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14:1-12
Why Herod killed John
It was about this time, as Jesus was telling parables, that word got back
to the tetrarch Herod, informing him of some of the miracles which Jesus was
performing, and of the fact that a small but growing crowd of Jews was
collecting around the man. Herod was disturbed and troubled by what he heard
because he was still feeling guilty about what he had done to John the baptiser.
(This was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great by Malthrace. The name
"tetrarch" originally meant "one quarter", because those
given the title were also given one quarter of a territory to rule. Gradually
the title lost its strict meaning and came to mean "governor" or
"ruler", or any petty prince not ruling over an entire region.)
When Herod heard about Jesus he said "This is John the baptiser!
He's come back to life! This man Jesus is doing all these amazing things because
either John is inside him - or its John himself!"
To understand why Herod felt this way, we have to look at what Herod did
to John.
Not long ago, Herod had had John arrested and thrown into prison. Mind
you, John had asked for it, because he had rebuked Herod for his immorality.
Herod was living in an adulterous, incestuous relationship at the time, with
Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, so John told him straight : "It is
wrong for you to be living with her!"
Normally, Herod would have simply killed John, but John was a political
hot-potato. Many Jews were convinced that John was a prophet, so to kill him
would be to incur the wrath of the Jews, and even perhaps spark a major revolt -
something which Herod did not want. Rome would frown on such disturbances of the
peace, and Herod's position as king would be threatened by Caesar's disapproval.
So Herod put John into a prison and hoped that the problem would go away
. . . but of course it didn't. (The ungodly fear the truth when it breaks loose
and challenges the conscience.)
Herod left John in prison, and tried to forget about him, but, not long
after, events turned on him and he was trapped into making a decision. It
happened this way. It was his birthday, and Herod threw his usual lavish party.
He was sitting back in his chair, forgetful of all but the music and food, when
Salome, the daughter of Herodias, offered to dance for him. Herod was delighted,
and enjoyed watching the young, supple body moving about in front of him. He
drank and laughed with pleasure, and when Salome had finished, he offered her
anything she wanted, promising with an oath, as a gesture of his appreciation.
But Herodias had planned the whole thing. She hated John the baptiser,
and wanted him dead, so she had urged Salome to ask for John's head on a plate.
"You want what?" gasped Herod.
"John's head, on a plate" said Salome.
Herod looked at his guests. They were waiting for him to decide. He
regretted the promise he had made. He wanted to reverse it, but now his pride
was at stake. He mustn't go back on his word. Herodias was watching him. This
was her moment of revenge on her adulterous husband.
"Very well" said Herod in despair, signalling to the servants,
who left the room immediately and took the order to the prison. Within a few
minutes John was dead and his head severed from his body. A wooden plate (Greek
= pinax = wooden trencher or dish) was found and the head placed on it,
surrounded by a pool of blood. The gory object was carried back to Herod's room
and placed before Salome. She then carried it from the room and took it to her
mother.
When the disciples heard that John was dead, they went to the prison and
asked if they could have the body. The guards had no objection. A headless body
was no threat to them, and it saved them the bother of having to bury it.
With heavy hearts the disciples then went to Jesus, and told him what had
happened. (Who better to tell).
But the point is, Herod was so troubled by what he had done, his guilty
conscience distorted his reasoning to the extent that when he heard about Jesus,
he thought that perhaps John had come back to life to haunt him. And in a sense
this was true! John's words had come back to him, as the truth always comes to
sinners, convicting them of their wickedness.
14:13-21
Feeding fifteen thousand
When Jesus heard that Herod was being informed about him, he moved away
from the area, and went, by himself across the lake in a boat. He just wanted to
avoid the crowds for a while, and quell the mounting interest in him. He did not
want Herod on his tail either - not yet anyway - because he had a plan to
complete, and no-one, including Herod, was going to spoil it.
But when the people saw the boat moving away from them, they estimated
where it was heading and then they started to walk around the perimeter of the
lake. It was a long way, but eventually they found the boat moored by the
opposite shore, so they gathered around and waited. Jesus looked at them and
smiled. There was no getting away from the people.
He disembarked and began to minister to the people, pouring his heart
into the work, healing and helping all who came to him, and he kept this up
until the sun began to dip below the distant hills.
As the evening closed in, the disciples became concerned.
"Its getting dark" they said, "And there's no shelter out
here. Why don't you tell these people to go home, or at least buy some
food?"
"You don't have to send them away" said Jesus, "You can
feed them."
"Us?" said the disciples, "But we've only got enough food
for ourselves!"
Jesus looked at the two little fish and the handful of bread. It was a
pity, he thought, that these disciples had such a small grasp of his power and
abilities!
