The King’s BanquetMatthew 14:1-21 sermon outline

Today, after the sermon, we have the privilege of witnessing the baptism of our friend Jordan Harris. He’s been looking forward to this for a while, and we’re excited to celebrate with him what God’s done in his life. And it’s perhaps fitting that, in our passage this morning, we conclude the story of John the Baptist. By way of introduction, I’d like to briefly review John’s ministry, as Matthew tells it, and focus on why “the Baptist” is the title that stuck to him.

John appeared in the wilderness back in Matthew chapter 3, wearing odd clothes and being sustained by an odd diet, but it was clear to many that he was presenting himself as a prophet, the first prophet sent from God to the Jewish people in about 400 years. It seems his clothing was meant to remind people of Elijah in the Old Testament. The message he was announcing included a fact and a command. The fact: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The command: “Repent.” Thus, John’s message was a repentance message; he was calling the Jewish people to abandon their sin and to return to faithfulness to their God. And when you focus on calling people to repent, you sometimes have to be direct about people’s sin. And so John confronted people with words like these: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

This message was then underlined and embodied in a symbolic water ritual; John was standing in the Jordan River, and he was dunking people in the water. This was a baptism that was to illustrate the repentance he was calling for. If a Jewish person wanted to repent, to turn away from his sin and return to trusting God, then he’d let John dunk him under the water, to symbolize that repentance. And so it is that John became known as “the Baptist,” or perhaps a bit more literally, “the Baptizer.” John dunks people in water; therefore, he came to be known as the one who baptizes, the baptizer, the Baptist.

The significance of John’s baptism was preparatory. John made this clear by pointing people to another Baptizer who would become famous after him, but he said this coming Baptizer would not be concerned to dunk people in water as a merely symbolic action. This coming Baptizer would immerse people in the Holy Spirit, actually transforming their hearts and their lives, truly making them clean in a way the waters of the Jordan River never could. John was the prophet who sought to prepare the people of Israel for the arrival of their Messiah, their Savior, calling them to repent and to trust this Coming One.

And, of course, John was talking about Jesus. But, although Jesus wasn’t focused on dunking people in water, he did go on to command his followers to baptize each other. We’re going to obey that command this morning, as Pastor Barry will dunk Jordan in the water in this tub behind me. The significance of John’s baptism carries over into Christian baptism, but Christian baptism has a larger significance. For these Jews, being baptized expressed their desire to repent and their readiness to be saved. For Christians, being baptized expresses the repentance they’ve already expressed and paints a picture of the salvation they’ve already experienced. Jordan will go down under the water to show how he has died to his old life, died with Jesus, and he will be pulled up out of the water to show he has risen to walk in newness of life, alive forevermore with Jesus. The water won’t cleanse Jordan; Jesus’s blood has already cleansed Jordan. The water won’t

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transform Jordan; Jesus has already sent the Holy Spirit to live in Jordan and begin to transform him. Jordan is already a new creation; we just get to see a picture of what’s already happened to him.

So, just as there is a connection between John’s baptism and Christian baptism, so also there is a connection between the man John and the man Jesus. And that connection is on display for us in our passage this morning. If you haven’t already, please open a Bible to Matthew 14. If you take a look at your sermon notes and peruse the outline I have there for you, you might notice that this passage seems to be focused on King Herod. Verses 1-12 contain one of those rare stories in the Gospels where Jesus is not the main actor.1 However, his presence is felt as he’s mentioned in verse 1 and verse 12. Verses 13-21 then return to focusing on Jesus; seeing these stories back-to-back had me wondering what the connection could be, and I think Matthew wants us to see a contrast between evil King Herod and compassionate King Jesus, and the occasions for this fitting contrast are what happens at two very different banquets.2

Let’s get the whole story in front of us, shall we? Matthew 14:1-21: At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and

1 Cf. Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth (Preaching the Word series; Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), pg. 381, who writes, “In almost every passage thus far in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus has been the subject. That is, he is the one speaking or doing. But here in 14:1–12, which is a flashback to John’s death that also foreshadows the fate of Christ, Herod is the subject. He is the one acting in nearly every sentence. It is Herod who hears about Jesus, Herod who seized John, Herod who desired to put John to death, Herod who feared the people, Herod who promised an oath, Herod who was sorry after he promised that oath, yet who nevertheless acted out that oath: Herod commanded; Herod sent for John’s head. So, in a Gospel about Jesus this is one place where the camera lens shifts from the hero to a villain.”

