A king’s guilty conscience conjures a ghost, a birthday feast ends with a head on a platter, five loaves feed five thousand, and a fisherman who has just watched his own Master walk across open water still finds himself sinking the moment he looks away from Him — four scenes, one chapter, and the same question answered every time: who is this, really?
A study in Matthew 14 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 28 min read
This Is John The Baptist
“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, And said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.”
Matthew 14:1-2
Matthew opens chapter 14 with a king’s superstition, then steps back a full chapter’s worth to explain how it got there. Herod Antipas hears reports of Jesus’s miracles and lands on the one explanation his own conscience will allow: the prophet he murdered has come back from the grave, more dangerous than before.
“When Herod heard of the works of Christ, he was exceedingly troubled. He thought that God had raised John from the dead, and sent him forth with still greater power to condemn sin. He was in constant fear that John would avenge his death by passing condemnation upon him and his house.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 223
This site’s own study of Matthew 11 already asked the harder question raised by John’s death — why God allowed His faithful herald to perish forgotten in a dungeon — and answered it from this same chapter of The Desire of Ages. What follows here is the narrative that quote presupposes: the birthday feast, the dance, and the oath that Matthew has been holding in reserve since chapter 11 to tell in full at last.
Give Me Here John Baptist’s Head In A Charger
“For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife. For John said unto him, It is not lawful for thee to have her. And when he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.”
Matthew 14:3-5
Herod had married his brother Philip’s wife while Philip was still living — a double violation of both natural affection and the law of Moses — and John, alone among Herod’s subjects, said so to his face. Herodias wanted him dead from that moment on; only Herod’s fear of the crowds, and a flickering respect for John himself, kept the prophet alive in his cell.
“Herodias knew that by direct measures she could never win Herod’s consent to the death of John, and she resolved to accomplish her purpose by stratagem. On the king’s birthday an entertainment was to be given to the officers of state and the nobles of the court. There would be feasting and drunkenness. Herod would thus be thrown off his guard, and might then be influenced according to her will.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 221
The plan required Herod to be exactly the kind of man Herodias already knew him to be. She did not have to persuade him to do wrong — only to arrange the circumstances under which he would fail to do right.
“But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask. And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger. 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.”
Matthew 14:6-9
“The king was dazed with wine. Passion held sway, and reason was dethroned. He saw only the hall of pleasure, with its reveling guests, the banquet table, the sparkling wine and the flashing lights, and the young girl dancing before him.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 221
“Sorry” is Matthew’s own word for Herod’s reaction to the request, and it is the whole tragedy in one syllable: he knew instantly this was wrong, and did it anyway, because reversing course in front of his guests cost more to his pride than a prophet’s life cost to his conscience.
“And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus.”
Matthew 14:10-12
“Herod waited in vain to be released from his oath; then he reluctantly commanded the execution of the prophet. Soon the head of John was brought in before the king and his guests. Forever sealed were those lips that had faithfully warned Herod to turn from his life of sin. Never more would that voice be heard calling men to repentance. The revels of one night had cost the life of one of the greatest of the prophets.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 222
Herodias got what she asked for and found no rest in it; Scripture and history alike remember her only for this. Herod got to keep his oath and his dignity in front of his guests, and lost his peace for the rest of his life — the guilty, haunted man of the chapter’s opening verses is what a birthday party bought him.
They Need Not Depart; Give Ye Them To Eat
“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. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.”
Matthew 14:13-14
News of John’s death reaches Jesus and His disciples together, and His first response is to withdraw — not from fear, but for grief and for rest, and very likely to give His own disciples, who had loved John, room to absorb what had happened. The multitude will not permit even that much.
“He ‘was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd.’ Leaving His retreat, He found a convenient place where He could minister to them. They received no help from the priests and rulers; but the healing waters of life flowed from Christ as He taught the multitude the way of salvation.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 364
The Man who has every reason to want solitude gives it up the moment He sees people who need Him more than He needs rest — the same compassion that healed their sick all afternoon is about to feed every one of them before nightfall.
“And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. He said, Bring them hither to me.”
