Execution of John the Baptist
Key Verses: 2, 8, 12, 13, 17, 25, 33
Matthew closes the loop on John the Baptist by filling in the details of his death. He is killed on orders by Herod the civilian ruler of that area. He is a politically shrewd person. The poll numbers indicate that if he kills John, he will not be as popular, so he just throws him in prison. John has insulted he and his wife. But his wife plots with her daughter to get even, and Herod puts himself in a corner out of which he cannot escape without great embarrassment. John is beheaded.
Notice what Jesus does when he hears the sad news of John’s death. He spends some time by himself. Sometimes people in grief just want to crawl up under the covers and hide. We all need a time of reflection after someone’s death. When grief comes for a visit, you just have to invite him into the parlor for a spell. We can’t avoid grief. He will show up, either as an accepted guest, or as an unwelcome intruder. When we accept him, his visit is usually shorter.
Then Matthew weaves the account of Jesus feeding over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish into the sequence. The previous chapter was filled with parables pointing to believing Jesus message. John had pointed to Jesus, and now he is dead. Matthew demonstrates Jesus’ identity by relating this story of providing food in a miraculous way. He in effect is saying that John the Baptist was correct in his understanding and teaching about Jesus. He is the Messiah. One of the interesting things to note is that twelve baskets full of bread were left over after everyone had eaten. Twelve. Sound like a familiar Jewish number, like the twelve tribes of Israel! Jesus will make provision for all of His people.
Jesus steals time to be by Himself and refresh. The disciples are battling the wind and waves as they cross the Sea of Galilee. Before dawn Jesus meets them, but He is walking on the water. Peter has enough faith to step out of the boat and walk on the water with Jesus. Don’t focus on him getting distracted and his sinking. If you do, you are getting distracted and sinking. He walked on the water. Jesus was walking on the water and Peter joined Him. Focus on that. Have you trusted Jesus enough to get out of your comfort and safety and walk? If you haven’t, perhaps you have become distracted.
When Jesus joins them in the boat, they worship Him as God. Some people will try to water down these statements about Jesus’ Deity, but don’t let them. When they do, they take away the foundation of truth itself. They are in essence saying that God is unable or unwilling to communicate to us in a meaningful way, in a way that everyone can understand and to which we can respond. Either the Scriptures are true, or we are left without any objective guide to life and eternity. They were not saying that Jesus was the Son of God in the same way that each of us is a child of His. If they were, then their exclamation was meaningless. It would be like saying, “Wow, you are a human being!” I would answer, “So what! We all are.”
The Arnold Journey 