2 Pointed out by, among others, James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1: The King and His Kingdom (Matthew 1-17) (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2001), pg. 265, who writes, “We should remember that Matthew makes some of his best points by the way he links incidents together, and if he is doing that here, we can hardly overlook the contrast between the party King Herod threw on his birthday for his friends and the party Jesus throws in the wilderness for the crowds.”

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the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

The passage opens with King Herod’s wrong assessment of Jesus. Now, he’s called “Herod the tetrarch” in verse 1. A tetrarch is a minor ruler of a small portion of a larger territory.3 It’s really difficult to keep the Herods in the Bible straight. We heard about Herod the Great back in Matthew 2, the man infamously responsible for killing several baby boys in Bethlehem in an attempt to murder the Messiah. This Herod we’re talking about today is one of his awful sons, one of the few, I might add, who survived. The Herod of Matthew 2 was also infamous for murdering his own sons, as well as anyone else he suspected wanted to take his throne. When Herod the Great finally died, in his will, he divided his territory up among three of his sons, with Rome’s approval.4 Galilee went to his son named Antipas; that’s who we’re talking about this morning, Herod Antipas, a vile man about whom we could say that the apple does not fall far from the tree. The Roman government never allowed Antipas to truly bear the title of “king,” as they did with his father, but Antipas very much wanted to be recognized as “king.” And, at a popular level, many Jews referred to him as king, as we see Matthew himself doing in verse 9.5

So, after Jesus has been ministering publicly for probably more than two years already, Herod Antipas finally hears about this miracle-worker in his district.6 His conclusion? Jesus must be John the Baptist resurrected! What a weird notion! Matthew takes this occasion to narrate how John was killed by Herod, and we’ll see that Herod was a bit conflicted, and perhaps we could even see he was feeling convicted. He’s probably feeling guilty for the way he murdered someone he knew to be a righteous man, and his reflexive conclusion about Jesus the miracle-worker was that it must be the righteous man he murdered come back from the dead with

3 Cf. John Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew(New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005), pg. 579, who writes, “None of the rulers of the divided territory was allowed by Rome to term himself king. Instead the title ‘tetrarch’ was used. This is literally ‘ruler of a quarter’, but it was used in the NT period more generally for the role of minor princes.”

4 For details, see Leon Morris, The Gospel according to Matthew (The Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1992), pg. 369, who writes, “King Herod the Great in his will divided his kingdom into three parts; the title Ethnarch was given to Archelaus who ruled over Judea, and Tetrarch to Herod Antipas and Herod Philip. Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch mentioned here, thus ruled one of three parts (not four, as his title suggests); he was Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea 4 b.c.–a.d. 39, and accordingly the ruler over the region in which Jesus lived out most of his life.”

5 Cf. R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (The New International Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007), pg. 553, who writes, “Matthew correctly describes this ‘Herod’ as ‘tetrarch’ not as king, though in v. 9 he will use the title ‘king’ which Antipas wanted and campaigned for (it had been his father’s title), and which was popularly used to flatter him, but which Rome never officially approved for him.”

6 Cf. Morris, Matthew, pg. 369, who surmises, “He should have known that John could not be identified with Jesus, for the ministries of the two had overlapped and Jesus had been active at the very time that Herod had imprisoned John. But he was probably not well informed about what must have seemed unimportant movements at the grass-roots level.”

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superpowers!7 There is some evidence that the Herods were all Sadducees, who didn’t believe in any kind of resurrection or personal spirits, so it seems here we have a case of a guilty conscience combined with a bit of superstition that overrides one’s theology.8

