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Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible

Matthew 14

Matthew 14:2

AND SAID UNTO HIS SERVANTS, THIS IS JOHN THE BAPTIST; HE IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, AND THEREFORE MIGHTY WORKS DO SHOW FORTH THEMSELVES IN HIM. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea until 39 A. D. In ambition, political sagacity, and love of splendor he equaled his fa... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:5

AND WHEN HE WOULD HAVE PUT HIM TO DEATH, HE FEARED THE MULTITUDE, BECAUSE THEY COUNTED HIM AS A PROPHET. A laconic account of sordid baseness! Herod had been legally married to the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia. And Herodias, his niece, daughter of Aristobulus and Berenice, had been married to... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:8

AND SHE, BEING BEFORE INSTRUCTED OF HER MOTHER, SAID, GIVE ME HERE JOHN BAPTIST'S HEAD IN A CHARGER. There was a great birthday celebration, with much luxury and costly show, the highest military and civil authorities and the most prominent citizens of the country having been invited. There was much... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:9

AND THE KING WAS SORRY; NEVERTHELESS FOR THE OATH'S SAKE, AND THEM WHICH SAT WITH HIM AT MEAT, HE COMMANDED IT TO BE GIVEN HER.... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:12

AND HIS DISCIPLES CAME, AND TOOK UP THE BODY, AND BURIED IT, AND WENT AND TOLD JESUS. Although Herod, here called king by courtesy, was sorry, touched for a moment with regret, and because, for the once, he realized that he had been tricked, yet his foolish, rash, repeated oaths had been heard by th... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:13

THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND. WHEN JESUS HEARD OF IT, HE DEPARTED THENCE BY SHIP INTO A DESERT PLACE APART; AND WHEN THE PEOPLE HAD HEARD THEREOF, THEY FOLLOWED HIM ON FOOT OUT OF THE CITIES. News of death and disaster travels quickly. Herod returned from Machaerus to Tiberius. But the news of h... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:14

The kindness of Jesus: AND JESUS WENT FORTH AND SAW A GREAT MULTITUDE, AND WAS MOVED WITH COMPASSION TOWARD THEM; AND HE HEALED THEIR SICK. So eager were the crowds to come to Jesus that they actually out-went Him, Mark 6:33, arriving at the eastern shore before His boat came to that point. When He... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:15

The threatening necessity: AND WHEN IT WAS EVENING, HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM, SAYING, THIS IS A DESERT PLACE, AND THE TIME IS NOW PASSED; SEND THE MULTITUDE AWAY THAT THEY MAY GO INTO THE VILLAGES AND BUY THEMSELVES VICTUALS. In the excitement attending the healing, time sped away; late afternoon... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:19

AND HE COMMANDED THE MULTITUDE TO SIT DOWN ON THE GRASS, AND TOOK THE FIVE LOAVES AND THE TWO FISHES, AND LOOKING UP TO HEAVEN, HE BLESSED, AND BRAKE, AND GAVE THE LOAVES TO HIS DISCIPLES, AND THE DISCIPLES TO THE MULTITUDE.... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:21

AND THEY THAT HAD EATEN WERE ABOUT FIVE THOUSAND MEN, BESIDE WOMEN AND CHILDREN. Matthew has only a very brief account of the events leading up to the miracle. The other evangelists bring out the dramatic incidents with great vividness. The evident distress of the disciples stood out in such contras... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:22

CHRIST WALKS ON THE SEA. The beginning of the return voyage: AND STRAIGHTWAY JESUS CONSTRAINED HIS DISCIPLES TO GET INTO A SHIP, AND TO GO BEFORE HIM UNTO THE OTHER SIDE, WHILE HE SENT THE MULTITUDES AWAY. The narrative implies unwillingness on the part of the disciples and a very strong urgency o... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:23

Christ in prayer: AND WHEN HE HAD SENT THE MULTITUDES AWAY, HE WENT UP INTO A MOUNTAIN APART TO PRAY; AND WHEN THE EVENING WAS COME, HE WAS THERE ALONE. A significant fact: Jesus, in the midst of the most distracting work, always found time for prayer, for presenting the great work He had taken upo... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:24

The distress of the disciples: BUT THE SHIP WAS NOW IN THE MIDST OF THE SEA, TOSSED WITH WAVES; FOR THE WIND WAS CONTRARY. While Jesus remained behind on the shore to pray, the boat had gradually traversed a part of the way toward Capernaum, which they should have reached in a few hours at the most... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:27

BUT STRAIGHTWAY JESUS SPAKE UNTO THEM, SAYING, BE OF GOOD CHEER; IT IS I; BE NOT AFRAID. Almost the entire night Jesus had spent in prayer, almost the entire night had His disciples struggled to reach the opposite shore. It was in the fourth and last watch of the night, between three and six in the... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:31

AND IMMEDIATELY JESUS STRETCHED FORTH HIS HAND, AND CAUGHT HIM, AND SAID UNTO HIM, O THOU OF LITTLE FAITH, WHEREFORE DIDST THOU DOUBT? Peter was always impetuous, quicker to act than to think. The voice of the Lord filled him with a courage that made him almost reckless. It was the joy of faith that... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:33

THEN THEY THAT WERE IN THE SHIP CAME AND WORSHIPED HIM, SAYING, OF A TRUTH THOU ART THE SON OF GOD. Christ is the supreme, the absolute Lord of the elements. In this case the wind ceased as soon as they had stepped into the boat, not by gradually abating, but by a sudden calm. No wonder that all th... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:35

AND WHEN THE MEN OF THAT PLACE HAD KNOWLEDGE OF HIM, THEY SENT OUT INTO ALL THAT COUNTRY ROUND ABOUT, AND BROUGHT UNTO HIM ALL THAT WERE DISEASED,... [ Continue Reading ]

Matthew 14:36

AND BESOUGHT HIM THAT THEY MIGHT ONLY TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT; AND AS MANY AS TOUCHED WERE MADE PERFECTLY WHOLE. The distance from the shore still remaining was covered in a moment of time, John 6:21. Both space and time are in the control of this Man, to whom has been given the fullness of div... [ Continue Reading ]

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