CHAPTER 14

(A.D. 32)

JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED

¹At that time Herod the Tetrarch (the son of Herod who slew the infants of Bethlehem) heard of the fame of Jesus (it speaks of the miracles Christ performed, even to the raising of the dead),

²And he said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist (a guilty conscience); he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.

³For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison (the Castle of Machaerus on the shores of the Dead Sea) for Herodias sake, his brother Philips wife (refers to the reason John had been arrested by Herod and placed in prison).

⁴For John said unto him, It is not lawful for you to have her (Herodias was his niece and the wife of his brother Phillip).

⁵And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.

⁶But when Herods birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod.

⁷Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.

⁸And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptists head in a charger (the mother of Salome, Herodias, was one of the most wicked women who ever lived).

⁹And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oaths sake, and them which sat with him at meat (a meal), he commanded it to be given her(to save face).

¹⁰And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.

¹¹And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

¹²And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus (the mission of John the Baptist was to introduce Jesus; that he did!).

JESUS FEEDS THE FIVE THOUSAND

¹³When Jesus heard of it, He departed thence by ship into a desert place apart (He was grieved over the death of John, His beloved forerunner; He could have stopped the execution; however, it was not the Will of God to do so): and when the people had heard thereof, they followed Him on foot out of the cities.

¹⁴And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and He healed their sick.

¹⁵And when it was evening, His Disciples came to Him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past (the people had been without food all day, and if they were going to find food, they would need to leave now); send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

¹⁶But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat (He was speaking then of the physical sense, but His words carried a higher spiritual cogitation; the Body of Christ is to be fed regarding the Word of God).

¹⁷And they say unto Him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes (little is much if God be in it!).

¹⁸He said, Bring them hither to Me (the secret is Christ! we are to bring what little we have to Him).

¹⁹And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass (this presents order and a method by which the distribution was made), 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 (He took, He Blessed, He did break, and He gave; that is His order with Believers as well).

²⁰And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full (an astounding miracle!).

²¹And they who had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children (possibly as many as fifteen thousand people).

JESUS WALKS ON THE WATER

²²And straightway Jesus constrained (firmly demanded) His Disciples to get into a ship, and to go before Him unto the other side (back to Capernaum), while He sent the multitudes away (but He sent them away, filled both physically and spiritually).

²³And when He had sent the multitudes away (implying that they did not want to leave), He went up into a mountain apart to pray (expresses what He often did [Mat. 26:36; Mk. 6:46; 14:32; Lk. 6:12; 9:28; Jn. 17:9-20]): and when the evening was come, He was there alone.

²⁴But the ship was now in the midst of the sea (concerns not only the Sea of Galilee, but as well, the Sea of Life), tossed with waves (turbulence): for the wind was contrary (difficulties, as well, facing mankind as a result of the Fall).

²⁵And in the fourth watch of the night (between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.) Jesus went unto them (the Holy Spirit revealed to Him, that they were in trouble), walking on the sea (even though the waters were very turbulent, where He walked, it became calm).

²⁶And when the Disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled (it was more than they could grasp), saying, It is a spirit (they did not actually think it was Jesus); and they cried out for fear (they thought they were about to die).

²⁷But straightway (immediately) Jesus spoke unto them (once they saw Him), saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid (we are to face adverse circumstances with cheer, knowing the Lord will handle the situation).

²⁸And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be You (better translated, since it is You), bid Me come unto You on the water.

²⁹And He (Jesus) said, Come (the Masters response to Faith). And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid (he now sees the wind instead of Jesus); and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me (a prayer the Lord will always answer).

³¹And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him (this prevented him from sinking further), and said unto him, O you of little faith, wherefore did you doubt? (We must not allow circumstances to bring about doubt.)

³²And when they were come into the ship (every evidence is, after Jesus caught him, Peter walked on the water the second time), the wind ceased (the Power of Christ over the elements).

³³Then they who were in the ship came and worshipped Him (as God), saying, Of a truth You are the Son of God (recognized Him as the Messiah).

JESUS HEALS THE SICK

³⁴And when they were gone over (came back to Capernaum), they came into the land of Gennesaret (on the western side of the Sea of Galilee, somewhat inward).

³⁵And when the men of that place had knowledge of Him (knowledge of His Presence in their vicinity), they sent out into all that country round about, and brought unto Him all who were diseased;

³⁶And besought Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole (if the Hem of His garment is so rich with Blessing, how rich must be His Hand and Heart!).