So, how and why did King Herod silence John? Verses 3-5 tell us that King Herod had imprisoned him because John had been confronting him about marrying his brother’s wife, which was against the Mosaic Law, according to Leviticus 20:21. I will spare you some of the sordid historical details that make this convoluted situation even more like a modern-day soap opera, but let me clarify the issues involved a bit. Philip is the brother of Herod Antipas.9 Philip was married to Herodias, and we’ll meet their daughter in just a bit; her name was Salome. Matthew doesn’t mention it, but Antipas was also married and had been for over 15 years. Antipas visited Philip, and Antipas and Herodias fell in love with each other. So, Herodias divorced Philip, and Antipas divorced his wife. Now, in Jewish law, a wife was forbidden from initiating a divorce from her husband, so Herodias appealed to Roman law and did it anyway. Then, Antipas and Herodias got married, and Herodias took her daughter Salome with her. Not only were both divorces breaking God’s Law, but also the marriage of Antipas to his brother’s wife was considered a form of incest, and thus also forbidden by God’s Law. John called for King Herod’s repentance, Herodias was particularly offended, and thus John was arrested. And, in verse 5, we find that King Herod would’ve liked to silence John permanently, but fear made him cautious; he was afraid that the people would revolt if he executed someone they considered to be a prophet. So, he simply held John in prison, probably for close to two years.

Though this is not the main part of the story, there is a lesson here for us. Unlike Herod, we should repent when our sin is confronted. That is the only appropriate response. As John was preaching, we should repent of our sins because the kingdom of heaven has arrived. The true king, Jesus, has arrived, and our lives must be oriented around him, his teachings, his commands. If Jesus has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into his kingdom, then when our sin is exposed or confronted, the only appropriate response is confession and repentance.

Secondly, like John, we should constantly speak the truth, even to confront sin. In our everyday relationships, it should be considered normal to talk about our sin, to seek to help each other repent from sin. The apostle Paul would want us to ensure that our speaking the truth is done “in love,” of course, but nevertheless it is important that we don’t shy away from speaking the truth and confronting sin when necessary. If we care about the health of the church, the health of our brothers and sisters, we will confront their sin and help them repent.

In verses 6-12, we learn about King Herod’s birthday party. There are only two birthday parties mentioned in the Bible, and at both someone literally lost his head! Genesis 40:20-22 told of the

7 Cf. Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew (The NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), pg. 511, who writes, “Herod’s guilty fear for having executed John combines with a confused notion of resurrection, probably based in part on Pharisaic beliefs along with semi-pagan superstitious ideas of returning spirits.”

8 Asserted by Boice, Matthew, pg. 259, who writes, “Herod was a Sadducee; Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. But Herod’s guilty conscience reduced his skeptical creed to dust, and he trembled at the thought of God’s final judgment of him for this and for what had certainly been other evil actions.”

9 Pick pretty much any commentary on Matthew, if you want to read more.

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Egyptian Pharaoh’s birthday party, during which he removed the head of the chief baker, as Joseph had predicted. Birthday parties today feature cakes and candles, balloons and bouncy castles, clowns and swimming pools. These two biblical birthday parties featured a beheading! Ancient Jews didn’t have birthday parties, so the fact that Herod, King of the Galilean Jews, is throwing a birthday party reveals how Roman and pagan he truly had become.10

The daughter of Herodias and Philip, named Salome according to Jewish historians and probably between 12 and 14 years old here, provides the entertainment for the birthday party. King Herod, surely drunk by this point, is so pleased by her dancing that he swears an oath in front of everybody that he’ll grant her one wish. She consults with her mother, who immediately instructs her to ask for John’s head on a platter. It says something awful about Herodias that when asked by her daughter, “Antipas has offered to give me whatever I want; what should I ask for?” her first thought is to chop a man’s head off! She hated John apparently because she was so offended by him saying that she couldn’t be married to Antipas! So strong was her sense of entitlement, her feeling that she had the right to marry whomever she wanted to, divorce whomever she wanted to, and live however she pleased, that anyone who told her otherwise and dared to quote Scripture to convict her of sin and say that God was not pleased with her should die a gruesome, shameful death.

Salome returns to the gathering of men, and says to the birthday boy, King Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” The specificity of the request is clever. Here. Now. On a dessert plate. Herodias ensured that King Herod would not find a loophole, would not be able to delay the execution, would not be able to escape, for there were ways a Jewish person could get out of fulfilling an oath like this and not be looked down upon. In verse 9, Matthew says, “And the king was sorry.” I suspect he was sorry because he feared the repercussions that may come from this action. He feared the people who believed John was a prophet. But his concern for his reputation among his party guests was stronger. So, the executioner removes John’s head, brings it back to the girl, who then takes it to her mother, as a sort of birthday party souvenir. This birthday party is the ultimate picture of depravity; the more I thought about it, the sicker I got. But the most awful part is imagining a 13-year-old girl carrying a recently severed head on a dessert plate to her mother.

