Matthew 14

Matthew 14.....
The Herod mentioned here is not the same Herod as in Mtthew 2. Herod had 4 sons and this Herod mentioned here was one of his sons.

Verse 3-5.....Herod put John the Baptist in jail because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herods brother, Philip. Herodias was married to one man....yet another man wanted to marry her. John the Baptist told the other man it's not lawful ( meaning in the Jewish law) for her to be with another mans husband. This man wanted her to leave her current husband for him and john told him it was wrong. So for that the king Herod out john in prison. Verse 5 says the king wanted to kill him but he was afraid to since the people thought he was a prophet.

Verse 6-12 is very sad.....and it goes to show just how selfish and how bitterness can make us make ugly decisions.

Verse 13.....catch this here.....Jesus heard about john and did what? He went to be alone. Jesus and john were cousins so I'm sure the news of his death wasn't a shock because he was God....but he was human and was probably experiencing the grieving process. But look at verse 14.....again crowds of people found him and I love the point in this verse. Jesus had compassion on them. All of them.....the whole crowd. Even in his distressed state he was still compassionate for others.
How many times do we just want to be left alone? I know I do.....and when I am by myself is usually when my mind wanders to places it shouldn't. But what happens when someone needs me? I feel better to help someone or pray for them in their need. Being around other people helps us stay on track. It helps us stay connected to each other.

The story of feeding the 5000+ people is one we should read slow and let sink in. Here Jesus provides all that they need in the moment. He showed them they could trust him.....even though they had very little to go around. Thinking about my own life......we don't have much these days as far as material things.....but we are never hungry or cold or unclothed. Our God takes care of our needs.

Verse 23.....again Jesus goes off alone to pray. We all need quiet time with our God. We all need to be
alone to pray now and then. If Jesus needed that time With the father then we do too.

This story of Jesus walking on water is our first encounter with Peter. I love Peter. He reminds me of myself. I will explain more of that as we go along and learn more about him.

Verse 27.....Peter is afraid and Jesus tells him not to be.
This storm could have killed these men in the boat. As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus all was well.....but the second he took his eyes off Jesus he began to sink.
How true is this for us today? How many times so we try to do things on our own and we begin to sink in the storm? All we need to do is keep our eyes on Jesus and he will carry us through the storms of our life. Focus......just focus.