ve seen so far  is that Jesus was a citizen of the United States.

The next piece (3-11) is an explanatory insert to explain why Herod would have made such a conclusion and feel haunted by John’s spirit.  John’s messianic ministry would have aggrovated such political figures like Herod seeing that the coming of the Messiah is a well known event bound up in the son of David taking the throne again, and displacing wicked authority.  Having been rebuked, Herod initially feared to do raise an ill hand against John, but found himself publicly trapped, ensnared by his own word and so gives the order lest he be thought by the public as weak (v9).

What we see next is discipleship training. (13-21)  It’s hard to say just how many people are following Jesus. Verse 21 estimates 5,000 men, but doesn’t included women and children.  But we know its a ridiculously large number, far outnumbering Jesus’ disciples.  Jesus’ suggestion would be for any “normal” circumstance an complete impossibility.  “Don’t send them away, You feed them” (v16).  What naturally occurred to the disciples at first was to let them go into the the towns before everything closes down so that they might find nourishment.  But what is Jesus asking them to do? Feed them with what?  What resource do they have out here in the desert to perform such a service.

Such is the life of Christ’s disciples on this earth. Indeed we who love Jesus are pilgrims in a spiritual desert and our supplies are barely enough for ourselves, what other resource is there to tend to 7 billion people?  Jesus.  Some discipleship lessons just cannot be learned in a classroom marking down bullet points from an outline. Discipleship happens when your with a mentor.  The disciples faith and understanding is as lacking as their supplies to feed this great number of people. “Bring them hither to me” Jesus says (v18).

It isn’t the disciples doing the miracle, they are merely distributors, and so are we.  These verses do not give us license to demand miracles on command as some pretend to do.  The miracles themselves point to an ultimate fulfillment of what Jesus does for His people on the cross.  He feeds them spiritually with His own body.  His words point to the cross, the cross cleanses our sins, we feast on His promises, and the resurrection proves His promises are true. What a Savior!  There are many themes this miracles can point too.  For the disciples, it serves as a backdrop to the future mission they will be sent out on after the resurrection, distributors of the Gospel, the Good New of Jesus, our “Bread of Life.”

Matthew would also like us to see the provisioning that Jesus the Messiah is able to do.  The message is far more important than to gawk at supernatural power that can produce something to eat. It is possible to see the miracles without really seeing the miracles. They point to the kind of Messiah Jesus is and to the kind of kingdom He is inviting us to believe.   We do not come to this King because He can merely provide a meal, we come to Him because He Himself is the meal, the Bread that sustains life.  Without bread, they die, and so without Jesus, we die.

22-34