Thus ends the life of John the Baptizer. He, in his prison cell, would not have known about the birthday party going on inside the palace. He, in his prison cell, would not have known about the dancing girl’s request and the king’s oaths. He, in his prison cell, would simply see the executioner enter with sword drawn, and, then a moment later, heaven.11 John the apostle will later see a vision, described for us in Revelation 20:4: And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God; I wonder if John the apostle recognized the soul of John the Baptist? The greatest human who ever lived up to that point, murdered at the whim of a dancing girl and her vengeful mother. No trial; no due process.

10 Cf. Morris, Matthew, pg. 371, who writes, “In the modern world birthday celebrations are accepted as important and enjoyable social occasions, but this was not the Israelite custom. Of this present passage F. B. Knutson says, ‘When Herod celebrated his birthday he was acting in accord with a Hellenistic custom; there is no evidence for the celebration of birthdays in Israel in pre-Hellenistic times’ (ISBE, I, p. 515).”

11 Cf. Charles H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Book of Matthew (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1893), pg. 112, who says vividly, “[T]he man of God left his prison for Paradise by one sudden stroke of the sword….[H]e received his crown in heaven though he had lost his head on earth.”

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This was not a legal execution; this was plain and simple murder.12 John’s friends and disciples would’ve discovered his death rather quickly, and they were permitted to take his body for a proper burial.

Why does Matthew tell us this story, with all of its gory details? First, I think we need to see the connection between John and Jesus. John’s murder foreshadows Jesus’s murder. Matthew has told this story using certain words and phrases that will be repeated in his description of Jesus’s suffering. In verse 3, as John was “seized” and “bound,” so Jesus will be “seized” and “bound.” In verse 5, as King Herod wanted to kill John but didn’t for fear of the people, so the Jewish leaders want to kill Jesus but won’t immediately for fear of the people. In verse 9, King Herod was sorry and reluctant to actually execute John, so Pilate will be reluctant to execute Jesus. John was not convicted of any crime worthy of death and yet was executed, so also Jesus will not be convicted of any crime worthy of death and yet will be executed. Finally, beheading is among the most shameful deaths in the ancient world, exceeded by only one other form of death perhaps: crucifixion. So, John’s murder foreshadows Jesus’s murder.13

Secondly, like John, we should endure suffering for the sake of truth. Living righteously in this world and speaking of the righteous life Jesus makes possible will draw the hostility of the people around us. If we draw lines in the sand about sin, if we refuse to get caught up in the decadence around us, and certainly if we claim absolute allegiance to Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God, we will be mocked, we will be persecuted, and some of us might even be killed. That fact shouldn’t make us recoil, shouldn’t drive us into becoming “closet Christians,” shouldn’t silence us from speaking the truth in love. We are called to endure, and Jesus promises to enable us to endure.

Now, let’s leave the debauched banquet of King Herod and take a look at the beautiful banquet of King Jesus. The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 is the only miracle Jesus performed that all four Gospel writers tell us about, so it seems pretty important. After the disciples of John report to Jesus about what happened, Jesus sets off to leave. Look at verse 13 again: Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. Now, the disciples are going to appear in verse 15, and the other Gospel writers tell us that they accompanied him in the boat, but, nevertheless Jesus wants to be alone. He goes into the wilderness to get away from the crowds. I suspect he wants to pray because of John’s death, but I suspect that John’s death has also got him thinking about his own impending death. The only other time we read about Jesus praying in Matthew’s Gospel will be in Gethsemane.14 But here,

12 Cf. Grant R. Osborne, Matthew (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament 1; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010), pg. 559, who points out, “Like most despots Herod was not worried that Jewish as well as Roman law said a person should not be executed without a trial.”

13 So suggests David L. Turner, Matthew (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2008), pg. 365, who writes, “Although beheading did not carry with it all the horrors of crucifixion, it was nevertheless a shameful way to die, one usually reserved for egregious wrongdoers. John prepares the way for Jesus even in the manner of his execution.”

