Matthew 14 Bible study: Truly the Son of God

"At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus" (14:1), and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him." (14:2). Then Matthew goes back to tell how John died: "For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife" (14:3). Before this, Matthew has told only that John was delivered up, "Now when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee" (4:12), and that he was in prison, "Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ" (11:2). John had told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have her" (14:4). "When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet" (14:5). Verses 6 to 11 tell of Herod's birthday, his promise "with an oath" (14:7) (tap promised), and John's death in the prison. Here is what almost everyone misses: Matthew ends John's story with Jesus. "His disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus." (14:12). And the next verse begins, "Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place apart" (14:13) (tap withdrew). In the WEB, 4:12 and 14:13 both begin "Now when Jesus heard", and both times he withdrew. The verses say what Jesus heard and no more about why, either time, and these notes don't add a reason.

Numbers 15:38→leads toMatthew 14:36

The LORD told Israel to "make themselves fringes on the borders of their garments" (15:38). A woman "came behind him, and touched the fringe of his garment" (Matthew 9:20). At Gennesaret the sick were brought to Jesus, "and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole" (Matthew 14:36). Mark tells it too (Mark 6:56). Matthew doesn't mention Numbers 15, so joining the two is a reading: some take "the fringe of his garment" to be the fringes this chapter commands, worn by Jesus; others read it simply as the edge of his clothes.

διστάζωdistazosay dis-TAD-zo

Strong's: "to waver (in opinion)". Thayer: "to doubt, waver". Peter was sinking when "Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”" (14:31). The New Testament has this verb only twice, both in Matthew (counted in RP2018, the Byzantine text the WEB translates). The other is near the end of the book, on the mountain in Galilee where the eleven disciples went: "When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted." (28:17). Both times, people bow before Jesus within a few verses: here "Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him" (14:33), and there "they bowed down to him" (28:17). In the Greek one verb is behind both worshiped and bowed down (tap worshiped). These notes add no comment on it.