Bob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 14

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Bob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Matthew 14


Verse Commentaries:



Chapter Level Commentary:
Matthew 14

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

UBS4 NKJV NRSV TEV NJB
The Death of John the Baptist John the Baptist Beheaded Events of Decisive Acceptance or Rejection of Jesus The Death of John the Baptist Herod and Jesus (Mat_13:53 -Mat_17:27) Death of John Mat_14:1-12 Mat_14:1-12 Mat_14:1-12 Mat_14:1-2 Mat_14:1-2 John the Baptist Beheaded Mat_14:3-5 Mat_14:3-12 Mat_14:6-7 Mat_14:8 Mat_14:9-12 The Feeding of the Five Thousand Feeding the Five Thousand Five Thousand Fed Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand First Miracle of the Loaves Mat_14:13-21 Mat_14:13-21 Mat_14:13-21 Mat_14:13-14 Mat_14:13-14 Mat_14:15 Mat_14:15-21 Mat_14:16 Mat_14:17 Mat_14:18-21 Walking on Water Jesus Walks on the Sea Jesus Walks on Water Jesus Walks on the Water Jesus Walks on the Water and, with Him, Peter Mat_14:22-33 Mat_14:22-33 Mat_14:22-27 Mat_14:22-26 Mat_14:22-33 Mat_14:27 Mat_14:28-33 Mat_14:28 Mat_14:29-30 Mat_14:31 Mat_14:32-33 The Healing of the Sick in Gennesaret Many Touch Him and are Made Well Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret Cures at Gennesaret Mat_14:34-36 Mat_14:34-36 Mat_14:34-36 Mat_14:34-36 Mat_14:34-36

READING CYCLE THREE (from "hyperlink")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph

2. Second paragraph

3. Third paragraph

4. Etc.



BACKGROUND TO Mat_14:1-36

A. Herod the Tetrarch who is mentioned in Mat_14:1 ff.; Luk_3:1; Luk_9:7; Luk_13:31; Luk_23:7, was the son of Herod the Great. At the death of Herod the Great, his kingdom was divided among three of his sons (Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip). The term "Tetrarch" meant "leader of the fourth part." This Herod was known as Herod Antipas which is the shortened form of Antipater. He controlled Galilee and Perea (4 b.c. - a.d 39). This meant that much of Jesus' ministry was in the territory of this second generation Idumean ruler.



B. Herodias was the daughter of Herod Antipas'brother, Aristobulus, which made her his niece. She had also been previously married to Philip, the half brother of Herod Antipas. This was not Philip the Tetrarch who controlled the area just north of Galilee, but the other brother Philip who lived in Rome. Herodias had one daughter by Philip (Salome). On Herod Antipas'visit to Rome he met and was seduced by Heroditas who was looking for political advancement. Therefore, Herod Antipas divorced his wife, who was a Nabatean princess and Herodias divorced Philip so that she and Herod Antipas could be married. She was also the sister of Herod Agrippa I (cf. Acts 12).



C. We learn the name of Herodias'daughter, Salome, from Flavius Josephus in his book The Antiquities of the Jews 18:5:4. She must have been between the ages of twelve and seventeen at this point. She was obviously controlled and manipulated by her mother. She later married Philip the Tetrarch but was soon widowed.



D. About ten years after the beheading of John the Baptist, Herod Antipas went to Rome at the instigation of his wife Herodias to seek the title of king because Agrippa I, her brother, had received that title. But Agrippa I wrote Rome and accused Antipas of corroboration with the Parthians, a hated enemy of Rome from the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia). The Emperor apparently believed Agrippa I and Herod Antipas, along with his wife Herodias, was exiled to Spain.



E. It may make it easier to remember these different Herods as they are presented in the New Testament by remembering that Herod the Great killed the children in Bethlehem; Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist; Herod Agrippa I killed the Apostle James; and Herod Agrippa II heard Paul's appeal recorded in the book of Acts.



DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.

1. Why are Mat_14:3-12 thought to be a parenthesis?

2. Can you identify the different Herods mentioned in the New Testament?

3. Why was Herodias so angry with John the Baptist?

4. What was the purpose of Jesus' miracles?

5. Why did Jesus feed the multitudes twice after rejecting the Devil's temptation to do this in Mat_4:1-4?

6. How is the fearful reaction of Peter and the disciples so helpful to us in our faith?