14 Cf. Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28 (Word Biblical Commentary 33B; Dallas: Word, 1995), pg. 422, who writes, “The solitude of Jesus is the important motif for Matthew at this point. The other references to Jesus praying (προσεύχεσθαι) in Matthew are in 26:36, 39, 42, 44 (cf. Luke 9:28), all in connection with his own imminent suffering and death. In the present instance, the same thoughts may be presumed to be in Jesus’ mind, prompted perhaps by the report of John the Baptist’s death.”

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the crowds seem to anticipate his movement; perhaps they can see his boat on the Sea of Galilee and predict his course, and they arrive ahead of him.

Now, I’d like to draw your attention to a couple of verses past our passage; look at verses 22-23: Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. So, it seems clear that Jesus wants to be alone. The crowds interfere with this desire, but how does Jesus respond? Look back at verse 14: he had compassion on them and healed their sick. And then he feeds them. Pastor Doug O’Donnel writes, “The one who wants to contemplate his crucifixion—the ultimate act of selfless love—here…has compassion on (selflessly loves) the tired, the poor, the huddled masses, those longing to be free and longing to be fed.”15 Jesus wasn’t so super-spiritual that he thought prayer couldn’t be put off or interrupted. He very much wanted to be alone to pray, but the crowds show up, as uninvited guests, and he postpones his alone time to meet their needs.16 I suspect it’s okay for us to do that as well. We shouldn’t view “interruptions” negatively. An urgent phone call comes while you’re reading your Bible; an unexpected knock at the door happens just when you’ve started praying. This is God’s providence; don’t feel guilty for “making God wait.”

Because this story occurs in all four Gospels, we are probably all very familiar with its details. Jesus healed the sick people the crowds brought to him. As this healing ministry probably took several hours, along with the teaching we know about from Luke’s Gospel, dinner time came and went, and no one brought any food. Notice that Jesus didn’t heal these folks and then send them on their way. They lingered. The disciples, probably feeling their own stomachs growling, tap their watches and suggest to Jesus that it’s time for the crowds to go home so they can all eat.

Jesus shocks them with his answer. Look at verse 16: They need not go away; you give them something to eat. Can God spread a table in the wilderness? He did in the Old Testament, and he can here. But, Jesus doesn’t seem to say, “God will provide.” Instead, he says, “You guys can provide.” Instead of their stomachs rumbling with hunger, he wants them to feel the same compassion he feels for the people, deep down in his guts, and then to do something about it. That’s what the Greek word refers to, a strong feeling in your guts. Does he intend that they should perform some miracle to feed the crowds? He had, after all, bestowed on them the authority to heal and to cast out demons.17

In any case, Jesus delights to work through his disciples. He commands them to provide for the people. Remarkably, they actually begin looking at their resources. I suspect I would’ve just

15 O’Donnell, Matthew, pg. 403.16 Cf. O’Donnell, Matthew, pg. 402, who summarizes, “So plan A was: ‘I’ll get in the boat to get away.’

That didn’t work. So he went to plan B: ‘You disciples get in the boat. Off you go. Bye-bye. See you on the other side.’ How on earth Jesus is going to get to the other side? They have no idea….Jesus hears of John’s death and wants some solitude. Plan A: The great boat escape. Plan B: Feed ‘em, heal ‘em, send ‘em all away happy in Jesus. Then, once the coast is clear (literally) up the mountain he goes for some alone time—a time to pray and contemplate.”

17 Suggested by Jeannine K. Brown, Matthew (Teach the Text Commentary Series; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2015), pg. 167, who writes, “Jesus seems to expect his disciples to provide for the crowds in some miraculous way. This coheres with the Mission Discourse, in which Jesus grants authority to the Twelve to do the miraculous (10:1) by following the pattern of Jesus’ own ministry (10:7–8).”

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stared at Jesus, with my mouth hanging open. They assess their food supply, five loaves of bread and two fish. When you read the word “loaves,” don’t think about our modern packages of sliced bread, and when you read “fish,” don’t think about long, fried strips of catfish. Think instead of five cinnamon rolls and a couple of goldfish crackers. That’s closer to the amount we’re talking about. John’s Gospel tells us that this was provided by a little boy in the crowd, so this was probably his sack lunch, essentially, with maybe a bit to share with a friend. This probably would’ve been enough food to feed between one and three people. So, there’s not even enough food to feed the disciples, much less crowds gathered from all over the place.