Matthew 14:15-18
“But Jesus said, ‘Give ye them to eat,’ and then, turning to Philip, questioned, ‘Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?’ This He said to test the faith of the disciple.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 365
Philip does the arithmetic and reports it hopeless; Andrew produces a boy’s lunch and calls it the same. Neither answer is wrong as arithmetic. Both simply leave out the one variable that makes the problem solvable.
“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. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.”
Matthew 14:19-21
“The miracle of the loaves teaches a lesson of dependence upon God. When Christ fed the five thousand, the food was not nigh at hand. Apparently He had no means at His command. Here He was, with five thousand men, besides women and children, in the wilderness.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 368
Twelve baskets left over — one for each disciple who had just told Jesus the situation was hopeless. The surplus was not an accident of generosity; it was the answer to Philip’s arithmetic, handed back to the very men who had done the sum.
Of A Truth Thou Art The Son Of God
“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. 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.”
Matthew 14:22-23
John’s Gospel fills in why the crowd needed to be dismissed so urgently: fed and dazzled, they were ready that very night to seize Jesus and crown Him king by force. The disciples, caught up in the same excitement, obeyed His command to leave only reluctantly.
“When left alone, Jesus ‘went up into a mountain apart to pray.’ For hours He continued pleading with God. Not for Himself but for men were those prayers. He prayed for power to reveal to men the divine character of His mission, that Satan might not blind their understanding and pervert their judgment. The Saviour knew that His days of personal ministry on earth were nearly ended, and that few would receive Him as their Redeemer. In travail and conflict of soul He prayed for His disciples.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 379
While Jesus prayed, the disciples rowed into a storm, and their disappointment over the aborted coronation curdled into something worse than fatigue.
“Were they always to be accounted followers of a false prophet? Would Christ never assert His authority as king? Why did not He who possessed such power reveal Himself in His true character, and make their way less painful? Why had He not saved John the Baptist from a violent death? Thus the disciples reasoned until they brought upon themselves great spiritual darkness.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 380
There it is again — the very question this study’s own opening section left standing, now surfacing in the disciples’ own hearts in the middle of a night storm. They did not have the answer this site’s study of Matthew 11 found in this same book of The Desire of Ages. What they had instead was a boat taking on water and a wind that would not let up.
“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”
Matthew 14:24-27
The fourth watch of the night ran from roughly three to six in the morning — the disciples had been fighting the storm for the better part of nine hours before Jesus came to them at all. He had watched the whole ordeal from the mountainside and let it run its course before He acted.
“And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
Matthew 14:28-31
“Looking unto Jesus, Peter walks securely; but as in self-satisfaction he glances back toward his companions in the boat, his eyes are turned from the Saviour. The wind is boisterous. The waves roll high, and come directly between him and the Master; and he is afraid. For a moment Christ is hidden from his view, and his faith gives way. He begins to sink. But while the billows talk with death, Peter lifts his eyes from the angry waters, and fixing them upon Jesus, cries, ‘Lord, save me.’ Immediately Jesus grasps the outstretched hand, saying, ‘O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?’”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 381
It is worth noticing exactly what sank Peter, since it was not the wind. The wind was blowing the entire time he walked securely toward Jesus. What changed was where his eyes were pointed.
“When trouble comes upon us, how often we are like Peter! We look upon the waves, instead of keeping our eyes fixed upon the Saviour. Our footsteps slide, and the proud waters go over our souls. Jesus did not bid Peter come to Him that he should perish; He does not call us to follow Him, and then forsake us.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 382
“And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.”
Matthew 14:32-33
This is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel that the disciples as a body confess Jesus outright as the Son of God, and it comes not after a sermon but after a night on the water that stripped away every illusion of self-sufficiency they had left. Worship, here, is what is left standing once the ambition for an earthly throne has finally washed out to sea.
As Many As Touched Were Made Perfectly Whole
“And when they were gone over, they came into the land of Gennesaret. 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; And besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole.”
Matthew 14:34-36
The chapter that opened with a king too guilty to enjoy his own throne closes with a whole region running to touch the hem of a garment and finding, every time, that it is enough. Herod heard of Jesus’s works and saw only a ghost to fear. Gennesaret heard of them and brought their sick to be healed. Same reports, same Man, and the entire difference was what each was looking for when they went to meet Him — the same compassion that fed five thousand and caught a sinking fisherman by the hand had never once stopped moving through the crowd.
