Matthew 14-15

Matthew 14:1-12 Murder of John the Baptist by Herod

Matthew 14:2 implies that John the Baptist, besides preaching and baptizing people, also performed miracles which are not mentioned elsewhere.

Matthew 14:4 John the Baptist implicitly cited Leviticus 19:16 & 26:31 which forbids  having sexual relations with one’s brother’s wife.

Matthew 14:6-11 imply that Herodias liked her position so well that she wanted John silenced by murder. Speaking truth to power carries risk. Beheading has been practiced elsewhere (notably with the guillotine in the French Revolution) but having the victim’s head brought on a platter seems gruesome. But maybe in the day of Herod, they were used to this? 

Matthew 14:13-14 Did Jesus withdraw to a private place to deal not only with John’s death, but a foreshadowing of His own? The need of ministering to others was more important, or perhaps more opportune, so He postponed His private time with the Father.

Matthew 14:15-21 Feeding of the five thousand men, plus women and children. Jesus repeats the manna given to Israel with fish added rather than quail. (Exodus 16:4-21; Numbers 11:31-35) But this time there was no anger from YHWH. In the account in Numbers, interspersed with the provision of manna and quail, the Lord has Moses assemble seventy elders  and puts some of the power of the Holy Spirit on them, a one-time event, and they prophesied. Moses says “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29) Perhaps Jesus saw the provision of fish without anger foreshadowing the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Matthew 14:22-23 Jesus finally got away by Himself which He had been interrupted from earlier (14:13-14).

Matthew 14:24-33 Jesus walks on water. The storm was there so the disciples could grow  through trials. They did. Jesus showed them their need to completely rely on Him. Nothing else could save them (especially Peter). The means by which Jesus and Peter walked on the water is a mystery, a manifestation of the spiritual reality outside of our space time continuum, details are unimportant. Was calming the storm afterwards a lesser miracle? God who created the universe being manifested as a human in their presence, was a far greater miracle. 

Matthew 14:34-36 Jesus visits Gennesaret. The edge of His garment evoked faith for healing, just as it did in Matthew 9:20-22. Did the people seek Jesus solely for miracles, without any repentance, just as in Matthew 4:23-25? What follows in Matthew 15 is not another sermon, but a confrontation with the Pharisees.

Matthew 15

Matthew 15:1-9 Some Pharisees confront Jesus.  Most likely, the traditions of the elders were loosely based on passages such as Exodus 30:21 and Leviticus 15:21. Most likely the Pharisees and their elders had expanded the envelope of circumstances requiring hand-washing beyond priests at the altar in the holy of holies, or anyone touching the bed of a woman in her period, to provide a margin of safety or to please God by being holier than He commanded. Jesus invoked clear commands of the law in Exodus 20:12 & 21:17 to honor ones’ parents to point out the Pharisees hypocrisy in manipulating what sounds holy - to devote something to God - to avoid these commands. He quotes Isaiah 29:13 verbatim as speaking directly about the Pharisees, whose worship is in vain because their hearts are far from Him even though they talk a good talk. 

Matthew 15:10-20 Jesus explains to His disciples about true defilement vs. unnecessary rituals. Leviticus 11 describes several things that are unclean to eat. But His point is that words reveal the heart, and that is what comes out of the mouth, not what goes in. The metaphor comparing the Pharisees and their followers to the blind leading the blind is classic. What pit will they fall into? Probably hell. Leviticus 18 defines actions that defile, several of which Jesus repeated in 15:19, but His point is that the heart was defiled before the actions occurred.

Matthew 15:21-28 Jesus talks to a Canaanite woman with great faith. Contrasting 15:21&15:24, it seems unclear why Jesus was in the region of Tyre and Sidon. Jesus must have known her heart and this was His way of drawing her out, perhaps in playful banter, in contrast to dealing with the Pharisees. Calling her a dog seems like an insult, but He must have known her faith, since she had traveled from Canaan to Phoenicia to see Him. In any event, she humbly accepted the label and still made a case for, and received, her daughter’s healing.

Matthew 15:29-31 Jesus heals many Galileans. As with 14:34-36 we aren’t told if people sought Jesus solely for miracles, without any repentance, or some did repent?

Matthew 15:32-39 Jesus feeds four thousand men, plus women & children, closely paralleling 14:15-21.