Well, he tells them to bring that little sack lunch to him, and then he tells the crowds to sit down, using a word that usually means to recline at table for a feast. Then, he said a blessing, probably the traditional blessing said over meals by Jewish men at the dinner table: Baruch attah, Adonai Eloheynu, Melech ha-olam, ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz, which means, “Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.” Jews don’t bless the food; they bless God, praising and thanking him for giving it.18 Then, he broke the cinnamon rolls and the little fishies into pieces and began handing them to the disciples who began passing them out to the seated crowd. And then he kept handing them to the disciples who kept on passing them out to the seated crowd. How long did this go on? How many times did the disciples have to come back to Jesus for more? The Gospel writers don’t tell us how Jesus did it or even what the disciples saw. We simply get the bare fact of it and the results in verse 20: And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. They all ate and were stuffed! What started as a small boy’s sack lunch, became a banquet!

Jesus worked through the disciples here. He didn’t give the food to the crowds himself; he gave it to the disciples to distribute. And there were leftovers! Everyone in this crowd, which Matthew finally tells us numbered about 5,000, counting only the men, ate until they were stuffed, and there were enough leftovers to fill twelve baskets! We’re talking about feeding a group of people that probably numbered well over 10,000. What’s up with the twelve baskets? Well, it seems that it was common for Jewish men to carry a lunch kit with them when they were traveling around, but by the evening that lunch kit would have been empty. So, the twelve baskets are probably the baskets that the twelve disciples had been carrying that day. Now, they had a souvenir to take home from King Jesus’s banquet; each of them had another meal for tomorrow! What’s the point? Well, this should’ve pressed home to the disciples how abundantly Jesus can and will provide for his followers. As we read on in Matthew’s Gospel, we’ll find out that they didn’t get

18 There are a couple of occasions in the New Testament where food appears to be the object of the verb “bless,” perhaps influencing our modern phraseology of “blessing the food.” However, see the discussion of I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), pg. 362, who writes concerning Luke 9:16, the parallel to our passage in Matthew, “The use of εὐλογέω (1:28) raises problems. It usually signifies the act of praising God for something, i.e., giving thanks; here, therefore, it can refer to the normal grace before a meal, and this appears to be the case in Mk. 6:41 where it is used without an object…. It is, therefore, more probable that εὐλογέω here refers to a prayer of thanks for the bread, rather than to a blessing or consecration of it; but Jesus’ prayer of thanks will here be one of thanks for what God is able to do to the bread (cf. Jn. 11:41f.).” He also refers to Mark 8:7, one of the passages where the food is the object of the verb bless, where very early manuscripts have a different reading that makes it clearer that Jesus was saying a blessing of God “over” the bread, so that the object in Greek is to be understood as “an accusative of respect,” which fits the known Jewish practice much better.

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it. They probably went on to eat these leftovers the next day, without a thought of how they had gotten the food the previous day. How quickly forgetful of God’s provision we can be!

Why is this story, and only this story of all the miracle stories in the Gospels, repeated in all four Gospels? Why is it so important?19 We should see something of who Jesus is from what he’s done here. For those who know their Old Testament, the story of Elisha should come to mind.20 We read in 2 Kings 4:42-44: A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says Yahweh, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of Yahweh. If John was Elijah, is Jesus Elisha? Not exactly. Elisha was given twenty loaves and fed a hundred people; Jesus was given less, only five loaves, and fed about a hundred times more people! Jesus is like Elisha, but much greater.

If we look at John’s Gospel account of this story for a moment, we get a glimpse of how some in the crowds responded to this feast. Look at John 6:14 on the screen: When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” They were thinking he might be the prophet like Moses prophesied by Moses who would come and lead the people of Israel into the ultimate Promised Land of the New Creation. In fact, in Jewish tradition by this time, there had developed a specific belief that the Messiah would come and give manna from heaven again to feed the people.21 The fact that he performs this miracle in the wilderness certainly strengthens the possible connection between him and Moses here. However, on the next day, Jesus corrects their misunderstanding, reminding them that Moses didn’t give the manna, but God did.

Others made the Messianic connection a little differently; in the very next verse in John’s account, we read that the people “were about to come and take him by force to make him king.” Some viewed him as the Shepherd-King who would feed the people of Israel and then lead them in triumph over their Roman oppressors. But Jesus withdrew and didn’t allow them to crown him king like that.

