Matthew 14 - Where Is Jesus Calling You to Get Out of the Boat?

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What Happening in Matthew 14?

Today, we see the cruel fate of John the Baptist at the hands of Herod, the tetrarch. A tetrarch literally means a ruler over a 1/4 of the land. He was also called Herod Antipas and was the son of King Herod, who ruled when Jesus was born.  John the Baptist rebuked Herod for sleeping with his sister in law, Herodias, his brother Philips's wife. Herodias was the granddaughter of Herod the Great,

We also Jesus' exercising authority over nature. Jesus spoke with authority, He exercised authority over sickness, disease, and evil spirits. Now Jesus is going to suspend the laws of nature to show miraculous signs and wonders the world had never seen before.  

John the Baptist Beheaded

Like his father, Herod the Great, Herod Antipas was paranoid. When he heard about Jesus, he somehow imagined this was John the Baptist risen from the dead, whom he had killed earlier. Then, Matthew explains how John the Baptist was killed. 

Herodias, infuriated by John the Baptist's rebuke of their immoral arrangement, manipulated Herod by having her young daughter dance in front of him. Once Herod was intoxicated with lust, he agreed to give Herodias whatever she asked for. In deference to her mother, she asked for the John the Baptist's head on a platter. She got it gave it to her mother. Quite a disturbing story. The disciples were able to find his body and bury it giving at least a small amount respect to John and his family. After all this is the man who announced Jesus to the world.    

"The disciples of John the Baptist honored his life and memory the best they could. He had lived and died as a great and righteous man." (Guzik)

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

When Jesus heard about what happened to his cousin/relative John the Baptist, he withdrew to a solitary place. This was mostly because he needed to grieve, but also maybe for safety reasons. But he could not get away from the crowds who followed him, as we see in the next scene.  

Though Jesus needed some down time, he was moved with "compassion" when he saw the masses of people like sheep without a shepherd. The word compassion signified he was deeply moved by the needs of these people. Jesus could have justified walking away due to his need for privacy, but he did not "shoo" them away. 

Jesus could have said, "This isn’t the right place or the right time. The people can take care of themselves." Indeed, there was no physical necessity to feed this multitude. These were people who were used to skipping meals, and they certainly expected nothing. Yet Jesus had compassion on them nonetheless." (Guzik

Another issue cropped up when it became nighttime and the five thousand hadn't eaten all day. The disciples saw it as an intractable situation, but Jesus says to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat!" 

It might have been one of the few times the disciples were "miffed" with Jesus. You can almost hear them say, "Jesus, can't we get a break. We are supposed to be on retreat! Besides, we don't don't have anything to give them to eat." 

I think the most important principle in this story is when Jesus asks what they have, which is five loaves and two fish. And Jesus says, "Bring them to me!"

Jesus has the people sit on the grass. In Mark's version he directed them to sit in groups of fifty and a hundred. Jesus knew God would answer his prayer and yet prepared accordingly in practical ways. After Jesus gave thanks, he broke the break and gave it to the disciples to distribute. They distributed it to the 5,000. Not only did they all of the people eat and were "satisfied" and there were even "leftovers". 

There are several overarching truths for us to take away from this story. 

1. There is no way in our own strength or resources, we can meet all the needs of those around us. 

2. This doesn't mean we should tell people to go away. 

3. We need to look at people who are in legitimate need with "compassion". We need to empathize with their pain as Jesus did. 

Note: Don't confuse this with enabling people who can help themselves, and yet are co-dependent and use dysfunctional behavior to manipulate people around them. 

4. When reach out with compassion and give Jesus what we have, he will multiply it in supernatural ways. Just like we can't figure out how five loaves and two fish fed 5,000 people, we won't be able to explain how Jesus multiplies our time, talents, and treasures to feed the church.

5. Most importantly we just need to, "Give it to Jesus"!

Jesus Walks on the Water

After supernaturally using the disciples to feed the 5,000, he now has another lesson in faith for them to learn. We can assume that after feeding the 5,000, the disciples were ready for a nap. He sent the crowds away, sent them away on a boat, and went back to the mountainside to pray. 

Later, when Jesus was alone, a storm whipped up on the lake and the disciples' boat was being buffeted about on the small lake. Jesus knew what was happening, but apparently waited until a little before dawn to venture out to meet them. Jesus walks out of the lake showing that he was not at that time subject to the laws of nature. Or, we could say the laws of nature were suspended at his bidding. 

 This was somewhere between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. According to Mark (Mark 6:47-52), Jesus came to the disciples when the boat was in the middle of the sea and after they had exhausted themselves rowing against the waves and windy storm. Guzik

The disciples were "spooked" (as you and I probably would have been). They thought he was a ghost. Jesus revealed his identity, and Peter never the shy one said, "Jesus if it is you tell me to come to you!" 

Jesus said the simple words, "come"! Let's give Peter credit, he had the faith to take the first step out of the boat. And sure enough he starts walking on water. Can you imagine what that must have felt like? I would have loved to have seen the look of Peter's eyes as he gazed into Jesus' eyes. 

But Peter's fatal flaw was that he took his eyes off Jesus. He instead put his focus on to the storm. What happened? He began to sink. Jesus could have let him drown, or at the least struggle in the water, but he reached out his handed and pulled Peter up. The lesson was learned. No need to humiliate Peter. After he was the only disciple who inquired, though Jesus did say to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

I think maybe another way it could read would be, "Peter, you started with faith, why did you turn to doubt!" 

We have no idea what prompted Peter to ask such a question, but his faith in Jesus was remarkable. He really responded to Jesus’ invitation and got out of the boat. (Guzik)

Even when Peter failed, Jesus was there to save him. Peter knew who to call out to at the moment of crisis. Jesus then brought Peter back to the boat. (Guzik)

“You do believe, and if you believe, why doubt? If faith, why little faith? If you doubt, why believe? And if you believe, why doubt?” (Spurgeon)

Where is Jesus calling you to get out of the boat and meet him on the water? What takes your eyes off Jesus and causes you to doubt? How can your faith overcome your doubt? 

As you step out in faith this week, keep your eyes on Jesus! Enjoy your walk on the water!