"Everybody sit down!" he said to the crowds.
Gradually the people lowered themselves to the ground. They found
comfortable places to sit on the dry grass and waited, wondering what Jesus was
about to do. The disciples were also nervous and full of anticipation.
Jesus calmly took one of the little loaves of bread and the two fish, all
wrapped in a cloth bundle, and lifted them up towards the sky.
"Thank you Father " he said, "For providing this
food."
Then Jesus began to break the loaves into pieces, and as he did so, more
bread appeared. The disciples, realising what was happening, held their hands
out, or opened their garments to make a pouch, and caught the cascade of bread
and fish. The food continued to come - appearing out of somewhere between Jesus'
hands - and soon the disciples were busy running about, dumping loads of food
everywhere.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon and the stars appeared, the
people dined on the best bread and fish meal they had ever enjoyed! And when
they had all eaten as much as they could, someone thought to gather the remains
into some small, wicker hand baskets - twelve in fact - ironically there was one
basket filled for each of the doubting disciples.
I don't know exactly how many people there were at this event, but I know
there were about five thousand men, and about the same number of women and
children - so that's approximately 10,000 to 15,000 people. It was an amazing
and unforgettable scene.
(By Jewish reckoning there were two "evenings" one just before
sunset, and one after sunset.)
14:22-33
Ruling the waves
Having failed to escape the crowds once already, Jesus tried again. This
time he told the people to go home, and, wonder of wonders, they actually did!
At the time this was happening, the disciples were back in the boat,
because Jesus had told them to sail across the lake and leave him behind. They
were a little confused by this, because now Jesus was all by himself, but they
obeyed, and headed away through the gathering darkness, across the water.
Jesus waited until he was completely alone, then he climbed a hill and
kneeled down to pray. He was tired, and under some pressure, so he needed to
spend time with his Father.
But the disciples were beginning to have problems. A wind had sprung up,
and the lake was beginning to boil. The boat was either at a stand-still or
making insignificant progress, as the storm battered against it, and the hours
were passing. The disciples began to despair of ever reaching the other side of
the lake. They struggled with the elements until about 3 a.m. (The "fourth
watch = 3-6 a.m.)
But Jesus had seen what was happening, so he walked across the lake to
help. When the disciples saw him coming, they were scared.
"Is that a ghost?!" they said, "Or a phantom!"
He came right right up to the side of the boat, so his disciples could
see him clearly, and he gave them a cheerful smile.
"Don't worry!" he said, "Can't you see who it is?"
Peter suddenly had an idea. He wanted to walk on the sea too!
"Lord, if that's really you, could you make it so I can walk on the
water as well?"
"Come on then" said Jesus.
Cautiously Peter slid over the side of the boat and lowered himself down
to the waves. They struck his feet and slapped against the soles of his sandals,
but they were solid, and when he let his weight down fully, he found that he
wasn't sinking in! He was astounded. He tried stepping, and his feet gripped the
water as if it was solid ground. Jesus watched, with pleasure, as Peter
carefully walked across the sea towards him . . . but then Peter began to think
logically. This, he decided, was impossible! No-one could walk on water! He
looked at the waves rolling by, the the smooth, shiny sea under his feet. It was
dark, and cold, and suddenly he began to sink!
"Help! he shouted, "Lord! I'm going down!"
Jesus reached out and grabbed Peter by the hand. Immediately the water
lifted Peter up and he stood, rather ashamed, beside Jesus.
"You have such a tiny amount of faith!" said Jesus, "Why
did you let all that doubt in?"
Peter had no answer.
Jesus walked him across to the boat, and they both climbed in, then
suddenly, in a twinkling, the storm was gone. An eerie silence hung in the air,
and not a breath of wind stirred the water.
The disciples realised that Jesus was even more powerful than they had
ever imagined. Even the sea and air obeyed him. One by one they knelt down
around him, worshipping, and in their hearts they acknowledged the claims he was
making. "Its true" they said, "He really is the Son of God!"
14:34-36
Gennesaret
Up on the Northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee is a place called
Gennesaret. This is where Jesus decided to dock the next morning, and as soon as
he arrived, he was recognised. But the people of that area had only one thought
in mind when they saw him : this man heals people! So they went about collecting
as many sick, crippled and maimed people as they could find.
Some of these sick people were so keen to be made well, they tried to
grab Jesus by his clothes. Others clamoured for help, or pushed themselves at
him, hoping to receive some blessing.
So Jesus did his work patiently and quietly as usual, and when he left,
Gennesaret was healthier than it had ever been, but he was disappointed because,
once again, his purposes had been misunderstood.