So, who is this Jesus then? What does this miracle reveal about him? This is the One who revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6 (NIV) as Yahweh, Yahweh, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. He does spread a table in the

19 Cf. the summary comment of Osborne, Matthew, pg. 568: “This is one of the richest of Jesus’ miracles theologically, as seen in the fact that it is the only miracle story found in every Jesus tradition. It reaches to the past (the manna, the Elisha miracle of 2 Kgs 4), the present (God’s provision for his people), and the future (the messianic wedding feast). It is difficult to overstate its importance.”

20 For a quick summary of the connections, see O’Donnell, Matthew, pg. 407, who writes, “Several details in the 2 Kings text coincide with our text. First, there is a crowd. Second, a man brings to the prophet an insufficient amount of food to feed the crowd. Third, Elisha says in essence, ‘Great. That’s all we need. Give these loaves to the men so they may eat.’ Fourth, the man says, ‘Hey, Elisha, do the math—twenty here/100 there.’ Fifth, Elisha says, ‘Let God do the math. You just do what I say.’ Sixth, he does it. Seventh, ‘And they ate and had some left’ (v. 44).”

21 Mentioned by, among others, Wilkins, Matthew, pg. 515, who writes, “Many Jews expected the Messiah to appear in the spring at the Passover season, when he would repeat the miracle of feeding Israel by manna as had occurred through Moses.”

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wilderness; he does provide bread for his people.22 And, ultimately, as he went on to teach in John 6, the bread that he provides is himself, “baked” for the life of the world. Like John, he will be unjustly murdered, but, unlike John, Jesus’s death will accomplish the salvation of sinners. Jesus offers himself as the source of eternal life to all who will receive him.

So, what’s the point of this story? Once we see Jesus this way, once we see the beauty of King Jesus’s banquet in the wilderness, in stark contrast to the hideous banquet of King Herod, what then?23 Jesus’s compassion should become our compassion.24 We’ve got to view needy people as people with needs that we can meet with the resources that Jesus provides. Often, the resources that Jesus provides are actually the resources that we already have. Resources like engineering expertise. The Rispins have kept us informed about The Wheels Project, and it has been moving and inspiring to witness Karen expressing the compassion of Jesus for folks who desperately need wheelchairs. I am excited to see how the Lord will multiply the efforts of the Wheels Team and their partnerships with other organizations.

But, most often, we have opportunities to express compassion in our own everyday lives. Followers of Jesus should learn to express the compassion of Jesus. Ask yourselves how you tend to respond when a person with needs comes to your attention. Do you begin assessing your own resources for how you might meet the need? There was a not-very-popular animated movie released in 2005 called Robots that had a repeated line that was the driving motivation for the main character’s heroic actions: “See a need, fill a need!” That’s a very biblical motto and a good expression of the compassion of Jesus.

We could all grow in this area, I think. If you’d like an opportunity to get some training on how to express compassion and care for hurting people, people with needs, join us in attending a Stephen Ministry workshop.

22 Cf. Ps. 78:19-20.23 Cf. Stanley Hauerwas, Matthew (SCM Theological Commentary on the Bible; London: SCM, 2006), pg.

139, who writes, “That Jesus has compassion on the crowd is best understood in contrast to Herod’s banquet. Jesus provides food for those without food solely because they are hungry. Herod provides food for those who are not without food as a demonstration of his power.”

24 Cf. O’Donnell, Matthew, pgs. 404-405, who writes, “Because of Christ’s compassion, Christians want to heal dying people. And because of Christ’s compassion, Christians want to feed starving people…. That’s Christianity—Christ’s compassion in the world. When nobody’s looking, Christians are breaking down protein molecules in a university lab and breaking bread in some impoverished region of the world. So the compassion of Christ is to be the compassion of the church. We love the world in attitude and action because God in Christ first loved us.”

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Stephen Ministry is simply a system where Jesus cares for people through people, just like what we see Jesus doing through his disciples here. This workshop will help us envision how we can move forward as a church to be intentionally caring for each other’s needs by expressing practical compassion in action. I’m excited to attend this workshop, and if you’d like to come, let us know in the office, and we’ll get you registered. As long as at least four of us attend, the total cost is $50, which is incredible for a training seminar like this!

