John the Baptist Beheaded
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and
he said to his attendants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the
dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison
because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 for John had been saying to
him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but
he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and
pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she
asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head
of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and
his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted 10 and had John
beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to
the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took his
body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to
a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the
towns. 14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them
and healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a
remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can
go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something
to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to
sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up
to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were
satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that
were left over. 21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on
ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had
dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that
night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance
from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a
ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be
afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the
water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward
Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried
out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little
faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then
those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of
God.”
34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when
the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding
country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick
just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
NOTES:
NOTES:
14:1–12 The murder of the Baptist by Herod Antipas
prefigures the death of Jesus (see Mt 17:12). The Marcan source (Mk 6:14–29) is
much reduced and in some points changed. In Mark Herod reveres John as a holy
man and the desire to kill him is attributed to Herodias (Mk 6:19, 20), whereas
here that desire is Herod’s from the beginning (Mt 14:5).
14:1 Herod the tetrarch: Herod Antipas, son of Herod the
Great. When the latter died, his territory was divided among three of his
surviving sons, Archelaus who received half of it (Mt 2:23), Herod Antipas who
became ruler of Galilee and Perea, and Philip who became ruler of northern
Transjordan. Since he received a quarter of his father’s domain, Antipas is
accurately designated tetrarch (“ruler of a fourth [part]”), although in Mt
14:9 Matthew repeats the “king” of his Marcan source (Mk 6:26).
14:3 Herodias was not the wife of Herod’s half-brother
Philip but of another half-brother, Herod Boethus. The union was prohibited by
Lv 18:16; 20:21. According to Josephus (Antiquities 18:116–19), Herod
imprisoned and then executed John because he feared that the Baptist’s
influence over the people might enable him to lead a rebellion.
14:13–21 The feeding of the five thousand is the only
miracle of Jesus that is recounted in all four gospels. The principal reason
for that may be that it was seen as anticipating the Eucharist and the final
banquet in the kingdom (Mt 8:11; 26:29), but it looks not only forward but
backward, to the feeding of Israel with manna in the desert at the time of the
Exodus (Ex 16), a miracle that in some contemporary Jewish expectation would be
repeated in the messianic age (2 Bar 29:8). It may also be meant to recall
Elisha’s feeding a hundred men with small provisions (2 Kgs 4:42–44).
14:19 The taking, saying the blessing, breaking, and giving
to the disciples correspond to the actions of Jesus over the bread at the Last
Supper (Mt 26:26). Since they were usual at any Jewish meal, that
correspondence does not necessarily indicate a eucharistic reference here.
Matthew’s silence about Jesus’ dividing the fish among the people (Mk 6:41) is
perhaps more significant in that regard.
14:20 The fragments left over: as in Elisha’s miracle, food
was left over after all had been fed. The word fragments (Greek klasmata) is
used, in the singular, of the broken bread of the Eucharist in Didache 9:3–4.
14:22–33 The disciples, laboring against the turbulent sea,
are saved by Jesus. For his power over the waters, see note on Mt 8:26. Here
that power is expressed also by his walking on the sea (Mt 14:25; cf. Ps 77:20;
Jb 9:8). Matthew has inserted into the Marcan story (Mk 6:45–52) material that
belongs to his special traditions on Peter (Mt 14:28–31).
14:25 The fourth watch of the night: between 3 A.M. and 6
A.M. The Romans divided the twelve hours between 6 P.M. and 6 A.M. into four
equal parts called “watches.”
14:27 It is I: see note on Mk 6:50.
14:31 You of little faith: see note on Mt 6:30. Why did you
doubt?: the verb is peculiar to Matthew and occurs elsewhere only in Mt 28:17.
14:33 This confession is in striking contrast to the Marcan
parallel (Mk 6:51) where the disciples are “completely astounded.”
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