The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter
14
Originally posted January 17, 2008
General Comment: Chapter 13 was difficult. We were
introduced to the parables, enjoyed them and thought we understood them, but
then we were confronted with what seemed an impossible imposition on our
reason: That Jesus used parables deliberately to keep the people from
understanding his message. After learning what Isaiah's words implied
about the people of Judah's rejection of God, we could understand Matthew's use
as a way to explain the unexplainable rejection of Christian preaching by
the Jewish people of his time. Parables were a favorite teaching
tool. They used familiar scenes - agriculture and fishing motifs, and familiar
character types. The message in Jesus' parables was fairly uniform - looking
forward to the future new age of God's Reign, the ingathering of all
who heard Jesus' message and believed in the possibility of the hope
of a new world. From a questionable beginning, to the surprise of its
appearing, the vision of something better caught the imagination of many in the
towns and villages of Galilee. Crossing the sweep of time and distance, changing
history, the vision lives on even in our own age.
Matthew Chapter 14:1-12 The Death of John the Baptist
The story of John's death has been adapted by Matthew
from the more extensive report which first appears in Mark's Gospel,
written some 15 or more years earlier. We have already mentioned the
likelihood that John was killed by Herod Antipas for political reasons - the
fear of an uprising by John's followers and the crowds which believed the
intervention of God was imminent. John's radical demand for holiness no doubt
included a scathing criticism of the royal family of Herod Antipas, who ruled
Galilee and Perea as Techrach from 4 BCE to 39 CE. Herod had married
Herodias, the divorced wife of his step brother, Herod Philip, and
also a niece to both men. It was not the divorce that bothered John,
but the marriage of a close relative was a violation of Torah (Lev. 18:16;
20.21 ) The lives of all the Herods would make a interesting Soap Opera.
No doubt Herodias was deeply angered by John's criticism and
the shame it brought upon her. It appears that even Herodias had a conscience.
But rage can easily overcome a conscience, and Herodias would find the
opportunity for revenge. How much of the story is history and how much
is legend is unknown. The characters are real, as is the
Herod family decadence, and the intricacies of royal plots fill the annuls
of Kings and Queens across the full span of recorded history.
When Herod heard of Jesus' preaching and healing
ministry in Galilee his first thought was that he was John the
Baptist resurrected. Apparently there was a view, probably limited, that
the resurrected person would acquire special powers. Whatever the case, Herod's
understanding is not a Christian view, but one of speculation born
of Jewish sectarian religious thought of the time. The normative view
was that resurrection would only occur when God's Reign was fully established
in the world, and would be accompanied by the last judgment.
John's influence lived on long after his death. His
disciples are found in Ephesus and were evangelized by the early Christian
evangelists from Jerusalem. Even at the end of the first century it is apparent
in John's Gospel that there is tension between John's community and that of the
Baptist's followers who believe that he is the real Messiah who will return and
reclaim Israel for God. Today small, Aramaic speaking communities of the
Mandean sect that trace their heritage to John the Baptist exist in
Southern Iran and Iraq and number about 20,000. They follow a moral and purity
code similar to that of Judaism.
Matthew 14:13-21 Feed the Five Thousand
As in MT 10:10:23, where Jesus learns of the Pharisees'
plotting against him, John's death and Herod's possible interest in
finding him lead Jesus to withdraw by boat to the other side of the
sea of Galilee (also know as a lake) to be alone. By the time he
reached shore the crowds were already waiting for him, along with his
disciples. Important to the meaning of this story, is that Jesus has crossed
over into the Gentile territory of Trachonitis. That Jesus has compassion
for them and heals their sick, and then will provide food to so many,
regardless of their level of commitment, speaks to the universal nature of
Jesus' view of God's openness to all people and not just those of Israel. This
is a lesson the disciples needed to see. Their resistance to helping the
Gentile crowd is representative of the earliest history of Jewish Christianity
which would essentially require a conversion to Christianity based on
Jewish custom and practice. This is as much a criticism of those elements in
Matthew's time as it is of the disciples. Jesus will demonstrate that these
Gentiles are as welcome to this "bread" (teaching/revelation) as they
are. The scarcity of quantity, 5 barley loaves about the size of one's fist,
and 2 salted fish, which will become the resulting 12 baskets of
left over, broken pieces. They are but a foretaste of the great Messianic
Banquet and abundance in the New Age of God to come. Jesus says that everybody
is welcome to the table, a witness to the notion of the distributive justice of
God.
On a more practical level, there may be other lessons;
scarcity does not preclude generosity; even the poor Gentiles, shunned by
Pharisees and other Jews of the time are, in God's view, worthy of compassion
expressed by more than empty words. The story gives substance to other words of
Jesus, "...love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 14:22-33 Jesus Walks on the Water!
Jesus instructs the disciples to return to Galilee while he
dismisses the crowd and finds a place to pray, finally to accomplish his goal
for being here in the first place. He finds needed solitude on a mountain side
and prays. It is a good image for us to hold in our minds of this human
Jesus. It would be naive to think that he did not need that time to be
open to God's leading and encouragement. Regardless of our view of Sonship or
divinity, the intensity and urgency of ministry could not be
sustained without reliance on some power, some connection with that which
he understood to be greater than he. He drew strength from these
times apart. I recall speaking with a man whose wife had died, and the subject
of prayer came up. He was not much of a pray-er, he said. He didn't think it
was very effective. But in his grief he felt driven to move beyond himself for
support. As he said, "I learned that when I was up against that wall,
there was nowhere else to go, so I prayed." Whatever prayer was to him, it
sustained him in the darkest of hours. It worked for Jesus, too.
The story before us is one of trust and confession. In the
midst of the storm at sea, when danger battered the fragile boat, Jesus appears
to the disciples like some spectre crossing the waves. The disciples are
terrified, more of the apparition than the storm. In a moment of testing Jesus
calls Peter out to him, but Peter, after a few steps, took his eyes off Jesus,
looked at the threatening waves, and began to sink, crying out to Jesus to save
him. Jesus does save him and questions the strength of his faith. The
experience concludes with the disciples confession of faith, that Jesus is the
Son of God.
The experience of the storm and Jesus' saving act is replete
with symbolic meaning and metaphors. Whatever our understanding of miracle is,
especially one related to nature, we don't want to lose what Matthew's
community and we need to hear in another debate. Matthew's community, as
we have already seen, is storm-tossed, assailed on all sides and in danger of
sinking. What will sustain them? What will save them? Matthew uses this
story from the oral tradition and reminds his flock that they cannot be distracted
from the essential focal point, the author of their existence as
Christians, and that is Jesus and his teachings. Remember, the boat on the
waves was a symbol of the early church. Jesus has brought them this far
and, no matter the peril, Jesus still speaks to them, and perhaps to us
on occasion, "Take heart, it is I; do not be
afraid." Matthew's community was not naive. This was not a matter of
protection from physical harm. It was a promise of, "No matter what, I am
in it with you." It's good to have somebody walk through the storm
with us, isn't it?
Matthew 14:34-36 Jesus in Gennesaret
Jesus and his disciples return to Galilee, coming to
Gennesaret on the northwest side of the sea. As with other stories, wherever
Jesus goes these days, the crowds gather. And where the crowds gather, Jesus
portrays the meaning of the Reign of God, the Age to come, through his
compassionate healing. Though he is often tired and in need of retreat, he
never tires of this. As he says on another occasion to those who would hold him
back, "...It is for this reason that I came out."
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