Finally, since Jesus is the rightful King of Israel, the rightful King of the universe, the Messiah sent into the world to save sinners by his sacrificial death and victorious resurrection, I think it’s also right to see in this wilderness banquet a foretaste of the prophesied Messianic Banquet, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.25 This is the taste I want to leave you with.

Jesus had already mentioned this Messianic Banquet, back in Matthew 8:11, after the Roman Centurion expressed such “great faith” to ask Jesus to heal his servant back home by simply speaking a word. Jesus marveled and said, I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. That “recline at table” is the same word Matthew uses here to describe what Jesus ordered the crowds to do.26 Jesus is highlighting how Gentiles will join with the Jewish patriarchs and all other Jewish people who trust in the Messiah for salvation, with a place at the table of the Messianic Banquet!

Fast forward to the book of Revelation. You can turn there if you want to see these words with your own eyes. Revelation 19 describes the second coming of Christ, or as Paul refers to the event in Titus 2:13 (NKJV), “the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” But just before the rider on the white horse appears, we read these words in

25 Noted by many students of Scripture. For example, see Osborne, Matthew, pg. 564, who writes, “This was truly a messianic miracle pointing forward to the messianic banquet, an eschatological meal often emphasized by Jesus (Matt 8:11; Luke 14:15; 22:30) and also a common theme in Judaism, building on Isa 25:6, “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines” and developed further during the intertestamental period (1 En. 62:14; 2 Bar. 29:8; 2 Esd 2:38).”

26 Cf. Osborne, Matthew, pg. 566, who observes, “The infinitive ‘to sit down’ (ἀνακλιθῆναι) is used for ‘reclining’ at banquets and is probably deliberate here. This simple repast will be turned into a sumptuous feast.”

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Revelation 19:6-9: Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” This is one of seven beatitudes in the book of Revelation, and it applies to every follower of Jesus. Have you been invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, the great Messianic Banquet? If you’re trusting Jesus for your salvation, you have your invitation.

The angel is mixing metaphors a bit here; the loud, echoing voice had referred to the marriage of the Lamb, as Paul refers to the church as the bride of Christ, but the angel refers to guests invited to the meal. I believe the bride and the invited guests are both references to all believers in Jesus of all ages;27 the reference to the bride highlights the corporate nature of the marriage union between the church and Christ, and the invited guests highlights each individual Christian as a participant in this great feast.28 Here’s the point of the beatitude, quoting James Hamilton: “[B]ecause they are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, they are blessed. Jesus is enough. He is enough in the face of inconvenience. He is enough in the face of cancer. He is enough in the face of persecution. He is enough in the face of imprisonment, and even death. God intends to show his glory by putting his servants through all these things, and when they rejoice because none of this can take Jesus away, people see that Jesus is enough.”29 I think Jesus was enough for John the Baptist. I believe Jesus is enough for me. I believe Jesus is enough for you. I hope you can smell the aroma of the great feast to come, the full and physical union of resurrected and raptured believers, with resurrected and transformed noses and tongues and taste buds, reclining at table to celebrate the marriage union of Jesus and his bride.

Pray with me. Father, would you grant us repentance, whenever our sins are confronted or exposed? Would you fill us with your Spirit so that we constantly speak the truth? Would you enable us to endure whatever suffering we might face, as a result of this fallen world or at the hands of sinful people? Thank you for your promise of life forever with you. Thank you for the promise that all the suffering we must endure will produce an eternal weight of glory for us beyond all measurement. Thank you for Jesus who died to purchase a bride, who sent his Spirit to sanctify us, to make us ready for that great wedding day, and who will sit as host to serve us at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Fill us with anticipation for that great banquet, we pray, in Jesus’s name. Amen.

27 So argues, among others, Grant R. Osborne, Revelation (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2002), pg. 675, who writes, “Thus, the saints are both the bride and the invited guests. Such mixing of metaphors was common in the ancient world to add richness to the imagery.”

28 Following the argument of G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), pg. 945, who writes, “Verse 9 presents a different perspective on the wedding metaphor from vv 7–8. There the bride, the corporate church, was viewed as about to wed the Lamb, but now individual Christians are portrayed as guests at the marriage banquet. Both pictures portray the intimate communion of Christ with believers, but the first focuses on the corporate church and the second on individual members of the church.”

29 James M. Hamilton, Jr., Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Preaching the Word series; Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012), pg. 353.

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